Brakepad upgrade.

Hi guys. I have had alot of help from you all in here. I now have another question. I have a chevelle 1975 with the original front discbrakes and drums out rear. It works ok for regular cruising, but i could wish for a little better bite when i hit the brakes. He pads are fairly new maybe 800 miles on them. Is there a make or brand of pads that has a more aggressive bite. Or is there something Else i can look i in to without changing alot of parts out. All of the brake parts are new, including calipers, rotors, mastercylinder, and so on.

All input is welcome, but im not about to buy a whole new set of Bear brakes. Just a little more bite is what im after. I dont like the Feeling of having to Press hard on the pedal when i need to stop. I know i am used to a modern car where you hardly touch the pedal. But if i can get a little closer it would be Nice.

Regards Henrik.

Did you change the brake fluid? Should be done every 2-3 years. Brake fluid absorbs moisture easily. Big difference when you have new fluid. I use a might vac and pump. Click the boot on the nipple, open the nipple, squeeze the pump til clean fluid co.es through. Close the nipple. Do the next one. Just keep the reservoir topped off when doing it. Real some process and quick too.

Did you resurface the discs when you did the pads? Having a non glazed surface makes a big difference.

Yeah i have all new rotors and fluids etc. It brakes ok and can easially stop the car as it is now. It was tjekked on a brake station when it Got inspected and it brakes just fine. But i bought a cheap pair of brakepads when i restored the car, from opgi i Think. And i was just thinking i would like to have more bite as im used to have in my dayli driver. I thought maybe they just needed to get run in, but they are still the same. So if anyone has experience with a brand that has a hipo kind of pad i could try, it would be cool. If it dosent get better with new pads, i Might consider a brake upgrade. But ill try pads first.

Also does the rear brakeshoes need to touch the drums when adjustet correct, or just close to touching. My rear drums are easy to take of. I dont need to wiggle them off. Would that be a factor?

Also my brakebooster is a 9" double diafram instead of the 11" it was original. I Got the Wrong one when i ordered it. But its to Pricey to return from Europe so i thought i would run it anyway. It is the same as in the corvette c 3 so i figured it would be just as good. Or is it? Thanks guys for your always speedy replay.

I use nothing but Wagner ceramic anymore.  I don't mess around with brakes...ha

I was going to suggest the power booster. My car has the original vacuum booster and while it's not perfect, it still will lock the front brakes up on a stab of the brake pedal but not having to exert a lot of foot force.

I'd say rear brake adjustment won't be a factor. Front brakes are doing 75% of the stopping work.

You are loosing a lot of boost with that 9" Corvette unit. You have less than half the area available for the vacuum to work on with the 9" booster vs. the stock 11" booster.

Sorry, not less half, but just about half.  A 9" diameter booster is 63.62 square inches vs. an 11" diameter booster which is 95.03 square inches, as a basic calculation without subtracting out the small area of the actuation rod, which we'll assume to be the same for both. So, the 11" booster area is 49% larger than the 9" booster area.

Also, how much cam duration above stock do have?  That plays a role

Its not a Big cam, its just a little over Stock. I guess the booster makes a difference. Ill see if i can get a 11" sometime soon and see what i does. Also ill shop around and get another set of pads to try. Thanks guys.

Except he said it was a double diaphragm booster, so would he really have 126-127 sq. in. ? I know nothing about the boosters, but the terminology he used leads me to question if it is an inferior booster.

Its not an original gm booster. Its an aftermarket one from summit i Think. I works Real good and gives ok wacum. You feel a Real difference when you apply the brakepedal and start it up. Thats why i Think i maybe just need a different set of pads. I have had it on the Road for a year, after a complete restauration. Everything is new in the chassie.

I have experienced more than once buying new parts that just is bad quality or even broken. Like brake boosters, mastercylinder, fuelpumps and so on.
Now i have a car thats reliable and works, after having all the bugs worked out. I just had the rearend reworked with a posi unit out of a trans am, new bearings and such. I have been hunting a vibration at 60miles an hour that drove me nuts. I had the tires trued on the rims. And a new driveshaft build as Well as rebuilding the rear. The vibration is gone now.

So now im on to finding the last small stuff that bugs me when i drive it. The brakes is just one of the things, i also need to figure out how to make the steering not scream at full lock, i really hate when it does that. Im also looking to put another fast ratio box in it.
The seatbelts is another thing, they sit to High so they rub my shoulder. The original bolts had as strap thing on the side that mine dont have.

I guess a hot rod is never done, i have alot of things i want to do with it. But for now im on the brake issue. I need to wait on the bigger stuff til winter comes, its spring and i dont want to miss a single chance to drive this thing.

For now its running and driving Real good. It handels Well and i love driving it. I cant post pictures since i dont have a computer, only my ipad works right now. But she is Nice to look at to, i rebuild this thing frame up from a rustet out pos. Its the only one here in Copenhagen im Aware of. Although we have alot of classic us cars, most are corvettes, camaro, trans am, mustang type cars. Take a look at smallblock.dk and see whats for sale just here in my little country.

Im sorry for the long monolog i Got carried away. And Thank you again for advise.

Are you running steel or aluminum rims? The lighter rotating mass of aluminum vs. steel makes a big difference for both acceleration and braking.

I think you are on the right course to use a better brake pad. It's cheaper and less hassle than a complete brake upgrade.

bigredlaguna wrote:Are you running steel or aluminum rims? The lighter rotating mass of aluminum vs. steel makes a big difference for both acceleration and braking.

I think you are on the right course to use a better brake pad. It's cheaper and less hassle than a complete brake upgrade.

I agree.

As for better braking, since an cars braking system works with the fronts doing about 70% of the braking. The rears only have to do about 30%. I find that drum brakes always need a slight adjustment. Never rely on the "self adjusters" to do their job.

Since your cam is only a slightly bigger than stock theres no issue there. I've installed several Comp Cams 292 duration cams, in small block, with no issues with vacuum. And no need for a vacuum can. Engine has to be tuned correctly, ESPECIALLY THE TIMING !!! My buddy has 2 small block cars with 305 duration cams and his power disc brakes work well.

I used the AN-3 Stainless braided hoses on my brakes,
which is the Aeroquip TFE hose & fittings, with adapters for brakes.  Seems to be less "give" to these as opposed to the standard rubber hoses.  I used metallic pads on the front brakes, which work very good, but don't remember the brand...

It's too bad that the old Velvet Touch linings are not available these days.  They are made only for trucks now. They were sintered iron & not the organic type material.
About 6 months ago I kinda thought I needed a vacuum pump for the booster, but as it turned out the old booster ( 1977)was just getting old. A new one really fixed the problem....

Oh yeah, the booster is the 11 inch type, which was a bit too close the the engine valve cover, requiring a tapered shim behind it, to tilt it slightly.   Whatever works is what we have to do !

The valve cover wouldn't come off, even though it looks like it would ! The shim moved/tilted the booster just enough to get the cover off...

I have aluminium wheels on it with 235/60 15 front and rear is 275/60 15. I had another set of steel wheels on it a while ago chacing Down the vibration issue, and i could not feel any difference in brake performance. Im going to try a different set of pads and see if it makes a change. I wil have the rotors turned also, just in case the pads have "glazed the surface. If this dosent do anything i Might consider a new booster and mastercylinder. Thank you for your kind help.
Regards from rainy Copenhagen.

Well turns out my new mastercylinder is leaking Again. It is the 3 mastercylinder On My car in 1-1/2 year. Im tired of new parts Not working or going bad short after i get Them. So this time around i bought a willwood mastercylinder instead of the usual replacement That is Not god. I put a different set of pads on and after a Nice drive i noticed a small stream of brakefluid, running down the booster. Im sure That it dosent do anything good for my brakefeel. Does any of you have experience running a willwood mastercylinder?
Regards Henrik.