J richard

Watching my DVR'd aussie V8s and had to rewind to make sure I didn't misunderstand the accent and heard this right, but they talked specifically about "waterbrakes" and spraying atomized water into the brake ducts to reduce brake temps and braking capacity. Sounds like a stupid simple solution anyone know of a system or seen this in other forms of racing?

flatsics

http://www.seinesystems.com/MPC-BrakeCool.htm

333pg333

Very innovative those Aussies!!

J richard

Yea, they seemed to suggest that running out of water was pretty close to running out of fluid, it was that big a contributor to the overall braking capability of the car. I know in dry arid climates ithe cooling effect can be huge.I'm doing bug buildings where it is a basic source of air tempering. Anyone use one or been on a team that used one? I could see a compressed air/water bottle with a misting atomizer nozzle spraying into the brake duct. A solenoid valve tapped to the brake light would be all it takes. High pressure misting systems are all over the place for cooling around here. Then I could run one to spray in the cockpit fesh air blower....hmm

J richard

Anyone think this would be legal in a spec series? Gts?

winders

Good rule of thumb: If the rules don't say you can do it, it is probably illegal to do it.

My advice? Ask the those in charge of the rules if it would be legal to use water mist in the brake cooling ducts. If they say it is, get it in writing.

Scott

mklaskin

My car came with a large aluminum canister for exactly that purpose. The brake temp sensors alert Motec to high(er) temps, which cause the pump to automatically mist the rotors. The team I bought it from removed the pump, but I am considering reinstalling one to see if it works.

Larry Herman

I'm sure it works as water heated to steam (by the brakes) provides a phenominal amount of cooling. I have 2 thoughts on it: #1 would it still provide predictable braking or could it overcool and #2 what kind of corrosive muck will steam & brake dust produce?

stuttgart46

This and how does the temperature difference/inversion not crack the rotors?
I have often thought about redirecting the washer fluid bottle to the front brakes but that was the first time I have actually seen or heard of it being done.

Matt Romanowski

This has been done for a long time in different race groups. How do you think they get the brakes to last on in the Mack truck racing in Europe?

Larry Herman

Yeah, but just because it is done does not mean that there aren't side effects to be dealt with. It just means that the positives in that instance outweigh the negatives.

Veloce Raptor

Yup, you read my mind--was just about to post this.

Scootin159

Biggest concern I would see is that it could be used to cheat the scales (depending on how your series works) - that's why it was initially used in F1 years ago, and also why it was immediately banned at the same time.

However, if your car is weighed post-race without allowing you to top up fluids (how most series I'm familiar with work now), I don't see how this could be used to 'cheat' such a system.

J richard

The key is you aren't hosing the rotors down with water but using evaporative cooling to lower the incoming cooling air and increasing the air's ability to transfer heat away (latent heat evaporation). The fact that the rotors are so hot there's no way you could keep water in liquid form anywhere near it. Clever clever...

Veloce Raptor

Yup, IIRC they are misting the cooling air coming into the ducts, not the brake hardware itself.