4 Wheel brakes VS 3 Wheel brakes on Stock Metric Monte

[3dinter]

I have never run 3 wheel brakes and i am looking to do it for next year.
What's the Pro's and Con's / advantage or disadvantage of 3 wheel brakes on a stock frame Metric Monte ?

[C10]

3 wheel brakes are going to give you a hand full when you have to panic stop!! they will spin you out faster then you can imagine and it takes longer distances to stop.
My set up on my chassis have always been a stock compound in the RF with an aggressive Hawk or similar pad set up on the LF. You keep your 4 wheel braking, but it helps keep the nose glued down when getting in. MUCH safer then running 3 IMO

[3dinter]

C10
So your LF will grab harder than your right front based on the brake compound..ie letting you get in the corner better.

[bushracing67]

yup, i have been doing the same thing for years, hawk on left, parts store crap on the right

[steveshawjr]

3 wheel brakes are a crutch for an ill handling car with a huge push. i would put a shut off in the car for only when its needed ( when you missed the setup big time)

besides that what bush and c10 has said is what most of us do

[3dinter]

3 wheel brakes are a crutch for an ill handling car with a huge push. i would put a shut off in the car for only when its needed ( when you missed the setup big time)

besides that what bush and c10 has said is what most of us do

Yes i seen those electric ones & manual ones thru Day Motorsports.,,kinda liked the electric ones,,ie...something you could do DURING the race if need be.

[Egoracing]

Yes i seen those electric ones & manual ones thru Day Motorsports.,,kinda liked the electric ones,,ie...something you could do DURING the race if need be.

MANY dirt late model and modifieds use the electric ones for a RF shutoff with zero problems. You can turn them on and off during the race without a single issue. I have installed dozens and only had one fail and it was an off brand cheap unit. Get a brand name and remember that you install it backwards from the directions if the directions are for drag racing.

[raceco25]

why not grind say 25% of the rt front pad off or drill some quarter inch deep holes in the pad material and the rt front will be a little less efficient than the left, works every time

[Egoracing]

With the switch you can use it or not. There are valves where you can cut the LF off completely OR adjust the amount of power it has. It is a tuning tool that you can use if needed. If you alter the pads or remove the caliper as I have seen some people do then you are stuck with what you have if you need reduced braking OR all 4 wheel working together.

[Dirtrunner35]

Use a caliper with a bigger piston on the left front.

[steveshawjr]

i think the reason most guys have a problem with them is they have there foot on the brake if they turn them off hence holding up the rf.

the only reason to install them is if the cars got a real bad push in and that's due to another problem not breaking works in a pinch if you missed the setup that's about it .

4 wheel working breaks are a lot better than 3

[Egoracing]

lol thats a lot of new race cars

When you work in a shop that builds them it is the customers choice what to put in. If I tried a guess I would say around 50-60 electric and probably around 150 pressure regulating manual type as we mostly did asphalt builts for several years. Hey, I knew that they did work and how they worked!

No you cant, you need to pry the pads back before locking the line....

You do not need to pry the pads away from rotor as that is NOT how the valves work when they are installed correctly!

[Egoracing]

i think the reason most guys have a problem with them is they have there foot on the brake if they turn them off hence holding up the rf.

the only reason to install them is if the cars got a real bad push in and that's due to another problem not breaking works in a pinch if you missed the setup that's about it .

4 wheel working breaks are a lot better than 3

We mostly used them when the track was junk slick and we were not going to change the car for it. If you get to Fla the tracks start out slimy slick some times and rather than change a bunch on the car you can flip the switch and run. I believe the only other times it was used when we were racing out of state was if it rained on the track and made it slimy or if it got black slick, then it can help you get to the low line on the track going into the corner. It can also help hold the car down coming out if you are trail braking coming out you just have to be careful not to spin it out. This was in a late model and it could get more touchy with the smaller contact patch of an 8 inch tire.

[Egoracing]

Wow now 210 new cars!!! You must have worked at Bms they are the only ones I know of putting out that kind of numers of new cars.

Worked at Midwest motorsports in Florida off and on from the early 90's up until about 2003, we built championship winning cars for the Southern Sportsman Series, FMSCS, Hooters Jackaroo Sportsman Series as well as championship and winning cars that raced at Desoto Speedway, Auberndale speedway, Sunshine Speedway, Orlando Speedway, New Smyrna Speedway, East Bay Speedway, Volusia Speedway, USA International Speedway and others. Cars ranged from 4 cylinder "bombers" to full tube chassis 4 cylinder and late models for asphalt and dirt. Also built several drag cars and a few IMSA cars that raced at Daytona and Sebring.

Around 2003 I started crew chiefing a dirt late model that ran around the south east running Nesmith, Fastrack and other series. Then in 2007 I moved but still helped start a dirt late model series.

[steveshawjr]

slime type tracks call for more rear brake if you have the right type of peddle setup or a proportioning valve you can just as easily dial in more rear make it so the front not do much work at all. 3 wheel brakes is a CRUTCH if the cars setup right you will never need it.

i know theirs guys that cant drive in the slime , but are bad fast on a dry slick track, and theirs guys that just blow guys away when they run on the slime and cant do nothing come dry slick.

ive ran the 3 wheel deal in the past it works on the fly but nothing beats a well tuned setup