Engineering of brakes

[Reddez]

This is a copy of an email sent to me from Peter at Hoppers Stoppers regarding engineering of brake conversions, i am just posting it for information as probably not all of it is relevant to everyone.

We had the Engineer here on tuseday and spent a few hours reviewing how the
Vicroads Vehicle Assessment Signatory Scheme works and how this can be
applied to what we do.

I have also been in contact with the Chief Engineer at Vicroads who I have
known for a long time and got their position with respect to procedures,
etc.These rules are now Australia wide so what we do here is ok all over.

Basically Vicroads are only interested in the finished car and that it
complies, they do not get involved in individual components.

The modification of brakes ,other than that offered as an original option
,is defined as an alteration that must be inspected by an Approved Engineer
in every case.

Therefore we can have our kits checked for structural integrity etc but the
final installation and compatibility of the rest of the brakes and car are
to be approved in each individual case.

You can see where they are coming from ,as even if we do it right the
customer can still fit it wrong, and trust me THEY SOMETIMES DO.

However our clients need to be sure that what we are selling will be safe if
the rest is right and therefore it is wise for us to have our popular kits
reviewed by a Recognised Engineer so that when the final car is presented
for inspection the next guy doesnt have to redo all the sums.

Also I know a lot of cars are not so radically modified and the customer
wants to have something to show his roadworthy inspector when he gets his
yearly inspection.

Therefore our VASS engineer is going to inspect and test/approve our
better selling kits for structural integrity of the bits we make and will of
course review the assembly to be sure that it is not a problem re clearances
etc when installed.

We are setting up a HZ subframe bolted to the floor which will have a kit
fitted and tested to 5 times highest load ever seen under maximun braking,
if all our parts take this then the bits we make will come with a
certificate confirming their strength. Our ability to make it fit correctly
is still our responsibility and we have to have a quality control system to
be sure we always sell exactly what was tested and approved.

We will then take the whole thing to failure point, which will probably be
another part such as the control arms or chassis, just to prove that
something else will go first.

Geminis have the caliper bolted directly to the stub axle using original
bolts and no brackets so the only structural bit special to us is the hub,
and thus it follows that if the basic hub is correct then there is not much
else to be checked. Being carbon steel instead of cast iron there is no
doubting their strength. The calipers and rotors are standard production
parts and do need individual assessment as they are assumed to be strong
enough by definition.

We are always able to advise on what master cylinder booster and rear brakes
will probably be best but as this usually means fitting/modifications not
actually done here by us this is advice only and not part of any report.

I therefore aim to have the special parts of the Gemini kit approved with
the above but you will always need to have the final car checked as required
by your authorities.

I trust this is interesting, please get back to me if you need more info,
and circulate this amongst your contacts if you like.

Peter Koning