What is proper braking technique?

[uflnuceng]

Ok...

First, I have been to DE schools before but haven't been to one for about a year and a half now. From what I understood, and maybe this only applies on the track, you hold braking to the very last second you can, get hard on the brakes, lift up and begin your turn (not trail-braking). I thought that coasting on the brakes, especially on the many hills I have around SW PA, was a no-no because continuous heating of the rotors would lead to brake fading and rotor warpage. Now my brother-in-law who knows quite a few things about cars says that my hard on quick off technique is causing my brakes to heat up really quick and then cool really quick, which causes warping.

Now I haven't had a mechanic diagnose the rotors yet, but my steering wheel sometimes vibrates when I stop. I do have some bent rims though (I'm getting all new summer wheels next year so I'm not going to bother to straighten these).

I'm confused... can someone help me here... if I am doing something wrong I want to know before I get a new set of rotors. I haven't really noticed warping before I got these Zimmerman cross drilled rotors.. I'm probably going to move back to Brembo solid rotors.

Thanks
Jared

[ColdAccord]

i've heard of zimmermans warping after track usage. may not be your braking teqhnique, just the rotors. get some ATE's

[bmw332i]

What you said was just about right. Although, as you get more advanced, you can trail brake to rotate the car through the turn faster. This allows for an earlier entry (i.e. early apex=faster entry), but is dangerous unless you know how to do it properly. I've seen many a crash because of the failure to negotiate an early apex. I would lose the drilled rotors, and get solid OEM rotors witha a good street pad for the street, and a good performance pad for the track. I personally like Performance Friction 91's or 97's. But Pagid Oranges are good too. Make sure you bed and re-bed the pads/rotors between swaps. Your brother-in-law is semi right. Hard on-off can be the cause of warpage, but modulatuion is the key. Firmly squeezing in a smooth motion all at once is more of what you want. I sometimes tap the brakes just slightly just to make sure the brakes are still there at the end of a particularly hard session (like at 9-10 laps into it). Going fast has a direct relationship with smoothness. The smoother you are with your inputs in all respects will make you even faster. Smooth steering inputs, smooth braking, smooth accel, smooth transitions, all of these things will make a difference. But my recommendation stands, get non-drilled or slotted rotors, and new pads, and bed them in properly. They should be more than enough.