10 tips for safe, sure-footed brakes

1. Pick the Right Compound

• Racing compounds go on a race car, while street compounds go on a street car.

2. Look for Leaks

• If anything is leaking in your braking system, fix it immediately. Make a visual inspection of all brake components and look for wet areas–you should find none.

3. Make Sure They’re Assembled Correctly

• If a car has had at least one previous owner, assume that someone with a lack of mechanical ability has touched the brakes.

4. Bleed Them Correctly

• We’ve always preferred the two-person way: One person goes to each wheel and bleeds the brake according to the shop manual instructions, while another person works the pedal.

5. Adjust the Drums

• After making sure the adjusters are not frozen, adjust the brakes so they just start to drag.

6. Adjust the Parking Brake

• Stuck parking brakes can quickly make brakes feel and act funny, plus wear out things out quickly.

7. Check the Hoses

• A visual inspection of flexible brake hoses is pretty easy–look for leaks and cracks, discarding any hose with either.

8. Check the Linkages

• After you’ve checked that all the components are not leaking and are in good shape, look for wear (and therefore compliance) in the pedal/master cylinder linkage and in the rear brake/parking brake linkages.

9. Rotor & Drum Surfaces Matter

• Obviously, grooves are bad, but so is glazing.

10. Do You Really Need Those Big Brakes?

• If you can lock up your wheels and tires, you don’t need bigger brakes–you need stickier tires

More like this

Comments

View comments on the CMS forums

You'll need to log in to post. Log in