The DeltaWing Braking System
The DeltaWing’s brake package was a collaborative effort between Performance Friction engineers and the DeltaWing team with a very specific set of design criteria. The brake package includes Performance Friction’s patented Continuous Fiber Carbon-Carbon Disc and pads along with forged aluminum monoblock ZR43 and ZR41 Zero Drag Calipers with patented pad retraction system.
The calipers feature PFC’s patented pad retraction system which eliminates drag in the braking transition allowing drivers to power through the corners. This is the same ZERO DRAG technology that was awarded the 2011 Most Innovative New Motorsport Product of the Year and won the Daytona 500 in its debut race.
In addition, the DeltaWing will benefit from PFC’s advanced carbon disc and pads technology. PFC’s carbon discs and pads are made of a continuous strand fiber matrix. This new PFC carbon technology allows for excellent cold bite and flatter high torque output while having exceptional wear.
Designers and engineers at Performance Friction and the DeltaWing project worked side by side in developing the optimal package for the car. Ben Bowlby, DeltaWing’s lead engineer described some of the challenges.
“The front of the DeltaWing is extremely compact so we had to be very creative with the packaging of the design to ensure adequate performance over 24 hours, while keeping the component weights to a minimum. The car is unique in that 60 percent of the braking occurs at the rear wheels, but that doesn’t mean we could ignore the front.” The new DeltaWing race car is unlike any other prototype race car ever designed. Behind the futuristic look is a more powerful message, one of environmental sustainability. The designers of the vehicle have set out to paint a picture of what the future of motorsports might look like while reducing waste and promoting efficiency. With those goals in mind the actual design creates a unique set of challenges for the team and parts suppliers.
“Certainly the DeltaWing concept has shaken up the conventional thinking within the racing community,” said Darrick Dong, Director of Motorsports for Performance Friction. “PFC has approached the challenge as to how best balance the DeltaWing’s braking capacity and created quite a bucket list of achievable goals. We are excited to have come up with quite a unique and innovative carbon brake system.”