…engineering practical solutions   Stop brake fade and brake failure with the Fade Stop Brake Cooler News & Events December 20, 2009 See our advertisment in the April 2010 issue of Excellence. >> read more.. September 7, 2009 Four Products LLC now has online sales!. >> read more..     The Fade Stop Brake Cooler decreases brake temperatures over 20% giving racers the edge they need to out-perform the competition! Developed for the Army HumVee, but race proven on the Porsche 911. Four Products LLC has developed an innovative and economical solution to reduce or eliminate the effects of brake fade. The Fade Stop Brake Cooler (FSBC) is a “drop-in” part that is as easy to install as a new set of brake pads. It conducts heat from the caliper to a heat sink located externally to the brake caliper through a high thermal conductivity dual metal composite developed by Four Products LLC specifically for the extreme thermal conditions found in a high performance brake system. Vehicles Supported Buy Online Distributors   © Four Products LLC. The brake system is a key component on any automobile, truck or motorcycle and works by converting the motion of the vehicle into heat. While the manufacturer designs the brake system to handle typical heat loads, there are still limitations on how much heat a stock brake system can handle before failure. For instance, simply performing a mountain decent in a loaded pickup truck can over-heat the brakes to the point where the brake fluid starts to boil and the brakes completely fail. Constant stop-n-go driving in the city with a heavy vehicle (i.e. garbage truck or school bus) can also lead to brake fluid vaporization, degradation and brake failure. All brake fluids will boil at some temperature: DOT 3, DOT 4 and even DOT 5. The temperatures at with the brake fluid will boil is dependent upon a number of factors including the composition of the fluid itself as well as the water content. Another aspect of high temperature operation is the decrease in brake pad life. Higher temperatures result in more pad vaporization and increased wear. Four Products LLC has an innovative and economical solution to reducing brake caliper and brake pad temperatures: the Fade Stop Brake Cooler. The Fade Stop Brake Cooler is a heat sink that conducts the heat generated in the brake pad to a finned radiator external to the brake caliper and positioned in the airflow (Datsun 240Z). Constructed from a high thermal conductivity, high tensile strength, copper and stainless steel composite, it has been proven to decrease brake temperatures over 20%. Originally developed for the Army HMMWV (HumVee) and as a towing accessory for consumer trucks, it quickly found a market in automotive racing where brake fade due to extremely high brake temperatures is common. This is particularly true with vintage race cars that must retain the original brake system but are allowed to employ high performance, high temperature brake pads. Such pads are capable of reaching temperatures in excess 1600°F ( 900°C) and since the boiling point of the brake fluid is less than 600°F (315°C), fluid vaporization and brake failure is a common problem. After the introduction of the Fade Stop Brake Cooler, however, problems with brake fluid vaporization decreased and the racers employing the Fade Stop Brake Coolers reported significantly improved brake performance. Another benefit to reducing brake pad temperatures is the reduction in friction wear that occurs at high temperatures thus increasing the service life for the brake linings. This is important with commercial vehicles as well as vehicles, like the HMMWV, which must have routine maintantce due to extreme environmental conditions. The Fade Stop Brake Cooler is designed to work with almost every vehicle in production today including vehicles manufactured by: Chrysler, Chevy, Ford, Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Ford, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Mercedes, Nissan and Volkswagen. Several automobiles specifically inspected for Fade Stop Brake Cooler installation have been: the Army HMMWV, Ford F150, F250, F350 ('94 through '06), Ford Mustang ('94 through '06), Chevrolet Corvette ('68 through '82 and '88 through '04), and BMW 3 Series ('96 through '06) including the Z3. All these automobiles can easily accept the Fade Stop Brake Cooler, but slight variations in brake caliper designs among the different make and model vehicles prevents a universal Fade Stop Brake Cooler from fitting all of them. The Fade Stop Brake Cooler is an economical alternative to an expensive big brake kit. It is effective at preventing brake fade and will extend the lifetime of your high performance brake pads. The Fade Stop Brake Coolers is also an economical aftermarket accessory for a tow vehicle: think of it as a transmission cooler for your brake pads. Four Products LLC currently manufactures the Fade Stop Brake Cooler for the Porsche 911, the Toyota Tacoma and 4 Runner, as well as the Nissan 300ZX and Datsun Z Car. Fade Stop Brake Coolers for the Infinity G35 and Nissan 350Z are currently being designed. Most of these vehicles were chosen because they either currently suffer from brake issues (Army HMMWVs), are frequently used in amateur, novice and professional racing (Chevy Corvette, Ford Mustang), or are typically used for hauling and towing (Ford F series pickups). The quantities of the vehicles manufactured and the status of Fade Stop Brake Cooler for the vehicle is also listed. Problem - The HMMWV had a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 7500 pounds when it was introduced in the mid-1980s. While the HMMWV still employs the same brake system, the GVW of the vehicle has been significantly increased; in some cases exceeding 14,500 pounds. The increased mass means that the brakes must dissipate 70% more energy for the same stop. Attempts have been made to improve the brake system through the use of high performance disk and friction materials but these modifications have been unsuccessful in mitigating the problem. This failure is due to the fact that the high performance components generate significantly higher temperatures than what the brake system was designed for. These elevated temperatures lead to premature component failure, brake fluid vaporization and catastrophic brake failure. Simply put, the modifications have failed because they have not addressed the fundamental issue: transferring the heat from the brake system to the surrounding environment. Solution - The Fade Stop Brake Cooler is a heat sink that conducts the heat generated in the brake pad to a finned radiator external to the brake caliper and positioned in the airflow. Constructed from a high thermal conductivity, high tensile strength, copper and stainless steel composite, it has been proven to decrease brake caliper temperatures over 20%. Originally developed as a towing accessory for consumer trucks, it quickly found a market in automotive racing where brake fade due to extremely high brake temperatures is common. This is particularly true with vintage race cars that must retain the original brake system but are allowed to employ high performance, high temperature brake pads. Such pads are capable of reaching temperatures in excess 1600°F ( 900°C) and since the boiling point of the brake fluid is less than 600°F (315°C), fluid vaporization and brake failure is a common problem. After the introduction of the Fade Stop Brake Cooler, however, problems with brake fluid vaporization decreased and the racers employing the Fade Stop Brake Coolers reported significantly improved brake performance. Another benefit to reducing brake pad temperatures is the reduction in friction wear that occurs at high temperatures thus increasing the service life for the brake linings.