At 11:55 AM 1/2/04 -0500, SHANE Ingate wrote:
>Hi All,
>........
>
>Has anyone ever ditched the power brake booster on the TR6? If so, can
>they report on what they did, and what pedal pressure and modulation they
>experience? Chuck Arnold ditched his, and went with two 0.75" master
>cylinders connected to a balnce bar that he welded to the stock brake
>pedal. He reports very high pedal pressures, but terrific modulation
>(stock rear drums, Toy 4-pot calipers at front).
If you remove the booster and just use the master cylinder, the pressure
required goes up significantly. I did drive my TR6 back from Florida to
Illinois in this condition but it was not pleasant for my tastes. Of course
if you remove the booster you must close up the big hole in the TR6
firewall. The worst aspect of this approach is that the TR6 master cylinder
does not have a captive pushrod so unless you engineer up something to hold
it in, the pushrod can fall out.
>It seems to me that the stock pedal ratio of the TR6 pedals of 3.85 could
>be changed to around 4.8 just by moving the clevis pin that connects the
>pedal to the M/C 0.5" closer to the fulcrum point. Reducing the size of
>the M/C to 0.70" also reduces pedal pressures. Theoretically, these two
>modifications (sans booster) would yield similar pedal pressures as the
>stock system (with booster). I do not know how it would affect pedal
>travel or feel, other than the pedal travel would be longer, the the feel
>spongier!
>
>It is just not possible to fit a Tilton or Wilwood pedal box to the TR6
>(but please tell me if I am wrong!) because of the angled firewall, lack
>of footwell space (for floor-mounted pedals) and my desire to keep the
>wiper motor. You TR4 guys have it easy because you have a vertical firewall.
I put a Tilton set in my TR4 using a TR6 pedal set with the balance bar
welded into the brake pedal. I replaced all the sheet metal where the
cylinders mount for cosmetics and to keep the cylinders level. Big job. I
moved the balance bar up and used .70 cylinders as you suggest. The
pressure is comfortable and the modulation is superb, especially when
compared to the stock TR6 setup.
I know of two different installations using the Tilton pedal assembly. I
just installed one using the arrangement where the bracket bolts down to a
horizontal surface - in this case the top of the firewall shelf. This is a
big job, and expensive, too. The pedal bracket, pedals, cylinders and
fittings cost $600. The end result is great, though.
The other installation of which I've seen a picture was very nicely done
and it used the pedal bracket that mounts to something above it. This
requires extensive fabrication too, top allow access to the master cylinders.
There is another approach also. You can use a TR4 pedal assembly, putting
the tops of the pedals above the firewall shelf. With this approach you can
purchase or fabricate a bracket and balance bar, using cylinders that face
the firewall. I don't know if the clutch cylinder will interfere with the
windshield wiper motor. I built one of these, it is on Tony Drews's Red
Rocket and it works just great. The bracketry and cylinders are also
available as a kit from Britain, and I believe Brad Kahler (FOT) is
building a series of these.
Finally, here's another possibility to look at that I have not tried.
Tilton now has a new line of cylinders that are significantly shorter than
the old ones, so this should eliminate the problem of the cylinders
interfering with the left fender well. They could be mounted directly to
the firewall even though it is at an angle, and although they would be
tilted you could use the remote reservoirs that come in the kit and mount
those anywhere. Again, three cylinders would be about $250 and the balance
bar is about $60.
Using any of these approaches where the pedals are mounted to the sheet
metal of the firewall, I strongly recommend reinforcing the firewall in
that area. It's possible to bend the firewall sheet metal with a panic stop
application.
If you are serious about any of these approaches, drop me a note and I'll
send you photos.
>Cheers,
>
>Shane Ingate (about to blow his 2004 car budget in the first week) in Maryland
>
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uncle jack
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