Article below as originally printed in SportCompactCar, December 2008 Issue
By Wesley Hamachi
Immediately after the acceleration testing was completed, owners surrendered their cars for the 80-0 mph braking test. Each car's brakes were given three runs to pull off their shortest stopping distance.
350Z: The hired shoe for this car had asked us to lightly tap the pedal before initiating the braking run with the justification that, "on this brake setup, it will settle the pads into the correct position within the caliper." It was not clear if this recommendation was to help the car perform better or to trick us into starting the braking run from below the 85mph start speed. The question was answered during the third run, when we achieved the shortest stopping distance with the brakes "untapped" and braking initiated at the standard 85 mph.
Lancer Evolution VIII: Since most parts are optimized quite well on a factory-fresh Evo, some owners will unknowingly swap stuff out for poorer performing and lower quality parts. Bigger is not always better. This car was equipped with a good set of Performance Friction pads and rotors, with stock calipers. With a good pedal feel, this Evo stopped well with a consistent runs under the 200-foot mark. Stock calipers can go a long way with the Evo VIII.
Impreza L: This is a perfect example of why auto manufacturers spend millions of dollars designing braking systems for newer cars. OEMs consider weight, wheelbase, tire size, and many other factors when designing braking systems. Everything about this Subie was good, except for the stoppers. When we applied the brakes, the car's middle pedal pulsated violently, making you want to yell, "Holy jolts of thunder, Batman!" Something was not right with the balance of the car. This made the ABS pump excessively, which increased the stopping distance.
R35 GT-R: With the reputation of this car's stock Brembos, superb braking is what you would expect from the latest generation of GT-R. With all the electronics built into this machine, it does everything for you, except the rudimentary act of what we call "pushing your foot down on the brake pedal." Still, braking was very linear, even when the ABS kicked in.
R32 GT-R: Surprisingly, one of the oldest cars in the USCC gave the best braking numbers. Generally, Skyline GT-Rs are known as pigs because of their weight, but not this R32. This Brembo aftermarket kit ended up providing the best speed reduction of all the cars tested.
Audi Coupe Quattro: You don't see too many Audis running around at the track and it was good to see one in this competition. Prior to the braking test, 034 Motorsport explained how to use the selectable ABS, which was a little black button in the center of the dash. The plan was to test the car with ABS, test it without ABS, and then run the car in whichever mode yielded the shortest stopping distance. The first run was made without ABS. During deceleration, at somewhere around 50 mph, the car exhibited a little bit of oversteer. While braking, we should not have to make any steering corrections. The problem then disappeared when we turned the ABS back on for the last two runs. Note to self, "Don't drive this Audi with the ABS turned off."
Mazda3: Something had gone afoul with the Mazda's motor right before the braking test, but somehow we managed to limp the car up to 85 mph to get one braking run recorded. The car's brakes felt a bit weak. Perhaps if the motor was working properly, we could have put more heat into the brakes to get them to stop a little better. Thinking about it now, we should have just used Project Corolla to push this car up to speed in order to finish off the rest of the runs.
Evolution X: Like the Evo VIII, the AMS entry had a very well-balanced braking setup. The car was very stable and stopped just 1-foot shorter than the new GT-R. The pedal pressure also stayed firm during the entire run, which should give confidence on the road course.
BMW 325i: How can this car have such big brakes and not stop? It's like having a 1,000whp dyno queen and driving through a tight road course. This Bimmer had a lot of brakes, but they just weren't useable. During the first three-quarters of the pedal travel, you don't feel anything. During the last quarter of the pedal travel, you get a "mushy" feeling. Even with a monster leg press pushing the pedal to the floor, this BMW just seemed to be coasting to a stop.
Rank
Car
80-0 mph
Braking Distance
Points
Peanut Gallery
1
R32 Skyline GT-R
170
110
Old dog learning a new trick
2
Nissan 350Z
177
105
Body kits can stop
3
Lancer Evo X
189
96
You finished building this car when?
4
R35 GT-R
190
95
Even a monkey could stop an R35
5
Lancer Evo VIII
192
93
Know when to mess with stock
6
Mazda3
255
46
Less tire, more fire
7
BMW 325i
269
36
Clear the gravel traps!
8
Audi Coupe Quattro
299
13
Squirrelly under braking
9
Impreza L
303
10
STi parts, not quite STi performance
Article below as originally printed in SportCompactCar, December 2008 Issue
