I have a 1968 type-3 squareback. I recently put on a set of Blizzacks (excellent snow tires sold by Bridgestone) for this winter. I have replaced many suspension parts and had a good 4-wheel alignment done. I also replaced many brake system components, including the flex lines, front pads and the rear cylinders and shoes.
The tires are 195x65x15s. Inflation is currently at 20 psi front and
27 rear.
It seems to have more braking power in the front than the back. I can easily get a much shorter stop by pulling in some extra force with the e-brake lever during a hard stop. I am starting to wonder if the local parts place may have sold me some type-1 rear cylinders... How can I tell?
When I went from the 155R15 tires to 185/65R15 to my '67 bug (already converted with front diskbrakes), I found that the factory front to back brake biasing was not optimal anymore. Me too felt that the rear can take more braking power than before. I replaced the rear 17mm brake cylinders with 22mm brake cylinders, and the braking was very much better. No problems at all with the wider tires. Rear wheel lockup never occurs, neither on wet slippery roads on turns. I still felt that I needed a bit more braking power in the back, but it was much better than before and comparable to a modern car (without abs).
If you have installed a heavy duty stabilizer bar in the front, then you can increase the brake power in the rear, as the heavier stabilizer bar in the front reduces oversteer / increases understeer behavior and the front wheels lock-up easier in a turn.
Try to adjust the rear brakes a bit tighter, to improve the situation a bit.
I've snugged them up several times, once a week since I put the new shoes on. Actually I do that anytime I put on new shoes while they wear into the drums.
I believe that a brake system that is balanced with four (stock) tires that are all the same size should still be balanced with a different size tire as l> When I went from the 155R15 tires to 185/65R15 to my '67 bug (already
Hi, Speedy; I have a question; I have a Ghia '1969 and I put 165 radials on the back and 135's on the disc brake front. There have been times in the wet when they lock-up the front wheels all too easily. What can be done? Would bigger cylinders in the back help? TIA. g.
The factory brake system is balanced for a very soft (or not at all) stabilizer bar in the front, for use with bias ply tires, and with the factory ride height which results in a soft suspension with a rear that gets positive cambered under heavy braking (swingaxles). It is balanced so that the rear wheels will never lock before the front wheels under heavy braking. "Improving" suspension and using modern tires of different aspect ratios than the stock tires, changes dramaticaly the dynamics of braking, and usually the rear wheels can take more braking power before they lock-up than in the stock configuration. However this has more to do with fine tuning your brake system to maximum performance.
You definitely have to check if the rear cylinders were replaced with the appropriate ones, because if they are replaced with the smaller 17mm you won't lose only braking power in the back, but also in the front, as the front will lock-up easier as it will have to work more for the missing rear braking.
Regards, Bill Spiliotopoulos, '67 Bug.
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I've snugged them up several times, once a week since I put the new shoes on. Actually I do that anytime I put on new shoes while they wear into the drums.
I believe that a brake system that is balanced with four (stock) tires that are all the same size should still be balanced with a different size tire as l> When I went from the 155R15 tires to 185/65R15 to my '67 bug (already
If you like to experiment a bit, check the existing cylinder diameter. If it is 17.45mm, you can test the 19.05mm or 22.22mm and see which one you like. The 19.05 might need a washer under the mounting flange to achieve the correct depth. The 22.22mm is available in 2 types, a tall and a short version. For 4-lug rear drum brakes (swingaxle) you can fit the RCCR2157.8 part number (Varga) or equivalent 22.22mm cylinder. An 23.81mm cylinder also exists, but I haven't tried if it fits.
Regards, Bill Spiliotopoulos.
Ï "viet nam vet." Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá news: snipped-for-privacy@sn-ip.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net...
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