Need Rear Brake Advice....

Posted By: Mapandjlp

Need Rear Brake Advice.... - 12/15/12 03:03 PM

I'm finally building an 8 3/4 for my '70 Challenger to replace the wimpy 7 1/4 and I'm trying to decide how to go with the brakes. I upgraded the front drums to discs a couple of years ago and the performance has been very good, even with the untouched 40+ year old drums in back.

Now that I'm doing the rear, the question is, do I go with a new set of drums from Dr. Diff or do I upgrade to discs out back? If I'm happy with the performance of the old drums, new drums can only be better, right? As far as appearance goes, the car looks mostly stock and rides on 15 x 7 rallyes so fit and look of discs is a small concern but not a deal breaker.

I'm leaning toward drums as the thought of a plug-and-play install is appealing.

The car has a mild 360, auto, street driven only. It's a cruiser.

Looking for thoughts from the folks who've been there....

Posted By: yella71

Re: Need Rear Brake Advice.... - 12/15/12 03:40 PM

stick with the drums simple and same for same means no added parts to buy or install. thats what I am doing on my own car.

Posted By: T2R9

Re: Need Rear Brake Advice.... - 12/15/12 03:52 PM

Quote:

stick with the drums simple and same for same means no added parts to buy or install. thats what I am doing on my own car.

Good quality shoes, fresh springs, and true drums will work great. Might consider 7/8" wheel cylinders to give you a touch more front bias and keep the rear from coming out from under you during hard braking.

Posted By: mcmopars

Re: Need Rear Brake Advice.... - 12/15/12 04:55 PM

Quote:

I'm finally building an 8 3/4 for my '70 Challenger to replace the wimpy 7 1/4 and I'm trying to decide how to go with the brakes. I upgraded the front drums to discs a couple of years ago and the performance has been very good, even with the untouched 40+ year old drums in back.

Now that I'm doing the rear, the question is, do I go with a new set of drums from Dr. Diff or do I upgrade to discs out back? If I'm happy with the performance of the old drums, new drums can only be better, right? As far as appearance goes, the car looks mostly stock and rides on 15 x 7 rallyes so fit and look of discs is a small concern but not a deal breaker.

I'm leaning toward drums as the thought of a plug-and-play install is appealing.

The car has a mild 360, auto, street driven only. It's a cruiser.

Looking for thoughts from the folks who've been there....

drums are drums.the pad is what makes the differance.disc /drum are fine.

Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: Need Rear Brake Advice.... - 12/15/12 07:26 PM

Quote:

The car has a mild 360, auto, street driven only. It's a cruiser.

You dont need anything fancy for your app. No need (or benefit) from new drums unless yours are too worn to be (legally) turned. Aftermarket shoes will help as they are only 1&3/4" wide to begin with & if you have a brake shop that arcs them that's definitely worth it, here it's only $5 a corner to arc 2 shoes to its' respective drum. As said 7/8" wheel cyls for less bias

Posted By: TheRamMan

Re: Need Rear Brake Advice.... - 12/16/12 02:58 AM

THE SMOOTHNESS OF DISC BRAKES CANNOT BE REPLICATED BY DRUMS..THE COMPRESSION IS ABSOLUTE LINEAR...ITS PHYSICS...YOU CAN FEEL THAT MINUTE CONTROL..WHEN POWER STOPIN THAT SRT 8 WITH 4 WHEEL DISC...
MY NEW REAR KIT DIRT CHEAP

Posted By: 5spdcuda

Re: Need Rear Brake Advice.... - 12/16/12 03:21 AM

For ordinary driving rear drums with good linings will be fine. The use of 7/8 in. wheel cylinders is a good idea. If you drive aggressively and use/need threshold braking I would go with discs. The reason is that drums unlike discs have self servo action. This makes them more difficult to get to release once you lock them up. If you lock up the brakes with discs they release as soon as you reduce brake pressure. Once drums have locked up they tend to stay that way longer thus making it more difficult to modulate the brakes in competive or emergency situations.