Modification of the large piston brake cylinder can be said to be one of the most popular modification supplements in the near future. Of course, the purpose of many car owners modification is not only to improve the braking performance, but also for the visual effect, such as Brembo, AP Racing Four-piston, even small six-piston brake calipers from brands such as, Alcon, and Ferodo are very popular among modified riders. But here comes the question, is it definitely a good thing to modify this kind of multi-piston brake calipers?
Let me first explain why a multi-piston brake caliper is needed! The brake calipers used in ordinary cars use a single-piston setting. When the brake pedal is depressed, pressure is applied to the brake fluid in the brake master cylinder, and the fluid transmits the pressure to the brake through the brake pipe. The piston of the caliper causes the piston to drive the brake caliper to clamp the brake disc, thereby creating friction to stop the car. This type of design is actually quite enough for ordinary driving, but if your car’s horsepower is improved, or you will drive more vigorously (such as running on a mountain road, or off a race track), this is the time. The dynamic system must be upgraded to apply more pressure to allow the brake caliper to clamp the brake disc in time, which led to the birth of the multi-piston caliper.
However, more is not necessarily good, why do I say that? Because in addition to the number of pistons, it also depends on the total force area of the pistons. The more pistons do not mean the larger the contact area of the pistons. To make an analogy: in the case of the same size of brake pads and brake discs, compare the big four pistons with the small six-piston calipers, if the total force of the big four pistons If the area is larger than the total area of the small six pistons, the braking force of the big four pistons will be better. Therefore, blindly pursuing more pistons is actually meaningless. The more pistons, the larger the volume of the brake calipers. This also means that the weight will increase, which will not necessarily bring benefits to the performance of the car.
Moreover, the more the total area of the piston, the more brake fluid is needed to push the piston. At this time, it is necessary to consider whether the master cylinder can cope with it. In case the fuel supply of the master cylinder is insufficient, the piston cannot be pushed enough. It is more dangerous. Compared to upgrading a multi-piston caliper, it is actually more practical to replace it with a set of tires with better grip. Without good grip, no matter how good the braking performance is, it is empty talk, because even if your brake calipers are already firmly holding the brakes It’s useless if the tires can’t catch the ground! To stop a car, the friction between the tires and the ground is the main factor. The magnitude of the friction determines the effect of the braking force of the brake system. With beautiful multi-piston brake calipers, but the tire pattern and grip are insufficient, every minute will bring more danger!