A braking question

    Owning our Slingshot since early 2015, the topic of "better" brakes have come up here quite frequently on various forums. Now, the brakes on our SlingShot have never given us any reason for concern, and we have felt that they do their job quite adequately, but being some what bored today I decided to go out and really test them. The temps were around 40 degrees, the tires are BF Goodrich g-Force™ COMP-2™ A/S, and I was riding on a combination of dry and wet pavement. I attempted several "panic" stops under both conditions and my feelings were that I was giving the anti-lock brakes some very good exercise, I really cannot imagine the SlingShot stopping any faster? Now, is this a false perception? Will alternate brakes actually make the SlingShot stop faster? Over all, what can I expect differently if I do choose to install alternate brakes?


    Thanks in advance,


    Bill

    Can't remember the details but I saw a YouTube video where the SS stopped nearly 20 feet shorter from 60 mph than stock brakes. I replaced my pads with Hawk 5.0 and can attest to the difference -- better modulation, faster bite, and just what feels like more control. YMMV.

    I installed the Hawk 5.0 pads also. They make a world of difference. I've also used the Hawk ceramics. Slightly less braking power and a little less dusty. I never thought the stock brakes were great by any means but they did what they were meant to do. But then I put the Hawks on and I couldn't believe how much better they were. We sell bot the 5.0 fero carbon and also the ceramics here https://zzperformance.com/coll…roducts/hawk-brake-pads-2

    ZZPerformance EST 2000 - Go Fast Not Broke

    Well...I bought a big brake kit. I wish there snow was gone, so can test them out. The brakes are much bigger than the stock set up. Damn snow!

    Always Remember...You can drive it like you want to drive it tomorrow! 8)

    :HEADERSS::SUPERCHARGERSS::COILOVERSS::ROTORSS:

    Quote from Luigi

    Well...I bought a big brake kit. I wish there snow was gone, so can test them out. The brakes are much bigger than the stock set up. Damn snow!

    Unless you are going to be doing track days you did not need the big brake kit. All you really needed was the Hawk 5.0 brake pads from DDM. But this track day I did find out that there is a major difference in so called street tires and track tires when I rode with Dave driving Sling Cat 's Slingshot. Now that was a ride!

    Quote from Luigi

    Well...I bought a big brake kit. I wish there snow was gone, so can test them out. The brakes are much bigger than the stock set up. Damn snow!

    I always encourage the newcomers to get lots of seat time before going to crazy on the mods. Lots of things you can do and lots you really don't need to do. Lots of new stuff coming out every day. Look around and see what's out there.

    I'd love to get the willwood Break upgrade but it's 3595 plus $200 for different color calipers. That's just crazy money considering my slingshot stops but I always thought the brakes could work a little better. I'll just go with 5.0 Hawk pads when the current ones wear out

    Quote from EricRedSL

    I'd love to get the willwood Break upgrade but it's 3595 plus $200 for different color calipers. That's just crazy money considering my slingshot stops but I always thought the brakes could work a little better. I'll just go with 5.0 Hawk pads when the current ones wear out

    70,000+ miles on original OEM breaks and still lots of pad left. I did add the brace to the breaking system (well I paid and FunCycle installed at the rally 2 years ago). When it's time I will change to the 5.0 Hawk pads.

    Quote from wjfyfe

    Thanks folks for confirming my thoughts, we'll just go ahead and leave the brakes as is unmodified and find out difinitively just how long that they will last! :thumbsup:


    Bill

    Bill don't know if you added the brace or not but here's the link from SlingMods https://www.slingmods.com/pola…ot-master-cylinder-braces Added firmness to the pedal.

    Quote from EjFord

    Bill don't know if you added the brace or not but here's the link from SlingMods https://www.slingmods.com/pola…ot-master-cylinder-braces Added firmness to the pedal.

    Thanks, way back when when the SlingShots were having problems due to the brakes not being properly bled I looked into installing the brace. Though, I never was tottally comfortable with the idea for I felt that the brace was just a crutch to correcting the symptom of mushy brakes, but it was not an actual solution for the problem. Then Polaris started doing the secondary bleeding, which gets all of the air out of the system, which did correct the actual problem behind the mushy brakes, so now the brakes are working as designed. I have since been monitoring for any distortion where the master cylinder is mounted, having noting none, (at least so far), it appears that the problem has indeed been corrected where I feel there is no longer any purpose in adding additional bracing.


    Thanks again!


    Bill

    Yes the average driver does not need the master cylinder brace and never notices the flex in the fire wall plastic. But if you use and drive your Slingshot hard you will feel a difference. If you do not believe there is any flex have someone mash the brake pedal while you are looking at the master cylinder. The BRACE DOES make a difference.

    Quote from wjfyfe

    Owning our Slingshot since early 2015, the topic of "better" brakes have come up here quite frequently on various forums. Now, the brakes on our SlingShot have never given us any reason for concern, and we have felt that they do their job quite adequately, but being some what bored today I decided to go out and really test them. The temps were around 40 degrees, the tires are BF Goodrich g-Force™ COMP-2™ A/S, and I was riding on a combination of dry and wet pavement. I attempted several "panic" stops under both conditions and my feelings were that I was giving the anti-lock brakes some very good exercise, I really cannot imagine the SlingShot stopping any faster? Now, is this a false perception? Will alternate brakes actually make the SlingShot stop faster? Over all, what can I expect differently if I do choose to install alternate brakes?


    Thanks in advance,


    Bill

    The tires are the only thing in contact with the road and are the limiting factor in braking, provided you can lock up/engage ABS. The braking force that can be generated with track tires like the Toyo R888 or Bridgestone RE71R will be higher than the stock Kenda tires, so they will also be able to put higher loads on the braking system, generate more heat, etc. That being said, we have found that most of our customers that have upgraded to the Hawk Ceramics or 5.0 pads, really like the higher initial bite and coefficient of friction that those pads provide in the normal operating temperature of the pads. The stock pads on the Slingshot will stop you though, but are not in there optimal operating temperature range. Is upgrading the pads going to be worth it to upgrade for you? That is really hard to say, as it sounds like you are happy with your braking performance now, the best thing would be to get a chance to drive another Slingshot with those pads already installed to feel the difference and see if it is worth it to you. With the 5.0 pads installed and good tires, the Slingshot can be made to stop really well though and will surprise people that we take for rides :)

    And that is what it is all about. Great machine to set up for the type of driving that 'you' like to do.


    I will usually run 5 to 10 seconds behind some of the real 'spirited' guys I ride with. I do know that they will wait up for me when it's time to stop for COFFEE. I can and do cause my tires to 'bark' as I move from a stop light but I got 24,000 miles on my last Nitto 555 G2 rear tire.

    I'm not Ej, but most of us have picked up the brace. As a visual example, pop the hood and have someone sit in your sling, look at the master cylinder while having your helper press the brakes hard. You'll see it move, and quite a bit.


    It's still a good idea to bleed your brakes, but the brace makes a big difference.

    Quote from GADSling

    Hey EjFord - So you really like the master cylinder brace? My brakes are mushy and I thought I just needed to bleed them. As a matter of fact I think I will hit up Amazon for a bleeding kit now.

    It was the "secondary bleeding" , which has to be accomplished by the dealer, that provided the most improvement with our brakes. Another thought is that most folks today are used to the feel of "power" brakes, where the SlingShot utilizes manual brakes and thus have a different feel. Also, my observations have been that a conscientious driver does not press on the brakes hard enough during normal street operations to distort the firewall. But, I will concede that my "normal" results in brakes that last up to a decade or more. In the case of an emergency, the SlingShot will engage the anti-lock brakes when necessary, so our opinion of the stock braking system is that it is quite adequate without the added cost of modification.


    Bill