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Reply to "My Speedster replica brakes suck"

Gary--I had the same braking problem with the brakes on my VS.  Yes, they are "good enough" for daily driving but once I had to make a panic stop outside of Nashville on Interstate 40 when I topped a hill going 75 to see a pileup of a dozen cars that had crashed into the pile up.  Skid marks, the smell of burning rubber and smoke everywhere. I hit the brakes and was very lucky to get stopped before I joined the pile up myself.  The car zigged and zagged and was pretty hard to control but it somehow managed to  stop in time.  I never want to repeat that again!  Shortly after that I swapped out the lousy rear drum brakes for discs and now the car stops quickly and straight ahead without any sign of locking up. 

I installed the CB Performance rear disc brake set up (p/n 4641, $619.95 Disc brake master cylinder (p/n 113-611-015 bdd , $31.95) and residual pressure valve, p/n 6609, $28.95.  This set up was all I hoped it would be for a couple of years until one of the wheels went bad by the inner steel hub part separating from the outer aluminum part allowing the inner part attached to the axle to spin without turning the outer part of the wheel.  I drove from Richmond, VA to Hot Springs AR with this issue.  I learned that this two-part wheel has experienced many failures within the SOC community and there are several posts about this issue.  Someone said the failure was from not torquing the components properly  but I can say mine were torqued according to the specs.  CB replaced that wheel twice for me and the same thing happened again so I ordered solid steel wheels from SoCal imports and these have performed flawlessly. They were $85.00 each  (p/n 113615601DNS) and were plug and play and fit exactly like the old CB wheels fit.  I understand that So Cal Imports offers a complete rear wheel kit featuring these steel wheels and if I ever had it to do over, I'd start with their kit.  They are a bit heavier I know but driving, I can't tell a bit of difference between the two types.

I have never had to do a panic stop since that one time but I'm confident that if I do it won't be as exciting as the last time!  These plastic cars are not the safest conveyance out there and I have done everything I was able to do to add to the safety and comfort of my Speedster.   Rear discs are a must for me.  

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

Last edited by Jack Crosby
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