Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Brakes Performance Brake Upgrade

I just spoke to an engineer I know at Baer who confirmed what I'm trying to say, and pointed me to their website for a little bit of an explanation. Unfortunately it doesn't go into the engineering detail I was looking for and he didn't sound like he had the time to give me his treatise personally , but anyway, it says: Although virtually any brake system can be spiked into locking a rotor or activating the ABS, the true measure of a performance brake system is how close it allows you to come to the point just shy of locking. This is affected by a number of elements. Some of the most important are caliper stability and leverage affect on the rotor, which increases with rotor diameter. In simple terms, the more stable a caliper and the more evenly it can apply the pads to the rotor surface, the faster your car will stop.

These guys aren't guessing at this...