Carbon Ceramics in the rain
Discussion
Yes, I m experiencing the same in my DBX707, not in light rain but in torrential rain the initial bite is very poor.
Especially after a long drive on the motorway and coming to a tollbooth it s almost like you have no brakes so now I brake a few times before approaching a tollbooth but yes it is frightening.
I m not experiencing the same with my V12VSR strangely enough, although I rarely drive the car in torrential rain.
Especially after a long drive on the motorway and coming to a tollbooth it s almost like you have no brakes so now I brake a few times before approaching a tollbooth but yes it is frightening.
I m not experiencing the same with my V12VSR strangely enough, although I rarely drive the car in torrential rain.
Very mixed experiences! I take some comfort that I’m not the only one and perhaps it is a characteristic. I seem to half remember this being mentioned when I collected the car from the dealer, but I was in such a state of excitement I cant be sure!!!
I’ve been very careful not to use wheel cleaner on the car as I believe that this can ruin the discs (and they’re £15k++?!), a previous owner may have done so though. I'm unclear exactly what effect this would have, how does it ‘ruin’ ‘CCB’s’, can this make a difference to braking?
I’ve been very careful not to use wheel cleaner on the car as I believe that this can ruin the discs (and they’re £15k++?!), a previous owner may have done so though. I'm unclear exactly what effect this would have, how does it ‘ruin’ ‘CCB’s’, can this make a difference to braking?
AlienHotPip said:
I ve been very careful not to use wheel cleaner on the car as I believe that this can ruin the discs (and they re £15k++?!), a previous owner may have done so though. I'm unclear exactly what effect this would have, how does it ruin CCB s , can this make a difference to braking?
The CCM brake disc material is porous, unlike cast iron. I'm not a brake engineer or chemist but I think some wheel cleaners are quite corrosive and this is what damages the material. The disc surface should be smooth to the touch and a bit shiny. If it feels rough or gritty, or looks dull, it may be damaged.FWIW I've never liked nor undestood wheel cleaners. No cleaner will ever work as well as soap, water and friction/elbow grease.
AlienHotPip said:
I ve been very careful not to use wheel cleaner on the car as I believe that this can ruin the discs (and they re £15k++?!), a previous owner may have done so though. I'm unclear exactly what effect this would have, how does it ruin CCB s , can this make a difference to braking?
The CCM brake disc material is porous, unlike cast iron. I'm not a brake engineer or chemist but I think some wheel cleaners are quite corrosive and this is what damages the material. The disc surface should be smooth to the touch and a bit shiny. If it feels rough or gritty, or looks dull, it may be damaged.FWIW I've never liked nor undestood wheel cleaners. No cleaner will ever work as well as soap, water and friction/elbow grease.
quench said:
The CCM brake disc material is porous, unlike cast iron. I'm not a brake engineer or chemist but I think some wheel cleaners are quite corrosive and this is what damages the material. The disc surface should be smooth to the touch and a bit shiny. If it feels rough or gritty, or looks dull, it may be damaged.
FWIW I've never liked nor undestood wheel cleaners. No cleaner will ever work as well as soap, water and friction/elbow grease.
A bit off topic however, try using Bilt Hamber alloy wheel cleaner, literally spray on, leave for a few minutes and jet wash off, I used to think like you do about wheel cleaners until I tried this stuff. I now dont need to scrub the wheels to get them clean.FWIW I've never liked nor undestood wheel cleaners. No cleaner will ever work as well as soap, water and friction/elbow grease.
I’ve now had four Astons with Carbon Ceramic brakes and never had an issue with them in any weather conditions. I did a PDC at Millbrook in 2011 when I bought a V12V and the advice given by the instructor to get the best performance from the brakes, is to apply light pressure to the pedal for only a second before applying the required pressure to slow or stop. This puts heat into the discs and does make a difference. I do it subconsciously now, even in my van!
Vanquish and V12 Vantage both have air collectors on the front brakes to aid with cooling, when raining some water will also be collected via the air collectors and deposit on the brake discs.
As handyman1417 has stated best to apply light pressure and this will evaporate any water/damp that has accumulated on the disc before applying hard pressure
As handyman1417 has stated best to apply light pressure and this will evaporate any water/damp that has accumulated on the disc before applying hard pressure
handyman 1417 said:
I ve now had four Astons with Carbon Ceramic brakes and never had an issue with them in any weather conditions. I did a PDC at Millbrook in 2011 when I bought a V12V and the advice given by the instructor to get the best performance from the brakes, is to apply light pressure to the pedal for only a second before applying the required pressure to slow or stop. This puts heat into the discs and does make a difference. I do it subconsciously now, even in my van!
^^^ This...Being that little bit more cautious in the rain probably doesn't help either.
M
I must admit I don’t often drive mine in really adverse weather but when I have I haven’t really noticed any degradation in the response of the CCM brakes. Are there any material differences between the CCM brakes fitted to Gaydon VH era cars and the ones fitted to the latest models? Early Gaydon VH cars with CCMs are almost twenty years old, so one has to assume the technology may be a little bit different now and I guess AML may even use a different supplier/manufatcurer now? I don’t know the answer, but what I do know is that these brakes and any form of wheel cleaner should be kept well apart. I never use any type of spray cleaner on my wheels, sometimes a very very mild soap solution and often just warm water on its own. There is no brake dust so you shouldn’t need to use anything else really. BRM.
I've had it happen to me, but only in typhoon conditions and on the motorway in my 2017 V12VS.
Initial bite on first braking after prolonged driving in such circumstances was very low, braking performance was really poor, however after a few seconds of braking they do improve.
Dab the brakes a few times gently and they soon return to relatively normal levels of stopping power.
My assumption was that it was a combination of the actual water on the surfaces, perhaps even soaking into the pads a little and the cooling effect the water has on both pads and discs.
Initial bite on first braking after prolonged driving in such circumstances was very low, braking performance was really poor, however after a few seconds of braking they do improve.
Dab the brakes a few times gently and they soon return to relatively normal levels of stopping power.
My assumption was that it was a combination of the actual water on the surfaces, perhaps even soaking into the pads a little and the cooling effect the water has on both pads and discs.
Our DBX707 does the same thing in torrential rains, especially when it is colder out. Light rain or even freezing temps don't seem to bother it, but the combination of heavy water and cold does. I've also only noticed it at free way speeds. After a pucker up stop the first time hitting a free way exit ramp in a heavy down pour, I have learned to gentle brake well ahead of time to dry the brakes before full application. Once you remember this, there are no issues.
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