Swift DB4 Brakes

[Paddy O'Brien]

I am interested in installing floating brake discs on my DB4,does anyone have experience with this? I assume that I would have to some made up but haven't got a clue as to where to start. Also,what brake pads do you guys like for a DB4(or Ralt), I was using Hawk blues but thought that there was too much initial bite using right foot braking to modulate properly,so I tried PFC 10 compound which seems good except that now brake pedal goes to nearly the floor on the corner after they work well. I think my current fade problems may be mechanical,not pad related but seems odd that the problem didn't happen with the old pads(blues). One reason I am considering floating discs is to reduce brake drag as I can barely push the car after a session,that has to kill 20 hp. Comments?

[Brad Ellingson]

Contact Two Dogg about floating rotors. I know they have made them for FF and FC cars...not sure about Atlantics but I bet they can.

www.twodogg.com

[kea]

I have Formula Atlantic customers using the KFP, Carbon-Kevlar brakes on their cars, or C-S/R conversions. Most of them prefer the soft, P1101 (red) compound.
Keith
Averill Racing Stuff,Inc.

[Paul LeCain]

We used the PFC 93 compund when it was available (I still have some that will fit the DB-4). Since then, we've used the PFC 01 compound on our Ralt.

[Paddy O'Brien]

Thanks for the input, I will call Two Dog today about the floating discs and I have heard good things about the KFP reds such as easy modulation and good power and they are very disc friendly but have a high wear rate,true? I wish I could left foot brake in my car but there is simply no room, so ideally I would like a pad with a not so sudden initial bite and maybe not so sensitive to slight changes in brake pressure due to the imperfect nature of heal and toeing. Keith,do you have the KFP reds to fit the AP brakes on a DB4? if so I would like to try a set, where can I call you? I think I found the answer to my fadeing brakes, the new pads were hanging up and sticking on the sides of the pad backing plate and caliper sides as the brakes heated up. When cool, the pads slid easily in the caliper but without much freeplay. So I guess we need to file off the sides of the pad to create more of a gap to let the steel backing plate and aluminum caliper expand at thier different rates. Never had to do that before.Can you have too much of a gap there?

[kea]

Paddy,
Call me, as I talk faster than my two fingers can type ( and I won't need a spell check).
Keith
Averill Racing Stuff,Inc.
248-585-9139

[RussMcB]

<snip> I wish I could left foot brake in my car but there is simply no room ...

No kidding? I started left foot braking in the past couple of years and would be bummed if I had to give that up. Is that true for just the DB-4 or are most newer atlantics like that now. Do you have "normal" size feet?

Sorry for the highjack, but this caught my attention and I was curious about it.

[Paddy O'Brien]

I have size 10 feet but wear a size9 racing boot for extra clearance. The DB4 footbox is narrow to begin with and there are cast braces on either side of the pedals that force the space for the pedals to be even more narrow. The stock pedals are cast and have no side to side adjustment and the brake is fairly narrow(2 inches,maybe) and right in line with the steering rack. Clearly the DB4 was not designed for easy left foot braking, however the Swift 014 I drove last year had a HUGE brake pedal and almost requires left foot braking to be driven properly,I am not sure about a Ralt or Reynard pedal setup. A sequential shift is also a help for left foot braking. If you moved the DB4 clutch to the left(where it could foul the cast brace more easily) maybe you could replace the current brake pedal with a bigger one and a more leftward bias. It would still be tight though. By the way, the Taylor gearbox catalog shows a kit to convert the DB4's Staffs box to sequential......
.