Best answer above.

they are hateful things always poised to cut your hands when you least expect.

Also in not-so-hot places. Came down from a mountain in the west of Norway, driving on a small curvy road. Really twisting it's way down the mountain side. (Beautiful view) and at the bottom I needed to stop for a red light. (one way traffic trough a tunnel)
It smelled cooked brakepads and smoke came up from the sides of the bonnet

I kind a provoked it though, driving fast and lots of hard braking before the turns

Brakes proved really good, taking the punishment with no problems. Off course I knew they were in good shape and had the cooling ducts installed.

But for normal driving, I don't think you _need_ them. Wears faster if bad cooling though...

Some pictures, just because I can

EirikJ,
best bit of advice I had before setting off for the World Meeting in Switzerland was to go down those 'hills' in the same gear as you'd need to go up them...

With 4 of us in the Dyane and the trailer crammed with all the stuff that the kids seemed to need when they went camping, we had no problems with the brakes, which didn't have cooling ducts fitted.

On the other hand, someone driving on their own in an Ami 8 complained that his brakes had overheated going _up_ a steep pass.
A generally grubby engine bay, with the heat escape tubes missing, probably didn't help if that was true...

ken

I know I know I know
And I "always" do, as I usually take good care of my cars. But hey, sometimes you just wanna do stuff you usually don't. And for me, it was fun having the engine switched off and let the car roll(amazing how fast it can go down hills in neutral) down the road, and stand on the brakes before every u-turn. Just to see how the brakes took the punishment. "Taking it to the limit". Just to see where the limit actually is. I did have a stop though, to have a look under the bonnet...see if everything was ok. Witch it was. Hot, but ok.
Hey, I was bored, and there were no traffic. Saved a bit of fuel, and had a laugh

Still, I lik'em on there, the cooling ducts. Cant see them doing any harm.
To each his own, I guess.

my vision on them, is if there there, intact, not causing a problem then leave them. if there scraping, and broken, then fix them or remove them!!