Brake improvement

[lordofrc]

I have a 67 dodge charger. I want to keep my stock steel rims but i want to improve the brakes as much as possible. I do not have power brakes, and i have drums in back, discs in front. Any Ideas? I have a potent 440 I just dropped in and I figure i ought to keep all that power under control.

 

[Satellite65]

If you already have the discs in front and don't want to (or can't because of low engine vacuum) go with a booster, you can swap out the master cylinder for a unit with a smaller bore and get more mechanical advantage. The pedal travel will increase a little but the effort will be less.

 

[iraqivet01]

If your asking for a solution to improve your stopping distance, you have several options:

1. One way to better improve it is to change out the stock disc systems to a better system with 3 - 4 pistons and larger disc, which means you would have to have 15" wheels or bigger.

2. Put a more aggressive pad on and see if it that makes a difference.

A brake booster not going to improve your stopping distance, just make it easier to push the peddle.
If your asking for a solution to make braking easier, then "yes" a brake booster is your ticket.

 

[lordofrc]

brakes

excellent. Will putting rear discs on be any kind of improvement or is everything in the front? I am going to check and see how much vacuum i have and get a booster. I want stopping power and for the pedal to be easier.

 

[Satellite65]

I can't directly answer your question as I never swapped rear drums to disc. Most of the people I know that have made the swap say it made very little if any difference in overall braking and except for the "cool" factor, probably not woth the time/effort/money. The front brakes are doing the lions share of the work. Things that will actually improve stopping distances would be like iraqivet01 said, more aggressive pads. Larger rotors would definitely do the trick but then you would need new caliper brackets and they more than likely would not fit inside your stock rims.

 

[scotts74birds]

This is the article that I refer everyone to http://www.moparaction.com/tech/archive/disc-main.html Now, if you do not have the 11" discs, this will be a major return on your investment. As far as rear brakes go, I work at the "factory" and have talked to the engineers. On most cars, the rear disc brake option is only because the "other" guy has it, and the consumer wants it. In a hard, or panic stop situation, the rears are at 30% of the stopping power or less. The rear is so unloaded, it barely counts. ABS makes more of a difference than disc or drum in the rear. For an older mopar, I would be just fine with the optional cop or taxi size rear drums. Sorry, I dont remember the drum sizes, but they were also available as an option on almost everything else.

 

[Cranky]

This is the article that I refer everyone to http://www.moparaction.com/tech/archive/disc-main.html Now, if you do not have the 11" discs, this will be a major return on your investment. As far as rear brakes go, I work at the "factory" and have talked to the engineers. On most cars, the rear disc brake option is only because the "other" guy has it, and the consumer wants it. In a hard, or panic stop situation, the rears are at 30% of the stopping power or less. The rear is so unloaded, it barely counts. ABS makes more of a difference than disc or drum in the rear. For an older mopar, I would be just fine with the optional cop or taxi size rear drums. Sorry, I dont remember the drum sizes, but they were also available as an option on almost everything else.

11" rear drums were the heavy duty option. Going with a better disc brake pad will help improve braking distance and so will a better shoe for drums.....

 

[scotts74birds]

You're right about that, Cranky! On that subject, alot of folks and shops around here seem to like the new "Adaptive ONE" pads from NAPA. They are a hybrid/ceramic. I'll be trying a new set on my driver next week. Feedback from everyone is that they are pretty good, with a noticeable improvement.

 

[Dennis H]

The Napa One ceramic/hybrids adaptives work good on the new Charger. Clean and quiet. For the rear, www.praisedynobrake.com

I have the praisedyno on the 69 11" hemi drums. Huge improvement.