Porterfields

GHIT 0059 Wendy from Porterfield – Everything About Brakes and More

Wendy Charlier has been our primary contact at Porterfield since we started our team and has been with the company 20 years.  Wendy has a racing background from her family that goes back many years. 

Also, for those of you that are not familiar with them, Porterfield is a private company that services all kinds of performance applications related to the braking your car and heat management, including brake pads, rotors, calipers, fluids, full brake kits etc., as well as other aspects of performance & racing like suspension components, oil coolers, starters, heat protection items, and batteries, and many others items.  So if you need any brake pads for virtually any car or truck, they have them or will make them for you.

Highlights from this episode include:

Brake Pads Selection Factors

• What tracks
• The type of racing, historic, endurance autocross, dirt, etc.
• What use
• Car weight and horsepower etc.
• What heat/temperature is expected

Rotors

• Vented vs solid
• Drilled and/or slotted (Hint not cross drilled if you are racing)
• Slotted
• One piece vs two piece
• Proper sizing and selection

 Calipers/Pistons

• The effect of the piston size, piston quantity, and the total piston surface area

 Brake fluids – types, uses, comparisons

 Wendy also recommended several brake pads to choose from depending on your driving needs, autocross, sprints, HPDE/track days, road/endurance racing etc.

• We also cover the brake pad torque performance and its impact on braking and brake feel
• A good bit of discussion on our racing pads of choice the Raybestos ST43’s
• Other brands available include the Porterfield brand, Hawk, Performance Friction, Pagid, and several others from Raybestos
• How brake calipers can affect brake pad selection, especially with respect to the available pad thickness

Brake Fluids and Selection

• Dry boiling point vs wet boiling point
• DOT 3 4 5 etc. (racing use DOT 4)
• Frequencies and reasons to change, bleed, etc., like if it boils, bleed it..
• Hydroscopic effects on brake fluid and its boiling point depression and why brake fluid is hydroscopic
• How varying local humidity levels can affect brake fluid performance
• Brake fluid compressibility and its effect on pedal feel

We also discussed several areas related to Braking, including:

• Brake lines and selection and advantages of braided stainless steel lines
• (real) Brake Ducting and cooling solutions (not using pool noodles), both neoprene and silicone, with wire reinforcement
• Sizing of ducts and positioning tips on both the inlet and outlet sides
• NACA Ducts and other options
• Oil coolers
• We also reviewed a reusable oil filter that we are absolutely dying to try.

Finally, Bill also attempted to talk Wendy off her personal cliff and start her amazing race career.  We will get Wendy out racing soon. 

So please join us for an excellent podcast reviewing all aspects of braking your race car.  And no, brakes do not just slow you down. 

GHIT 0059: Wendy from Porterfield – Everything About Brakes and More