More braking power out of stock brakes?

[Tim]

Is it possible to squeeze any more power out of the stock Festiva brakes? I got quite scared when I realised how insufficient they are when the car is loaded down.


Regards,

Tim

[mattswabb]

You could buy the festiva slotted rotors from FMS, buy some really nice pads, install stainless hoses and they will still suck compared to doing the aspire swap.

The aspire brakes are the way to go. My car stops so much stronger.

matt

[Tim]

I see.

I'll probably do that with my next Festiva; this thing has one foot in the grave.

I plan to do a carb'd B6 swap with my next Festiva.



Thanks!


Regards,

Tim

[Gro Harlem]

rotors aren't going to do jack...if yours aren't warped or have huge gashes in them, keep them.

get some performance front pads & a good proper bleeding. You can double the braking power if you do this. I drove dominick's B6 car with some kind of german brake pads on the front & that thing was ridiculous. (didnt' have aspire brake swap either).

[yvanlavoie20]

aspire brakes

on my aspire 4 doors turbo bp...220 km to zero with no smoke from front brakes...

i use escort gt front rotor ( machined to reduce diameter and cross drilled) and stock 97 front brakes pads (ford ones not motorcraft!!!)

i use stock rear with ford brakes band (not motorcraft)

next improvement is to use the front clipper from 1.9 escort automatic...bigger piston :twisted: and rear cylinders From that scort (even bigger brakes cylinders.....)

[Safety Guy]

Tim, you could always do the Aspire brake/suspension swap on your current beater for "practice" and then reswap to your new Festiva when the time comes. That way you'll have the experience as well as better brakes & handling.

Use anti-seize compounds so you'll have an easier time of it the second time around.

Karl

[festscort]

wouldn't the aspire booster and m/c help any?

[modernbeat]

wouldn't the aspire booster and m/c help any?

No, it would decrease pedal travel and increase pedal effort. It wouldn't help unless the stock MC was bottoming out before locking the brakes.

[VaderSS]

With Onadime CarboMet pads and stock rotors, drums and shoes, my Festiva stops in about 120 feet from 60 MPH. That is with the skinny 155-12 tires or my new 175/50-13s. I don't see it getting much better than that. Loding it down does not seem to effect mine much. If you are having problems, I'd look at the basic hardware. Try a fluid change and new, high end pads. Valvoline Synpower is a very good fluid. FMS probably has some pads similar to the Onadimes. I got mine off ebay. I see ebay has new rotors and kevlar pads for $33.

If I were racing it I might want more braking reserve, but it does fine in the 80 mph stop and go of Houston...

[jamesrw]

My friend who is an amateur rally driver and certified mechanic told me go with slotted rotors, upgraded pads, DOT 4 fluid and replace the rear drum parts. He runs stock brakes on his rally car with the upgrades i mentioned and has no problems, granted its not a festiva, but this is how he does his breaks and he tells me they're actually overkill on the road. He built his own rally car and does pretty well, I tend to trust him on my car issues.

[oxbrain]

I've always been warned to stay away from slotted rotors. The holes create weak spots for cracks to form. If you have a problem with outgassing or dusting then you should get grooved or dimpled, never drilled or slotted.

My car will do 70mph-0 in about 125ft when unloaded. It is damn near standing on it's nose too. Thats with nice fresh pads and stock rotors. Makes my eyeballs hurt.
When I've got an extra 200+ pounds in the car with me it takes about 150ft to do the same. Lots of fade near the end. I could probably do it in less distance if it was an emergency, but I'd rather not warp my rotors.

Just get some nice street pads, not race pads. Get new rotors, and spray em down with brake cleaner a couple times after you have em installed.

[Eccentric]

Use anti-seize compounds so you'll have an easier time of it the second time around.

Watch the what you put anti-seize on. Bolts get stretched and don't put it on any mating surfaces.

I've always been warned to stay away from slotted rotors. The holes create weak spots for cracks to form. If you have a problem with outgassing or dusting then you should get grooved or dimpled, never drilled or slotted.

My car will do 70mph-0 in about 125ft when unloaded. It is damn near standing on it's nose too. Thats with nice fresh pads and stock rotors. Makes my eyeballs hurt.
When I've got an extra 200+ pounds in the car with me it takes about 150ft to do the same. Lots of fade near the end. I could probably do it in less distance if it was an emergency, but I'd rather not warp my rotors.

Right you don't need slotted or drilled. Modern pads don't out-gas. It's old school tech the people think look cool. It's better to have that metal there to act as a heat sink.

Fresh pads and rotors is a good choice. Remember brakes don't really stop your car. No really they don't. I'm lazy right now so I'll let all of you tell me how brakes stop your car and I'll reply later. Or maybe someone knows what I'm talking about and will stand up and fight on my side. :wink:

[Rumnhammer]

stopping

Correct the tires stop the car, I read Grassroots motorsports too.
:wink:
Chris Rummel

[CryptokiD]

actually, if youre car had no tyres, or wheels for that matter, it would still stop pretty damn good.

so in a nutshell, i would say friction stops a car.

[FB71]

ok, this is getting REALLY scary... I'm starting to agree more and more with Crypto. Is he getting better, or am I getting worse?

What stops a car? when pressure is applied to rotor or drum by pads or shoes, the resulting friction causes the kinetic energy of the rotating mass to be converted into heat energy. The efficiency with which that heat energy can be dissipated determines how much energy can be transfer ed, thus determining the mean effective braking power. Therefore, the less mass the heat sink (rotor or drum) has, the faster it will dissipate heat. So, drilled/slotted/dimpled/grooved rotors present more surface area and less mass, therefore increase heat dissipation. And, modern pads and shoes DO out-gas, just not as dramatically as older asbestos compounds. And, also correct, that tires stop a car. Without the friction of the tire on the road surface, the only effect the energy exchange of braking would have is the loss of directional control of the vehicle. The mass of the vehicle exerts force on the tires, which, in trying to transfer that energy, cause the wheel on which they're mounted to rotate about its shaft. And that takes us back to the pads or shoes attempting to convert that rotating mass to heat energy. Ah, the wonderful world of physics...