I don't know if they stillmake them or not, but I used REPCO
Semi metalics on my Alpine and I always considered that car to have had
the best brakes of all the cars that I have owned. Perfect control,
little if any fade, and very predictable. At least in my opinion. It
had far better brakes than either of my Dads Jags, or my brothers old
MG-B. I have been unimpressed with all of the American cars that I have
owned. All have had fairly spongy feeling brakes, even after completely
going through them. I have found that the calipers flex too much and
there by making the pedal spungy. The Alpines brakes were always solid,
although the rears needed constant adjusting. One click on the ebrake
was good for about a week of driving.
Rich
> ----------
> From: Jarrid Gross (Yorba Linda, CA)[SMTP:GROSS(at)UNIT.COM]
> Reply To: Jarrid Gross (Yorba Linda, CA)
> Sent: Thursday, May 15, 1997 8:20 AM
> To: alpines(at)autox.team.net; Chris S. Mottram
> Subject: RE: Anti-lock brakes
>
> Chris and Alpiners,
>
> I have a series II, which of course does not have the booster.
> And yes, I have the small diameter master cyl.
>
>
> With all of the hydrollics in great shape, and even new (stock) brake
> parts all the way around the car, the car could NEVER lock up all 4
> wheels.
> The rears could lock with a ton of pressure, but no deal on the
> fronts.
>
> Forget the fact that I could'nt lock the tires, in my opinion, the
> brakes could
> have done a much better job stopping the car even without lockup.
>
> The asbestos pads would get brutally hot, and even heat checked my
> rotors.
>
> My solution was to turn the rotors, and to purchase a set of metalic
> pads
> from a Datsun 260Z.
>
> The 260Z pads require a bunch of mods to make them fit a series 1 to
> 2,
> and
> slightly less modification to function on the 3,4 and 5s. The
> importance
> of buying
> the Datsun pads was that I could get them NOW at an auto parts store
> for
> $17.
>
>
> BTW (Series 3,4 and 5 people), I am sure there is a better way to go
> for
> good
> pads with your vehicles than to buy the Datsun pads, that wont require
> the
> mods. The Series 1 and 2 pads are shaped entirely different, and
> there
> is
> simply no alternative then to make your own.
>
>
> The car stops amazingly fast now, and can lock up all 4 wheels even
> with
> really sticky tires on the car.
>
> Although the rear brakes seam adequate, I think the alpine (and
> tiger)
> have
> too little surface area on the front pads, for the vehicle weight.
> The
> only way
> that I could rectify this problem, was to put on some pads with more
> bite, and
> better thermal properties.
>
>
>
> Jarrid Gross
>
>
> From: Chris S. Mottram(at)ECCI on 05/14/97 10:25 PM
>
> My Series 5 Alpine came with out the brake booster. The pedal is very
> firm. No matter how hard I push on the pedal, I can't come to an
> panic
> stop (aka lock up the brakes). Now I realize that many new cars come
> with
> this feature and charge quite a bit for it, I would feel more
> comfortable
> if I knew I could at least try to come to a screeching halt before I
> rear
> end somebody!
> Should I be able to lock the brakes without the booster? I really
> don't
> want to add one back.
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
>
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