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<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>
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