I know this may have been covered about 100 times here before but as its just come up in our office I thought I'd share my thoughts.

Why is it that people say you have to upgrade brakes/suspension etc. if you have remapped your car?

Brakes

The brakes are designed to stop the weight of the car from a speed that is limited mainly by the gear ratios. True enough, the remap may mean you're headed toward a corner faster than you would have been, but if you cant make it round the corner, why are you driving beyond the limits of the car?

Accelerating harder due to the remap will not affect the braking requirements of the car at all either. Carrying a roof box full of stuff, 3 passengers and a boot full of stuff would be far more dangerous according to physics.

Suspension

As with the brakes, the suspension's ability to help the car around a corner is only affected by the speed you enter the corner. The remap has no affect on it what so ever.

Suspension and brakes on a modern car are more than capable of dealing with a simple remap. What is more often the case is the driver's estimation of their ability being greater than it should be.

Big brakes make a reasonable substitute for poor driver skill, and "better" suspension will help too.

If you drive within the capability of the vehicle there should be no reason that a remap on it's own should/could be dangerous.

Rant over.

I think suspension is always a compromise on a road car as it has to be set up to be comfortable and sporty. Uprating it will make the car perform better irrespective of a remap, but with a remap you can potentially increase the corner approach and exit speeds where better handling will help....

Chris

Neither are essential but I'd rate both above a remap and therefore do them first.

In a remapped car you will be able to get from corner to corner quicker hence more chance of brake fade so a good reason to upgrade.

Why compromise the car by not having suspension which allows you to carry that extra speed through corners and brakes that let you scrub off the extra speed when necessary time and time again.

But, would you class a remapped car without other mods as dangerous??

But, would you class a remapped car without other mods as dangerous??

Not because of the remap. It's usually the driver that's dangerous no matter what the car or the mods.

What people are getting at when they say you should consider suspension/brakes when remapping is that a car with a remap alone is a compromised one.

My opinion has already been made known in the other thread.

Now how about another viewpoint:

Before getting ANY mods to your car, go and get some fast road DRIVER training. That way you'll be ready for all that extra capability in your car, and won't get beaten by grannies in Hillman Imps who learnt to drive before you were born

..... beaten by grannies in Hillman Imps who learnt to drive before you were born

Thinking about it Nick, you may have been driving before I was born

But, would you class a remapped car without other mods as dangerous??

With additional power, you're just magnifying the car's weaknesses. A good suspension setup will mean an unmapped standard car can travel as quickly as a remapped one on real roads and may only lose out in a straight line.....

The only thing that makes a car dangerous is the driver and not knowing their's or their car's limits!

Chris

But, would you class a remapped car without other mods as dangerous??

I wouldn't.

Not read the forementioned thread but it's not the remap that's dangerous...rather it's a driver ability to handle the extra performance.

I think it would also be fair to say though....the standard suspension and brakes may not be upto the the power of a modified engine.

At the end of the day any vehicle is dangerous in the wrong hands.

Edit: much type faster.

Of all the money I've spent on my fabia the best value for money was the brakes.

That added with the better tyres do stop the car quicker as I found out when someone veered across the road for now reason the other day! IMHO on standard brakes I would have hit the car!

The above is just "my view" I dont have any proof to back up my claims.

The above is just "my view" I dont have any proof to back up my claims.

Would be interesting to do a quantative test if someone had access to a runway

Chris

Would be interesting to do a quantative test if someone had access to a runway

Chris

As I said in a previous thread. It depends on how you use your car. For me and the fabia i felt brakes first as they overheated when on a brisk run. suspension second to reduce the amount of roll and pitch, remap last. Just for that extra kick but saying that a std map with a FMIC would be faster than a remap one in the summer.

Would be interesting to do a quantative test if someone had access to a runway

Chris

ColinD and I have already had words on this subject

Thinking about it Nick, you may have been driving before I was born

Quite possibly, young man ... :tipspecs:

phil witha re-mapped car its much easier to 'out drive' the brakes. if you are on driving in a spirited manner then in the re-mapped car you be going faster between the same tw corners and therefore be putting extra stress on the brakes because you are slowing from a higher speed. on a fast B road that might be 30 corners or more over a few miles so your brakes will take a pounding over time.

i'm up for brakes testing on the taxi way 135mph stops anyone? :P

i'm up for brakes testing on the taxi way 135mph stops anyone? :P

as am I as long as it's not over 70mph as my roller skate wont go any fast than that

:P

this might be interesting

Brakes? Ah yeah I remember them things... I used to use them before I did a MAC course. I can hear my instructor now "OFF THE BRAKES, OFF THE BRAKES, OFF THE BRAKES!"

I used to brake more on corners because I didn't feel I could see far enough round them to stop if something was on the road, rather than because I couldn't handle the car round them at speed. After doing the above course which came free with my CTR I learned how to properly read ahead and added on average 10mph on to my cornering speeds. It's mad when an ex-traffic cop of 30 years is telling you to stay off the brakes and go faster!

And lets just say I didn't take corners slow before the course

Looking forward to learning my Fabia vRS's cornering capabilities....

Brakes ! :eek:

No time for them, are you surposed to use them? :confused:

I've only 2 feet - left for clutch, right for GO

I just want to go faster - LOL

Pete

before I get slammed - I've just bought & painted my 312's

I managed to get this past 'the other half' by saying that as we tow a boat (Rib) & have a car full of Dive gear that better brakes are always a good idea - she bought that

Pete

roll on the next 'needed' upgrade, already got the t-smic - but could do with another turbo !

Brakes? Ah yeah I remember them things... I used to use them before I did a MAC course. I can hear my instructor now "OFF THE BRAKES' date=' OFF THE BRAKES, OFF THE BRAKES!"

I used to brake more on corners because I didn't feel I could see far enough round them to stop if something was on the road, rather than because I couldn't handle the car round them at speed. After doing the above course which came free with my CTR I learned how to properly read ahead and added on average 10mph on to my cornering speeds. It's mad when an ex-traffic cop of 30 years is telling you to stay off the brakes and go faster!

And lets just say I didn't take corners slow before the course

Looking forward to learning my Fabia vRS's cornering capabilities....[/quote']

The standard CTR brakes are excellent. I remember it beat a 911 in an autocar test for 100-0. I never felt the need to upgrade them whilst I had the CTR.

Nothing comes close in the 200bhp stakes than the CTRs brakes. I never once felt fade on B road blasts in the CTR, unlike my 182 and WRX. As for my VRS i feel the brakes are a tad on the soft side. I personally dont really think they would stand too much punishment and would fade pretty quickly on a remapped Fabia VRS.

Although a suppose some DOT 5 fluid and some braded hoses would sort it out enough to live with.

As for remapping, i remapped my scoob from its standard 225 to 280 similar torque levels and its a fact that the brakes where not up to the job. The standard brakes on the WRX where never great, but around Knockhill i could clock 7-8 laps with the car standard. Just after i had it remapped i was managing 2-3 laps before i had complete brake fade and had to return to the pits.

So whats been said above. Yes with extra power you do travel faster from point to point, more power, more speed and more brakes required.

As for suspension i suppose this all comes down to driving style at the end of the day. You only have to push it as hard as you feel comfortable with, so you could live with standard suspension on a remapped VRS.

I am toying with the idea of a remap myself for the VRS, but this has been my only niggle, suspension and brakes, as i do not have the funds for the lot. Although i may do what i stated above and change the fluid and try some braded hoses.

Paul