Less is More
Reducing the weight of your car is one of the most effective ways to improve performance on track. Less mass improves acceleration, braking, cornering speed, handling, and thermal behaviour – all at the same time.
It’s one of the rare upgrades that improves almost everything, everywhere - put simply, less weight doesn’t just make you faster on the straights – it makes you faster everywhere!
The Simple Physics of Going Faster
The physics behind weight reduction is straightforward: momentum. Momentum depends on both speed and mass. Reduce the mass, and your car becomes:
- Easier to accelerate
- Easier to slow down
- Easier to turn
That translates directly into later braking points, higher corner speeds, and less effort required from every component on the car.
Why Unsprung Weight Matters More Than Anything Else
Not all weight is created equal. Unsprung mass, i.e. wheels, discs, calipers, and brake pads – has up to ten times the impact on performance compared to weight removed from sprung mass, such as seats, body panels, or interior trim.
Unsprung components must react instantly to the road surface. The heavier they are, the harder your suspension has to work to maintain grip and control. This means that removing weight from your brakes is one of the most effective performance upgrades you can make.
Why Composite Brake Pads Work
This is exactly where Tribol Braking focuses its effort. By replacing traditional steel backing plates with advanced composite construction, Tribol brake pads reduce pad weight by over 70% – removing a significant amount of unsprung mass without touching your suspension setup.
No fine tuning. No new calipers. No time wasted.
Reducing unsprung weight at the brakes delivers benefits you can actually feel:
- Sharper turn-in
- Improved mid-corner stability
- More consistent braking
- Less heat carried into the system
And because you’re not stripping the car or chasing marginal gains elsewhere, it’s one of the cleanest performance upgrades you can make.
Sign up now so you are not left behind when our pads drop this summer!
About the Author
Dr Sam Erland
CEO & Co-founder, Tribol Braking
Dr Sam Erland is the CEO and Co-founder of Tribol Braking. With over a decade of experience in the composites industry, Sam has worked across both aerospace and automotive sectors, specialising in the practical challenges of manufacturing advanced composite materials at scale.
His background sits at the intersection of materials engineering and real-world application – bridging the gap between what composites can do in theory and what they can deliver in demanding environments.
That focus ultimately led to the creation of Tribol Braking, where Sam applies his expertise to bringing high-performance composite solutions into braking systems – an area long dominated by conventional steel.
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