6 replies to this topic

[merlyn6]

I suspect the reason behind this is that since it is necessary to get on the brakes really hard to get them up to temperature and since it is easy to lose the rear end if there is to much rear bias, this arraignment allows hard braking without locking the rear wheels because the full pressure is not applied for a split second.

I know from club racing that professional drivers can accommodate more rear bias that we amateurs can.

I also notice that my brake bias moves more to the front the older I get

Anyone else have some thoughts on this?

[RDV]

It all stems to the fact that just as you apply the brakes, and you have fixed bias, you will not be using the maximum capacity of tyres through the speed range...I.E. if the brake proportioning is biased say 60/40% and you are at top speed with a car that has a 42/56% weight distribuition, you cannot apply max braking pressure as the fronts will lock before the rears...when you have full weight transfer to front the fronts will be ok , as the rears....
Having a varying bias you can use the maximum braking force from high speed to low speed... easily achievable though a brake proportioning valve, usualy off a production car, that limits rear pressure to a fixed value... thus avoiding rear brake lockup...hope I was clear enough as rather difficult to implement, never mind explain... plus having a rear bias helps combat dreaded understeer as it will degrade rear tyre lateral capacity in the turn-in phase, thus helping turn-in....there are umpteen different ways of choosing your proportion profile...

[merlyn6]

I do know from experience that if you have proper bias on low to medium speed corner entry the bias will be too much to the rear on high speed corner entry causing snap oversteer.

This also happens if corner entry is downhill.

If you set bias to the point that the front wheels lockup before the rears on maximum braking you will not have full effectiveness when you start to trail off the brakes.

My thinking was that Ferrari’s system allows more effective braking without rear lockup in the first few milliseconds of high speed braking which is not really possible with a fixed bias no matter what the ratio.

By fixed I mean fixed for that particular corner, but still cockpit adjustable

But then all my experience is in non-wing cars, so I might be way off base here.

[Manson]

Originally posted by RDV
42/56% weight distribuition

Where's the other 2%?

[Manson]

Seriously though. Schumacher used to adjust his bias all the time during a lap. Perhaps the lever is just an easier and more precise method of having 2 or more bias maps for a given track?

[RDV]

Manson-Where's the other 2%?

...just finished a 36 hour plane trip and am 12 hours out of phase after race weekend with usual 4hours sleep per night...so a little incoherent not to mention numerically challenged
merlin6 explained it better...and wing cars the same apart from even more transfer due to rake change and consequent CP shift..

[jokuvaan]

Perhaps the lever is just

way to get around the rules as far as I understand