hey all,

ive been indecisive about this for the last few weeks wether to leave the back as drums or convert it to discs.

im only currently running a 1300 but the plan is to put larger engines after IVA.

so what do people think? in my mind as im now welding brackets onto the axle now would be time to convert it over.

luke

Stick with Drums!

they are more than up to the job on car's this light and they often weigh less than the Disc setups anyway!

personal preference i think, drums are more than up for the job, unless you are going to big power 200+bhp then i would convert.

If you do fit discs you will need some form of presure relieveing valve to prevent the rears locking up

Drums are well up to the job but discs give a better more predictable feel for serious use --- reason being drums and shoes tend to flex when subject to high forces from the wheel cylinder.


With disc brakes mechanical flexing only becomes significant with 4 or 6 pot alloy calipers.

ok cool!

other question, would you go bias bar set up?

No not essential, neither is a balance valve
SVA with it fully open and I've still not touched it 3 years on

id go discs, but watch the wilwood rears, apparently the handbrakes not too good. im using sierras on the rear, and she stops pretty sharpish. but they are quite heavy, not sure when compared to drums though.

I have an MK IndyBlade and currently have drums. I wanted to upgrade to discs as I thought it would be better. Bearing in mind I have driven the car for a year including some track days and already the braking was sufficient. When I took the rear off to change the diff I discovered that both my rear brake cylinders had been seized off for some time!! Just goes to show that such a light car the front alone was sufficient!! I have decided to stick with drums based on that (haqving replaced the cylinders of course) will be interesting to see if I notice a difference.

there are bolt on brackets avliable so you can leave it till a later date and its still easy enough to convert.
What axle are you running?

Minor advantage of drums is a better handbrake.
Minor advantage of disks easier to check wear (not that rear disks or drums should ever wear out on normal 7 milages).

Drums are often lighter and more than up to the job of stopping the car.

Drums win by a short head if you already have them - it's certainly not worth spending money replacing them. If you think they'll improve the braking you'll be disappointed.

If you want good brakes he secret is choosing the right mastercylinder ie one with a smaller bore than the the Sierra or other cars with a servo.

Also make sure your mastercylinder and pedal box are as solidly mounted and as stiff as possible.

quote:

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Originally posted by iank
Minor advantage of drums is a better handbrake.
Minor advantage of disks easier to check wear (not that rear disks or drums should ever wear out on normal 7 milages).

Drums are often lighter and more than up to the job of stopping the car.

Drums win by a short head if you already have them - it's certainly not worth spending money replacing them. If you think they'll improve the braking you'll be disappointed.

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Nice interesting discussion, I am currently upgrading my 8" drums for some wopping 10" jobbies.

The wheel cylinders are going to be bigger, by about 2mm I think. If I stay with the current size master cyclinder will I have an improved system?

Steve

Hi luke,

the general view on here seems to
be to stick with the drums.
I built my mk with drums but then changed
to a sierra disk set up after the sva,i
personaly think the padal has more feel after using the drums and the car brakes
flatter than before.The handbrake is excellent too and i havent noticed any significant
pad wear.Also the disks look better than the drums through the wheels.

Andy

quote:

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Originally posted by luke
ok cool!

other question, would you go bias bar set up?

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I was using a fiat uno valve for bias but after 5 years i have binned it, it was always fully open even for SVA and still restricted the rear calipers too much.