Brake Pads

[njk53]

Thanks for the info. Our car is 4260 # and I am having trouble in the burn out box. The car seems to be overpowering the front brakes even sitting in a puddle of water. I used a middle of the road Raysbestos metallic pad. The brakes are broken in but I have been struggling with this for a while. The line lock seems to be working ok. It is like there isn't enough pad surface area touching the rotor.

[FED 387]

my experience has been that Mettalic brakes have to get hot in order to work---when cold they do not have the holding ability like when they get hot--ya might try driving to the line and thru the staging lanes with your foot on the brake pedal to heat em up a bit--also pump the pedal a few times til it gets real hard ya can feel it in your foot then do your burnout---can ya use a line loc if so that's yer answer--comp 387

[Tom Goldman]

Are you sure you have enough pressure at the caliper? ....If you converted from power brakes ,you will need to correct the pedal ratio to get proper pressure.... or possibly too large a master cylinder..........Tom

[njk53]

Tom you make a good point, our car definitely had power steering and brakes from the factory. I have no adjustable proportioning valve on it and manual brakes were on it when my brother and I bought the car. What about ceramic pads? It has a stock Chevelle style master cylinder on it.

[rallye bob]

Get the softest pads you can find. They don't last long, but for a "drag only" application, they are the ticket....

[SCOTT SST2871]

I use the bendix organic pad on mine(soft pad)about 28.00 works perfect
scott fifield

[Michael Beard]

You shouldn't have problems in the burnout box with a line lock... make sure you whack the throttle quick initially to get the tires spinning. If you ease onto the throttle, you'll have a tough time getting them to break loose!

My Duster bracket car doesn't even have a line lock on it, just a brake proportioning valve. Never had a problem doing a burnout with it.

[Jim Wahl]

Originally Posted by Tom Goldman

Are you sure you have enough pressure at the caliper? ....If you converted from power brakes ,you will need to correct the pedal ratio to get proper pressure.... or possibly too large a master cylinder..........Tom

Tom is correct. This could be your main problem. Jim

[njk53]

Rallye Bob or anyone else, do you know of anyone that manufactures a drag race only disc brake pad that fits the stock caliper? I was looking at the Hawk DR-97 pads but I could not find an application for stock calipers.

[Myron Piatek]

Originally Posted by njk53

Thanks for the info. Our car is 4260 # and I am having trouble in the burn out box. The car seems to be overpowering the front brakes even sitting in a puddle of water. I used a middle of the road Raysbestos metallic pad. The brakes are broken in but I have been struggling with this for a while. The line lock seems to be working ok. It is like there isn't enough pad surface area touching the rotor.

You said that "the car seems to be overpowering the front brakes" but you didn't elaborate on one piece of info. Have you had anyone watch the front tires/wheels to see if they are sliding or rolling when trying to do a burnout?

Cheap, soft pads are the way to go. I've even heard of some racers with "connections" have their automotive brake pads & shoes relined with material normally used for forklift brakes, which are suppose to be even softer.