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Racing Brake Calipers Clamping Pressure- What Effects It and How It Affects Braking Performance

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Drifthq USA
Racing Brake Calipers Clamping Pressure- What Effects It and How It Affects Braking Performance

In a high-performance braking system, a high-performance brake caliper will be standard. Strong race brake calipers withstand flex and torsion, and many pistons provide additional brake pad contacts. This combination of characteristics increases brake caliper clamping force without adverse effects.


Only installing one of these elements won't help the braking system because they operate together. A brake caliper replacement increases a vehicle's stopping ability. Upgraded brake pads and rotors should accompany the caliper upgrade to disperse heat and increase braking stopping force.


Caliper Types


Racing Brake Calipers are either floating or fixed. Floating brake calipers feature only one piston on one arm, and fixed brake calipers contain pistons on both arms to simultaneously apply pressure to both rotors ends.

Higher caliper pistons mean more brake pad pressure. Due to how hydraulic systems function, a more excellent piston or pad surface on the brake rotor does not enhance gripping power or stopping force. Multiple pistons in a caliper and greater piston diameters improve brake stopping force. More or bigger pistons increase mechanical strength.


Fluid pressure is applied in the piston chamber when the driver presses on the brake pedal from the driver's seat. Fixed calipers require additional braking fluid compression due to extra piston chambers. Increasing brake pedal travel adds fluid compression but doesn't enhance petal compression force.


Fixed 6-piston brake caliper


Many brake calipers have 4, 6, 8, or 12 pistons. These calipers use for racing cars and aftermarket street cars.


Brake caliper supports


Increasing the piston caliper area won't assist the driver unless the bracket material can sustain the extra clamping force. Like any metal, flex and torsion are inherent. The more pistons in a high-performance caliper, the stronger the alloy must be. A reputable producer of high-performance brake calipers will test its parts under simulated stresses.


Engineering brake calipers


High-quality performance brake calipers feature graded piston sizes. Front caliper pistons heat up faster than rear pistons in fixed-position systems, and Front-end pistons will have reduced diameters to level out brake pad heat. Glazing on the brake pad's front end will result in poor brake handling during a race, so get a racing brake caliper set with the proper engineering.


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