The following report has all the details, but I thought I would touch on some highlights here.
https://www.n91cz.net/Brake_Caliper/Imp ... rmance.pdf
I had the original Matco brakes that came with the kit. I also had a chance to fly a plane with Grove brakes. Grove brakes have slightly more pad and piston area, but I was hoping for more impact. In the end, I used a triple piston layout that doubled both the total piston area and pad area. Since the individual pistons are smaller and the caliper body has a very low profile, the new brakes actually fit more easily than the original single piston units.
Energy calculations showed the disc had plenty of mass, so I left that as is.
I instrumented the plane and brakes and did a number of maximum performance stops over a period of several weeks. I recorded deceleration with a 20Hz GPS unit used by auto/motorcycle racing folks. I also recorded disc temperature in the pad contact area, brake pressure, and caliper temperature.
The result were transformational and the data was fascinating to sift through. Peak deceleration recorded hit 0.4 G’s. That is certainly not typical, but the option was now available. For some of the testing I also had a weight-on-wheels switch installed. One could really see how the wings were still producing lift, even well below flying speed.
The temperature data was quite illuminating. First, it was interesting to see how hot the brakes could get just taxiing around. The castering nose wheel in combination with any crosswind or side slope really heats things up.
Peak temperatures captured were pushing 900degF in the area contacted by the pad. This diffuses very quickly into the rest of the disc and drops the temperature to a more reasonable 400degF in about 20 seconds. Cool down while stationary takes quite a long time. Stop and go’s on the other hand could be done all day long. The rate of cooling with the gear hanging down in 100 knot airflow brings the disc to ambient temperature very quickly.
I have made several batches of these for other owners and will posting something the classified section.