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I love my Brembos!

2.5K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  kenschel  
#1 ·
Had it not been for the amazing brakes our "R"s ship with, I probably would have been in an accident today.

Someone slammed his brakes right in front of me on the highway today and I had cars on both sides, so I couldn't swerve to the next lane. It got to a point when I thought the crash was inevitable, as I decided not to slam on my breaks all the way down afraid the car would lose control. However, a second quick thought made me floor the pedal and the rest is history. The "R" remained very stable as I applied the brakes very aggressively and I was able to avoid the collision.

Thank you, Brembo! http://********************/smile/emthup.gif Thank you, Volvo! http://********************/smile/emthup.gif
 
#7 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (Razor1973)

Had a similar experience after owning my V70R for only a couple of months.

A guy who I assume was drunk, lurched into my lane (high-speed lane on an interstate) as I was beginning to pass his SUV. We missed by only inches, when I stood on the brakes hard & steered left.

The car behind me was an M3, & that driver was apparently both sober & paying attention because I didn't get rear-ended, either.

Amazing stopping power with those Brembos, & I could really feel the brake assist clamp down hard.

A lesson I've read about numerous times is to brake first & then steer, to let the ABS do its job properly & help keep the vehicle under control. Steering first & then jumping on the brakes sometimes results in vehicles ending up in unintended places, like a ditch . . . although that may be more of an issue with cars that lack electronic stability control.

- Mark
 
#8 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (geoguy)

One thing I wish Volvo would do is encourage each new owner to find an empty lot and take a couple of panic stop and steer runs. This simple orientation would go a long way in accident avoidance (i.e., knowing when to stomp vs. quickly press the brake and how the car steers under braking.)

The other thing Volvo and all makers need to do is emphasize how important it is for people to understand that they don't want to countersteer if they have a stability control system as they'll end up exactly where they don't want to go. Anything short of an active demo (e.g., just putting it in the owners manual) isn't going to change decades of learned behavior.

Quote, originally posted by geoguy »
...
A lesson I've read about numerous times is to brake first & then steer, to let the ABS do its job properly & help keep the vehicle under control. Steering first & then jumping on the brakes sometimes results in vehicles ending up in unintended places, like a ditch . . . although that may be more of an issue with cars that lack electronic stability control.

- Mark
 
#9 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (rollie)

Volvo did more than that, sent a bunch of us to advanced driver training.

Awesome videos and pics of slaloms, wet slaloms, high speed ovals, emergency braking, and reviews of how the Volvos including two Rs performed.
http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=42445
 
#10 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! ("R" Kelly)

SCHWEET http://********************/smile/emthup.gif http://********************/smile/emthup.gif
How did I possibly miss that thread this summer.

DAYUM that looks like fun (I would love to beat the snot out an R like that, just not my R of course)

Kinda reminds me of my early Skip Barber driving instruction days.
 
#11 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! ("R" Kelly)

Yup, I was aware of that but it's more the exception than the rule. If Volvo offered this regularly and made each buyer aware of the option I'd be mighty impressed - but they (nor any other manufacturer) don't.

Quote, originally posted by "R" Kelly »
Volvo did more than that, sent a bunch of us to advanced driver training.

Awesome videos and pics of slaloms, wet slaloms, high speed ovals, emergency braking, and reviews of how the Volvos including two Rs performed.
http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=42445
 
#12 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (rollie)

Quote, originally posted by rollie »

The other thing Volvo and all makers need to do is emphasize how important it is for people to understand that they don't want to countersteer if they have a stability control system as they'll end up exactly where they don't want to go. Anything short of an active demo (e.g., just putting it in the owners manual) isn't going to change decades of learned behavior.

Lost me with that, I though you needed to counter steer to get the stability control to kick in.
 
#13 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (vintagemilano)

Nope, if you have stability control engaged the whole idea is to point the car where you want it to go and not to try to counteract what the car is doing (the system will do it for you.) You made my point though - you're a knowledgable enthusiast and you weren't aware of this. There really does need to be a grass-roots re-education program on stability control systems.

Quote, originally posted by vintagemilano »


Lost me with that, I though you needed to counter steer to get the stability control to kick in.
 
#14 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (JimLill)

Quote, originally posted by JimLill »
thank the EBA too.... Emergenecy Brake Assist

Absolutely, Jim. EBA, most likely, saved him...not the Brembos.

Yannis
 
#15 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (rollie)

Quote, originally posted by rollie »
Nope, if you have stability control engaged the whole idea is to point the car where you want it to go and not to try to counteract what the car is doing (the system will do it for you.) You made my point though - you're a knowledgable enthusiast and you weren't aware of this. There really does need to be a grass-roots re-education program on stability control systems.

We are talking about the same thing. If you are turning left and your back end swings to the right then you will have to turn the wheel to the right. I was always told that's counter steering as you are turning counter to the direction of the road which in this example is going to the left.
The only thing that people need to do with stability control is to keep driving and not give up and let the car do it's thing.
 
#17 ·
I love my Brembo's too.

I read that old thread and realized I missed it originally as I was offline for a month while PCS'ing. Fantastic stuff. R Kelly you lead a blessed life it seems.

I've seen the "Test" V70 R in your pics several times in the "Auto Motor und Sport" place across from the Nurburgring.
 
#18 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! ("R" Kelly)

so, R Kelly, based on your experiences on the track last summer, would you say that DSTC kicks in at the proper time to retain control?

I ask because recently on snow I've been a little creeped out at how late it feels to me that DSTC activates
(http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=49523)

but this hasn't occured during a true panic situation or while pushing it to the limit

thanks for any thoughts....
 
#20 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (rollie)

Quote, originally posted by rollie »
One thing I wish Volvo would do is encourage each new owner to find an empty lot and take a couple of panic stop and steer runs. This simple orientation would go a long way in accident avoidance (i.e., knowing when to stomp vs. quickly press the brake and how the car steers under braking.)

That would make a great R Bunch activity. Do you think you can find a good parking lot, get the waivers, etc? http://********************/smile/emthup.gif http://********************/smile/emthup.gif
 
#21 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (Lead Foot 60)

Find a decent parking lot - probably. Get waivers - not so sure but let's hone in on a parking lot first and we'll see what I can do. (The first one that comes to mind is the tarmac/lot out between Fry's in Renton and Boeing field.)

We got any Boeing employees on the R forum?
Image


Quote, originally posted by Lead Foot 60 »


That would make a great R Bunch activity. Do you think you can find a good parking lot, get the waivers, etc? http://********************/smile/emthup.gif http://********************/smile/emthup.gif
 
#22 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (vintagemilano)

Quote, originally posted by vintagemilano »
We are talking about the same thing. If you are turning left and your back end swings to the right then you will have to turn the wheel to the right. I was always told that's counter steering as you are turning counter to the direction of the road which in this example is going to the left.
The only thing that people need to do with stability control is to keep driving and not give up and let the car do it's thing.

Except that the DSTC will have corrected the oversteer so quickly that you wont even need to "counter steer", heck you probably wont even have time to! At worst you'll just end up "straightening" the wheel.
 
#23 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (rollie)

Quote, originally posted by rollie »
Yup, I was aware of that but it's more the exception than the rule. If Volvo offered this regularly and made each buyer aware of the option I'd be mighty impressed - but they (nor any other manufacturer) don't.

Image


BMW has had the Performance Center for years now, and you can opt to have your car delivered there. If you do that (I did this a few years back), you get a 1/2 day on the track using their cars but one equivalent to the one you purchased. You practice ABS braking while turning, run an autocross course, and spend time on the skidpad (the pad was really fun in the M5 hanging the tail out all the way around ). This is totally free if you order a new BMW (actually a dealer is more inclined to give you a slightly better deal on a car since they have no costs to prep and deliver it). Just tell the dealer you want to take delivery at the Performance Center. You can also take courses there of various types, and the prices are reasonable except for the M-schools which are way overpriced imo. Oh yeah, if anyone has a teenage driver, they have 1-day and 2-day teen driving courses which are excellent. Both of my kids went to them when they were 15 for the 1-day, and then the 2-day when they were 17, and they learned an enormous amount.

Anyway, it is an exceptional facility with outstanding instructors.
 
#24 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (ChuckB)

Quote, originally posted by ChuckB »

BMW has had the Performance Center for years now, and you can opt to have your car delivered there. .

Does Porsche do something similar? I thought I read that some time ago.
 
#25 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (ChuckB)

You missed the point ChuckB. The issue is that this isn't readily available. A traveling forum like Volvo did with the Rs and S40/V50 on local tarmacs is much more readily accessible to the average buyer than having to hop on a plane and go to South Carolina.

Quote, originally posted by ChuckB »


Image


BMW has had the Performance Center for years now, and you can opt to have your car delivered there. If you do that (I did this a few years back), you get a 1/2 day on the track using their cars but one equivalent to the one you purchased. You practice ABS braking while turning, run an autocross course, and spend time on the skidpad (the pad was really fun in the M5 hanging the tail out all the way around ). This is totally free if you order a new BMW (actually a dealer is more inclined to give you a slightly better deal on a car since they have no costs to prep and deliver it). Just tell the dealer you want to take delivery at the Performance Center. You can also take courses there of various types, and the prices are reasonable except for the M-schools which are way overpriced imo. Oh yeah, if anyone has a teenage driver, they have 1-day and 2-day teen driving courses which are excellent. Both of my kids went to them when they were 15 for the 1-day, and then the 2-day when they were 17, and they learned an enormous amount.

Anyway, it is an exceptional facility with outstanding instructors.
 
#26 ·
Re: I love my Brembos! (rollie)

Quote, originally posted by rollie »
You missed the point ChuckB. The issue is that this isn't readily available. A traveling forum like Volvo did with the Rs and S40/V50 on local tarmacs is much more readily accessible to the average buyer than having to hop on a plane and go to South Carolina.


Ahh...got it. I didn't realize the link provided was a traveling show like that. You're right. A traveling education course like that would be a lot more useful. You know the best substitute would be to look into one's local autocross club(s) (SCCA or other) and join their novice program. Many clubs have mentors who follow novice drivers throughout their first year, ride with them, coach them, etc. I started out autocrossing as my first "serious" driving experience with a car back in 1975, and the experience you can get is substantial and very beneficial when you encounter an emergency situation on the highway. You'll automatically "look where you want to go" and know how hard you can use the brakes while turning, etc.