Thinking about making the hand brake better

[lancerevo]

I always have been thinking about the hand brake to make it better because it doesn't lock the wheels while moving. I know that the tyres are falken ze512 165/55R14 but it should be better. About a year ago I changed the brake shoes and it always been like this. In a slope it holds ok but when you need to make a u turn or something like that it doesn't work. Is there something to be done to make it better?

[gestiva]

Mine works fine with my stock 12's.
while driving 35/40mph and pulling up on it the tires lock up and spin me around.
When I got the car it wouldnt do that. I think adjusting the spring on inside of drum made mine work better. forget what the "term" for it is called. But it made the shoes catch better.

[lancerevo]

Mine works fine with my stock 12's.
while driving 35/40mph and pulling up on it the tires lock up and spin me around.
When I got the car it wouldnt do that. I think adjusting the spring on inside of drum made mine work better. forget what the "term" for it is called. But it made the shoes catch better.

Yes when I had the stock 12" it locks but still it should be better. The handbrake always feels like soft not grippy.

[lancerevo]

Do the rear brakes adjusts automatically?

[Aaronbrook37]

Yes, the drums do adjust themselves. Try the in-cabin adjusting thingamajig for the e-brake cable and handle. To do this:

Park the car, and jack up the rear on jackstands. Remove the e-brake cover and disengage the e-brake. Then, using an extended 10mm socket/wrench, adjust the tension on the spring (you'll see a tall cylindrical 10mm thing) and tighten it until your e-brake locks between 10-16 clicks. You test this by dis-engaging the e-brake, spinning the wheels with your foot, then clicking up slowly until the wheels lock. 10-16 clicks is the Factory recommendation, and mine is set to about 11.

Let me know if you have any more questions... this made a WORLD of difference on my e-brake.

[lancerevo]

Yes, the drums do adjust themselves. Try the in-cabin adjusting thingamajig for the e-brake cable and handle. To do this:

Park the car, and jack up the rear on jackstands. Remove the e-brake cover and disengage the e-brake. Then, using an extended 10mm socket/wrench, adjust the tension on the spring (you'll see a tall cylindrical 10mm thing) and tighten it until your e-brake locks between 10-16 clicks. You test this by dis-engaging the e-brake, spinning the wheels with your foot, then clicking up slowly until the wheels lock. 10-16 clicks is the Factory recommendation, and mine is set to about 11.

Let me know if you have any more questions... this made a WORLD of difference on my e-brake.

Thanks for the info but I have already adjusted it to the max. If only there is some more adjustments. I know that there is another adjustment at the middle of the rear axle. I'll see if I can adjust that.

[fastivaca]

The emergency brake cable attaches to a linkage at the brake drum. That lever is made of two pieces that are joined by a pivot pin. It is not uncommon for the pivot to rust and seize up which can render the e-brake useless.

To fix this you have to disassemble the brakes, remover the lever, soak it in some kind of rust remover/release (PB Blaster, Release-All), until the pivot moves freely, work some brake lube into the pivot joint, then put it all back together.

I had to do this on my own car a couple of years ago and it did the job.

[lancerevo]

The emergency brake cable attaches to a linkage at the brake drum. That lever is made of two pieces that are joined by a pivot pin. It is not uncommon for the pivot to rust and seize up which can render the e-brake useless.

To fix this you have to disassemble the brakes, remover the lever, soak it in some kind of rust remover/release (PB Blaster, Release-All), until the pivot moves freely, work some brake lube into the pivot joint, then put it all back together.

I had to do this on my own car a couple of years ago and it did the job.

This morning, I checked the adjustment from the middle of the rear axle. There is an adjustable nut to adjust the cable. The setting was on the lowest, so I adjusted it to the max best that I could. Although it was a bit rusty, the thread freed up after some hard work. There isn't too much adjustment so I removed the spring washer and I was able to make the nut move further. The thing that I don't like is that it comes from the factory as a one piece cable. You can't put a spacer between the nut and the cable. As for now it seems to worked very well because the handbrake feels hard just about 5 clicks.

[muscle_Car1]

One thing also to note is that you have some decent falken tires which wont lock anywhere as easy as the stockers would

[lancerevo]

One thing also to note is that you have some decent falken tires which wont lock anywhere as easy as the stockers would

true. but now it's a lot better.

[bhazard]

I could never get that thing on the axle to do anything.

[lancerevo]

I could never get that thing on the axle to do anything.

What do you mean?

[bhazard]

I could never get it to break loose and adjust.

[TominMO]

This morning, I checked the adjustment from the middle of the rear axle. There is an adjustable nut to adjust the cable. The setting was on the lowest, so I adjusted it to the max best that I could. Although it was a bit rusty, the thread freed up after some hard work. There isn't too much adjustment so I removed the spring washer and I was able to make the nut move further. The thing that I don't like is that it comes from the factory as a one piece cable. You can't put a spacer between the nut and the cable. As for now it seems to worked very well because the handbrake feels hard just about 5 clicks.

Good to know, thanks. I have noticed that my driver side rear brake does not grip as hard as the passenger side, so something's out of adjustment in there. I'll have to take a look.

[lancerevo]

Even if I had tighten the hand brake, it's always not good enough. I think that it's the brake shoes are cheap low quality. The brand is mk kashiyama corp. Does anyone knows a good brand for brake shoes? Is EBC good?