[Healeys] Towards better braking performance

Michael Oritt michael.oritt at gmail.com
Sun Sep 29 14:39:07 MDT 2019


Whether due to aging of the driver or brake materials--or both--it appears
that lately I must exert a lot of pedal pressure to get what seems like
less braking response. I know this is a very subjective statement and I
have no way of quantifying the braking but I have been driving my car for
20 years and am sure that it just isn't stopping the way it used to.

Here is some background information:

1. I just, as in last week, replaced the brake hoses front and rear with a
set of braided stainless hoses obtained from Old Phartz. I used him as
opposed to Moss or other suppliers because I have BT7 front discs and stock
100 rears which take a different rear hose than the 6-cylinder cars, and he
was willing to "Mix and Match" the later front hoses and original rear
hose, whereas Moss only wanted to sell me two kits. It took a bit longer to
obtain them than originally promised but what came in was great--actually
about 3/4" more in length which made installation a bit easier.

2. I also just--last week--rebuilt the master cylinder and installed new
rear wheel cylinders, and in the process flushed the hydraulic system
entirely and refilled with Wilwood 570 high-temp Dot 4 fluid. The system is
positively bled and the pedal is nice and hard and where it should be with
just a bit of free movement.

3. The front pads and rear shoes have been replaced within the last twelve
months and probably have less than 3K miles on them. Nevertheless the
rotors seem to have a "glazed" appearance and the rear shoes have
definitely been exposed to some slight leakage of diff oil, though not
enough to saturate them.
Shoes and drums were cleaned following cylinder replacement.

4. I have a restrictor valve on the line to the rear brakes which, when
turned down all the way, reduces fluid flow to approximately 60% of wide
open. I have the valve turned all the way to reduced-flow in order to
maximize fluid delivery/pressure to the front brakes as they do most of the
work. There is a definite falling off in brake performance as the valve is
opened.

5. The rear brakes are properly adjusted and the parking brake is
functional when engaged.

6. I can, with extreme pedal pressure, lock the front brakes with little or
no side-to-side pulling.

7. Tires are Michelin XAS with plenty of tread and 30 psi all around.

I just lost my lease to a warehouse space I have been renting and must
clear out in a few weeks, so for that and other reasons I am not able to
undertake any big project such as putting in a servo or replacing the front
rotors with some racing stuff or rear brakes with discs, etc. However I am
able to put on new front pads and rear shoes, and perhaps have the front
rotors turned if need be. So I guess what I am looking for is some
recommendations on what materials I might use to give good braking with
reasonable pedal effort. I do my racing on a track in my other cars and am
*not *looking to equip the Healey with rock hard pads/shoes. I merely want
to improve the car's braking so I do not have to stand on the pedal to get
the car to stop.


Best--Michael Oritt
1954 BN1 LeMans
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