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Keep the shoes properly adjusted, and use slightly larger modern
radial tires. 155-80-15 would be close to the orginal 5.60-15 bias
ply tires for size. 165-80-15 is closest to original diameter to
make the speedometer and odometer most accurate. 165 is also more
common and may even be cheaper than 155, and is the largert tire
recomended for use on 4" wide rims. That said, a lot of people have
installed 185-70-15 tires on 4" or 4-1/2" rims with pretty good
results. Not real pretty on the narrow rims, but they work.
Keep the shock absorber fluid topped up so the wheels and tires don't
bounce while on the brakes (especially in corners). More rigid
wheels also help reduce bounce and wobble (especially on bumps in
corners). That is, 60-spoke wire wheels can improve braking, believe
it or not. 72-spoke as well (although they look somewhat "busy" on an MGA).
Most alloy wheels will also be stiffer than any factory wheels (wire
or steel), so as strange as the odd alloy wheels may look on the MGA,
they can and do brake and handle better (especially on bumpy surfaces).
The ultimate limit for braking is grip where the rubber meets the
road. When you can step hard on the pedal and lock up all four
wheels at any speed, it doesn't get any better than that. Youi could
install soft rubber race tires that grip better and wear out a lot faster.
You could install a power brake boster to reduce pedal effort, but do
not expect it to reduce braking distance at all.
One thing that definitely will not help braking is to screw up the
front to rear brake force bias. Installing larger bore slave
cylinders on the front will only make the front tires lock up early
before rear tires have developed full force, which would result in
longer stopping distance. Installing larger bore slave cylinders on
the rear only will make the rear tires lock up before the front ones
have developed full force, also making longer stopping distance.
Installing larger bore slave cylinders all around can reduce pedal
force, similar to installing a power booster, but also makes for
longer pedal travel. You can get similar results by sleeving the
master cylinder to smaller bore size. None of that wil increase grip
of tires on road or reduce stopping distance.
Disc brakes can reduce brake fade (which most people will never
encounter unless racing). By the nature of all around good brakes,
disc brakes cannot be any more powerful than the drum brakes, as that
would screw up front to rear biase and increase stopping distance.
The factory got it pretty close to right from the beginning, not from
any magic, more from decades of practical experience, so that's kind
of hard to beat.
Barney
At 04:06 PM 6/24/2021, Thomas Gunderson wrote:
>How can I improve the standard brakes?
>Tom Gunderson 1957 MGA 1500 rst
>....
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<html>
<body>
<font size=3>Keep the shoes properly adjusted, and use slightly larger
modern radial tires. 155-80-15 would be close to the orginal
5.60-15 bias ply tires for size. 165-80-15 is closest to original
diameter to make the speedometer and odometer most accurate. 165 is
also more common and may even be cheaper than 155, and is the largert
tire recomended for use on 4" wide rims. That said, a lot of
people have installed 185-70-15 tires on 4" or 4-1/2" rims with
pretty good results. Not real pretty on the narrow rims, but they
work.<br><br>
Keep the shock absorber fluid topped up so the wheels and tires don't
bounce while on the brakes (especially in corners). More rigid
wheels also help reduce bounce and wobble (especially on bumps in
corners). That is, 60-spoke wire wheels can improve braking,
believe it or not. 72-spoke as well (although they look somewhat
"busy" on an MGA).<br><br>
Most alloy wheels will also be stiffer than any factory wheels (wire or
steel), so as strange as the odd alloy wheels may look on the MGA, they
can and do brake and handle better (especially on bumpy
surfaces).<br><br>
The ultimate limit for braking is grip where the rubber meets the
road. When you can step hard on the pedal and lock up all four
wheels at any speed, it doesn't get any better than that. Youi
could install soft rubber race tires that grip better and wear out a lot
faster.<br><br>
You could install a power brake boster to reduce pedal effort, but do not
expect it to reduce braking distance at all.<br><br>
One thing that definitely will not help braking is to screw up the front
to rear brake force bias. Installing larger bore slave cylinders on
the front will only make the front tires lock up early before rear tires
have developed full force, which would result in longer stopping
distance. Installing larger bore slave cylinders on the rear only
will make the rear tires lock up before the front ones have developed
full force, also making longer stopping distance.<br><br>
Installing larger bore slave cylinders all around can reduce pedal force,
similar to installing a power booster, but also makes for longer pedal
travel. You can get similar results by sleeving the master cylinder
to smaller bore size. None of that wil increase grip of tires on
road or reduce stopping distance.<br><br>
Disc brakes can reduce brake fade (which most people will never encounter
unless racing). By the nature of all around good brakes, disc
brakes cannot be any more powerful than the drum brakes, as that would
screw up front to rear biase and increase stopping distance.<br><br>
The factory got it pretty close to right from the beginning, not from any
magic, more from decades of practical experience, so that's kind of hard
to beat. <br><br>
Barney<br><br>
<br>
At 04:06 PM 6/24/2021, Thomas Gunderson wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">How can I improve the standard
brakes?<br>
Tom Gunderson 1957 MGA 1500 rst<br>
....</font></blockquote><br>
</body>
</html>
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