Brake controller - a waste of money!!!...

[GordonS]

I took my fresh Ford GT ´05 with new oil, racing exhaust, racing suspension, fully custom. transmission, triple-plate clutch, racing flywheel, racing brakes and brake balance controller, with no driving aids. Headed to N.ring, as usual, and used super hard racing tires.
I tested for about an hour, only to realize, that it was the brake balance controller which destroyed my ride (I, of course, tried different settings for the controller). My car´s behaviour changed big time when I ripped the bb controller off. Braking was so smooth after that.
With the title, which is quite provocative, I want to refer only to this car, with above mentioned tires and with these settings:

Springs 13 11.5
Ride height 96 102
DamperBounce 4 9
DamperRebound 8 3
Camber angle 2.8 1.2
Toe angle 1 -2
Stabiliser 3 1
Driving aids off

(my game is a PAL version)

 

[JParker]

I tested for about an hour, only to realize, that it was the brake balance controller which destroyed my ride (I, of course, tried different settings for the controller). My car´s behaviour changed big time when I ripped the bb controller off. Braking was so smooth after that.

I have no hands on experience with this car other than stock, which was enough to make me shy away from it. However I have read on other threads that the brake controller is quite touchy. It is however a must to help stop this hard to stop monster. A few tips with the brake controller: when braking if the front is stable and the rear brakes loose, lower the rear setting. if the rear is stable and the front brakes loose lower the front setting. Ease into the brakes and brake early to find the exact brake point.
The brake controller is exactly that. It isn't just to increase the amount of brake force. You can fine tune the balance of the brakes. A general rule of thumb with braking is: high rear can effect oversteer during braking, high front can effect understeer during braking. With the brake controller this can be tuned to a fine balance.

 

[Zardoz]

This car is so bad normal practices do not apply. Its an aberration. Things that work on 99% of the cars in GT4 may be disastrous on this hopeless POS.

 

[GordonS]

I have no hands on experience with this car other than stock, which was enough to make me shy away from it. However I have read on other threads that the brake controller is quite touchy. It is however a must to help stop this hard to stop monster. A few tips with the brake controller: when braking if the front is stable and the rear brakes loose, lower the rear setting. if the rear is stable and the front brakes loose lower the front setting. Ease into the brakes and brake early to find the exact brake point.
The brake controller is exactly that. It isn't just to increase the amount of brake force. You can fine tune the balance of the brakes. A general rule of thumb with braking is: high rear can effect oversteer during braking, high front can effect understeer during braking. With the brake controller this can be tuned to a fine balance.

Hi there Mr. Parker! I thank you for this piece of information. It seems I have to learn to use the bb controller. But I still wonder that drastic changing of performace...

 

[JParker]

This car is so bad normal practices do not apply. Its an aberration. Things that work on 99% of the cars in GT4 may be disastrous on this hopeless POS.

No doubt Z. I drove the thing one time at Seoul at the Supercar Festival and that was all it took for me to park it. I keep it in my garage for a souvenir, along with the '02 Concept 0.0 miles.

 

[JParker]

But I still wonder that drastic changing of performace...

What changed that altered your performance so drastically? With the BB controller were you spending a lot of time in the traps or spinning out?

Edit sorry for the 3 post today.

 

[GordonS]

OK guys, after few hours of freerunning..(and I´m talking about the same car, the same susp. settings and the same "upgrades")

- the brake balance(REAR) has to be at level 3 and it´s great. 5 or above is just impossible, the oversteer will kill you
- the bb FRONT may be whatever you like, of course 20-24 might be too much

Compared to few other cars, this sweet beast is really willing to "lock" the brakes. Well, as we all know, in this game you can´t lock your brakes. Except: When you look the replay of this car slamming brakes fully down, you can see that the front actually locks few meters before the stop.
I also noticed that Ford GT `05 is the only one of those GTs that you can equip with racing brakes.

It seems that I have to take those first words of mine back.

I just love this car!

(DFP is my choice)

 

[Scaff]

OK guys, after few hours of freerunning..(and I´m talking about the same car, the same susp. settings and the same "upgrades")

- the brake balance(REAR) has to be at level 3 and it´s great. 5 or above is just impossible, the oversteer will kill you
- the bb FRONT may be whatever you like, of course 20-24 might be too much

Compared to few other cars, this sweet beast is really willing to "lock" the brakes. Well, as we all know, in this game you can´t lock your brakes. Except: When you look the replay of this car slamming brakes fully down, you can see that the front actually locks few meters before the stop.
I also noticed that Ford GT `05 is the only one of those GTs that you can equip with racing brakes.

It seems that I have to take those first words of mine back.

I just love this car!

(DFP is my choice)

Glad you got to grips with the GT, its a wonderful car in my opinion, and much critisised - unfairly I believe.

The brake balance controller is a great pieve of kit, it can be difficult to use, as in previous GT games it only set the ratio between the front and back brakes, so 0:0 and 24:24 were the same. In GT4 it also sets the level of braking force applied to the front or back.

It makes it a much more effective tool, but also ups the level of complexity. You may find the following white paper, written by StopTech (manufacturer of racing brake systems) that discusses the real world setup of brake bias. Although based strictly in the real world environment, it does apply to GT4 and can be directly applied.

Brake Bias & Performance - Why Brake Balance Matters

Also you may want to take a look at the following thread that covers most things related to GT and brakes.

GT4 & Brakes Thread

Regards

Scaff

 

[JParker]

Also you may want to take a look at the following thread that covers most things related to GT and brakes.

GT4 & Brakes Thread

Regards

Scaff

And many thanks to you for that. Brakes 101 by Scaff. Well done.

 

[Scaff]

And many thanks to you for that. Brakes 101 by Scaff. Well done.

Glad you found it useful, helps to get your head around brakes and what they do (and what they don't do).

Regards

Scaff