All,
When I am driving down the mountain and it is super wet I sometimes have reduced braking power.???? It happens when super wet and haven't used brakes in many miles.....the pedal is still firm it just seems like it is a delayed reaction......scared the sh*t out of me!!!! Is this due to the large surface areas of the rotors????? Any input appreciated!!!!
AA

 

Did they lock up? Or did you hydroplane?

 

No, it's due to the water. It's reducing the friction generated by the contact patch of your tires and momentarily reducing the I initial bite of your brake pads.

 

In the winter months with my 3" brake ducts blowing cold, wet air onto my brakes I really need to be carefull of reduced braking power. Cold wet brakes just won't have a very good initial bite, so whenever you anticipate needing the brakes in such weather, be sure to ride them for a few seconds to make sure they are there. Worst case they should be at near full power after a few seconds with some extra pedal pressure, but sometimes those first few seconds are critical to safely get out of trouble. The sportscar compound lkely doesn't help matters, and I'm sure some pad combos work better than others in the wet.

 

Thanks guys....That is what i was thinking but just wanted to be sure. If you're not anticipating it it can be pretty freaky!!

 

Double post.

 

you answered your own question in the title of your own post

 

Another thing to consider is just the type of pad you're running. Way back in the day, I had Porterfield R4S pads on my car and I was driving up to Michigan from Texas. Being May, it was 90s in Texas but 30s in Michigan. I took the off-ramp from the highway, got on the brakes and nothing.... I barely got stopped in time! So just plain ole cold weather can be an issue depending on the pads you're running.