[Guest]

I was reading one of David Fei

I was reading one of David Feinberg's post about doing the breaks on the Lotus and a question came to mind. When you look at some of the older Ferrari mid-engine racing cars like a 250LM you notice they have inboard rotors next to the transaxele. What is the advantage of this setup and do current Lemans type cars use inboard rotors?

 

[Guest]

Drew,

for one thing inboard

Drew,

for one thing inboard rotors reduce unsprung wieght...which is always a concern & goal for improving handling.

An additional benifit is the increased ability to slow recipricating mass, by slowing the turning wheels from a better mechanicaly advantaged position.

Regards, JRV

 

[Guest]

Drew & JVR,
On most all

Drew & JVR,
On most all current high powered race cars, rear brakes are outboard for 3 major reasons. The first one is brake cooling. It is easier to cool the brakes and vent the air out the wheels, and also, keep the brakes away from the transaxle which is another source of heat. Second reason is on outboard brakes the braking load is removed from the Half shafts and CV or Tripod joints. The brake load is directed into the suspension.And another reason is safety: If you break a Half shaft or CV joint with outboard brakes, you still have the brake at that wheel. With inboard brakes, a broken half shaft disconnects that brake from the wheel.And in endurance racing,it is easier to change brake pads with outboard brakes.Inboard is not the way to go anymore.

 

[Guest]

>>And another reason i

>>And another reason is safety:<<

Safety is a modern invention...

 

[Guest]

As Colin Chapman really wrote

As Colin Chapman really wrote the book on vehicle handling, he did have the "right" idea with the concept of inboard brakes...However, everything that Bob said is so true! (The brake rotor is truly captured beween the drive axle and the wheel stub axle...)

I'm currently in the midst of rebuilding, repairing the rear brakes on this Elan. For one, there is little, if any air flow to the rear brakes. Even something as simple as pad replacement is a mild pain to do. The real killer is that I'm replacing the rear rotors due to excessive wear (read that they are super thin). This job, in itself, it not for the faint of heart, as substantial disassembly, coupled with very tight clearances...make this a daunting job. It is quite interesting to note just how "light" the rear hub carrier feels, with the brakes mounted inboard, though...

Pretty neat engineering, for the time....nevertheless.

Regards,
David

 

[Guest]

Being an old jag guy I've

Being an old jag guy I've had inboard rear brakes in my e-type , xj6 and xjs and they are a PIA to work on and replace.The fun is when you need to change the rotors. Pads are not tto bad but not as simple as the Fcar.Never could understand why they went that way.