Pedal Talk

[cheapthrillz]

I'm going to get the balance bar from Payton and do as I stated in my last post unless anybody has any reason for me not to do it.....

[Payton King]

When we did mine. We left the brake pedal alone (stock configuration) and put the balance tube as close to the top as we could. This still only netted a 6:1 ratio. The stock brace that holds the pedals was modified where it hits the fire wall for the 2 masters and I redrilled the holes on the firewall.

We had to modify the clutch pedal to clear the balance bar set-up as you can see in the above post with the picture. By moving it out and around we had to modify the mount for the stock GM clutch master.

Anyway big pain in the a$$, in hindsight, I would have bought the Tilton brake and clutch pedal assembly. Modified my firewall and the tilton pedals to get around the steering column.

[formula]

When we did mine. We left the brake pedal alone (stock configuration) and put the balance tube as close to the top as we could. This still only netted a 6:1 ratio. The stock brace that holds the pedals was modified where it hits the fire wall for the 2 masters and I redrilled the holes on the firewall.

We had to modify the clutch pedal to clear the balance bar set-up as you can see in the above post with the picture. By moving it out and around we had to modify the mount for the stock GM clutch master.

Anyway big pain in the a$$, in hindsight, I would have bought the Tilton brake and clutch pedal assembly. Modified my firewall and the tilton pedals to get around the steering column.

You say only 6:1--my understanding was that was about right-ish for a manual setup? Should we be aiming higher on JC's car? Stock on his car is right around 6.0-6.1:1...

[cheapthrillz]

You say only 6:1--my understanding was that was about right-ish for a manual setup? Should we be aiming higher on JC's car? Stock on his car is right around 6.0-6.1:1...

Stock on mine is about 6.5:1 if I remember correctly. That just means less pedal effort (more torque) but more pedal stroke...

[The WidowMaker]

i guess i still dont understand why its that big of a deal to offset the pedals. with a 2" diameter steering column, 1/4" clearance btwn the pedal arm and column, and a 1/2" thick pedal arm, youre only 1.5" off from stock. if you widen the pedal to make it more like stock (ive got size 15's, so i like wide pedals anyways), most of that can be made up.

what i dont like is the setup posted that split the clutch and brake around the column. for my application, that would put the brake and gas too close together.

im wondering if wilwood would ever make a pedal that swings to the right like a stock pedal arm. it would be worth a call to see if they have anything in the works........

btw, just throwing out ideas since i dont acutally have the parts in hand to see how they would work.

Tim

[The WidowMaker]

pm sent on pedals

[Payton King]

Here is a real good calculator that Ron Derrad showed me

http://www.jakelatham.com/radical/in...culators.shtml

Ron and I had conversation back and forth for months on braking systems. At the time my pedal ratio was 5.4:1 and I could barely get my car to stop.

I modified mine to 6:1 and would have gone higher if I could. With my current ratio I sized my masters to 5/8's on front and 3/4 on rear. This is at the edge of being too small, but I was trying to get my pedal effort down and my pressure at the caliper up. With the above I am getting 1200 psi on the front and 1100 psi on the rear with a very hard push...(100lbs I am guessing) with the bar centered. I am guessing my car weighs 3400 lbs and I have 6/4 piston Wilwoods with 13 inch rotors. I am running a BP-10 pad and the cf .40 cold.

Now remember that when you push the pedal 100 lbs that force is split between the two masters. 50 lbs each. Move the balance bar and it maybe you get 70lbs on one and 30 lbs on the other.

So what does all this rambling mean and where am I going? I would like to have a little larger masters which would require more pedal ratio...but I am at the max with my system. I tried a set of race pads with good cold bite. Wilwood "B" pads. The cf is .49 cold. Huge difference in braking, but too agressive for everyday street use.

Master sizing, pedal ratio and piston area are all big parts to getting your braking system right. Heavy cars are going to take a lot of leg pressure to stop. Use the calculator at the top of this post and spend some time to science out your system. By using the remote set-up you should be able to change the ratio just by drilling new holes in the brake pedal, which will make it easier.