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| Chassis - Front - Brakes |
Rotors Vs. Cross-drilled Rotors I get asked questions about rotors... Does cross-drilled rotor have better performance? i.e. shorter stopping distance. I understand that if so, cross-drilled rotor probably has shorter useful life. Other than this performance/useful-lifespan trade-off, any other issues to consider? You should consider slotted rotors. You'll get the benefits of faster cooling (what cross drilled do) without the side effects of cross drilled (cracking rotors).
Cross-drilled and slotted rotors do NOT reduce stopping distance! In fact, with the decrease in rotor surface for the pad to work against they may increase it slightly. I can guarantee that unless there is something majority wrong with your brakes or you drive a pre-1970 car, you can hit the brake pedal and lock the wheels / feel the ABS cut in. Under these circumstances, your stopping distance is 100% limited by the the traction between your tires and the road surface and the only way to reduce it is to go to a better gripping tires Where cross-drilled and slotted rotors work is in repeated heavy brake applications from high speed (race track) where after about the equivalent of 5 non-racing emergency stops in a row, the temperatures get to the point where you get pad fad (if you don't boil your brake fluid first!). The holes / slots help cool the pad. Of course, they are normally used in combination with a racing pad that often doesn't work until it comes up to temperature so a race car probably stops worse than a road car on the first stop but much better on the 10th! The holes and slots also help remove any glaze on the pad from overheating it. As for warping the rotors,
when you come to a stop apply the handbrake, put the car in neutral and
take your foot of the foot brake. The handbrake usually works on the cars
rear wheels which do typically <30% of the braking on a road car and
hence get no where near as hot as the front. The handbrake is also less
clamping pressure. I used to drive a heavily modified (Elford) 1st Gen
Rx-7 with stock brakes. It would get pad fade daily on my route home from
work (fantastic Hampshire country lanes) and a set of pads would last
about as long as a set of tires< 6 months. I never suffered any rotor
warpage with taking my foot off the brake pedal as soon as I had stopped.
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| Walt Zettner's Brake Upgrade - Being the sensible person that I am, I rebuilt the brakes by turning the rotors and installing new premium pads. The stock brakes are OK, but they were not bigger or better than any other Fiero. Uarrgh! Uarrgh! |
| Caliper Mounting Hardware
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The caliper mounting brackets have to be just right to have the complete set-up all fit together properly. I am offering the caliper mounting hardware as a kit of my own. I am simply making these plates and bushings available to others who would rather not use, or cannot afford the Wilwood brake systems. Another reason I am offering them, is because I was shocked to say the least at how much others were selling the mounting hardware for! Not naming names, the prices were out of this world! The plates and hardware I am using were cut using a plasma cutter, and the bushings were machined by the same local machine shop. (Jackson's Welding and Machine) All plates are finished in a gunsmith blue finish. It is NEVER a good idea to paint these plates, as the paint will vary the outboard brake pad distance from the rotor, and consistency is effected. |
| The front caliper mounting hardware and spacers. These pieces were cut using a plasma pattern cutter, and then I cleaned them up by hand. I blued them with hot gun blueing solution to better protect them from the elements. The spacers were machines for me also allowing perfect outboard brake pad clearance from the rotor. They are also blued. I cannot understand for the life of me, why other companies charge a small fortune for these plates! Without a doubt, they are extremely important pieces that you must trust your life with! But an apple is an apple, and once these pieces have been designed properly, the cost of machining the plates and bushings still does not add up to what other companies want for the mounting hardware alone. E-mail me for pricing if you are interested. |  |
| Note the machined spacers between the mounting plate and spindle. I had these pieces machined as one piece, because I wasn't comfortable with the other methods of "shimming until it fits". These mounting plates are rock solid! Each plate is stamped left and right, as they "may" need to be fit to the calipers. The reason I say "may" is because all manufacturers casts are not exactly the same. You may or may not have to fit the caliper depending on which brand caliper you use. I used Raybestos, and had to fit each caliper. It took me about 3-5 minutes per caliper to fit... very simple! |  |
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| The items that must be purchased to complete the installation are as follows: Front Calipers from 1986 Chevy S-10 (4X4) Rear Calipers from 1986 Chevy Camaro Adjustable Proportioning Valve Master Cylinder from Chevy Blazer 10.25" Vented Rotors Keep in mind, that if a person is going to use the widetrack front suspension, longer brake lines will be required. Braided stainless brake lines are recommended. These brake lines can be purchased from Held Motor Sports for $120.00 per set of 4. I would strongly encourage people to research the price of doing the big brake kit themselves. The savings can be quite substantial, and it really is quite easy once you have the mounting hardware! |
| Links: |
| A1-Racing - Parts |
| Classic Tube - Seamless Stainless Steel Brake Tubing |
| Held Motor Sports |
| West Coast Fiero Brakes |
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This entire Website
is copyright © 2002-2005 by Ron
Fletcher. All rights reserved. |
Although my information
comes from various builders and sources, if you want any information contact
me. The photographs used on this site are used with permission, if you
want to use any, contact them through the various links on this site.
I did and you can see the results! |
