manual brakes.. who has them?

[68dustin]

I currently have power drum brakes... well they arent going to cut it anymore and i need to upgrade to disc. So my question is: who is running non power disc brakes and how do you like them?? do you wish you ran power? how are they compare to manual drum? Im leaning towards non-power because i just installed a supercharger and im worried about vacuum being an issue. I have a pretty radical cam so i was already running into vac. problems. I know there are vac. canisters out there, but under my hood already has enough stuff. Thanks everyone!

:SNSign:

 

[Stang_1973]

interested in this thread. looking to upgrade to disks real soon.

From what i understand you can always do the disk brake swap and then if you want power you can always switch out the master and power.

I currently have manual drums and they totally suck.

 

[66forfun]

I do.
Manual Baer 13" track kit up front, small drums out back.
They work great!
17" rim is req'd and the ultra performance 3 season tires help as well.
After driving a GM with a big cam and hard pedal I decided to stick to manual.
I have no problem with emergency stops and pedal effort is not even an issue.
I think the master cyl bore size is critical if you are building your own setup.
Went from manual drums that needed constant adjustment to keep it stopping straight.

No regrets for keeping it manual.

 

[cardude]

I run manual disks up front - granada swaps.

they work good as long as you have the correct master cyl & a proportioning valve to adjust the back. I have a big cam as well and just never went vac assisted.

the only thing I would suggest is if you plan to go fast you may want to consider some form of assistance, I notice it takes a strong leg to get it to stop hard.

 

[classic boost]

i went from manual drums to manual disc. it works ok for me, but it does take some 'leg'. it hauls my car down from 140+ mph (but i can't take the 1st turn off. lol.)

 

[HookandLadder]

Manual drums to manual disc/drums. Made a big difference in stopping and in stopping straight. Never had an issue with having to lean hard on the pedal and I could probably hit the first turnoff from 130 if I had to.

 

[D.Hearne]

I had manual 4 drums then to manual 4 discs on my 67 Stang. The difference was night & day. I now have manual disc/drum on my 77 Comet. Zero problems and love the extra room between the shock tower and firewall.

 

[A66Auto]

I have factory maual front disks and they are ok. I used to daily drive my mustang. It had a 4 speed and front disks and they never were a problem except when I REALLY needed to stop. For normal use they are ok, but brakes have come a long way in 40 years.

 

[runawayabc123]

I have factory manual front disks as well. They feel like any "normal" car for the most part, but if you need to stop in a hurry, you have to put your foot down. For the most part, you would never know they weren't power. My current car, a Fusion, has stiffer brakes that require more effort to push the pedal for final stopping power anyway (which is 4 wheel power disk).

They only time they show being manual, is they can be a little soft when it is hot out.

They actaully feel a lot like the brakes on my last car, a '91 T-Bird (power disk/drum).

Newer cars have more grades of grab feeling, which you won't get as they are manual brakes.

 

[DK832]

I went manual as well on the new car, 13" Brembos front and 11.65" Cobra in the back. Using a dual MC (the CNC one from NPD) and check valves. The car is not driving yet so I'm really exited to try it out. Everybody seems to love the CNC dual MC though and it's reassuring to see so many in this thread w/o issues with manual brakes!

 

[Rusty67]

It really depends on the MC you use and which disc brakes you have. If you have the right combo you will be ok. Don't use the SVO MC if you want to use manual brakes. My pedal is rock hard and will stop the car but it takes a lot of leg.

 

[63bird390]

brakes

i have a 63 t-bird with 4 wheel disc. the key is pedal ratio i run a 8-1 ratio it has a bit more travel not much at all though.

master cylinder should 1" no bigger!! or you will blow your knee out trying to stop the car.

adjustable porportioning valve and residual pressure valves should get it done.

in my opinion you can feel the point just before wheel lockup way better with manual brakes than power.


this link has alot on these questions. enjoy

Master Power Brakes - Reference/FAQs: Master Cylinders

 

[silverbluebp]

I have the Lincoln type, 12", 4 piston front discs with std 10"x 2" rear drums. 1 1/16" bore MC, Motul 600 fluid and Porterfield R4 pads with R4S rear shoes. It'll make your eyes pop out under heavy braking!

I run 3-4 15-20 minute sessions per day, on track and the manual brakes are not overly tiring.

 

[jlangholzj]

+1 one on the extra leg...its takes some serious downshifting and leg muscle to get it stopped in a reasonable distance....but if your not going that fast on a regular basis on a track or whatever have you...i think they do just fine.

 

[phutch11]

Check out the Scarebird kit it looks like the easiest kit for front manual disks. I'll be doing the swap shortly.

Any scarebird manual folks out there?

Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Pakrat]

As soon as spring hits I will be knee deep into a Mustang Steve 13" Cobra conversion up front on my current 4 wheel drum stock set up and I'm keeping it manual as well so glad to hear most of this is favorable. I figured if it felt like I need a little more extra then I would just go to the MPB 11" drum out back and it should be more than enough while still keeping it cheap and simple.

 

[SNAKEPILOT]

Not a single pro-power brake reply?

There is a saying that goes: "Beware of the man with one gun, for he probably knows how to use it."

All new cars have power brakes. Unless your non-power brake car is the only one you drive, that is what you (and most drivers) are used to.

Note all the comments about "needing some leg" to slow down quickly. Your reflexes are in synch with your daily driver - which has power brakes. When the aforementioned idiot driver cuts in front of you and requires split second results, you don't want your brakes to be different.

Power Brakes:
1. Are not that expensive.
2. Are not very complicated.
3. Fit even with big block engines.
4. Can work with big cams (yes a vacuum pump is expensive <$250> but HP/going fast isn't cheap, don't sacrifice safety).

 

[Rusty67]

If you have power steering at all then I'd suguest geting a hydroboost setup and not even messing with a vac booster.

 

[zookeeper]

My wife's '69 Corvette has factory manual discs, and they're nothing to write home about. They take a VERY stout leg, and aside from a cleaner firewall, I see no reason to use manual discs. I will say that some race brakes using dual, small-bore master cylinders and a bias bar, will work every bit as well as power brakes.

 

[Stang_1973]

Not a single pro-power brake reply?

There is a saying that goes: "Beware of the man with one gun, for he probably knows how to use it."

All new cars have power brakes. Unless your non-power brake car is the only one you drive, that is what you (and most drivers) are used to.

Note all the comments about "needing some leg" to slow down quickly. Your reflexes are in synch with your daily driver - which has power brakes. When the aforementioned idiot driver cuts in front of you and requires split second results, you don't want your brakes to be different.

Power Brakes:
1. Are not that expensive.
2. Are not very complicated.
3. Fit even with big block engines.
4. Can work with big cams (yes a vacuum pump is expensive <$250> but HP/going fast isn't cheap, don't sacrifice safety).