Brake Cooling Fan, have you seen this?

[TheJDMan]

I was searching for something else and ran across this brake cooling fan. This is apparently a new product on the market for circle track racers.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8t1RUWof4I

[SRD art]

Reminds me of that cheesy tornado movie where they made propellers out of soda cans to launch the probes into the storm. These look pretty fragile too, but I'll have to check out their site, maybe they've got something going on there. If nothing else they'd keep the brake dust from settling... ;)

[Rod]

not moving fast enough on an autocross track for that? might work on big track days(button-willow-laguna-etc)

[FlyDoc]

they look cheesy,
at 120mph do they create other aerodynamic effects?
will they be positive by creating negative pressure under the car?
or will they disrupt the airflow on the side of the car and cause instability?
I think they need to do some wind tunnel testing.

[Bryce]

Anytime you move air you add drag. That would add a lot of aerodynamic drag, is it worth it, so you need that much cooling?

[Trevon]

If your going fast enough on a paved track to have them move any air...whats wrong with more traditional brake ducts...?

[TheJDMan]

I have no idea how effective this fan would be but it is something different that I have not seen before. I would like to see some wind tunnel tests done to see what the effect actually is on a moving vehicle.

[Simmo]

I doubt the air would be anywhere near laminar so the usual rules dont apply. In turbulent flow the induced drag would be negligible IMO...well, no more than that from the spokes anyway.

[Jim Nilsen]

Vented rotors are fans all in themselves if you have the right sheilds next to them. When I rotate my wheels you can feel the air get sucked in the inside of the rotor and expelled out the outer edge. If you use a stick of incense you can watch the flow of air going in and it is a lot of air even at a low rpm. The key is have the right shrowd/heat shield to make sure turbulence doesn't interfere. and keeps the rotor heat from getting incorporated with the incoming air. Those fans probably work better for a circle track car because of the size and mass of the rotors they use. When you have a rotor that is 1.5 to 2 in. thick and you only go 25 to 50 laps and a yellow comes out, the ability to cool down your rotors when not moving very fast could give you a slight edge in the next two or three corners with hard braking which could give you the ability to pass as you brake later into the corner.

Until you experience brake fade from rotors that are too hot it really just adds weight and more stuff to go wrong.

[Randy67]

The idea isn't a bad one, reminds me of the 63 Z06 Vette brake cooling mods
http://www.vetteweb.com/features/0206vet_chevrolete_corvette_stingray/photo_09.html

I noticed in the first part that the flag never got close to the vented part of the rotor, where air would be pushing out. While not a bad idea, I would think brake ducts would still be a better idea, could combine with a duct fan like Nascar uses for more cooling at low speeds.

[70camaro406]

Looks like it's only available in a standard 5x5 bolt pattern and a wide 5 style bolt pattern.

This place has titanium heat shields that go between the brake pad and the caliper to keep the heat away from the caliper. Not a bad little extra insurance for $100
http://hardbrakes.com/index.php?main_page=index

[Bryce]

Looks like it's only available in a standard 5x5 bolt pattern and a wide 5 style bolt pattern.

This place has titanium heat shields that go between the brake pad and the caliper to keep the heat away from the caliper. Not a bad little extra insurance for $100
http://hardbrakes.com/index.php?main_page=index


I have a write up about this that I will post in a few days. I till talk about thermal conductivity and how effective this may or may not be.

[John Wright]

Vented rotors are fans all in themselves if you have the right sheilds next to them. When I rotate my wheels you can feel the air get sucked in the inside of the rotor and expelled out the outer edge. If you use a stick of incense you can watch the flow of air going in and it is a lot of air even at a low rpm. The key is have the right shrowd/heat shield to make sure turbulence doesn't interfere. and keeps the rotor heat from getting incorporated with the incoming air. Those fans probably work better for a circle track car because of the size and mass of the rotors they use. These look like they would help cool the outside face(wheel side) of the rotor. Ducting usually allows cool air to flow in from the backside, near the hub center and then out through the vanes....maybe this would help keep both surfaces of the rotor cooler?