Racers with Hydroboost?
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
for one thing when working on the brakes, bleeding, shoes/pads all that BS stuff, and when you drive it first time or two, it seems fine....
after a week, the pedal is back to soft and squishey....but not with HB...so go figger, sure the pedal goes down a 1/2 inch further for the pads wearing in, but nowhere NEAR to the floor, no matter what....
not even close on the amount of pedal movement 1/3 the way down, if that much and you got lockup....love it....
OH, and I know the brakes are releasing all the way, on account of I pull it into neutral on the garage, on that slight drainage incline..and it rolls back outta the garage...jack up the front/rear and I can feel just the slightest bit of drag off the pads....perfect, and been that way for nearly 3 years now....
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 491
Likes: 12
From: Los Altos Hills, CA
I am just guessing here, but the hydroboost can probably cover a multitiude of sins in the braking system. A small amount of pedal travel in a hydroboost generates huge amounts of pressure in the system. Your calipers could be on fire and the hydroboost wouldn't care.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 154
Likes: 1
From: Azle TX
I'm at a loss too as to why I don't have fluid boiling problems like I used to. In my case it may be more than having the hydroboost since after I installed it I started using a pressure bleeder to bleed my brakes. I may have had some trapped air in the system before with conventional bleeding techniques. I loaned the bleeder to a friend who races a C4 and was having fluid boiling issues. After he pressure bled his brakes he stopped having problems. So curing the fluid boiling problems may not be related at all to the hydroboost. On the other hand, before I started using the hydroboost I was on the brakes longer to get the car whoaed down. Now I can get slowed down in a shorter distance with less time on the brakes so less heat generated. I think, too, that even if the fluid does boil there is so much pressure generated with the HB that the gas as well as the fluid is compressed and you don't get that mushy pedal feel like you do with the vacuum booster.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 154
Likes: 1
From: Azle TX
, the same amount of heat would be generated but if you're on the brakes less in any given corner then there's more time for them to cool down before the next heat cycle. On a 10 or 15 turn course that cooling time can add up pretty quickly.
C6 the C5 of tomorrow
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 6,665
Likes: 2
From: Twin Cities Minnesota
Yes the pedal pressure is a little higher than a boosted car, but I'm not that weak ;-)
Drifting
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 1,542
Likes: 43
From: Plano TX
Haven't done autoX cross but have done a few track days at MSR in Cresson and the Hydraboost was a big improvement. It feels more linear to me.
Right now I run the hydraboost with front Wilwood calipers. Plan on the 13 inch rotor soon as I already have the brackets from Kieth.
Right now I run the hydraboost with front Wilwood calipers. Plan on the 13 inch rotor soon as I already have the brackets from Kieth.
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Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
That's my opinion too. I feel I have much better control over the brakes, and better feel than I did before.
