I wanna get better bite from my brakes, but I can't afford 1LE's and rear disks and all of that. I've got hp pads and rotors up front, but what can I do to upgrade the rear drums a bit?

 

get an ancor and through it out the window, sorry I feel like this in my car some times, espicaially today,

I have the same problem, I had a deer run out infront of me today and almost didn't get it stoped. I smoked the fronts but the rears just barelly grabed, but it gave me enought time to avoid the deer. I missed it.

I think the best thing for us is going to be an adjustable prop valve. I am thinking about it. I am also thinking about doing the prop valve mod with the adjustable inline valve.

 

Haha.. yeah..

Won't having a proportioning valve send power to the crap in the rear just make it that much harder to stop?

 

well actuall the drums are really prety good, its the hydrallics that are lacking. I had a 72 f100 4 wheel drums and you could lock up all 4 wheels on the thing, and it had manual brakes. They have alot of stopping power, but they are just not performing like they should. Now granted a 4 wheel disk brake set up is safer and more consistant in its stopping abliity, but for what you want I would say try the prop valve first, you are going to need on anyways if you do go to an aftermarket or 4th gen brakes. Just remember to test the brakes in several conditions to make sure you don't lock the rear before the front, this is more likely to cause a spin instead of stopping straight. Put the car up in the air, put it in drive and see if you can keep the wheels from spinning with the brakes up to 1000 rpms, if not yours either need to be adjusted or like mine the prop valve no longer works like it should.

And yes it will send more power to the rear, but shouldn't remove enough from the front. you should still be able to lock the fronts before the rear. You may just have to do a litte more pressure on the pedal,

how is the pedal, is it hard at the top or does it go to the bottom. air in the lines can cause the rear not to bite at all.

 

The brakes are realy soft and long. I was drivin my friends 240sx the other day and about ran off of the road cause I locked them up slowin down to corner. How long should the brakes be?

 

 

you diffently either have air in the lines or an internally leaking master cylinder. Try bleading the master cylinder, check a maual to do this, or go and buy a kit it comes with instructions. I reccomend doing it with a vaccum pump over any thing else.

While the brake lines are off at the master cylinder Let the brake lines drain out through the bleader screws at each wheel. Take the lines loose at the wheels and blow air through them. Hook all the lines back up. Replacing the rubber hoses with new ones if you havent in the near past. Old ones expand and rob you of pressure. Then get someone to constantly check the brake fluid level and run a quart or more brake flud through the system(1 qt for all 4 wheels bleading it with the pump). never letting the cylinder get close to empty. Go and buy a $30 vaccum pump, the ones used to test vaccum lines. This is the best investment anyone can make if they do their own brake work. This should get rid of all the contaniment in the system, and all the air. Your brakes should now be close to the top of the peddle, if not you more than likely need a master cylinder. Replace the sef adjuster on the rear if you haven't yet, and adjust your emergency brake. And make it a point to use the ebrake when you are parked, this should keep the rear adjusted.

After doing this my brakes started biting at top of the peddle and about half way down the fronts lock up. But I still can't lock the rears even on wet roads, this I beleive is my prop valve.