Delaminate, debond, dees brakes came apart
06-22-2010, 05:21 PM
#1
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Delaminate, debond, dees brakes came apart
I was on Mulholland near the Rock Store doing a few of passes when the brakes came apart. Ordinarily, Mulholland by the Rock Store is frequented by sportbikes and allegedly fast cars. The bikers frown upon cars because they’re too damned slow. They are especially slow when the brakes fail. 
At the Rock Store, I usually spend most of my time taking pictures while parked at the lookout. There is usually something interesting every week.
For those that don’t know, you’re looking at a delaminated pad.
Delamination occurs when the pads get hot enough to melt the adhesive material that bonds the backing plate and the friction material. In this case, I got a bad pad. The pads were OE MB pads, 53 weeks old, had been mounted on brand new OE MB rotors, had 17K miles on them, and were about half gone.
I’ve driven MB press cars at Willow all day (usually 6 hours), and one of the more impressive things about them is how well the brakes hold up - all day with no fade (which usually means I’m not pressing it hard enough). Here’s a comparison - Camaro press cars have no brakes after a morning session, when the weather is cool (maybe I am pushing it hard). My personal car sees zero track time, so that didn’t contribute to the pad failure. I didn’t have an IR pyrometer with me, but the rotors weren’t discolored and the pads weren’t smoking. In fact, the pads on the opposite side were fine. Oh well, build enough pads and a few will HAVE to be bad (driving them kind of hard may increase the odds). A fluid flush, fresh pads, and, uh, is anyone up for a trip to the Rock Store?
At the Rock Store, I usually spend most of my time taking pictures while parked at the lookout. There is usually something interesting every week.For those that don’t know, you’re looking at a delaminated pad.
I’ve driven MB press cars at Willow all day (usually 6 hours), and one of the more impressive things about them is how well the brakes hold up - all day with no fade (which usually means I’m not pressing it hard enough). Here’s a comparison - Camaro press cars have no brakes after a morning session, when the weather is cool (maybe I am pushing it hard). My personal car sees zero track time, so that didn’t contribute to the pad failure. I didn’t have an IR pyrometer with me, but the rotors weren’t discolored and the pads weren’t smoking. In fact, the pads on the opposite side were fine. Oh well, build enough pads and a few will HAVE to be bad (driving them kind of hard may increase the odds). A fluid flush, fresh pads, and, uh, is anyone up for a trip to the Rock Store?
06-22-2010, 07:22 PM
#4
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Hey Marcus... guess its a good thing they still had enough meat to hold together and not create a BIG void for the backing plates to make up at an inopportune time! Did you feel a clunk or what clued you in??
06-23-2010, 12:43 AM
#6
MBWorld Fanatic!
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That's him. Everybody hits the Rock Store. For those that are unfamiliar, it's not uncommon for there to be a literal 100+ motorcycles at the Rock Store.
That could have gone very wrong a lot of ways. The friction material could have gotten wedged between backing plate and the rotor. A single wheel lockup on Mulholland probably would have resulted in "other pictures".
I knew something was wrong because the brakes were noisy (a light squeal, even when i wasn't on the brakes) and they didn't bite like they normally do.
I knew something was wrong because the brakes were noisy (a light squeal, even when i wasn't on the brakes) and they didn't bite like they normally do.
