[DeTomaso] Brake Upgrade - Opinions?
Charles Engles
cengles at cox.net
Thu Nov 10 21:18:53 EST 2011
Dear Brent,
500 hp in a Pantera with stock brakes? Man, you are braver
than I thought, to paraphrase Princess Lea in Star Wars after she discovered
her rescuers flew the Millenium Falcon. You've got a troubled combination
for track use.
I was frustrated for years taking my car to the track and trying
to get my brakes to keep me from smacking into the tail end of 911s in Turn
One. I crept through the progression of brake upgrades from basic and on
to......the big "NASCAR" set up from Pantera Performance Center in the mid
nineties. I was so frustrated with the brakes that I took the car to them
for Dennis Quella to fix. The Mondo brakes, which I think are still
available, are big thick vented rotors up front with six piston front
Wilwood calipers and equally big rotors with a four pot caliper in the rear
connected to a twin master cylinder with balance bar. Finally, big
improvement in the brake department with a big bill from PPC. These are on
seventeen inch wheels. Rotors are about 12 1/2", IIRC.
There are *many* ways to do Pantera brakes just as there are many
ways to build Pantera engines, etc. If you really expect to flog a high HP
Pantera on a track lap after lap and session after session, then I really
think that most people are best to buy a complete system from a reputable
vendor. Good brakes will help you go faster at the track and they are cheap
insurance on the street. My other Pantera has a hundred less HP than the
track car and it has a stock system except for an aftermarket master
cylinder. I would expect that I could drive it about one or two laps, max,
at my local track, before I would become concerned that the braking would
begin to deteriorate.
Warmest regards, Chuck Engles
-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of Brent Stewart
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2011 6:20 PM
To: Pantera List
Subject: [DeTomaso] Brake Upgrade - Opinions?
Not a lot happening on the list today, so let me post this -
A few of us took our Panteras racing a couple of weeks back at Thunderhill
(see pict: http://bit.ly/vmxDSv) - we had a great time, but what I quickly
realized was (as most of you know) that stopping 500+ HP requires a bit more
than a stock brake setup.
So, i'm seriously look at my options for upgrade this winter and would like
to ask the collective their opinions. I'm thinking some sort of Wilwood 4
caliper / slotted rotor combination for the front would do the trick. What
is important is that I don't want to mess with changed off-sets or clearance
issues for my 17" campy clones.
Anyone have a particularly good experience with a vendors' offering?
Alternatives that make sense?
Thanks for your input!
brent
4328
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