Quote:
Originally Posted by legion
Because of the increased surface area (and increased friction), couldn't you stop a car by applying less brake pressure than in a conventional system? Could you possibly eliminate the brake booster?
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Increased surface area does not equal increased friction. In the classical look at the forces involved in friction, there is no term for "area". Here's the equation:
F = mu*N
where F equals the friction force, N is the normal force applied (how hard you're pushing the brake pedal for instance) and mu is the coefficient of friction. Area doesn't matter. I would imagine that a disc brake set-up approximates the classical application pretty well, so pad area doesn't make a difference in friction force. What pad area does give you is longer lasting pads and supposedly better feel. I'm sure Bill V can add more to that.