Brakes!

[OptimusPrime]

Ok I'm having trouble with my spindles, I'm running Mr Roadster forged spindles for early Ford and so the Speedway Catalog says I can't run 11" rotors on the front because they say its too heavy, can some one tell my why or can I just bolt them on and not worry about it? oh I have the bushing so I can run Chevy rotors too.

 

[GT63]

Ok I'm having trouble with my spindles, I'm running Mr Roadster forged spindles for early Ford and so the Speedway Catalog says I can't run 11" rotors on the front because they say its too heavy, can some one tell my why or can I just bolt them on and not worry about it? oh I have the bushing so I can run Chevy rotors too.

Nonsense, I'm running the pre '77 GM rotors on Ford spindles and have no porblems what so ever.

11" GM rotor

 

[benT]

Nonsense, I'm running the pre '77 GM rotors on Ford spindles and have no porblems what so ever.

11" GM rotor

Agreed! I have 11" GM rotors and calipers on my 27 w/ the ford spindles and my dad has them on his '27 with chevy spindles. I wouldn't put any less on the front of any rod I built/owned. Not sure why Speedway says this (and for a quite a while too).

 

[EX JUNK]

Agreed! I have 11" GM rotors and calipers on my 27 w/ the ford spindles and my dad has them on his '27 with chevy spindles. I wouldn't put any less on the front of any rod I built/owned. Not sure why Speedway says this (and for a quite a while too).

I am running the GM rotors on both of my street rods and have absolutely NO problems with them. I completely agree with Ben on this subject.

Jim

 

[Old Rotor Flap]

When did Speedway start selling forged spindles?

Mr Roadster spindles have traditionally been offshore cast knockoffs of SuperBell or other brand of cast spindles.... as I understand.

Are these true forgings or some other manufacturing method that got translated across the ocean by magic wand to a term forged? This question is sometimes answered by the seller as; "I've never heard of one breaking." Well guess what, I've never heard the list of ingredients in Coke.

There are a couple of reasons I can think of as to why Speedway recommends not using 11" rotors and associated calipers - to sell more of their aluminum hubbed lighter brake kits and to reduce unsprung weight. Though, I doubt everyone at Speedway understands the benefits of reducing unsprung weight or need to understand for that matter.

I understand there might be a faction (or alliance as it were) within the rodding community that will actually argue that shock absorbers are not needed on a T-bucket. Those might be the food preparers and hair stylists as opposed to the hunters and beer drinkers of the tribe. However, high unsprung weight and no shocks can almost assure poor ride quality and potentially dangerous braking.

 

[Old Rotor Flap]

I also have 11" rotors. My project is a year away from the street. Vehicle dymanics will reveal themselves then.

 

[tfeverfred]

When I first built my car and was going to use steel rims, Brian at Total advised me not to use the GM rotors due to the unsprung wieght issue. The explanation he gave me was drawn out, but it made good sence. I ended up using Hallcraft wires and it became a non-issue. On my rebuild, I came across the same problem. Going against what he had told me in the past, I went with the GM setup. I just couldn't see dropping $650 bucks for Wilwoods. So, I got them and all is good. BUT I also have hydraulic shocks instead of friction shocks. Maybe that is the difference. I wonder how the GM's would work with friction shocks? Has anyone tried it?

My thinking is that a heavier wheel/tire combo combined with hydraulic shocks makes GM rotors good to use.

 

[tfeverfred]

I also have 11" rotors. My project is a year away from the street. Vehicle dymanics will reveal themselves then.

Nice! Who made your spindle and brake setup? Looks sweet.

 

[EX JUNK]

When I first built my car and was going to use steel rims, Brian at Total advised me not to use the GM rotors due to the unsprung wieght issue. The explanation he gave me was drawn out, but it made good sence. I ended up using Hallcraft wires and it became a non-issue. On my rebuild, I came across the same problem. Going against what he had told me in the past, I went with the GM setup. I just couldn't see dropping $650 bucks for Wilwoods. So, I got them and all is good. BUT I also have hydraulic shocks instead of friction shocks. Maybe that is the difference. I wonder how the GM's would work with friction shocks? Has anyone tried it?

My thinking is that a heavier wheel/tire combo combined with hydraulic shocks makes GM rotors good to use.

Fred, I have friction shocks with the GM rotor on my car. I have over 12K miles on it with absolutely NO problems. There are two other guys that I run with that have the same set up and they are equally pleased with their cars also.

Jim

 

[RPM]

We use the GM intermediate brakes on all of our builds with no problems at all. The 11" rotor set up is economical and replacement parts are easy to get.

 

[OptimusPrime]

ok so I don't have a problem with the unsprung weight issue but I see what your saying, anyway went to the boneyard tried a bunch of different GM models from 76 up to 86 found some that the inner bearing would fit but not the outer also on the ones that the inner fit the seal didn't mate up with the large part of the spacer assembly so that would have caused a grease problem. If those of you that are running gm stuff please let me know what year rotors and bearings that would help a bunch. thanks...bob

 

[tfeverfred]

My setup is the kit from Speedway. I believe you can get the seals and bearing seperate.