Questions on braking upgrades on stock 90 knuckles

[Devin]

I decided too late to upgrade to a 96 or better braking option, so I am interested in knowing what options I have left. Eventually (read: a while) I might do the Cobra upgrades, but for now I want to know what I can do with the stock knuckles. Note, I am not going to track this car until I get better brakes, so I will be on the street period, and not racing.

After reading down to 2004 in my search query I found that most people agree that stainless steel braided brake lines are a good starting point, especially at the price. Are they all created equal? I noticed in some of the posts there was a rubbing issue. Is this still prevalent?

Are slotted and vented the same thing? Most people were passioned against using drilled. What are a decent brand of rotors?

It seems Hawk FPS pads all the way, unless someone has different ideas.

What other things in the way of brakes are there? I was looking at bias plugs, but ShoBros' disclaimer on it is making me think twice, especially if somewhere down the line there is an accident and insurance claim.

I also don't know if having ABS changes things at all, but I do have it.

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[SHO Continental]

Are slotted and vented the same thing? Most people were passioned against using drilled. What are a decent brand of rotors?

Slotted rotors have slots on the surface, vented rotors have a hollow area between the two contact surfaces for air to vent through.

It seems Hawk FPS pads all the way, unless someone has different ideas.

I vote for carbotech pads.

What other things in the way of brakes are there? I was looking at bias plugs, but ShoBros' disclaimer on it is making me think twice, especially if somewhere down the line there is an accident and insurance claim.

I also don't know if having ABS changes things at all, but I do have it.

Thanks for the help in advance!

Bias plugs help a great deal. I noticed a large improvement when I installed mine. However in the last month my ABS stopped working, now I have to keep an eye on how much I go on the brakes, the rears will lock up before the fronts.

 

[K-Dawg]

Stainless lines are a good upgrade and they can still be used when you upgrade the brakes later. I bought mine from Jeg's (Earl's, I think). The rubbing is only an issue if you don't mount them right.

Just get some cheap plain rotors. Slotting/drilling/dimpling/etc. isn't necessary and is a waste of money IMO. I've used both expensive namebrand rotors and cheap crap from the autoparts store. Can't tell the difference in performance and never had one "warp".

Any namebrand performance pad is going to be fine. Just go with whatever your gut tells you. Hawk, Carbotech, Porterfield, PFC, EBC, etc. Remember that all of these companies make several different compounds. I currently am using Carbotech Bobcats and am pleased, but I'll probably try something different next time just to say that I did.

Don't have much of an opinion on bias plugs. Been a while since I've owned a car with them so I don't remember if I liked them.

O, the most important part of the braking system is the tires. Good brakes are nothing without good tires.

Speaking of brakes and tires, I tested mine out pretty good tonight. I came within several VERY scary feet of smacking a ********* cow tonight. I haven't stopped so fast in a long time.

 

[jedhead]

When I had the stock brakes on my SHO, I installed cryo treated rotors and Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads. They were a good combo on my car and now my bro has them on his on its 4th set of PFCM pads. The rotor have not warped and braking power is pretty good. I followed the rotor seasoning and pad bedding procedures at Baer Racing.

Bob