Disc Brakes...................................be careful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[65bug]

Hey guys,
     Tomorrow I am picking up my dropped spindles w/ new carriers. Or rebuilt carriers I guess.
     Anyways, I had a decision to get either the drum spindles or the disk brake spindles and convert to front disc brakes.
     Even though I feel the drums are pretty good when properly set up, I know disks are much better!!!!
     Then there's the bling factor! My new disks shining through my porsche Alloy spokes!!!!
     So I have to make a decision with my shrinking budget, my house still not being finished(are they ever) and NUMBNUTTS we have as a president to really make me feel even worse about the financial security of my country.
     So, I decided to GO FOR IT and buy the disk brake spindles and if I have to wait a while for the rotors, calipers and hardware I can deal with it and wait.
     So, I decide to do a search on VW Disk brake kits on youtube just to see if there's anything on there.
     And this is what I found: Empi which I would have avoided at all costs anyway performs like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJsOMuvpghI
     
       So, now that I have seen what garbage they are, is AC Industries any better?
      I am not about to spend 980.00 on billet brakes. I am thinking drum spindles and Porsche alloy adapters.
      Any thoughts???

[65bug]

Oh, and here's the rears too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4wamopyEsU&feature=related

[VdanielW]

I have been using ac industries disc brake kit (front and rear with e-brake) for about 7yrs now.  They work great and have had no issues with them.

[KAFUR1]

porsche 944 brakes End of problem!

[65bug]

Thanks Daniel!!!! Just wanted some reassurance here!
Kafer1 What did the Porsche 944 brakes set you back if you don't mind me asking? Any major mods to install them?
  Will they fit right on my disk brake spindles?
 Thanks

[KAFUR1]

200 bucks from pick n pull and another $850 . so about 1050! the front hubs get modded the back bolts to irs.  Swing axle is alittle  more tricky but its do able! I have all the parts to do a swing axle set up. for later down the road. yes they fit  your disc brake spindels you just need to get the modded 944 hubs from lanner.http://www.vdubengineering.com/page2.htm

[65bug]

Kafer1,
       Sweeeeeet! Thanks! I actually found that site and was looking through it. I am contemplating.
       I found a guy with varga drilled rotors, varga calipers, mounting brakets, dropped spindles rebuilt carriers, all the seals and bearings. Everything out the door for 500.00!!!!

[KAFUR1]

I bet you be able  to find the porsche pad easier!

[madmike]

I have a set of AC's also with out a hitch,madmike

[bugnut]

I bought the CB Performance kit, dropped spindles and front discs for my '70.  Only complaint is the offset of the spindles that limits what wheels I can run, unless I go with a narrowed beam, yada yada yada.  But the brakes themselves work great!

[Ohio Tom (DdK)]

There is something fundamentally wrong with the design of those Empi calipers in the youtube video.
There should never be a bending load on the floater pins.

[Mad Manx]

There is something fundamentally wrong with the design of those Empi calipers in the youtube video.
There should never be a bending load on the floater pins.

Exactly Tom, I found that it's not really the calipers but the mounting bracket that is not parallel between the backing plate mounting surface and the caliper mounting surface, the stamped one I had was about 2 deg different. This make the caliper NOT parallel the rotor so when the pads push against the rotor the caliper loads against the floater pins. As a test I had the 2 surfaces machined to be parallel and re-installed the calipers with a few washers to get things centered up and they worked Perfect.
The big problem was that I had to machine about a .010 tapper into the surfaces, making the brackets thinner and weaker. I found the same problem with the rear Disc Kits with the stamped brackets.
On my light weight Manx they would probably work and not break but I am machining some new ones from 4340 steel that I designed to have the proper offsets and parallelism. These Disc Brakes work real well when setup correctly and matched to a good Dual Reservoir M/C.

I have had the Empi Wide-5 King Pin kit on my 65 Baja for over 5 years and they lined up perfect out of the box and have been working great for thousands of miles ( I did NOT use the supplied bearings).