General Brakes and tyres..

[Plug]

My B comes from an earlier era when things such as ABS were optional extras. I was reminded of this today when a tw*t in a Toyota Yaris turned out of a side exit onto the main road that I was travelling on at, shall we say, approximately the national speed limit.

Cue a stamp on the middle pedal, a bit of a howl from the tyres, but apart from that surprisingly little drama. A bit of a twitch from the back end (corrected by "a dab of oppo" ), but the brakes really do haul it down well, considering. This reminded me that one of the rear tyres was a bit flat when I took it out of storage, checked the pressures tonight and hey presto the O/S/R was sitting at about 15 PSI. Needless to say, it's now been corrected. My bad.

So, today's thought for the day is look after your tyres.. I'm sure if the O/S/R had been at ~30 PSI like the rest the car would have pulled up straight and true. It's quite reassuring though to have found out how well the brakes work in a demanding situation.. a light car and suitably servo'ed brakes = good stopping power. I wish the team who designed the Panda had thought about this.. my 100HP tries to pitch you through the windscreen on the lightest touch of the pedal. But then, it's got ABS so it's safe, right?

Cheers,

Plug

 

[bumble]

I had a similar experience in my SLK a few weeks ago when I met a car head on travelling over a crest. He was on the wrong side of double white lines. Luckily I was in my SLK and came to a complete stop from 50mph. If I had been in the Barchetta, I dont think I would have been typing this. I still like the non ABS though - just dont take it for granted.

Steve

 

[barch]

well, I was about to post the same title, but only to ask about the best brake disc/pad and tyre combo..? Got to get both done soon, and want the best at a good price of course..

anyway, good to hear it all worked out, and shame on the Yaris yob /

 

[bumble]

I replaced the rear discs and pads with Mintex products. Seem fine to me but I am a generally moderate driver. Steve

 

[s130]

Tyre pressures are always important and as you found out balance is crucial in a non ABS car.

Expanding the subject a little further the following generally holds true:

1) Higher tyre pressure decrease contact area, increase MPG, increase cornering ability under fast/power/race DRY conditions (sidewall roll off/stability)

2) Lower tyre pressures increase contact area (but reduce sidewall stability). Good for straight line braking, power 0-60mph take-offs and general wet handling

For most the manufacturer's recommended pressures cover the bulk of everyday motoring but for the serious then playing with tyre pressures can have good to dramatic effects. For example, for front wheel drive cars then understeer can be dialled out by increasing rear tyre pressure over those of the front.

ABS, traction control, emergency break assist and stability control functions in modern braking systems has, IMHO, completely dummed down the importance tyre choice, pressures, and what one might call overcall car craft.

The most/all vehicle hanbooks say "check you tyre pressures weekly". We read this as check for obvioulsy flat tyres. Add modern low and super low profile tyres into the equations and one can see where it all starts to go wrong before the incident.