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Safety footwear on too.

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tie shirt, shorts and flip flops, what else is there safety wise?

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Don't worry Feet's; firstly, I'm not going to be jacknifed in the middle of the road, and secondly, your little car isn't going to squash me like a grape!

for the record, I have nothing against you building your car as you like with 16" brakes if that's what you choose. The point I'm making is that you don't need that to be safe driving amongst traffic.

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I guess you've never seen a travel trailer on it's side after the driver ran over the moron that cut in front of him. The really nasty part is when another car slams into the roof of the overturned pickup. That makes for a nasty mess involving the highway shut down for hours and a visit by the coroner. Needless to say, they weren't home for the holidays.

Properly set up drum brakes will feel great until you get into a car with properly set up dic brakes. Either arrangement will work for the vast majority of the muscle car crowd. For those of us with a more spirited driving style only the discs will do. That doesn't mean we're a nusiance on the highway. I do enjoy playing a bit when there's nobody around.
My daily commute has put me in situations where GOOD brakes saved my bacon. When the guy entered the freeway and hit the left lane between 15 and 20 mph while I was moving along at 65 mph things got... puckery. I was able to slow the hot rod down but couldn't see the guy's tail lights over my hood. That was close. It's also just one of the many idiots I have to deal with on the roads.

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Of course I've seen trucks and trailers turned over many times; mine is a truck mounted camper not a trailer so I can't jacknife.....I was being semi faceceous about the idea that I'd be worried about your car hurting my truck which weighs 3x as much.

My friend Mark has a '62 'Vette with 11" drums on all 4 corners and I guarantee his stopping distance is shorter than many disc brake equipped SUV's and RV's that weigh 2x, 3x or more. I'm sure my 2008 ZX6R can stop quicker than your car, but it'd be silly to suggest your brakes aren't good enough or safe, right?

Ultimately we agree, you said it: " either arrangement will work for the vast majority of the musclecar crowd."

My POINT (again) is that there are many trucks, rv's and other vehicles on the road that have far longer stopping distances than a drum brake musclecar. You don't NEED 14" 4 wheel disks to be safe to drive on the road and I'm perfectly safe driving my truck and camper. If we all needed that level of braking to survive, then we should all drive new SRT-8's or 'Vettes and no truck or RV should be allowed on the public road system.

Nothing wrong with having as much brakes as you like but I strongly object to the idea that stock brakes render the car "unsafe" or the idea that the only cars that should have stock brakes are unused "trailer queens" (I'm responding to several other posters, not necessarily you on this sentiment)

Roadracing; fine, definitely get the big brakes. And as far as "spirited driving" goes; we all do it to some extent but triple digit speeds on public roads tend to get one in alot of trouble these days.

&

Dave

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And as far as "spirited driving" goes; we all do it to some extent but triple digit speeds on public roads tend to get one in alot of trouble these days.

&

Dave

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Yes, one must be careful on public roads, except when your on a road with no signs, no cops, no traffic, no nothing except asphalt. Then you just gotta do what you gotta do.

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Actually, this has been a great thread, and I am to be heartily commended for coming up with the topic. You may show your appreciation by sending me car parts. Or paypal.

Here is what I've learned so far;
1) Four wheel drums are more than adequate for nearly all driving situations you are likely to encounter while sober
2) Factory drums are marginal at best in any situation
3) You stand a 90% chance of ending up in a wheelchair just driving a drum-brake car to the store to get milk
4) Factory drum brakes attract overturned campers like a trailer park draws tornados. Or something like that. I didn't follow that part real well.
Got it!

I also learned:
5) Big disc setups are for looks
6) Big disc setups are indispensable
7) The bigger the discs, the quicker the jump to light speed
8) You can avoid speeding tickets if your rotors are big enough
and,
9) with big enough brakes, and $23K of chassis and suspension upgrades,our mopars can be made to handle as well as a Corolla!

So whose system should I buy; Mirkwood, Bimbo, or Bear?

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The car that won the Optima Street Car Challenge last month was a 69 Camaro with ABS brakes. I think it went from 0 to 60mph and back to 0 in 6.4 sec.

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These are the front brakes on that car, there is a whole build thread on lateral-g

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Actually, this has been a great thread, and I am to be heartily commended for coming up with the topic. You may show your appreciation by sending me car parts. Or paypal.

Here is what I've learned so far;
1) Four wheel drums are more than adequate for nearly all driving situations you are likely to encounter while sober
2) Factory drums are marginal at best in any situation
3) You stand a 90% chance of ending up in a wheelchair just driving a drum-brake car to the store to get milk
4) Factory drum brakes attract overturned campers like a trailer park draws tornados. Or something like that. I didn't follow that part real well.
Got it!

I also learned:
5) Big disc setups are for looks
6) Big disc setups are indispensable
7) The bigger the discs, the quicker the jump to light speed
8) You can avoid speeding tickets if your rotors are big enough
and,
9) with big enough brakes, and $23K of chassis and suspension upgrades,our mopars can be made to handle as well as a Corolla!

So whose system should I buy; Mirkwood, Bimbo, or Bear?

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Dave

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For 1969, the GTX got a little sportier with the optional Air Grabber cold air induction system (operated via a pull-tab beneath the dash) and matte-black stripe kit – both found on the hood of this featured GTX example. Testing of the big Belvedere garnered a 7.1-second 0-to-60 time and a 179-foot 65-to-0 stopping distance. While not on par with the lighter and less-optioned Road Runner, the GTX was truly “glued together well.”

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Here's a snippet from a magaine reviewing the 69 GTX:

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For 1969, the GTX got a little sportier with the optional Air Grabber cold air induction system (operated via a pull-tab beneath the dash) and matte-black stripe kit – both found on the hood of this featured GTX example. Testing of the big Belvedere garnered a 7.1-second 0-to-60 time and a 179-foot 65-to-0 stopping distance. While not on par with the lighter and less-optioned Road Runner, the GTX was truly “glued together well.”

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The latest review of the 392 SRT8 Challenger showed a 4250 lb car stopping from 60 mph in 114 feet.

Drum brakes won't kill you. They'll serve you well for many years. Disc brakes (and larger ones at that) will serve you just as well but hold an extra safety margin as well.

You have insurance on your car. You don't expect to have a crash but it's worth the price if there is an accident.
To me, brakes are the same way. Basic stuff works but I like the extra capacity.

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Good way to put it.

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Here's a snippet from a magaine reviewing the 69 GTX:

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For 1969, the GTX got a little sportier with the optional Air Grabber cold air induction system (operated via a pull-tab beneath the dash) and matte-black stripe kit – both found on the hood of this featured GTX example. Testing of the big Belvedere garnered a 7.1-second 0-to-60 time and a 179-foot 65-to-0 stopping distance. While not on par with the lighter and less-optioned Road Runner, the GTX was truly “glued together well.”

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The latest review of the 392 SRT8 Challenger showed a 4250 lb car stopping from 60 mph in 114 feet.

Drum brakes won't kill you. They'll serve you well for many years. Disc brakes (and larger ones at that) will serve you just as well but hold an extra safety margin as well.

You have insurance on your car. You don't expect to have a crash but it's worth the price if there is an accident.
To me, brakes are the same way. Basic stuff works but I like the extra capacity.

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