Rear disc brake upgrade? Worth it or not?
- Thread starter Speedy94c
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My plan for my car is to use the S10 manual brake rear wheel cylinders, use the bolt on brackets to better secure the wheel cylinders to the backing plates and make sure the adjustment on the rear shoes is pretty snug. I think this is more than enough for a driver. I prefer the pedal feel of well adjusted rear drums.
Drum brakes stop you faster, there is more brake material contacting the drums than a disk pad on a rotor. '90% of heavy truck buyers today still choose tried-and-true drum brakes" The advantage of disk brakes is they don't need any adjustment and are easier to change the pads and disks on some cars. In circle track racing the rear disks are better because of constant brake use the drums heat up and expand which lowers the brake pedal and affects the braking because the front disks will brake more then the rear. I have an A body rear and noticed an improvement in the rear brakes. The A body uses the same drum and equal size shoes but the wheel cylinder is bolted in so it does not move around like the G body cylinder installed with the clip
and I should mention I have 1980 Seville rear calipers and F body rotors and caliper brackets set up for my car. If I ever get around to doing the switch it will be only for the look and nothing else.
and I should mention I have 1980 Seville rear calipers and F body rotors and caliper brackets set up for my car. If I ever get around to doing the switch it will be only for the look and nothing else.
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What do you mean if it's better?
Would you take $1 or 1¢?
Can't give you more money because that's all I got lol.
Would you take $1 or 1¢?
Can't give you more money because that's all I got lol.
I've got the s10 cylinders and brackets, imo there's no weight in the rear when braking, disc would just lock up faster
I agree that for a mild driver the rear drums should be more than adequate and this is how I set up my Regal's new brake system.
But on my Monte I have Wilwood rear discs with an adjustable proportioning valve I have it adjusted so that the rears come in just after the fronts so my big sticky rear tires can help the skinny frontrunners stop.
This set up works amazingly well with the power I have.
But on my Monte I have Wilwood rear discs with an adjustable proportioning valve I have it adjusted so that the rears come in just after the fronts so my big sticky rear tires can help the skinny frontrunners stop.
This set up works amazingly well with the power I have.
I love my disc brakes and car stops even and vary positively.
For a daily driver it probably doesn't matter much.
For a daily driver it probably doesn't matter much.
I would agree that it is not necessary for just a daily driver. I'm only doing it in addition to all the other "turn and stop" mods I am doing to see what I can get this 442 of mine to do on a track [just for fun!]. Right now . . . since it is scattered, I am just missing driving it!
Good luck with your Monte!
Good luck with your Monte!
it all depends on your driving style, and the depth of your wallet. if your a cruiser, drums will work just fine. if your more like a street racer or drive like your doing auto-x, i think discs would be the way to go. while drum brakes do have a greater brake swept surface area, the reason disc brake brakes have become the industry standard on cars is their ability to dissipate heat is superior to drum brakes. when braking, brakes convert the motion of the car to heat. that heat needs to be removed for the braking to continue to work. the more efficiently that heat removed, the better your braking will be. rotors are more efficient then drums are at removing heat.
now I'm not saying drums are bad. my 57 olds still has the factory drum brakes front and rear. and when it was raced in mexico, it went through 6 sets of front shoes while racing in the mountains. the shoe material was heat cracking, because it couldn't dissipate the heat.
now there are ways to maximize your drums, by using aluminum drums, drums with external fins, larger drums( mid-seventies a-body wagons came with 11"finned drums on the rear), or what they did in the sixties was to run high metallic segmented shoes and holesaw large holes in the backing plates to help vent the heat.
so, consider your driving style and determine how much you want to spend. sometimes its cheaper to buy a lot of shoes in place of upgrading to discs.
now I'm not saying drums are bad. my 57 olds still has the factory drum brakes front and rear. and when it was raced in mexico, it went through 6 sets of front shoes while racing in the mountains. the shoe material was heat cracking, because it couldn't dissipate the heat.
now there are ways to maximize your drums, by using aluminum drums, drums with external fins, larger drums( mid-seventies a-body wagons came with 11"finned drums on the rear), or what they did in the sixties was to run high metallic segmented shoes and holesaw large holes in the backing plates to help vent the heat.
so, consider your driving style and determine how much you want to spend. sometimes its cheaper to buy a lot of shoes in place of upgrading to discs.
Thanks guys. Very helpful info. I will not drive this car a whole lot, so I probally will just leave the drums on there for now. If I see the need in the future then I can convert to the disc's. We dirt track race and have converted a lot of the g body and camaros over to discs so It isnt hard to do but if I dont see the need then thats money I can spend elsewhere.
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