More brake holding power

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Rick , Whatever you end up with for shoes, take them down to Phoenix Brake and Axle and have them relined with the good material as full length (secondary) shoes..

Mid 70's Malibus, Cutlasses and LeMans mid size cars have the 11x2 shoes...

Sorry, that would be :

Arizona Brake and Clutch

2211 N Black Canyon Highway
Phoenix, AZ 85009
(602) 256-7966

[Myron Piatek]

If you do some research and ask around, you can still find organic pads and shoes at the parts store. Probably not as good at cold holding ability like specialty relined stuff, but definitely better than the usual semi-metallic. Lightly scuffing the rear shoes with sandpaper to eliminate any glaze build-up helps also. I do it whenever I swap rear tires from side-to-side.

[fastcompany69]

Also try adding a firewall brace so the pedal effort goes into pushing the master. Most cars have ALOT of firewall flex.

My .02

[njk53]

Myron, who in your opinion makes the best cold holding brake pad?

[Myron Piatek]

Nelson,
To be honest, I haven't compared organic materials between brands. I just noticed that not all brands use organic material and that even some of the cheaper brands can still be semi-metallic. Semi-metallic work better when heated through typical stop-and-go street traffic.

There are plenty of good suggestions, like buying 2 sets of shoes and only using the larger size 1/2's in front and back positions, or relining your shoes and pads with softer material typically used in other applications, like forklifts. I use OEM replacements to keep costs down. Some are obvious or listed accordingly, but if you are unsure about which pads or shoes to buy at a store, bring a magnet and the ones showing less magnetic holding power will tend to have less or no metallic filling.

I probably cut the rotors/drums and sand or replace my brakes more often than average to maintain good, flat contact surfaces.

[njk53]

Myron, you have a PM

[Rick Unterseh]

OK, let's try this again !!!! the brake place here in Phoenix is a complete joke. I took my stuff down there, explained what I wanted to both the counter guys, I even explained it to the guy doing the work. I explained it wasn't for a street vehicle and they kept pushing for the semi-metallic stuff. I explained it wasn't for the street over and over again. They finally showed me 3 different types of material and I picked out what I wanted and they said ok, but kept pushing the semi- metallic. When I went to pick it up, guess what...... they put the semi-metallic on. I told them that isn't what I asked for or wanted... they tried to tell me it was what I picked out... it's a totally different color even. Then they didn't even arch the shoes, and said they did.... you can tell it wasn't done... then tried to tell me it was my fault. The product was wrong, customer service was bad, and then it's my fault. I will NEVER go back and NEVER recommend them to anyone. Soooooo.....
Who else can I send some shoes to?? at this point, I will even go out of state if there isn't anyplace here in town or in state.... Thanks again guys !!