Gun Jam

"it is a fact. MAUEAL BRAKES TAKE LONGER TO STOP! "

I dont fully agree with you Twister, on some larger autos this may very well be the case, but not with our classic mustangs.

I have front disc and rear drums with duel master cylinder no power booster or any type of assist and I can stop just as fast as I can in my Porsche 944 that has 4 wheel disc and power assists and abs. of course it does take more pedal effort on the mustang to reach the same amount of braking force as the Porsche but NOT more time.

If I wanted to I could lock the wheels up in about .5 sec on command so how is it possible for power to be faster than manual?


Gun

67Sally

Then your Porsche is messed up IMO...that just doesn't work out by the laws of physics. How could the worse brakes on a heavier car stop as quickly as a lighter one with the better brakes. Are you sure that your Porsche's brakes are good because ours stop VERY fast. One of the things Porsche is known for is their brakes.

P Zero

Becuase you can apply MORE pressure. Time wise it might not be any longer, but I guarantee distance will be further.
+1 for the POWER disc conversion, brakes are not something you want to take lightly, IMO the 2 MOST important things on a car are the brakes and windsheild wipers. That and drum brakes always drag a little, not to mention if youre ever cruising on the highway and NEED to stop you probably would have some problems with brake fade, as drum brakes have VERY poor cooling.
-P.

coda618

I agree that disc brakes will upgrade braking capacity. However, I am one for keeping things as original as possible, not big on mods other than what was available from the factory. So my advice was to do a complete brake job and see if that doesn't suit your needs. Much cheeper than a conversion, the car is left origional and you may find that the manual drums are sufficient for your needs. I have always been ok w the manual drums on my Mustangs. However, I do not drive like an idiot or street race. It is just a matter of preference. But yes, disc brakes are safer, generally. Even if you eventually do a swap, all you will need to change is the front gear and you will already have new rears, lines, hoses, etc. so it will only be the cost of shoes, hardware and getting the front drums cut that is down the drain, but you may decide after the brake job that you do not need or want to spend the extra money for a conversion. Just my .02, but hey its not my car so you can do what ever you choose, that is the point of getting various opinions.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Gun Jam

He just said manual brakes take longer to stop than assisted, If I can lock the wheels up pretty fast on my mustang why would I need extra help / more pressure? I can also find threshold-braking limit easily too, once I get to threshold limit how does power assist do anything for me? Its just less pedal effort and adding extra pedal effort doesn’t take hardly any more time?

The brakes on my 944 are in good condition the 944 has curb weight of 2844 lbs the mustang has listed curb weight of right about 2800 lbs

The braking test was done at 40 mph both cars stopped with 1 or 2 yards of the measured 14.5 yard distance, on the Porsche I just jammed the pedal to the floor and let the abs have all the fun.

At higher speed the Porsche may start to stop faster I can’t say. Just calling em how i see em

But really this is about me debating on the side that a power booster for classic mustangs is just for comfort and will not provide a noticeable increase in stopping distance over manual

Gun

68chicagocoupe

Wow....this is turning into a real debate lol

Muggsy.....you said it best I feel like I am doing leg presses all the time! Cash is always a concern, but safety is key and I am willing to spend the money if I have to. It just puts some of my other ideas for the car on hold. Which I am ok with.....this is going to take me years to get everything done.

Coda....you make a strong argument and I appreciate the lengthy reply. I am glad to hear they have pre-bent lines, that was the thing I was really hesitant on. Are these available for the drums & discs...will the pre-bent fit on either system?

I don't own a Porsche, but I own a Lexus GS300 and an ES330....and if this car could stop even half as good as those systems I will be thrilled.

Seems like everyone is using Stainless Steel's Kit.....any thoughts on the kit from http://www.discbrakeswap.com. It seems like a big price difference and I would like to save money f possible. The directions are very detailed, and it looks like I could pull this off.

I am starting to think that I might as well do the conversion, because if I am not happy with the drums, that will be money wasted!

P Zero

Unplug your ABS module and do your test again. You will notice it will stop a hell of a lot faster in the 944. I think ABS gives people a false sense of security, it elongates your stopping distance by quite a bit, especially in the snow. At least that has been my experience with it. And as for locking up your drums, thats why they got rid of em, discs usually wont lock up any way if your proportioning valve is working properly and you suspension isnt worn out. I was racing a couple of crotch rockets one day, not sure what they were but I managed to over take one and was riding the *** of the other , we were probaly goin around 110 and the guy lays into his brakes, well I layed into mine, my brakes didnt lock up, but even at that speed my little brakes overheated pretty quickly, and the car just started shaking. I probably wouldve hit the guy if I had drums all the way around, even if they were power assisted. just my .02.
-P.

67Sally

Gun - You could be right about it taking about the same distance to stop at lower speed but I guarentee that when you consider things like heat at high speeds the disc brakes would be a good thing to have

Coda - There are a lot of people who make originality a priority but if you look at the car shows even those guys are putting the disc brakes on (Soaring did it)

P Zero - Your first sentence doesn't make any sense. If Car 1 (with discs) and Car 2 (with drums) are going 45mph and start braking at the same time and then come to a complete stop at the same time then their distance HAS to be the same. Simple math.

68chicago - I've heard a lot of good things about discbrakeswap.com and it's probably where I'm going to get mine. Your link must include a "www." in order for it to work for people though so you might want to edit that.

ideal_mustangs

I put the Granada swap on mine out of a junkyard, which is basicaly the same. It was very easy. I had it done in a Saturday. I left mine manual and like someone said before, you still have to press them hard, but there is no brake fade, or pulling. A power booster would probably make a world of difference.

muggsy

Speaking for the SSBC Power Conversion: They will be close to your Lexus abillity, as yours are probably similiar to my Infiniti G35X. I'm telling you, huge difference with the upgrade. Again, my car was not fun to drive before...I felt like I was driving an accident waiting to happen. I couldn't even imagine if I was on the highway and came over a slight hill to see that traffic had stopped right ahead of me, I would not have been able to stop before. The SSBC kit is all new product, and their reputation is top notch. You don't have to change out anything with the tie rods etc so it will not affect turning radius. That is what made me go SSBC vs Granada.

As one guy said, I like to keep my cars original as possible too. But brakes don't really count in my opinion, they are a saftey upgrade. And its a big deal, we're not kids anymore. I actually have fear and things to lose.

And when I said I can drive like an idiot, I meant I CAN drive like an idiot...not that I do. My C code Mustang put out 200HP from the factory and it is bone stock, so its probably doing 0-60 in 14 seconds these days...seriously. I feel comfortable doing any sort of driving with it now, around town, on the highway, etc....