Brakes on Taurus, 3.0 V6 Duratech vs Vulcan

I am not going to try and prove my experience to you.. However, here is what you can do.. check the "Car and Driver" and "Road and Track", and "Motor Trend", and "Consumer Reports" Archives. They shows breaking Test from 70, or 60 mph.in Taurus new car test and those distances varies between 4WD Discs and Discs/Drums. I believe those guys Drive and Test cars for a living, and might be just more believable that I might be..OK

I drive between North Corolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey, and sometimes New York 80% of the time, and if you believe people are driving nornally, you are sadly mistaken. And I include both cars and Trucks

I have owned 5 Tauruses since 1989, still own two, rented more than 5 Taurus/Sable, and have driven over a million miles in Taurus/Sable. Last year alone I drove over 35,000 miles, all in Taurus..OK. I am not going to try and prove my experience to you.. However, here is what you can do.. check the "Car and Driver" and "Road and Track", and "Motor Trend", and "Consumer Reports" Archives. They shows breaking Test from 70, or 60 mph.in Taurus new car test and those distances varies between 4WD Discs and Discs/Drums. I believe those guys Drive and Test cars for a living, and might be just more believable that I might be..OK. Thank Goodness I am able to change the Tires, which I always do within a week of taking possession of the cars. The first one with some awful, overly hard Michelins did it for me in 1989. Taurus/Sable are GOOD cars, but some aspects of it are damn CHEAP..I consider the drums one CHEAP SOB area. I have followed the changes in this car over the years. There is so much Foreign content in the Taurus now, I have to wonder if we can truly call it an American Car anymore..

Re: Brakes on Taurus, 3.0 V6 Duratech vs Vulcan Group: alt.autos.ford Date: Thu, Nov 6, 2003, 10:12am (EST-1) From: "sound(remove)"@inetnebr.com (BOB=A0URZ)

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Now, if your aggressively driving the car in a race or such....... Are you a closet Mario Andretti VB? Where have you had your taurus up to 110 MPH?? ;) BOB

I think you are missing the most important point I tried to make - the rear drums on a Taurus are capable of locking up the rear wheels. If they can lock the rear wheels (which they won't do if the ABS is working), you have all the braking from the rear wheels you can expect expect to get. Now if you are doing repeated panic stops or you are driving down a mountain with a heavily loaded car, then the rear disks might be an advantage. However, the rear brakes of a sedan are so lightly loaded compared to the front, that they are hardly stressed at all by comparison. I doubt if the rear brakes would fade before the front brakes under any condition. So unless they fade out, which is unlikely, the rear brakes are able to apply enough force to lock the rear wheels. Rear disc brakes could do no more. Therefore the only reason to have rear disk brakes is as a "gee whiz look what I've got" feature. They aren't making you safer and they do cost more. Since rear disc brakes are very important to you, I guess Ford is saying they don't want your business. I'd hope the marketing guys at Ford studied this carefully and decided this was the most profitable course of action for them.

As for reviewing Road and Track or Car and Driver, or whoever's tests - unless they using the same tires, the braking test are mostly demonstrating the quality of the tires with a little bit of influence from how well the ABS system handles lockup. I'd say 90% of the difference in braking distances for similar sized cars is the tires. I can't remember the last car (without ABS) I owned that did not have brakes that could lock the front and rear wheels if pushed hard enough.

Ed

The most biased rags ever produced. Pure garbage.

Most are people who have a degree in basket weaving and fantasies they are master technicians. People that can do, people that can not teach or try to write articles.

I am very sure I can sit you in a car with equipped with rear disc brakes and then sit you in a car with rear drums. I know you will not be able to tell the difference no matter how hard you drive it.

Hell my 91 crown can top 110. Your point?

Yes the drum brakes can do that quite easily. That is why the Taurus has a limit valve at the rear, to prevent wheel lock up.

When ever I drove I-75 I was going either north or south. ;)

mike hunt

Eric Tol>

Re: Brakes on Taurus, 3.0 V6 Duratech vs Vulcan Group: alt.autos.ford Date: Thu, Nov 6, 2003, 11:35pm (EST+5) From: snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com

When ever I drove I-75 I was going either north or south. =A0 ;) mike hunt

You are correct about the driving, it is the STOPPING that tells me the difference..between rear disc vs Drums... If YOU can not tell the difference between a car equipped with rear disc vs rear drum when stopping, then you are in bad shape, real bad shape.

I am NOT trying to make a point, just answering a question posed by Mr. URZ. "Read the post again to see Mr. URZ question..." He was doubting a Taurus with a Duratech could top 110MPH. The first SHO with 220HP was spec. for top speed of 146MPH. I took one up to 135MPH before I lost my nerve.. I do not believe a FWD should be driven that fast If the Crown Vic with a V8 could not top 110MPH, I would be really dissappointed.

Go to any Ford dealer and read the spec sheet that comes with ever vehicle sold in the US. You will see the stopping distance is practically the same with drums or discs.

All Taurus are built in the US, either in Chicago or Atlanta, of at least 85% American parts. The savings in drum brakes was returned to the buyer in the form of a $1,000 price reduction. What's the problem? If you want rear discs, install them. All the parts you need are available from Ford for far less than $1,000 in parts and labor. The Accord and Camry cost many thousands more and they too have drums

mike hunt

"VB.. Merl>

I guess we would have to know the original tire size on a Taurus to determine the top speed available. The rental Taurus' I drove were limited to 106. Fords site lists the top of the Taurus line for 2004, the SES, as being equipped with 'S' rated tires. Only those Ford vehicles that came from the factory equipped with 'Z' rated were not limited for speed, like the V8 Mustang, SHO and the Interceptor.

US TIRE SPEED RATINGS SYMBOL km/h mph P 15 93 Q 160 99 R 170 106 S 180 112 T 190 118 U 200 124 H 210 130 V 240 150 W 270 169 ZR over 240 150

Vehicle speed is limit by an onboard limiter

difference. I

Yea, right. That was an asinine question. Do you want to brag about breaking the law..? Do you want to brag about where you hit 110+mph in your Crown Vic..? I don't.. Only a person from a third world country who has never come into the USA and Canada and seen our system of Highways should ask such a question. Anyway, you can have the last word. I am finish with this topic. Full Stop..!!

Not really doubting that it was possible, just curious on where and why. I fell guilty going 75 in a 65 zone in the family ride these days.

I am sure a police Taurus (RIP) or CV could do 110 in battle trim. I am just too sane of a driver to push the envelope that much these days. When i was younger, i had my old 68 barracuda up to 90's or so. And that was in the days of bias ply tires and marginal suspension. I am just too big a whuss now i guess.

Well, you could take your pick of HI-po options. Rear disks, turbos, dual cams, trick suspension, HO. Some cars have them, some don't. I don't have a problem if you want them. Just don't kill the wife and kids if your going

There are days i would like to see if i could drive a NASCAR ride..... Most days, i just try to keep the old taurus running....

Bob