On the kart that I just sold, the band brake worked well cold but stopping diminished quite a bit when hot. Has anyone tried to drill holes around the drum flange and install some perhaps 3/8"x1" bolts to add mass and to hang out, cooling in the breeze? Or added any cooling to them at all?
Band Brake Cooling
- Thread starter rose62
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Denny
Canned Monster
This ain’t f1 or nascar. Just run it through a good ol’ puddle or creek. It’ll cool things off nicely.
Hellion
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I’m a firm believer in kart brakes being secondary to massive horsepower and speed! 
So I make sure I don’t have to use them so much. I see the opposite (brake overuse) in automobiles a lot, people racing to every stoplight and braking at the last minute from 45 mph and smoking their brakes at 70mph on the freeway because they were tailgating. Lots of red brake lights but brakes have gotten so good over the years. I remember a time of chaos with front disc brakes and rear drums….
It has occurred to me that we’re probably asking too much of a kart with 4 wheels, 1 or 2 riders (decently sized adults especially) and just one brake. There are karts that have two brakes on the (live) axle usually operated in parallel by a pivoting rod behind the seat and another linkage…
You’d be the first, around here anyway, to drill a band brake and drum. DO IT.
So I make sure I don’t have to use them so much. I see the opposite (brake overuse) in automobiles a lot, people racing to every stoplight and braking at the last minute from 45 mph and smoking their brakes at 70mph on the freeway because they were tailgating. Lots of red brake lights but brakes have gotten so good over the years. I remember a time of chaos with front disc brakes and rear drums….It has occurred to me that we’re probably asking too much of a kart with 4 wheels, 1 or 2 riders (decently sized adults especially) and just one brake. There are karts that have two brakes on the (live) axle usually operated in parallel by a pivoting rod behind the seat and another linkage…
You’d be the first, around here anyway, to drill a band brake and drum. DO IT.
ezcome-ezgo
G'me sumthin to write on
The added mass may just absorb and retain the heat. A slice of this on the band would be interesting:
True. The old live axle kart that I posted a photo with my daughter sitting in it, never had any brakes!!
Hellion
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Looks fabulous.
Keep going, keep going.
I think JimD (Max-Torque) showed a completely honeycombed (drilled out) clutch bell on one of his videos. Not for cooling but to reduce the rotating mass and allow quicker engagement, I think. Anyway, that’s what your brake drum reminded me of.