yes I covered that above that the bigger the pad surface area the less effort required on the pedal to get the same friction between the pad and rotor, up to a point (same concept as the wider the tires on your car the more traction, up to a point where the weight is dispersed over such a larg area and you get the point where the traction goes backwards, same as how things on tracks don't get bogged, weight is spread over more area)... Also the further away from the axle the pads are the more mechanical advantage is applied to the disc...

However what I was saying is a set of brakes is only as good as the traction on the front tires... once you lock the front tires the friction is lost basically...

So if a set of ED brakes lock the wheels, and a set of GT brakes lock the wheels they are as good as each other... As maximum braking is achieved right before the wheels lock up... The rate of deceleration is the same so the braking is identical... Regardless how many pistons, or how much pad there is... But to do this you have to apply more force to the ED brakes than the GT brakes...

So you want good braking with less leg effort, as for a race car where every corner you want to brake as late and as close to lock up as possible... Yeah go with big brakes... You around town car that you might slam the brakes on occasionally to avoid an accident... Wouldn't a set of std brakes suffice?

If you came to a screaming halt at every corner like a race car does you obviously got heaps of money to keep replacing tires and pads so you'd have the expensive brakes too...

Cheers,
Tim

All very good points.

I think the BA front brake setup would be a worthwhile upgrade is because you will get better stopping power with the standard BA setup. Pads will be reasonably priced as they make them by the container load.

And if you wanted to throw on a set of larger territory rotors and calipers, you will still be able to buy the standard territory pads cheaper than buying a set of brembos, expensive rotors and sports pads to suit them.

Its not like its even a special brake setup. Its a standard BA brake system. If the brakes in the E series was good enough, ford would have carried them over to the AU, BA and so on. I think its a necessary upgrade since you are planning to upgrade to BA power.

Granted there is an initial cost and time with the car off the road to make it happen. But I thought you had another wagon you can use to trial fit everything before you perform the swap on the EB?

How long do you think you need to do the engine swap once you have everything prepared? Surely pick a part has a few BA's you can get the necessary parts cheap enough to do it?

With the brakes and cable clutch setup in my NF, the pressure is evenly balanced between both pedals. If I went the BA brake upgrade, I may need to upgrade to hydraulic clutch to even it out

I don't disagree that it is good step up in brake performance. If you have a read of BBQ Burners thread, you will see what is required modification wise to the cars chassis for the cross member to be installed. It would require a skilled person days to get all the measurements right, and then commit to cutting and welding in the required crush tubes. I am not prepared to have the wagon off the road that long, with an unknown outcome at this point.



The K Frame mod can only be done to the car you intend to use. It is not a transferable options.



A weekend is long enough to get it into my car once it is up and running in the donor/test car. I have most of the 'parts' needed. I don't have the $$$$ for the XCal 3 Flash device I need to remove the security ect from the BA PCM.

Cheers
BenJ

Sorry Ben But I think you are more than capable and skilled enough, considering all the work you have done to you sedan and wagon, to do it.

If you wanted to that is

Cheers

Josh

I know it can be done, but I am not able to justify the expense for what I consider to be little gain.

The reason the BA brakes are better than an E Series, is not due to the extra power of the BARRA donk, it is that the BA is a whole lot heavier and NEEDS better brakes.

Cheers
BenJ

Have you thought about running an EF/AU ECU and a J3 chip to get it going on the cheap?

Same crank trigger means it will get spark and fuel. It might not be perfect with no cam control but it would drive around ok. Locking the cams could be done pretty cheaply. Just need to put them in the right spot.

AJR Signature Copies

So on Tuesday I picked up the replacement wheels for $200. Very happy with the price for some 17 x 8 Alloys.

Today, I had my tires swapped off the Prowlers and had them fitted and balanced on the AJRs.

I know, enough of this typing crap, show you some pics.







While I wasn't a fan of this style of wheel before, they are growing on my rather fast. The best thing is that they are SAFE. They will stay silver for now and I will look at what to do if anything next year.

Air Conditioning Fixed

Also after work today I took the wagon in to have the A/C attended to. A new receiver dryer was fitted, a leak test performed and new gas put in.

So far, given that it was 30 odd degrees and really humid, it is working well. Hopefully it will keep us cool on our trip.

Cargo LEDs

I have never really been happy with the severe lack of lighting in the Cargo area.

After seeing TimmyTimTim's LED experiments I knew what I wanted to do. So this week I finally ordered some White LED Strips from EBay.

2 x 48LED 48cm Car Strips

Now at $10.89 and free postage I was happy to give this a go. I paid on Tuesday, and they were here in the mail today. Pretty good service I reckon.

So after a bit of messing around I had them hooked up and used some double sided tape to secure them in place.

They seem to be pretty bright even during the day.




And they do a great job of lighting up the back of the Wagon at night. Just what I wanted.


Cheers
BenJ

Last edited by BenJ on Fri Dec 10, 2010 11:13 am, edited 2 times in total.

Very nice.

I like that LED Strip idea too, looks great at night.

Yay... I feel like an inspirational fordmodder now...

Glad to see the LED's worked out good for you Ben...

Cheers,
Tim

LED's look fantastic (so do the new rims) I have a pair of neons ( not ricer ones ) in mine, but the LED's might have to find their way in now.

wagon looks fat with the new rims and custom bodykit!

even though im a fan of the prowlers, the new rims look good, i like them!.......

Me too. Surprised me how nice they do look, not every wheel suits a black car, you scored well there mate.
The LED's look real neat, I'll have to do that to my fleet of E-series wagons.....

Any idea what your gunna do with the prowlers........

I like the new rims too mate. The LED strips are good too. they would go well in a boot too.

Cheers.



My vote is to keep the three good ones, and save them for when you get a trailer.

Looks great on the AJR wheels BenJ, it's a shame to hear about the issues with the prowlers, but these are a nice replacement. Wagon looks awesome all round now that the kit is done, looking forward to seeing more progress on the DOHC i6 in the engine bay