Hi all,
Just wondering what your thoughts are regarding rear disc brakes on Baja's and Buggies....
ratty 63 ·
Aussieveedubbers · Offroad V-Dubs
Rear Disc Brakes on Off-Road VW\'s
https://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/threads/61138/rear-disc-brakes-on-off-road-vws
11CAB ·
Well how are Dave's going?
Baja Wes ·
Well mine did save me from having a nasty accident by holding the rear wheel on when the axle nut sheered off :thumb
aussiebaja ·
ive read a few places there a godsend on the front but dont make much difference on the back,,,,exept in wes case i spose 😀😀
ratty 63 ·
Daves are going just fine - but most people don't drive like Dave so I thought I would see what normal people thought.... 😀11CAB wrote:Well how are Dave's going?
R 🙂
subibaja ·
dave drives like a girl so he probaly doesnt even need brakes
hahahahahahaha
hahahahahahaha
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
Disc brakes are prolly one of the best mods to do on a buggy. No more worrying about adjusting brakes and warped drums(if early big 5) I drove a mates car a couple of weeks ago who had some serious work done to his buggy to make it more comfortable to drive on and off road(owns a house on Moreton Island) He went from all country buggy running gear to disc brakes with late kombi 5 stud rims all round with a custom made rear end with Renault transaxle using Bay window Kombi trailing arms modified with total camber/castor adjustment. Also some custom made shocks with full dampener/rebound adjustment from inside the car as well as airbags to help hold loads and keep the car sitting level.
The result: drove the car with country buggy running gear - brakes were ok but when they got wet they would do all the usual things like pull one way or the other under braking or lock wheels and the rear would kick under both acceleration and deceleration. All the characteristics you'd expect from a car with 9Rs on the front and 12.5 33's on the rear sitting up that high.
The result : drove the car with all the new goodies - you honestly wouldn't think it feels like a car with that much ground clearance and big wheels. It steers and stops absolutely awesome like any small to mid size late model car. The airbags also control body roll unbelievably well on road and it feels really stable and predictable. The rear wheels don't squat or tuck under acceleration as they just basically stand straight up. Brake pedal feel is really nice and not too hard unlike the feeling you can get with drums. Airbags also have an off road setting to allow the wheels to travel up and down freely in rough terrain(travel is about 10" from memory) and the beauty of disc brakes is on the beach you don't have to worry about sand wearing linings like you do with drums and you always have a good hand brake!!
So my opinion is go disc brakes. Easier on maintainence and better braking ability when you need it most in those tough tight places off road.😵💫
The result: drove the car with country buggy running gear - brakes were ok but when they got wet they would do all the usual things like pull one way or the other under braking or lock wheels and the rear would kick under both acceleration and deceleration. All the characteristics you'd expect from a car with 9Rs on the front and 12.5 33's on the rear sitting up that high.
The result : drove the car with all the new goodies - you honestly wouldn't think it feels like a car with that much ground clearance and big wheels. It steers and stops absolutely awesome like any small to mid size late model car. The airbags also control body roll unbelievably well on road and it feels really stable and predictable. The rear wheels don't squat or tuck under acceleration as they just basically stand straight up. Brake pedal feel is really nice and not too hard unlike the feeling you can get with drums. Airbags also have an off road setting to allow the wheels to travel up and down freely in rough terrain(travel is about 10" from memory) and the beauty of disc brakes is on the beach you don't have to worry about sand wearing linings like you do with drums and you always have a good hand brake!!
So my opinion is go disc brakes. Easier on maintainence and better braking ability when you need it most in those tough tight places off road.😵💫
pete wood ·
i've had more dramas with my front discs than anything thing else brake related. the rears are early wide five type 3 drums and they seem to be fine.
The only area where you want discs is if your engineer says get em, or you want to be able to use turning brakes on the street. Then you need a dedicated circuit and extra calipers for the turning brakes.
Most of the benefit you get from rear discs isn't needed on dirt.
The only area where you want discs is if your engineer says get em, or you want to be able to use turning brakes on the street. Then you need a dedicated circuit and extra calipers for the turning brakes.
Most of the benefit you get from rear discs isn't needed on dirt.
VWCOOL ·
yeah I've only ever managed to get discs to glow off-road once 😉
but they are better at shedding sand, grit and slurry than drums
but they are better at shedding sand, grit and slurry than drums
MickH ·
they also stop you better than drum brakes.....that alone would make it worth it.
pete wood ·
have you got rear discs Mick?
MickH ·
Yes..front and rear discs.NO they are not Ford units on the rear...pete wood wrote:have you got rear discs Mick?
pete wood ·
what are they?
kroozzn63 ·
whats the best rear setup for a powerful motor road only and i want 4 stud vw ?
" sorry to jack the thread" oh and cheapest lol.
" sorry to jack the thread" oh and cheapest lol.
MickH ·
Most likely the Ford setup if you do it yourself.New blank discs can be drilled to any pattern and all the parts can be sought cheaply from the wreckers or the dump,where most of them end up. Pete,my rear setup are Shermans.kroozzn63 wrote:whats the best rear setup for a powerful motor road only and i want 4 stud vw ?
" sorry to jack the thread" oh and cheapest lol.
kroozzn63 ·
does anyone have details of what bits i need like ford ea falcon ? booster? etc?
pete wood ·
u2u Subibaja. he's got all the specs.
ratbug ·
First up, you need the calipers and caliper brackets of the EA/EB rear end (others can also work). The Inside diameter hole of the caliper bracket doesnt fit over the VW bearing, so you have to get it machined out a few mm (something like 77 or 87mm can't quite remember). Then you need to redrill the four holes in the bracket that the VW bearing housing bolts through, people normally have it so the caliper hangs to the back end (bleeder nipple needs to face roughly upwards).kroozzn63 wrote:does anyone have details of what bits i need like ford ea falcon ? booster? etc?
If you want to keep the falcon stud pattern, you need to get a vw rear flange in the 5stud falcon pattern, making sure its small enough for the falcon disc to fit over.
If you want to stay VW pattern, then you need to redrill the stud pattern into the discs or get blank ones and redrill (also may have to machine down the rear flange to fit inside the disc depending on what bits you have)..
Then you have to modify the handbrake cable attachment slightly so the vw cables fit in.
I think thats it?
I have the sherman rear discs on my car at the moment, and they are great, easy to install, just bolt on.
I am halfway through doing the falcon setup on my new car.
dubbill ·
it really depends what you are going to use the car for but disc brakes are so cheap and as stated relativly maintenence free why wouldnt you have em??
ill give everyone three guesses how many wrc cars are running drums cos i know no one here has the millions to spend on r+d that the factory teams do:duh
simple really
NEXT
ill give everyone three guesses how many wrc cars are running drums cos i know no one here has the millions to spend on r+d that the factory teams do:duh
simple really
NEXT