Anything new in Brake Shoes?

[TomoHawk]

Sorry for the bad grammar, but I wanted to keep the title short to get  greater attention...

Most of the threads discussing (rear) brake shoes are from around 2004, so I thought there might be some new stuff available for the rear brakes.  My needs would be "performance street riving" with some occasional lapping.  Is there anything new or recommended for the 280Z with Aluminum drums?

 

[Chickenman]

Porterfield or CarboTech seem to be the quite popular. Porterfield has various Race compounds available and  also a HD " Street " compound (R4-S ) . You may have to send in your shoes for relining, as they may not have cores for a 78. ( Different shoe type than 240Z, 260Z and 75/76 280Z )

http://porterfield-brakes.com/images/racebrakeshoefile2013_02_08_02_22_17.pdf

MSA and Whitehead Performance also sell a Carbon/ Kevlar shoe

I'm sure others will chime in with more recommendations...... 

BTW, one of the main reasons for myself switching to rear disc brakes, is availability of pads over shoes. It's just so much easier to get a variety of quality brake pads compared to shoes. As well as all of the performance improvements of disc brakes in general.

 

 

[cbuczesk]

I've been using Carbotech on the race car. They have different compounds depending on how you drive. Give them a call and they can help you out. They're family run and you'll probably talk to the owner, wife or son. It's nice dealing with the people who actually make the stuff.

Chuck

 

[djwarner]

In a recent Wheeler Dealer episode, they upgraded a Volvo's drum brakes with a new lining that had 2-3 times the coefficient of friction of standard shoes. The downside was faster wear.

Does anyone know what compound they were referring to?

[Fred Sigarto]

I'm with cbuczesk about Carbotech, used them for years for Solo & Track days. Hawk was good to, however they only had front pads and no shoes.

[TomoHawk]

Where would be a good place to get a drum brake hardware kit?  While I'm in there, I could clean & paint the area.

[cbuczesk]

1 hour ago, TomoHawk said:

Where would be a good place to get a drum brake hardware kit?  While I'm in there, I could clean & paint the area.

I use RockAuto for most of my parts. I like the Centric brand. Use brake grease so the shoes and wheel cylinder can move freely.

Chuck

 

[EuroDat]

Im with chickenman. Im running a set of porterfield AP114 R4-S front pads and porterfield SHOE480 R4-S rear shoes. They work really good on standard discs and drums.

Good price for me. The front pads are the same as the early Saab 900 series, so I could pick them up locally. Had to special order the rears from the states.

They don't produce brake dust like the old ones did. Very little dust actually. Very happy with them.

[Travel'n Man]

Been using Porterfield for the past few years -

Porterfield Carbon Kevlar Performance Rear Shoes: SHOE411
Porterfield Carbon Kevlar Performance Front Pads: AP137

[Chickenman]

Back when I was racing 240z's ( Late 70's early 80's )  we ran Ferodo DS11 brake pads and Nissan Competition " Green Stuff " pads ( Akebono race shoes. No relation to EBC ) . Both were amazing in their day and " State of the Art" . I also ran with no brake booster as they were inconsistent in Racing application.  ATE Super Blue fluid. We never had any brake issues. never faded  and could out stop anything. Even the fabled Porsche 911's of that time period with the Brembo brakes. .

Came across an interesting Tech article on the history of the " original " Ferodo DS11:

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-2001/51/ferodo-ds11

Edited July 11, 2016 by Chickenman

[TomoHawk]

having no brake booster sounds interesting, since I have to pump mine anyway.  A writeup sounds interesting.

[Chickenman]

No brake booster is a Race car only modification. It is not at all suitable for the street in any way, shape or form. If you have a Race Track only car, you can PM me for details. But I don't really want to post a write-up on an open forum due to the Litigation based society we live in these days. 

I will note that my right thigh grew 1 inch in diameter after one season with this modification..... LOL. But it gave very good modulation and no more concerns with the Brake booster running out of vacuum at the most inappropriate of times.....