Brake Fade
"When a rotor can't absorb any more heat, the excess gets transferred to the brake fluid, which is what gives you brake fade. When this happens, the brakes are developing heat faster than it can be dissipated. The most obvious solution is learning how to get around the track without relying on your brakes as much. If you've done that and are still getting fade, high-temperature brake fluid and high-performance pads are your next step. Stainless steel pistons have less heat transfer and dissipate heat faster than aluminum, and larger rotors increase heat capacity as well. One thing that is often overlooked is the design of the wheels. Open-face wheels make a huge difference in braking over wheels with more of a closed-face design. When we track-tested a closed-face '89 Corvette wheel and a open-face ZR1 wheel back to back, there was a 75-degree difference in brake temperature."
One- vs. Two-Piece Rotors
Most OE-type rotors feature one-piece construction, while some high-end rotors are two-piece designs, in which the rotor and hat are separate units attached by bolts. One of the advertised advantages of a two-piece rotor is reduced unsprung weight, since its hat is aluminum. However, not everyone agrees. "For street applications, a two-piece rotor only reduces weight by 1 pound," explains Michael. "Why would you reduce weight when it comes at the expense of reduced heat capacity? If you want to reduce unsprung weight, there are better ways to do it, such as with lighter wheels or calipers." According to Michael, the primary benefit of two-piece rotors is their flexibility in design, allowing them to fit a wide range of wheel offsets. "The nice thing about two-piece rotors is that you can move the hat in and out where you want it in relation to the wheel, but more pieces increase the chances of something breaking."
Rear Discs
If the front brakes do most of the work, is it really worth it to upgrade your rear drums to discs? You bet. "A car with rear discs will always stop better than a car with rear drums," says Michael. "Not only are they more efficient, rear discs will improve stopping distance by 25 to 35 percent. In a car with front discs and rear drums, the brake shoes last two to three times longer than the front pads, which should really tell you something about how much work they're doing."
Manual vs. Power Brakes
Not only were power brakes a rare commodity on musclecars, chances are your engine has too much cam to generate enough vacuum to run a booster. That being the case, going through the effort of installing power brakes only makes sense if it significantly improves braking performance. According to Michael, the only real advantage of power brakes is reduced pedal effort. "Manual brakes develop about 1,200 psi of line pressure versus 1,500 psi for power brakes," explains Michael. "Although higher line pressure can slightly improve braking performance, the difference between the two is marginal at best. Power brakes mean you don't have to press the pedal as hard, but that's their only benefit."
Bleeding Lines
"This is going to come as a surprise to most people because it sounds so simple, but the best way to purge the air out of your brake system is to gravity-bleed the lines. This means no vacuum pumps or stepping on the brake pedal. To gravity-bleed, simply put fresh fluid in the master cylinder, open the bleeder screws, and let gravity remove air from the system. When the fluid starts pouring out, you're done. You can do all four brakes at same time or one at a time. Since it's a one-man job, the entire process takes just 20 minutes. Of course, you must bench-bleed the master cylinder first."