Who wants to help me out find brakes?

"YSI-what can brown do for you" (ysi-what-can-brown-do-for-you) 01/22/2014 at 17:39 • Filed to: None

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So I am joining the solar car club, and my friend wants me to help find a good braking system for the car. . . sadly I have no idea where to start. My knowledge of brakes deals with non-solar cars.

Textured Soy Protein > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 17:42

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Assuming this is something uber lightweight, probably motorcycle brakes instead of car brakes.

For example, Wilwood makes a bunch of motorcycle brake parts.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Textured Soy Protein 01/22/2014 at 17:44

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Good idea! Don't need a lot of braking force when the car weighs 500lbs or something.

Bad Idea Hat > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 17:47

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This is going to sound insane, but see if any local race team would happen to have any that they're considering pitching. They might have some very lightweight brakes.

desertdog5051 > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 17:49

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Without more details regarding weight, go to JPCycles.

http://www.jpcycles.com/motorcycle-bra…

YSI-what can brown do for you > Bad Idea Hat 01/22/2014 at 17:51

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Will they work at low temps, that is the question. No harm in asking.

N/A POWAAAHH > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 17:55

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Are you aiming for energy efficiency? How about steal some regenerative brakes from a hybrid/prius (they have those right?)

Textured Soy Protein > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 18:03

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This is assuming that the thing actually has a hydraulic setup with enough power to actuate a motorcycle brake caliper. Below that you could look at bicycle hydraulic disc brake setups.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Textured Soy Protein 01/22/2014 at 18:06

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I think the braking system will be hydraulic. If not, it will be very hard to do road trips in.

Bad Idea Hat > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 18:16

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Ehhh...that might be tricky.

You know, if you're looking for low temps, check out snowmobile brakes. That's the epitome of low temperature for a braking application.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Bad Idea Hat 01/22/2014 at 18:17

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Well it is going to be used at highway speeds in the summer, so it doesn't have to be freezing either. High performance bike brakes might work.

Bad Idea Hat > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 18:20

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That sounds like your safest bet then.

f86sabre > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 19:54

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Go hydraulic. We used a mountain bike set up on our Red Bull Soapbox a couple of years ago and it slowed me down, but I still hit the hay bails at a good clip.

awe46m3zcp > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/22/2014 at 21:12

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I think a bicycle disc brake setup is your best bet for a solar car. Plenty of stopping force for a few hundred pounds, and super light.

YSI-what can brown do for you > f86sabre 01/22/2014 at 21:33

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We are going hydaulic. I am still deciding whether I should use motorcycle or bike brakes on the car. It only weighs 212lbs(the old one at least), so I think motorcycle brakes may work but might be overkill.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/23/2014 at 11:35

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When figuring out the braking power that you need, don't forget the weight of the driver. On a solar car that will likely be pretty significant. And motorcycle brakes are probably your best bet. Maybe look at the small offroad bikes, their brakes will be smaller & lighter.

YSI-what can brown do for you > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/23/2014 at 13:34

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I think the whole car with driver is around 450lbs. After doing a bit of searching, you can run mountain bike brakes but most teams that do usually have regenerative braking, and we don't. The Formula SAE peeps have motorcycle brakes and their car is twice as heavy as ours, so it should be more than enough.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > YSI-what can brown do for you 01/23/2014 at 13:56

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Take a look at ATV braking systems. The sport ATV's (Honda 450R for example) are probably right in the 400-500 pound range. Granted they are operated in very different conditions, but would give you a good starting point and probably a fairly lightweight system.

YSI-what can brown do for you > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/23/2014 at 13:59

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It all depends on which one is lighter. If the ATV ones are then, we will go with that. Don't really care about stopping power or feel here. Thanks for the idea!