• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Drag race brake setup

t8fanning

t8fanning

8v are still cool, right?
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Location
Vancouver, WA
I currently have R brakes on the front and rear of my 240 with 17" wheels. However, I now want to also be able to fit a 15" wheel in the back. Has anyone used R brakes in the front with stock brakes in the rear with no additional proportioning valve? If so, how did it feel?

Is there a good upgrade/alternative to stock brakes that still fit under 15" wheels on a 1031 axle? I ask because I'll have to buy calipers, pads, and rotors regardless of what I do, so going back to stock won't really be cheaper than an upgrade.
 
t8fanning said:
I currently have R brakes on the front and rear of my 240 with 17" wheels. However, I now want to also be able to fit a 15" wheel in the back. Has anyone used R brakes in the front with stock brakes in the rear with no additional proportioning valve? If so, how did it feel?

Is there a good upgrade/alternative to stock brakes that still fit under 15" wheels on a 1031 axle? I ask because I'll have to buy calipers, pads, and rotors regardless of what I do, so going back to stock won't really be cheaper than an upgrade.
Click to expand...
Take a look a the wilwood 4 pot sets for the furd 8.8. They fit under 15” steelies and have internal park shoes. A guy like you and a shop like mine could rework/make brackets to fit the stock rear.
 
dl242gt said:
Aren't the brake setups that BNE offers include a version that fits under 15" wheels?
Click to expand...
I think those are front axle only.

cwdodson88 said:
Take a look a the wilwood 4 pot sets for the furd 8.8. They fit under 15” steelies and have internal park shoes. A guy like you and a shop like mine could rework/make brackets to fit the stock rear.
Click to expand...
I've tossed the idea around, but have been working on other stuff and don't even have 15" wheels/slicks yet. I'll probably end up doing this though. If I do make my own brackets, I might try to use Evo or STI rear brakes so I could just get a full pad set with the R calipers and not worry about mixing and matching.
 
t8fanning said:
I think those are front axle only.


I've tossed the idea around, but have been working on other stuff and don't even have 15" wheels/slicks yet. I'll probably end up doing this though. If I do make my own brackets, I might try to use Evo or STI rear brakes so I could just get a full pad set with the R calipers and not worry about mixing and matching.
Click to expand...
Hit me up if you need anything milled that you can’t do locally. My schedule is pretty flexible. We’re running around 20% capacity for the next 6-8 weeks.
 
I had r front brakes with stock rear brakes with no prop valve for 10 years. Worked fine. Felt ok. Can’t say I really enjoyed it because I had the fronts split between the front and rear masters and it would always lock up the one front wheel. But yes. It works fine with no prop valve and front r brakes.

Before I go my twin master setup, I am currently running the abs master with a willwood prop valve, at its least reduction setting, with the r calipers all around. Feels pretty darn good minus the worn booster pedal feel.

Editing for Autocorrected ai generated nonsense….
 
Last edited:
Talk with the twins about a rear brake kit.
If you really want a lightweight drag brake setup, drop me a line.

Regarding thee bias shift, it’s going to be a lot more front and you’re not going to want to brake hard at the end of a run. Ran a similar setup on a rally car (Sellholm fronts), it’s now getting a front pressure reducing valve. The rear’s weren’t doing anything.
 
Last edited:
culberro said:
Talk with the twins about a rear brake kit.
If you really want a lightweight drag brake setup, drop me a line.

Regarding thee bias shift, it’s going to be a lot more front and you’re not going to want to brake hard at the end of a run. Ran a similar setup on a rally car (Sellholm fronts), it’s now getting a front pressure reducing valve. The rear’s weren’t doing anything.
Click to expand...
They mentioned something about wilwoods but no idea about ETA. I'm not in a huge rush though so I might just wait or help them with it.

I want something that'll work on the street mostly, but allow me to fit 15s and work fine with my front brakes. I'm not opposed to adding a proportioning valve, but I don't want to totally waste the capability of the front R brakes.
 
I would definitely recommend the wilwood stuff for the front and rear. It’s crazy light, works amazingly well too. My buddy in southern Oregon that drag races his 242 has the Sts kit in the front and a wilwood kit on his 8.8 in the rear. Has no issues slowing the car down from 160mph. I am waiting for wilwood rear stuff too, I swapped to a fox body master cylinder, and got rid of all the factory Volvo proportioning valves and the octopus. In my 242 I split the brakes into 2 circuits put a line lock in the front and a manual valve for the rear and my my brakes feel amazing. I can’t wait to get the rears situated as well
 
cosbySweater said:
I would definitely recommend the wilwood stuff for the front and rear. It’s crazy light, works amazingly well too. My buddy in southern Oregon that drag races his 242 has the Sts kit in the front and a wilwood kit on his 8.8 in the rear. Has no issues slowing the car down from 160mph. I am waiting for wilwood rear stuff too, I swapped to a fox body master cylinder, and got rid of all the factory Volvo proportioning valves and the octopus. In my 242 I split the brakes into 2 circuits put a line lock in the front and a manual valve for the rear and my my brakes feel amazing. I can’t wait to get the rears situated as well
Click to expand...
That sounds good. I might have to make something to get rear wilwoods on a 1031 then.
 
t8fanning said:
That sounds good. I might have to make something to get rear wilwoods on a 1031 then.
Click to expand...
STS has the hard part done: the bell/hat with integrated parking brake drum and correct offset.

The caliper bracket is easy peasy, and they could knock one out quick depending on your timeline.

t8fanning said:
They mentioned something about wilwoods but no idea about ETA. I'm not in a huge rush though so I might just wait or help them with it.

I want something that'll work on the street mostly, but allow me to fit 15s and work fine with my front brakes. I'm not opposed to adding a proportioning valve, but I don't want to totally waste the capability of the front R brakes.
Click to expand...
Regarding the brake reducing valves: You might not need one depending on the MC you have.

Brake systems are a balance, and you just need to keep that balance. Using the mustang MCs helps as the stepped volvo one makes things a bit more difficult. I can run some brake calcs today and get a better idea for you on the balance.

If you do need a reducing valve, it’s most likely going to help reduce your stopping distance since you won’t be locking up the front wheels. The setup I ran on a rally car was Sellholm front and Ferrodo race pads, with stock rear with crappy pads. Not a balanced setup at all, so the reducing valve will be needed to bring it all into a good spot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top