9in drum brakes

BillGrissom said
I'm guessing those writers don't have an engineering degree, nor even took Physics I. Comparing skinny bias-ply tires with modern tires is silly. Tires stop the car, not the brakes. I read an article comparing modern Winter tires with All-Season. The Winter tires stopped in HALF the difference on ice, which demonstrates "tires matter". Sticky tires like come on current sports cars (Mustang, etc) can stop from 60 mph in 95 ft. Current sedans stop in ~125 ft. Current pickups in ~150 ft. If your brakes can stop the tires rotating, and do it evenly, how could any other brakes do any better?

The articles didn’t compare bias ply tires to radials. I listed both articles. The Mopar mag article compared the same tires on the same car and only swapped out the rear drums for rear disks. That was the only change. And that was still an 11 foot improvement in stopping distance even though that was a REAR disk swap.

BillGrissom said
Confessing you never took a Physics course? Arguing about Physics with someone who has an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

And my degree is in aerospace engineering. You show me ANY article, ANY data that shows a 9” or 10” Mopar drum brake set up outstopping a KH disk or 73+ disk set up on the same car line. You can’t, because they don’t.

I’ve said this before, and you should know better. A quick stab of the brakes will lock up a wheel with less stopping power than a slow, steady application. You know that rolling friction and sliding friction are not the same, and you should realize that a short impulse can impart a high enough force to lock the wheels. Skidding the wheels is not an accurate way to evaluate stopping power. It never has been, that’s the physics.

ultimatejay said
NO, brakes stop the car tires aid in stopping the car. Softer tires will allow shorter brake distance and so forth, but brakes are the force that stops the car. c'mon man

You guys are arguing semantics. The best brakes won’t perform for crap with lousy tires, and the best tires won’t perform for crap if the brakes behind them can’t keep up.

The disk set ups for these cars will stop the car significantly better with better tires. Even the drums that came on these cars benefit from better tires, although they run out of juice before the disks do.