Birel CMX-32 Brakes

[BARRY MAYERS]

Hi,

I am having some problems with my brakes; I just don’t think the pads are working the best. Do they have different types of grade pads?

I am getting out braked by a Marnello & Paul Tracy karts that are about 8 years old, so I am very embarrassed!

Any help would be grateful

Thanks

Barry

[Garry Lobaugh]

New pads are suggested. We have the best brake system in the business and new pads will improve your performance. There are other discussions in the past history on this forum that have addressed this subject.
Let me share this: In the successful past campaigns that Alex Speed mounted with our product, brake pads were his highest volume consumable. It worked. In many cases a customer will go a full second per lap faster with new pads.

In this day when people spend thousands to buy better motors, why not spend a $100 to improve your braking experience?

[BARRY MAYERS]

Hi Garry,

Thanks for the reply.

So even if the brakes have only done 4 races since new and seem to have a lot of pad left on them that they should be replaced? Or do you think it is a matter of resurfacing the pads and disc and trying them again?

Thanks

Barry

[Marc Miller]

It is more important to make sure your brake system is cleaned regularly. If you are experiencing less stopping power after a few races - it has less to do with pad wear and more to do with pad gap and brake dust build up.

Remember that rotors and pad "bed" in - and that bedding process creates grooves and pits that brake dust builds up in. Regularly cleaning of your rotor AND pads to clear brake dust and oils away will help.

In addition, as the pads wear, pedal travel increases slightly - even after 4 race weekends. The brake shims are utilized to keep pedal travel the same, and just as important, the same amount of leverage on the pedal in relation to your master cylinder actuator.

I regularly clean the rotor and pads with brake clean in between sessions just to kep the system clear of debris and dust. It is also the lst thing I do - since it is possible to get contaminants like tri-flo or another lubricant on your rotor just from lubricating your bearings. Accidental, but can contribute to glazing of the pads.

I have used pads right down to about 5mm material thickness (older pds - the newer pads are thinner to begin with and are ceramic).... but it is not ideal to let it go that long as it is hard to keep your pedal travel optimum. A new set of pads bedded properly is very good advice for that added performance.

[Garry Lobaugh]

Nice report Mark.

I want to go back to the out braking by the other two brands mentioned. Might I suggest the drivers trade karts and drive each others karts. Maybe it is a difference in the brake pedal modulation.

What I mean by this follows:
For the Birel to work best, we want to brake in a straight line.
The trick now becomes how deep and how hard do we brake. My preference is to start to ease into the pad and then give it a steady increase in foot pressure. Depending on the engine HP and the type of corner, I would give the last millisecond of the braking sequence an extra nudge to try to break the rear of the kart loose and point it in the new direction.

Without seeing you drive and your kart operate I can't offer much more info. I wish we could be everywhere, but we can't. I do know that this brake system is one of the best we have ever had.

[BARRY MAYERS]

Thanks for that excellent feedback, i will surely spend some time on the brakes now to get them better.

But my last question is to do with shimming, i see on th Go Birel site under "How To" that i should not use more that 0.5mm shims on the front, but if i only use 0.5mm, then how do i get the pedal closer to the disc, and get all the play out of the pedal??

Thanks in advance

Barry