Brake Upgrades

Brake Upgrades
By Steve Owens

Hey, why not write about brake upgrades? This is one of the hot subjects nowadays. I'll suggest some key points:

• Aside from the innovative Corvette, the 60s and 70s saw too many drum brake installations
• Circa 1966, the Jensen FF was the first all wheel ABS, followed by Chrysler about 1971
• Drums lose effectiveness because of heat
• Since steering must be maintained during lost of traction, the rear should lock up before the front
• ...so the rear brake ability tends to be a bottleneck
• skinny tires, common in older cars, are another braking bottleneck
• Fancy, multi-piston non-floating calipers pre-dating the 1980s were problematic; hence their scarcity
• Used, or rebuilt, whole or in part, rear Lincoln Versailles brakes are scarce
• Versailles brakes DO float (contrary to bullshit statements by one prominent aftermarket brake dealer in Southern California), however the parking brake must be installed, adjusted and used to make the normal braking function
• Many companies such as Baer, SSBC and MP Brakes offer brake upgrade kits for older cars.
• To contain high dollar aftermarket costs, many enthusiasts trade their front drums for front discs, pirated from similar makes/models
• Slotted, and to a greater extent, drilled, brakes, offer greater surface area for additional cooling, but the penalty is a "cheese grating" of brake pads, and more importantly, a greater propensity to end up with a cracked rotor
• Contrary to the drilled/slotted marketing bullshit, the nemesis of brake systems is really just heat and fatigue, not "gases"
• The Versailles used innovative "lean forward" fins that scooped whatever air was available inside the wheel
• Front disc brake dust constantly attacks expensive front wheels
• Disc shields can be used to combat brake dust
• Because cooling rotors is so important, racers should probably leave dust shields, or at the very least, splash shields, at home while competing