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Reply to "My Speedster replica brakes suck"

 

In a panic stop in our wunder cars, with front discs and rear drums, you will lock up the fronts and skid unpredictably.

The big advantage of four wheel discs is that you will lock up the front wheels and skid in a straight line.

OK, just joking. Sort of.

Not locking up the fronts requires that you learn to feel the road through the steering, recognize when they're starting to lock up, and ease up on the pedal to just keep the wheels rolling. In a modern car, you don't have to learn how to do that (the ABS does it for you), but welcome to the world of 1950s driving. Getting the hang of this in the Speedster makes you a better driver in all of your cars.

Part of driving any car well is to always know what each wheel is doing and when any wheel is getting near the limit. Watch one of those European rally drivers at work. They're sideways more than not, and able to get down the road quicker by using just the right amount of power, brake, and lock. They're always just on the edge of sliding into the weeds, but by learning where that edge is, they stay in control.

ABS, traction control, lane assist, and reactive cruise control are all inventions for folks who don't want to be bothered with paying attention and actually driving a car.

 

 

Last edited by Sacto Mitch
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