MM manual brake set up and FR manual steering??

[jmd2914]

hey guys had acouple questions. i was thinkin about swaping out my p/s for a flaming river manual rack and my brake booster went out so i was just thinkin about swapping to the MM manual brake system. anyone use it? how do you like it? is it ok to run on the street or is it going to suck? this isnt my daily driver but i do drive it somewhat often when the weather is nice.

thanks in advance

Joel

 

[Darkwriter77]

Not really sure why you would really want to delete the power brakes. They're really not that much of a weight problem, they help you stop a lot more easily without having to stand on the pedal, and they're powered by vacuum (unless you've got some weird kinda hydro-boost setup), so there's no parasitic drag. About the only reason you'd really need or should ever want to downgrade to manual brakes is if you're having some clearance problems with some other component, and you absolutely cannot make a brake booster fit in that area. Just my $0.02.

As far as using them on the street, I can only relate to my experience with manual brakes on another car, a really ancient Ford Galaxy that my buddy had. Between the manual brakes, the huge weight/size of the car, and the four-wheel DRUMS, that thing was a BEAST to bring to a halt. Given, a Fox is a far lighter/smaller car than a Galaxy, but it still begs the question ... WHY?

 

[jmd2914]

it was just an idea im rolling around, trying to save weight and maybe get some better pedal feel. but mainly im trying to put my car on a diet but set it up for auto x/ open track which means i gotta keep my sways and stuff which most people take off when trying to save weight.

 

[Darkwriter77]

The weight savings would be minimal. A brake booster looks huge, but if you've ever picked one up, they're surprisingly light, considering their size.

If you're Autocrossing, you will sooooooo wanna keep your power brakes. You do NOT wanna try to be standing on that brake pedal with both feet going into a high-speed turn, for sure - it's bad enough trying to stop one in regular driving, let alone trying to brake hard AND steer/shift quickly at the same time.

Better ideas for weight savings:

- Remove sound insulation
- Delete rear seat
- Swap front seats out for aftermarkets or Escort GT seats (worth a couple of pounds)
- Remove all HVAC components from behind dash assembly
- Remove headliner
- Delete center console assembly (use simple universal shifter boot) and all stereo components
- Remove foglamp bracket/hardware (on GT model)
- Relocate battery to passenger-side of trunk (helps with handling/traction)
- Delete A/C
- Swap in door panels from older Fox with manual windows/mirrors/locks
- Use the lightest set of rims possible (IIRC, the '98 or '99 Cobras are about the lightest you can really get in 17")
- Go with dumps or side-exit exhaust (less exhaust pipe = less weight)
- *MAYBE* Delete the power steering (probably want to go with a quality rack with that, though, with a good turning ratio, or your hands will be too busy to deal with shifting)
- Blow a huge chunk o' money on a tubular lightweight K-member and A-arms
- Eat plenty of fiber, and drink diet soda and lite beers (or diet sodas & booze) instead of the regular stuff

 

[jmd2914]

hmm, thats a good place to start, however its still going to be a street car, so the radio and interior i wanted to keep somewhat intact.
so for my aplication i would need

swap my front seats
relocate battery to trunk
yank a/c out ( already done)
yank p/s for a manual piece
light set of rims ( gt500's or the MM konigs??)
tubular K member
"" a arms
coilovers
tubular Lcas
and thats pretty much all i can think of am i missing anything so far?

 

[KAILUAZ]

I should have done a search, I just posted this question also too see who else is using one.
I'll most likely go with the MM kit, you get better pedal feedback without the booster. Most people don't know how to threshhold brake properly. I hate ABS because the computer is doing what you should be feeling in the pedal.
Sounds like you have about the same goals as I do, good luck with the build!

 

[KAILUAZ]

I asked over here also, they all had no problems:
http://www.thestanggang.com/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=6309