Do the big brakes make a big difference?

[Chris Fain]

Agree w/ most of what is being said, it really boils down to what you will use the car most for. With bigger brakes comes getting brake bias correct. They tend to lock up rears more easily when not dialed in. Pads are first and foremost. Good bite on stock rotor is still alot of horsepower for braking for the Miatas.
Fronts should be alittle more agressive than the rears. Brake fade should be minimum w/ either set-up as these are momentum cars.
I set mine up with a Hard-Dog Double X-bar and harness bar, then did the sway bars. For fun, go w/ sways first, noticeably different. However, noticed a great deal of chassis stability w/ the roll bar first.

[icepenguin66]

Agree w/ most of what is being said, it really boils down to what you will use the car most for. With bigger brakes comes getting brake bias correct. They tend to lock up rears more easily when not dialed in. Pads are first and foremost. Good bite on stock rotor is still alot of horsepower for braking for the Miatas.
Fronts should be alittle more agressive than the rears. Brake fade should be minimum w/ either set-up as these are momentum cars.
I set mine up with a Hard-Dog Double X-bar and harness bar, then did the sway bars. For fun, go w/ sways first, noticeably different. However, noticed a great deal of chassis stability w/ the roll bar first.

Unless you're running race pads like a Spec car you shouldn't have a problem locking the rears up. Very few people are going to need to install a bias adjuster for the brakes, only the hard core racers like Gary. Upgrading to the larger factory rotors is not going to upset any brake bias unless you use different pads in front than in the rear.

[Chris Fain]

Yes,
With bigger brakes I would use same pads. Stock rotor set-up can use initial bite w/ fronts stronger. Also I wouldn't use proportioning valve either. My Miata
still has stock set-up, I was just passing info. from others. Initial bite is really all
I'm after for my purpose, but brake fade might be an issue for others using track setups. I have not experienced serious fade yet, my tires usually get greasy first. Also, my time sessions have not been more than 15-20 minutes either. Theirs alot to still learn for me yet.

[icepenguin66]

Yes,
With bigger brakes I would use same pads. Stock rotor set-up can use initial bite w/ fronts stronger. Also I wouldn't use proportioning valve either. My Miata
still has stock set-up, I was just passing info. from others. Initial bite is really all
I'm after for my purpose, but brake fade might be an issue for others using track setups. I have not experienced serious fade yet, my tires usually get greasy first. Also, my time sessions have not been more than 15-20 minutes either. Theirs alot to still learn for me yet.

Yeah, 15 min sessions don't work the brakes too hard...usually enough cool down time in between. I did manage to lock up a front today at Hallett with RA1 tires and Hawk Black race pads! Don't believe I've ever done that before...I have spun/locked the rears before of course.

[altiain]

Agree w/ most of what is being said, it really boils down to what you will use the car most for. With bigger brakes comes getting brake bias correct. They tend to lock up rears more easily when not dialed in. Pads are first and foremost. Good bite on stock rotor is still alot of horsepower for braking for the Miatas.
Fronts should be alittle more agressive than the rears. Brake fade should be minimum w/ either set-up as these are momentum cars.
I set mine up with a Hard-Dog Double X-bar and harness bar, then did the sway bars. For fun, go w/ sways first, noticeably different. However, noticed a great deal of chassis stability w/ the roll bar first.

Huh?

Every Miata I've ever driven had heavily front-biased stock brakes. The '01+ "big" brakes are the best balanced on any non-ABS Miata setup, but they are still front-biased as delivered form the factory. That's just corporate CYA - cars with heavily front-biased non-ABS brakes tend to plow under lockup instead of spinning, and plowing cars produce fewer lawsuits than cars prone to snap spin under panic braking.

Installing more aggressive front pads may make you feel like you've improved the braking by giving you better initial bite and perhaps improving modulation, but I guarantee you that you could shorten your stopping distances by running a more aggressive rear pad, all other things being equal.

[icepenguin66]

Huh?

Every Miata I've ever driven had heavily front-biased stock brakes. The '01+ "big" brakes are the best balanced on any non-ABS Miata setup, but they are still front-biased as delivered form the factory. That's just corporate CYA - cars with heavily front-biased non-ABS brakes tend to plow under lockup instead of spinning, and plowing cars produce fewer lawsuits than cars prone to snap spin under panic braking.

Installing more aggressive front pads may make you feel like you've improved the braking by giving you better initial bite and perhaps improving modulation, but I guarantee you that you could shorten your stopping distances by running a more aggressive rear pad, all other things being equal.

Okay, the first paragraph I understand and agree, but the second? I know some of the Spec guys will use the aggressive race pads up front and use a less aggressive pad in the rear since they are not allowed a proportioning valve. One example, a guy uses Hawk blue race pads in front and HP Plus in rear.