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Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870576
12/04/10 04:02 AM
12/04/10 04:02 AM
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Posts: 27,451
So Cal
autoxcuda Offline
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Quote:

... I've never even ridden in a mopar that can handle as well as my wife's 90 Camry, or even our Suburban with my wife, kids and the dog in it.




If you stick around later at the next Spring Fling or go to the Cruise In, you can drive my Barracuda.

Quote:

So I assume nobody's driving LeMans or Nurburgring. Where the heck are you guys driving that you need so much braking? Down a mineshaft?




You hammerdown this straight then slow down and pucker up for this tight left hander.



Rear end is raised up slighly under hard braking.



Into corner



In corner


6336613-SFSF10Track13.jpg (165 downloads)
Last edited by autoxcuda; 12/04/10 04:31 AM.
Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870577
12/04/10 05:38 AM
12/04/10 05:38 AM
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Goat Rodeo
drago Offline
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Goat Rodeo
Your car has drum brakes?
Maybe you should put a crank handle out the front of the engine and start it by hand?
Possibly even hire a guy with a big red flag to walk in front of you when you drive out on the roads?

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: drago] #870578
12/04/10 08:21 AM
12/04/10 08:21 AM
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Posts: 3,575
The Netherlands
BigBlockMopar Offline
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Mike H,
after looking at your profile, your post makes a lot more sense now as in I probably know how you drive your car...
Occupation: "Retired"

With traffic always 'behind' you, no wonder you never need to slam the brakes...

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: BigBlockMopar] #870579
12/04/10 11:36 AM
12/04/10 11:36 AM
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 253
Orange County, CA
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Mike H Offline OP
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Orange County, CA
Wow, the overseas crowd is being a bit rough on this old guy!

I do drive slower than the surrounding traffic, about 3-5 mph. There are enough weavers, idiots,and jerks here in Southern Ca. I despise that kind of disrespectful driving.

autoxcuda, I know you have really got your cuda dialed in as I have read some of your other posts, and would like to connect with you at Woodley. I have a 68 fastback (although its a big block)and would like to get your advice on suspension, etc.

My whole point in the post was not to defend factory brakes. It just seems to put discs the size of basketball hoops on a platform like a B or E body is kind of like turbocharging an ice cream truck.

Where can I get one of those hand-crank starter thingies?

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870580
12/04/10 12:00 PM
12/04/10 12:00 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 28,067
Irving, TX
feets Offline
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feets  Offline
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Irving, TX
Quote:

It just seems to put discs the size of basketball hoops on a platform like a B or E body is kind of like turbocharging an ice cream truck.




hmmm...

I put turbochargers on my Belvedere as well as 14" brakes. I use it to go get ice cream. Does that count?


We are brothers and sisters doing time on the planet for better or worse. I'll take the better, if you don't mind.
- Stu Harmon
Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: feets] #870581
12/04/10 12:04 PM
12/04/10 12:04 PM
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,041
michigan woods
imfixinmopars426 Offline
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stock drum brakes are fine?...have a idiot pull out in front of your 60's mopars and.. ..go drive a new performance car,and realize what real brakes are. .lol

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Keith Black®] #870582
12/04/10 12:08 PM
12/04/10 12:08 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 28,067
Irving, TX
feets Offline
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Irving, TX
Quote:

Quote:

...
If you had a small car like a Torana, only 14.17" rotors like mine would do..

(They are 1.41" thick too )




heheh.. far too many of those little cars around here as it is




Darren, Oz, when will you two grow up? After all, you both know that mine's better.

Ya see, Oz STOLE the brake rotor thing from me. It seems that I had to do everything except bolt 'em to the car for him. I had been threatened with vile and vulgar things involving zombie penguins or something like that.

This is the 8 piston caliper that belongs on Oz's rotors.



He was too lame to install the matching rear rotors:



I'll be moving them over to the Imperial. When that's done, I might make a stop in the LA area to see if those cutesy little Aussie cars make good speed bumps for real American iron.


We are brothers and sisters doing time on the planet for better or worse. I'll take the better, if you don't mind.
- Stu Harmon
Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: feets] #870583
12/04/10 12:08 PM
12/04/10 12:08 PM
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 253
Orange County, CA
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Mike H Offline OP
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feets, that counts dude. Cool car.

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870584
12/04/10 12:31 PM
12/04/10 12:31 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 104,346
Garden Grove, CA
OzHemi Offline
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Feets just needs them because his car weighs like 8 or 9 thousand pounds or so...


And as mentioned that yes the rotors are somewhat heavy, but at least my wheels are pretty light to help offset things

6337001-DSC03112.JPG (114 downloads)
Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870585
12/04/10 12:31 PM
12/04/10 12:31 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27,451
So Cal
autoxcuda Offline
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Quote:

...
autoxcuda, I know you have really got your cuda dialed in as I have read some of your other posts, and would like to connect with you at Woodley. I have a 68 fastback (although its a big block)and would like to get your advice on suspension, etc.


'

No problem.

Mike which car do you bring to Woodley. I'll look it up in my pictures.

Front and rear sway bars and performance alignment would give you a seat of the pants improvement. Next would be 1" t-bars and Hotchkis Bilstein shocks.

Quote:

My whole point in the post was not to defend factory brakes. It just seems to put discs the size of basketball hoops on a platform like a B or E body is kind of like turbocharging an ice cream truck.




To a certain degree I agree with you. Some people slap these part on cars that really don't have the "system" to utilize the most or even much of gains of one improvement.

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870586
12/04/10 12:33 PM
12/04/10 12:33 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 28,067
Irving, TX
feets Offline
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Irving, TX
Quote:

So what's the deal with the massive disk brake setups so popular today? Ten inch, 12", 14" rotors, 4 pad, 6 pad, what, 12 pad?




I run the brakes off a Mercedes S55 AMG front and rear. They are 14.2" front rotors that are 1.4" thick and use 8 piston calipers with 4 pads each. The rears are 13" rotors 1.25" thick with 4 piston calipers.
The difference between these and the old 10" drums is incredible. ONE front rotor has more surface area than three of the stock drums. Sure, they're heavy at 27 lbs each but I have the power to cover that.

Quote:

I've never even ridden in a mopar that can handle as well as my wife's 90 Camry, or even our Suburban with my wife, kids and the dog in it. Where the heck are you guys driving that you need so much braking?




I drive in Dallas, TX. We used to have nice people here then everyone in the world thought it'd be a good place to visit and they never went home! Now, there are no rules on the road. I've had a couple close calls that would have resulted in a collision had the old drums been on the car.

My car isn't a G-machine or whatever you want to call it. I do have good brakes, plenty of power (twin turbo 440), and front/rear sway bars. The big brakes and sticky 245/45-18 and 295/45-18 tires help me put a little fun in driving. Even without chassis upgrades the difference is astounding.

I didn't do a "bandwagon" or "keeping up with everybody else" thing. I had the 11/75" front discs and TSM 11" rears. The car was still able to heat up the brakes when I was misbehaving behind the wheel. In fact, I could push through the brakes with the throttle. My own little "unintended acceleration" issue would result in a car that would not stop by brakes alone.
I wanted more brake power to go with my horsepower. When shopping for a brake kit 5 years ago I came up with VERY expensive packages. Working at a Mercedes store opened up the possibilities for good stuff at an employee discount.
I picked up all four corners of the AMG brakes for less than an aftermarket 13" front brake kit cost at the time. It was also more "me" than buying a kit. I have a tendency to find random things that work nicely on my car but were never intended to be there. Why give someone else the money when I can make my own?

Enough babbling. I found 'em cheap (relatively speaking) and made it work. That's what I do.



We are brothers and sisters doing time on the planet for better or worse. I'll take the better, if you don't mind.
- Stu Harmon
Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870587
12/04/10 12:34 PM
12/04/10 12:34 PM
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Posts: 12,481
Chino Valley
RodStRace Offline
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Up until the 50s, cars stopped faster than they accelerated. From then until these big brakes started being installed, cars couldn't stop at high performance levels, but the engine tech was there. Not many people were installing NASCAR drum brakes, but were installing HP engines.
While a portion of the customers that are putting them on to impress, a HP brake setup does allow better stopping and more prolonged stopping.

Great braking is needed to survive in modern traffic due to not only the better braking of modern everyday cars, but also due to the stupidity of others out there. You can drive slower, but there is always an idiot or a situation that will require you to stop on a dime.

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: RodStRace] #870588
12/04/10 12:44 PM
12/04/10 12:44 PM
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Posts: 28,067
Irving, TX
feets Offline
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Quote:

Not many people were installing NASCAR drum brakes, but were installing HP engines.




I recall reading some stuff from the NASCAR drivers in the 60s. They said plain and simple that the cars were more of a man than the drivers. The first lap or two the brakes were great. After that, they had to plan ahead for braking because the drums weren't at the level of the rest of the car. Braking science hadn't made the leap reliably for heavy fast race cars. The guys knew to keep the drums as cool as possible but the technology simply wasn't there.


We are brothers and sisters doing time on the planet for better or worse. I'll take the better, if you don't mind.
- Stu Harmon
Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870589
12/04/10 02:00 PM
12/04/10 02:00 PM
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The Netherlands
BigBlockMopar Offline
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Quote:

Wow, the overseas crowd is being a bit rough on this old guy!

I do drive slower than the surrounding traffic, about 3-5 mph. There are enough weavers, idiots,and jerks here in Southern Ca. I despise that kind of disrespectful driving.




Just ribbing you a bit Mike!
Here in the city where I live when you drive slower then the rest and leave a gap large enough for just over 1 car, you can be certain someone will force they way in there.

Until last year I've had 12" drumbrakes on my '62 wagon. The drums were a bit worn out and the shoes didn't have the same contact patch anymore as designed. There were good enough for city driving, but totally useless on the highway. Many of times I've driven the wagon in traffic and wished, really wished, as in 'needed', the brakes were better.
Instead of trying to find new drums and spent money on a outdated system, I decided to put homemade discbrake system on based on '73 rotors, which are 11.75". The wagon is a totally different car to drive now, even more now I know it will stop securely in traffic.

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: jcc] #870590
12/04/10 02:20 PM
12/04/10 02:20 PM
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Manitoba, Canada
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Quote:

If what you got works, just maintain it, and smile at the newest/greatest/biggest crowd.




That's the way I've felt about it too. I don't have the tires to utilize a higher braking capacity than my stock power disc/drums so I see no gain in upgrading. I have never experienced brake fade with the car and I can gear down my manual transmission in hilly areas. I am in the process of doing some transmission upgrades that will likely help my braking more than large discs would.

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870591
12/04/10 02:40 PM
12/04/10 02:40 PM
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DuPont, Washington
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Quote:

I can't recall having any difficulty bringing my 69 340 Dart (manual drum brakes) down from 110+mph, many times. So what's the deal with the massive disk brake setups so popular today? Ten inch, 12", 14" rotors, 4 pad, 6 pad, what, 12 pad? I've never even ridden in a mopar that can handle as well as my wife's 90 Camry, or even our Suburban with my wife, kids and the dog in it. So I assume nobody's driving LeMans or Nurburgring. Where the heck are you guys driving that you need so much braking? Down a mineshaft?




Massive overkill for most people most of the time. Nice conversation pieces though. When I was a kid the folks bought a new '57 Plymouth with an "Automatic Transmission". Wow! new deal! Two-speed Powerflite...remember them? Four buttons: D, L, R, N. (they had a very effective parking brake).

Anyway, drives in the Sierras east of Fresno were challenging from a braking perspective. Many of the grades were/are quite steep. I remember first time we took the new car up to the hills. The old man concerned a bit about brake temperatures. Next time we took the '53 Cranbrook with three on the tree.

Yeah, big brakes are useful sometimes.

My $0.02

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Mike H] #870592
12/04/10 03:07 PM
12/04/10 03:07 PM
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Ozona, Texas
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Paladin Offline
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Quote:

I've never even ridden in a mopar that can handle as well as my wife's 90 Camry, or even our Suburban with my wife, kids and the dog in it.




Mike,

While I don't usually go for the uber large custom braking systems either due to the cost, I do take a bit of offense to your statement made above. It shows a lot of hyperbole at best, and a definite lack of knowledge and experience at worst.

I have driven a lot of old Mopars in my time, and several of them are far above the handling capabilites of a Suburban or a Camry . The torsion bar front suspension was hailed as the basis of some of the best handling American cars of their day, a fact which is still repeated by people who are surprised when they drive a properly aligned and cared for old Mopar with modern rubber on the ground.

I personally have driven such cars at triple digit speeds in emergency situations, and a '78 Monaco A38 or an AHB Fury will handle just as well as a 9C1 Caprice or the newest Crown Vic P71 with comparable rims and tires. I have also crawled into several civilian B, C, E and other size bodies which would surprise you, and if they had the heavy duty suspension option or a trailering package can be a joy to drive in a set of high speed curves. If you would care to do some research and reading on this subject, you will find many others who will tell you the same thing.

Finally, once you put some thought into setting up an old Mopar suspension correctly with just some simple modifications, you can amaze other people in just how flat one of them can corner and run through an evasive lane change scenario. As one person put it, "you have taken a two ton big block Dodge and taught it how to dance."

Suburbans and Camrys? Please.

May God bless America,

Paladin

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1977 Chrysler Cordoba A35
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Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: OzHemi] #870593
12/04/10 03:08 PM
12/04/10 03:08 PM
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Posts: 4,179
California
mickm Offline
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to some degree i understand what the OP is saying. i have 11" drums all the way round on the road runner, and i had the shoes radiused to the drums, and it stops really well. but i know that in an emergency situation, it isn't going to stop anything like a modern car, and i have felt the fade.

at the end of the 1/4 mile, doing 109, it was a bit of work to make the first turn off, and a couple times i just went for the second.

another story, a few years ago i got a chance to drive a new lambourghini, don't remember the model, but it was the 500hp car. i didn't get a chance to play with the handling, i wasn't all that impressed with the acceleration, but at one point on the highway i was doing about 110 or so, and jumped on the brakes to slow down for upcoming traffic, and it was mind-boggling!

it seemed like one second i was doing 110, and the next second i was doing 60. no dive, no swerve, no sway, it just felt like instantaneous deceleration! i gained a whole new respect for brakes after that.

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Paladin] #870594
12/04/10 03:10 PM
12/04/10 03:10 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 28,312
Cincinnati, Ohio
Challenger 1 Offline
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Quote:

Quote:

I've never even ridden in a mopar that can handle as well as my wife's 90 Camry, or even our Suburban with my wife, kids and the dog in it.




Mike,

While I don't usually go for the uber large custom braking systems either due to the cost, I do take a bit of offense to your statement made above. It shows a lot of hyperbole at best, and a definite lack of knowledge and experience at worst.

I have driven a lot of old Mopars in my time, and several of them are far above the handling capabilites of a Suburban or a Camry . The torsion bar front suspension was hailed as the basis of some of the best handling American cars of their day, a fact which is still repeated by people who are surprised when they drive a properly aligned and cared for old Mopar with modern rubber on the ground.

I personally have driven such cars at triple digit speeds in emergency situations, and a '78 Monaco A38 or an AHB Fury will handle just as well as a 9C1 Caprice or the newest Crown Vic P71 with comparable rims and tires. I have also crawled into several civilian B, C, E and other size bodies which would surprise you, and if they had the heavy duty suspension option or a trailering package can be a joy to drive in a set of high speed curves. If you would care to do some research and reading on this subject, you will find many others who will tell you the same thing.

Finally, once you put some thought into setting up an old Mopar suspension correctly with just some simple modifications, you can amaze other people in just how flat one of them can corner and run through an evasive lane change scenario. As one person put it, "you have taken a two ton big block Dodge and taught it how to dance."

Suburbans and Camrys? Please.

May God bless America,

Paladin






With the battery in the trunk and now aluiminum heads my old E body don't do to bad in the twistes now a days.

Re: So, how much braking do you really need? [Re: Paladin] #870595
12/04/10 04:53 PM
12/04/10 04:53 PM
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 253
Orange County, CA
M
Mike H Offline OP
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Orange County, CA
Paladin-hyperbole? Of course, but not much. My dog is only 20 pounds.

The original post wasn't intended to critique old Mopars handling, though there is ample ammo for that. Just my opinion that uber brake systems are generally overkill given the limiting factors (weight, distribution, suspension) of the vehicles they are installed on.

And, unless a person is a cop, or is friends with all the local ones, the opportunities for utilizing the additional braking potential of such a system over factory discs seems really limited. Cool looking? No doubt. Practical? Not as sure about that.

Here are a couple of other thoughts. It seems like the best way to improve an old cars braking, even with stock drums, would be to install some kind of ABS system. But I have never heard of anyone doing that. Is it too expensive/complicated to design/install?

Second thought, a little off subject, is if torsion bars were such a great thing, why don't cars today use them? Or do they?

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