Rear drum improvement not swapped?

[gtoman]

This may sound crazy but has anyone tried keeping the rear drum setup but improving it? I have ideas like using better shoes or at least high quality shoes and maybe drilling the sides of the drum where they mount for better cooling. Anyone think there is any improvement to be had here? Ideas of your own?

Adam

[lostforawhile]

it's actually a good idea as the discs can be really hard to find, the trick would be finding a bigger drum with the correct bolt pattern and changing the brakes to fit it, this idea has been done since there have been cars, it's not going to beat the disc swap, but as they get harder and harder to find it's an option

[Buzo]

What I believe we need is some kind of ABS.

Modern cars have pretty good braking performance and they have drums in the rear. What does the trick is the wrapping and releasing effect of the ABS and not letting any wheel to fully stop during braking. So we would need independent speed sensors in all wheels, the hydraulic system and the controller from other car.

[lostforawhile]

What I believe we need is some kind of ABS.

Modern cars have pretty good braking performance and they have drums in the rear. What does the trick is the wrapping and releasing effect of the ABS and not letting any wheel to fully stop during braking. So we would need independent speed sensors in all wheels, the hydraulic system and the controller from other car.

actually it's been proven that you can stop a car in a shorter distance without ABS then with it, it's knowing how to stop properly, Modern ABS is mainly designed for people who don't know anything about driving other then start the car and place phone to ear. When I took drivers ED years ago they taught us how to modulate the brake pressure to do the same thing, I guess I would prefer to not let my car think for me

[2ndGenGuy]

What I believe we need is some kind of ABS.

Modern cars have pretty good braking performance and they have drums in the rear. What does the trick is the wrapping and releasing effect of the ABS and not letting any wheel to fully stop during braking. So we would need independent speed sensors in all wheels, the hydraulic system and the controller from other car.

If you look for the parts overseas, there is an ABS model of the 3g. I'm sure the system could be retrofitted to the car. The car even had a badge on the back that said "4WALB"

[gtoman]

ewww ABS

I like wide sticky tires with human modulation the best.

The problem with ABS is that it doesn't like being upgraded or messed with. Once you put wider and/or better tires than factory you can then out brake the ABS system, especially if you add better rotors and high friction pads. The ABS system will start wanting to engage before YOU want it to..annoying for late braking. This is why most racers don't run ABS.

I will however concede that for the average zombie behind the wheel ABS is a good thing.

Adam

[Buzo]

I know where the discussions of ABS always end up.
My point is if I was to mess with my brake system, I would better give more control than more power.

[2oodoor]

I know that before disc conversions on older cars than this, you would find rear drums from a wagon or pickup, depending on the car.
I wonder if all 4 gen wagons had disc or drum and if they are better.
Drums that were a little wider sometimes, and drums that had cooling fins cast into them were upgrades.

[obd0driver]

I have a feeling that by the end of this we will find out that its cheaper and faster to just the rear disc swap. just sayin

[gp02a0083]

I know that before disc conversions on older cars than this, you would find rear drums from a wagon or pickup, depending on the car.
I wonder if all 4 gen wagons had disc or drum and if they are better.
Drums that were a little wider sometimes, and drums that had cooling fins cast into them were upgrades.

I have the same problem with my G body 442, they never came with rear disc. The typical upgrades i see done that are an improvement: aluminum drums with fins ( added rotational weight savings and cooling), upgrading the brake cylinders ( we swap out stock units for chevy S-10 units for more braking pressure) and premium shoes. as 2oodoor mentioned, finding units that are a bit wider allowing a larger contact patch will help as well.

as obd0driver said, at the end of the day its going to be simpler to convert to disc, the biggest advantage you will get from that is minimizing brake fade

[lostforawhile]

I have a feeling that by the end of this we will find out that its cheaper and faster to just the rear disc swap. just sayin

we already know this but not everyone can find one thats the point

[2ndGenGuy]

You could call a high performance brake manufacturer. A lot of them will put their higher end compounds onto any shoe or pad.

[AccordEpicenter]

if you have quality rotors in the front with good race pads and good fluid youd be surprised at how much better the brakes work. it might not perfect for a roadracing or hardcore auto X setup but still the improvement is astounding. Ive made solid 130mph panic stops with brembo blank rotors and the top Hawk pads without much trouble at all. Im using motul dot4 fluid, I really feel this is the key to prevent fade and keep stopping distances to a minimum, the fluid makes more of a difference than youd think. A good driver with manual brakes will out brake the same car with abs EVERY TIME. Abs is for people who cant drive.

[Oldblueaccord]

This may sound crazy but has anyone tried keeping the rear drum setup but improving it? I have ideas like using better shoes or at least high quality shoes and maybe drilling the sides of the drum where they mount for better cooling. Anyone think there is any improvement to be had here? Ideas of your own?

Adam

I thought EBC had shoes for our cars try looking there. You prolly could get them relined by a brake company like Carbotech or some specialty brake company.


wp

http://www.moparaction.com/Next/next.html

Also they did an article for using ABS of another car its pretty simple set up might be adapted to our cars. Its not on there web site yet.

[2ndGenGuy]

if you have quality rotors in the front with good race pads and good fluid youd be surprised at how much better the brakes work. It might not perfect for a roadracing or hardcore auto x setup but still the improvement is astounding. Ive made solid 130mph panic stops with brembo blank rotors and the top hawk pads without much trouble at all. Im using motul dot4 fluid, i really feel this is the key to prevent fade and keep stopping distances to a minimum, the fluid makes more of a difference than youd think. A good driver with manual brakes will out brake the same car with abs every time. Abs is for people who cant drive.

+1

[import racer]

Some good quality drums and shoes would make a big difference.