Vented Brakes Upgrade

[Conserv]

On 8/6/2024 at 3:34 PM, 02sahara said:

 

... are the expensive tii struts and all the addtitional parts/costs worth it, or better rebuild (or buy a rebuilt) standard caliper and drive without vented discs? Is it more a nice-to-have and I-have-some-money-left-over upgrade?…

 

Here’s my experience, Marvin,

 

As have others here with non-tii’s, I found my ‘76’s brakes particularly weak, from brand new, both in stopping power and, when driven really hard, in brake fade. Earlier ‘02’s I owned, particularly a box-stock ‘67 1600-2, stopped much better! All my ‘02’s faded when really pushed. Dealers declared the ‘76’s brakes operating to factory specs. No one ever found anything amiss. I tried many different pads over the years, some better than others. But I found no significant change or improvement.

 

Finally, in 2018, I swapped struts, hubs, calipers, and disks to tii units — not ventilated, simply tii. The booster, master, and rear brakes remain stock. But the improvement in stopping power feels significant. After 48 years of owning the ‘76, I finally feel good about its brakes. The tii disks don’t address the fading issue, but I, personally, don’t track my ‘76 or drive it as hard in 2024 as I did in 1976. Knowing what I know now, I’d absolutely do the same tii upgrade again.

 

Vented disks would help with the fade, but… (a.)  I’ve experienced fade one time since 2018 (and… I backed off, something I wouldn’t do in 1976! 🙄), and (b.) I have lots of great rims — all 13” — and I don’t want to limit my choices.

 

In summary, the larger tii disks got me 90% of what I really wanted and needed at this point in the ‘76’s and my life! If it were 1976, I’d probably say the larger tii disks got me only 50% of what I wanted and needed, because of the fade issue. So, how do you feel about your car’s current stopping power and how often do you feel your brakes fade to nothingness?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[visionaut]

1 hour ago, Conserv said:

Comparing the Volvo option and the Turbo option, to what extent does each limit your choices among 13” rims? I thought the Volvo option interfered with some 13” rims. True? What about the Turbo option?

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

 

Steve, I don’t know about the Volvos set-up, but the Turbo obviously fits 13” rims. The offset on them might matter a small bit. I’m not aware of any wheel offset clearance issues with the Turbo calipers.

 

Tii hub faces sit 1400mm apart in front (hubface track). For Turbo that’s 1411mm (from the 5.5mm more poke per side from the Turbo hubs that I mentioned previously). 

 

Tii wheels were 13x5 et29 (early) and 13x5 et26 (late). Turbo were 13x5.5 et18. The offset on the Turbo wheels puts the extra .5” all to the outside.(11mm to be precise). So the backspacing is the same.

 

Non-Turbo 02 wheels fit the Turbo, just with less wheel poke than a Turbo wheel. (Though they’ll overall sit that 5.5mm farther outward due the increased Turbo hubface track.)

 

[Conserv]

1 hour ago, visionaut said:

Steve, I don’t know about the Volvos set-up, but the Turbo obviously fits 13” rims. The offset on them might matter a small bit. I’m not aware of any wheel offset clearance issues with the Turbo calipers.

 

Tii hub faces sit 1400mm apart in front (hubface track). For Turbo that’s 1411mm (from the 5.5mm more poke per side from the Turbo hubs that I mentioned previously). 

 

Tii wheels were 13x5 et29 (early) and 13x5 et26 (late). Turbo were 13x5.5 et18. The offset on the Turbo wheels puts the extra .5” all to the outside.(11mm to be precise). So the backspacing is the same.

 

Non-Turbo 02 wheels fit the Turbo, just with less wheel poke than a Turbo wheel. (Though they’ll overall sit that 5.5mm farther outward due the increased Turbo hubface track.)

 

Thanks, Tom,

 

And I suspected that since a turbo caliper is simply a “tii caliper with spacers”, any rim that fits on a tii should fit with the full turbo setup, recognizing that you’re 5.5 mm. closer to the fender lips on a stock ‘02. But since I view a 5 1/2” rim as a “Fat Boy” on my own ‘02’s, I could likely accommodate virtually any of my rims with a turbo setup.

 

I believe, however, that I’ve heard mixed reactions to the Volvo rims. Some report that minor grinding on the Volvo calipers can solve some (most?) issues when fitment issues arise. I also, however, recognize that alloy rims, with generally thicker walls than steel rims, and wall thicknesses that vary widely from one brand and model of alloy to another.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve