Review Your Cars

I don’t know if the 9th annual The Quail was the best so far, but it was the best show I’ve ever attended. What a $400, limited ticket sale admission buys is exclusivity and a perfect sized venue with excellent parking for the aficionado of cars and food. Make that fine automobiles and cuisines. Friday, August 19th was an unforgettable day. Be sure to see the slideshow pictures. When 9 Bugatti Veyrons are on site in their own section, including two Super Sports, you know you’re in the right place. And then there was a $2,350,000 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport “L’Or Blanc” which features fine porcelain on its body and in its cabin. There was a Pagani Zonda R totally overshadowing a Carrera GT and a Mercedes McLaren SLR 722 despite the bland colored carbon fiber bodywork. Mr. Horacio Pagani was there presenting the stunning new Pagani Huayra. Intended for the US market but 15 or so are currently declined by the Feds due to airbag technology compliance, it’s an amazing piece of automotive des

Why is it that the rear calipers are in front of the axle and the front calipers to the rear of the axle? -Augie Ruberto, Campbell, CA. Great question Augie! There are multiple reasons for this. For most cars, it’s a non-issue. But if you look at sports cars, it’s almost always the rule with two notable exceptions I know of. Regarding the fronts, one reason is the steering knuckle is many times designed in front of the axle and so the caliper behind the axle offsets the weight and effect of the forces acting on the steering. Another reason is for brake cooling. Ducts are used to direct cooling air to the brakes and a large caliper will block airflow to the disc which is vented. Cooling isn’t as critical for the rear brakes and it makes sense for weight distribution between the axles. The two exceptions that come to mind are the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and the Nissan 370Z. I haven’t heard of any issues with the Mitsubishi, but the Nissan 370Z had a notorious brake failure when Car &