John,
There's another possibility . . about a hundred years ago, I sat in on a
seminar conducted by Triumph's race people at some SCCA soiree. They
answered the exact same question many of us had about pedal loss on our TRs
with something like:
"Oh that, what you're having there is brake pad "knock-back" . . the TR-3
spindles flex, you know, under hard cornering with grippy tires, and the
disc pushes the piston back in the bore . .just give it a couple of pumps to
get it back right!!! "
I'm not sure THAT was the reason, but I started racing formula vee really
soon after that!
<-:
Tony
----- Original Message -----
From: John Cowan <jfcowan@pacbell.net>
> Took the TR-3 out autocrossing for the first time and enjoyed it quite
a
> lot. The car handles much better than expected, but the brakes faded
> outrageously. By the end of a run, the pedal was nearly to the
> floor. Here's my theory and I would appreciate any comments or
suggestions.
>
> 1. The standard shoes and pads I'm using fade quickly, necessitating more
> force on the pedal: This is the most obvious possibility, but it didn't
> seem to me I was pressing the pedal very much harder than usual (of
course,
> this could be an illusion).
>
> 2. There is air in the brake lines: Could be. I'm running DOT 5 and
> haven't changed the fluid in several years. On the other hand, under
> normal driving, I don't need to pump the brakes for them to be effective.
>
> 3. In any case, metal brake hoses would improve performance, so I
> will install them and change brake fluid at the same time.
>
> Can anyone suggest a source for more effective pads and shoes to use
on
> an original '60 TR-3A? (but not *too* race-worthy, since the car is a
> weekend driver and I don't want to trash the rotors and drums). The big
> three don't offer anything except standard parts.
>
> Thanks.
>
> John Cowan
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