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Do air dam brake ducts really cool the brakes?


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Just curious if anyone has any evidence that the holes in air dams with "brake ducts" actually have a significant effect on brake cooling when used without adding a hose to route the air to the brakes? My sense is that very little of the air flowing through the duct hole actually reaches the brakes.

 

I used to have the old style BRE spook with brake ducts without any hose and one track day I put some sheet metal across the duct holes and didn't notice any difference in braking - brakes didn't fade with or without the ducts open. However, that was when I was running NA and I didn't measure brake temps so don't know if the temps were just elevated yet still within what the system could tolerate.

 

I'll guess that adding ducting hose to route the air to the brakes would make a difference, but I'm curious if anyone has any evidence that the holes in the air dam make a difference without adding the hose.

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I would be surprized too to hear holes in air dam are efficient.

I'm also wondering then why air dam suppliers are not proposing air ducts that could be installed. It seems the only way is to make your own parts...

 

I'm trying to but to mold a custom piece that matches the air dam is not so easy. I'm trying with foam to get the form out of the air dam prior to attempt making the ducts with fiberglass. So far, no success on my side but I'll keep trying!

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Pretty much all the competitive racers run an air dam, with vent tubes, routed to hoods over the rotors. If they run a solid air dam, then they grab the air from another spot. The holes alone are probably not doing much at all except stuffing air under the car where it doesn't belong.

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The original brake backing plates had scoops facing front. They stopped this sometime in 71 I think. If you had those, there is more of a potential for the vents to have an effect. If the wheels were had too much backspace though, it would be a moot point.

Edited by JMortensen
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