Now that parts are getting harder to find I am curious what brake setup most people are running for daily driver/fun roads. I had an experience recently with brake fade while doing some heavy braking on some mountain roads. (was outcornering some z cars!) This was on some cheaper FF rated pads I found on Rockauto. I was thinking about getting some Hawk HPS or some Stoptech sport brake pads. Maybe even some of the Thermoquiets. I am not looking for racing pads but something I can feel just a little more confident in. I suspect my fade may have been more related to brake fluid, but this just got me curious what most of you guys are running now days. Also, It appears that slotted rotors are no longer a thing for our cars.

 

hi,

you can still get slotted rotors, idr who makes them, maybe racing beat? I think autozone may carry them too

im running hawk pads. Imo they are getting slightly harder to find but I wouldn't say anything brake wise for a first gen is "hard to find" except rear calipers... drum pads, front calipers and front/rear pads aren't a problem for me to find

If you have an SA I HIGHLY recommend getting s2/s3 front suspension and brakes, there's a reason they changed the design of the caliper.

I know plenty of people running both disc and drum rears, if you're going to swap to disc it's a pretty easy swap, just need a 3 way connector for the brake line, new e brake cables and a new (name is escaping me right now, the regulator piece that sits next to the master cyl) for the disc brake rear pressure, since drums require higher pressure if you put a disc rear in and don't swap that then you'll be dragging your discs -ask me how I learned this haha

 

Name is a proportioning valve - and I had to replace mine (and it was from a disc rear car) when I moved to hps hawk pads and rebuilt my calipers - the rear was locking before the front. Seems strange, but makes sense if you think about how proportioning valves work - I'd brought the braking force past the knee in the curve on the valve.

Probably not something you'd notice much in normal driving, but a real pain in the patootie for autox. Back end kept trying to pass the front end.

I went to a stock car supply shop, bought a variable proportioning valve, tuned it in doing skid stops in a parking lot with my wife watching.

 

Getting fresh air to your front brakes helps too, which is why the later models had vents up front. Not as good as dedicated ducting, but every little bit helps.

 

aha I remembered the name on the next thread I was replying to 5 mins later... always seems to work out that way! lol

it was actually very noticeable for me when I had my drum proportioning valve still on my gf's 79 with the gsl rear, it would straight up stop the car (slowly) and after a min of driving smoke would be coming from the rear discs.. some of us learn the hard way haha

 

Racing beat is where I noticed they didn't have the rotors anymore. T.T

But yes, I have been trying to debate for sure whether or not to go rear disc. I am thinking I will. I do have an 84 gsl rear end with 129k automatic miles on it. So I imagine the LSD is in fairly good shape, being out of an Auto. Do you guys feel like the rear disc setup stops better? Or is it just more about ease of use? Maybe it is just more reliable when doing intense braking?

Which Hawk pads are you guys using? HPS or HP+? I am thinking for $30 for front pads, I am going to try the Powerstop pads. Rear pads, I am not so worried about with a disc rear end. I imagine they won't show much fade.

The front rotor shield has like an air duct on it to catch air. Do you guys think this would be worthwhile to create the same thing on rear discs if you have them? Especially since the rear discs aren't vented.

 

if you plan on autocrossing or racing at all I would recommend switching to a disc rear. easier than drums too
Also unless your car is mint, it should raise the value with a better rear in it.
im running HPS but I have multiple sets of each

IMO I don't think it would be worth it to try and get more air to the rear brakes unless you're doing a LOT of heavy breaking, and I mean a lot..

 

Rears don't fade under heavy braking - all the weight shifts to the front of the car. Often they just lock up, which is why you need to reduce the pressure to the rears (often with an adjustable bias) when doing performance driving. I'm a club racer and I go through 2-3 sets of hawk blues in the front a year, but I haven't changed rear pads in 5+ years.

 

On the blues, how do they treat rotors? I hear some people say they eat rotors and others say they are fine.

I don't plan on autocrossing this car. It is mostly being planned to be a mountain road car so I figure the same things will apply as far as brakes. As I said, I did/do plan to switch to the rear discs unless they are somehow or another inferior.

I do have a second car that I plan to turn into a drift/track car in the long run. I hate to admit it, but it has a 302 swap that was done before I bought the car. Planning on converting that one to GSL-SE fronts for the better wheel options. It already has a GSL rear end. Right now it has wheel adapters on it. I have been trying to decide whether I trust wheel adapters, whether to have the axles redrilled with the 4x114.3 or to seek out a GSL-se rear end on that car.

 

I track my SA and did the GSL rear disk swap. I use Hawk blue in the front and HP+ in the rear. When it was a street/autox car Hawk HP+ front and rear was more than enough.
The Hawk Blue pads don't eat rotors its the heat they generate without ducting that damages the rotors. My rotors would crack until I made a set of brake ducts for the front rotors. The Hawk blue pads ARE NOT for use on the street they need heat in them to make them work efficiently. Also they squeal, and throw a lot of brake dust that will damage the finish on your wheels if you don't keep them clean.