Durocco Brake Upgrade
With durocco's curb weight of 2700lbs the stock 10 inch front brakes were good for one panic stop before going to smoke and mush. I picked up ...
BMW 320i Turbo Walkaround
spacers -lug stud conversion Brakes: -Volvo/ Girling 4 pot calipers/vented 323i rotors -323i rear disk conversion -stainless brake lines -Wilwood ...
Norton COMMANDO Starting Brand New MK3 Electric Start 850cc
button, rev and go). This bike has been built with twin 12" lightweight brake disks and two lockheed racing calipers, this combo is truely ...
What Lies Beneath: Audi UFO Brakes
If you hang around foreign car mechanics for long enough, particularly those familiar with VW/Audi, you may very well hear the term “UFO brakes” come up – and most likely with a hint of disdain. This gem of 1980s automotive technology has nearly all but been forgotten and is mostly regarded as a curiosity now, however, it raised quite a few eyebrows when debuting on Audi’s V8 sedan of 1988. Technically, these “UFO brakes” are called internal caliper brakes. The rotor is carried on the hub by a flying saucer like casting which allows the caliper to grab the rotor’s surface from the opposite angle of a typical disc system. Confused yet? The concept may seem overly complicated, but the Germans had some decent reasoning for the design. Audi wanted to improve the braking in their sedans, which were becoming increasingly faster, yet wanted to retain a 15-inch wheel size. Rear brakes on these cars maintained a conventional disc brake design, but the front wheels were treated to a totally new and unique ATE built system. By mounting the caliper inside of the rotor, the rotor itself can be larger since there doesn’t need to be a gap between the rim for the caliper to wrap over it. While the actual surface area of the rotor doesn’t change significantly, the swept area of the pads increases with diameter. Not only does this make it mechanically easier for the brakes to slow the spinning wheel, but also allows heat to dissipate off the rotor more quickly. Well, that was the idea anyway. The problems with the UFO brakes ultimately became too much. They warped easily, particularly in stop-and-go traffic when the rotors were not allowed to cool down thoroughly. They were also very complicated, much to the dismay of Audi mechanics and the car owners paying the bills. Audi (at least in the US) started recommending to it’s customers an aftermarket replacement of the UFO brakes with more conventional Girling dual-piston calipers...
