# Car repair question. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-repair-question/454829 "2008-07-01T00:03:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-repair-question/454829/41 "2008-07-02T17:10:58Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] Agreed that NASCAR is stuck in a time warp as far as engine technology is concerned, but if anyone needed water cooled brakes, and could afford (in terms of weight) to add it, it would be 3,000-pound stock cars, not 1,500-pound open-wheel cars like F1 and Indy Cars. [/QUOTE] I’m not so sure about that. AFAIK, 90% of NASCAR events are on ovals, which don’t require the same sort of braking that conventional racing (read: F1 and other non-oval formulas) tracks do. Cornering speeds are higher because ovals are heavily banked. A stock car might brake from 210 to 150mph; an F1 car has to brake from 200 to 50mph. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-repair-question/454829/42 "2008-07-02T17:36:29Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] I’m not so sure about that. AFAIK, 90% of NASCAR events are on ovals, which don’t require the same sort of braking that conventional racing (read: F1 and other non-oval formulas) tracks do. Cornering speeds are higher because ovals are heavily banked. A stock car might brake from 210 to 150mph; an F1 car has to brake from 200 to 50mph. [/QUOTE] Again, I agree that NASCAR cars usually don’t need as much braking as those other types of car. My point was that weight is at such a premium in the lighter cars that the engineers would never consider carrying around a bucket of water and the associated hardware needed to spray it on the rotors. Stock cars, production car racers, and other heavier types might have attempted it, if it provided a competitive edge. The fact that none of them have (except the racing semis) pretty much proves, IMHO, that the notion of water-cooled brakes is a non-starter. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-repair-question/454829/43 "2008-07-02T19:00:57Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] Stock cars, production car racers, and other heavier types might have attempted it, if it provided a competitive edge. The fact that none of them have (except the racing semis) pretty much proves, IMHO, that the notion of water-cooled brakes is a non-starter. [/QUOTE] It might have been preemptively (or almost immediately) banned. Happens a lot in F1. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-repair-question/454829/44 "2008-07-02T19:35:45Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] Again, I agree that NASCAR cars usually don’t need as much braking as those other types of car. My point was that weight is at such a premium in the lighter cars that the engineers would never consider carrying around a bucket of water and the associated hardware needed to spray it on the rotors. Stock cars, production car racers, and other heavier types might have attempted it, if it provided a competitive edge. The fact that none of them have (except the racing semis) pretty much proves, IMHO, that the notion of water-cooled brakes is a non-starter. [/QUOTE] As I said before, I saw it in drag racing. It makes sense to spend $5 on a used windshield washer pump/reservoir and add enough fluid to it for each pass. It’s a very cost effective mod. The alternative is hardened cross drilled disks with ceramic pads. Why throw money at a heat problem when you can throw water at it. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-repair-question/454829/45 "2008-07-02T19:43:57Z")
[QUOTE=Magiver] As I said before, I saw it in drag racing. It makes sense to spend $5 on a used windshield washer pump/reservoir and add enough fluid to it for each pass. It’s a very cost effective mod. The alternative is hardened cross drilled disks with ceramic pads. Why throw money at a heat problem when you can throw water at it. [/QUOTE] Well, I admit I know almost nothing about drag racing, and I think we’ve hijacked this thread long enough. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-repair-question/454829/46 "2008-07-02T20:43:40Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] The cheap one are listed as being organic, which I believe to be code for contains asbestos. If so I would not use those on any car I work on. Your lungs may vary. [/QUOTE] IIRC, asbestos was banned as a component around 1990. Organics now typically refer to [kevlar](http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-brake-pads.htm). I’ll agree with the advice not to use them simply because of the very short life (25k miles) compared to metallic or ceramic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-repair-question/454829.md?page=2)