Braking your vehicle is vital for the safety of you, your family, and everyone else on the road. If your brakes are underperforming, they either need to be realigned, resurfaced, replaced, or upgraded.
If you routinely drive at high speeds, braking power is even more important. The faster you go, the longer it takes to bring your vehicle to a full stop. That is also true if you have a large, heavy vehicle, such as a motorhome or large truck. Also, if you have an older or a classic vehicle, your brakes might need an upgrade.
Determine What Type of Brakes Your Vehicle Has
Most modern vehicles are equipped with disc brakes. In fact, most cars have been equipped with disc brakes since the 1970s. Most car enthusiasts want to keep their classic cars as stock as possible. However, if you use your classic car as a daily driver, you might want to upgrade the brakes, for safety’s sake. This is especially true if you have a classic muscle car, which often has drum brakes on all four wheels.
Simple Brake Performance Upgrades
Simply replacing the pads and rotors with performance parts can increase your braking power. High-performance brake parts dissipate heat more efficiently, for improved performance. Also, consider installing high-performance brake calipers. Using high-quality, high-performance brake parts might be all you need to do to increase your braking power.
Brake Boosters
Your older vehicle may or may not have a brake booster. Brake boosters use vacuum pressure from the engine for more stopping power. If your car already has a brake booster, it may need to be replaced. You can also add a power brake conversion kit to a classic car that does not have one.
Auto Front Disc Brake Conversion Kit
If your car has drum brakes on all four wheels, converting the front to disc brakes is a smart idea. That’s why you might need an auto front disc brake conversion kit to complete the job. However, if you’re not doing it yourself, this option is not cheap, and unless you do the work yourself, the conversion can take your mechanic all day. Also, you may need to upgrade your wheels to accommodate larger brake parts.
But, if you drive a classic muscle car from the 1970s, an auto front disc brake conversion kit is a smart upgrade. Also, you are probably aware that stock parts for classic cars can be hard to come by. Thus, upgrading to newer parts with conversion kits makes sense.
Upgrading and converting your brakes for more power is a smart safety move. It can also help your classic car’s cornering ability on the track. But, before you jump into conversion kits, do your homework.
