The White Bug (Page 28/46)
La fiera FEB 25, 11:10 PM

quote
Originally posted by ericjon262:


I don't think I've ever seen someone use a dial indicator on a wheel bearing.

The other aspect to consider is the ACTUAL temperature of the components, I doubt they're running at 400F+ like my assumption states. Maybe I'll take the Suburban down the interstate for a bit and try and put some heat in the front hubs and see what they look like with my FLIR.




Make sure you drive riding the brakes to simulate stop and go traffic and track use. Make that rotor smoke!
ericjon262 FEB 26, 12:54 AM

quote
Originally posted by La fiera:


Make sure you drive riding the brakes to simulate stop and go traffic and track use. Make that rotor smoke!




My intention would be to determine temperature rise under normal-ish conditions, compared to ambient, I fully understand that an actual test of track conditions would require significantly more maneuvering and abuse than I am going to put an 88 Suburban with no swaybars through. This data would provide a baseline temperature rise, to get an idea of if the nearly 500F figure is insane or not, I suspect the hub will have a temperature rise not greater than 100F under normal driving conditions, maybe tomorrow I can find the time to do it.

It's also worth mentioning that vented brake rotors get a significant amount of cooling via the air gap between the faces. The vanes provide airflow while the vehicle is moving. the vanes operate like a centrifugal fan, cool air enters near the hub, cools the rotor, and is discharged away from the hub near the rim. The rotors on my car take this a step further and curve the vanes to provide more airflow. that's not to say the rotor doesn't get hot, but to say the rotor isn't primarily cooled by the hub via conduction, the primary cooling is forced convection.

It's also important to remember the cooling is taking place, directly where the heat is being generated, between the pads.

I think Will really hit the nail on the head with his instrumentation method, a small probe could be inserted in the back of a gun drilled spindle to provide a very accurate indication of what is going on in the bearings. an IR thermometer could be installed externally to monitor the hub surface.

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"I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."

cognita semper

La fiera FEB 27, 07:28 PM


Here you go Patrick, this will keep your temps and aluminum hubs from locking up. Turbofans!
I'been looking around and found a set for my Supernatural Fiero.
pmbrunelle FEB 27, 10:28 PM
How do they attach to the wheel?
La fiera FEB 28, 08:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by pmbrunelle:

How do they attach to the wheel?



Long lug nuts with a smaller threaded hole on the outside to bolt the fan. At least that's the way I think it could work.
I grew up watching IMSA and Group 5 racing from the 80's on. One thing I noticed was the funny looking thing specially on the front wheels.
Some had it in all four wheels like the Audi Quattro IMSA and TransAm cars. Besides helping on cooling the brakes and looking cool I want to use them
on my Supernatural to give it that retro look.
pmbrunelle MAR 02, 10:19 PM
My rear Cadillac Seville calipers are pretty much complete now.

After cleaning out the rusty sludge inside, I modified the calipers to use banjo bolt bleeders:
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/144809.html

I honed the bores to remove any corrosion. Then, I sandblasted the exterior.

I applied silicone grease (Kleen-Flo Eze-Slide) to the bores to reduce future corrosion, and to aid in assembly. The pistons were then inserted with a C-clamp. One piston had to be replaced, as I found brake fluid behind the vent hole.

After masking the calipers, and setting them on makeshift "paint stands", I painted them with red spray-can VHT caliper paint.



The shade of the VHT is darker than that of the Wilwood caliper, but it is acceptable (for now).



I will wait perhaps two weeks, then I will bake the calipers 1 hour at 200 °F in the oven, as per VHT instructions.
La fiera MAR 03, 08:50 PM
I got a set of D54 Wilwood Big bore dirt track calipers for the front which I had previosly used but one of them started to stick. Where can get parts to rebuild them?
Will MAR 04, 08:19 AM
www.wilwood.com ?
pmbrunelle MAR 04, 12:37 PM
Yes, the Wilwood information page for each caliper normally shows the Wilwood part number for the seal kit.

I didn't rebuild my Wilwoods (yet), because I bought them new. For my Cadillac calipers, I ordered the rebuild kit from Rockauto for the Cadillac.
La fiera MAR 04, 10:44 PM
Thank you guys! I found the kit to rebuild mines. I guess it was lack of use that caused the problem.
I had them when I had the 2.8 making 173WHP and the brakes were very touchy and grabby. If I put a bit too much pressure on the pedal the front wheels would lock up.
The reason I want to install them back is because since the cam on the 3.7 wont make much vaccuum I'm wondering if by installing these back would give me a bit more bite if I run out of vaccuum assist. I'll give them a try. Forgot to mention I had Hawk DTC 30 pads on them, never had brake fade.
The last time I had the car on the track with these calipers I went out on a session and it was a Mustang Bullitt, a NASCAR tube frame chassis car with a wicked high compresssion 2.5L 4 cylinder Pinto engine built for oval track, a ZO6 Vette on slicks and me. The NASCAR and I were matched on power but when it came to braking and exiting cornering speed it was no match for me to outbrake him and drive away off the cornres. The NASCAR weighted about 3000lbs+! With the Mustang and the Vette it was the same story but they could out accelerate my Fiero easily on the straights and then I'd get them braking. It was awesome!

[This message has been edited by La fiera (edited 03-04-2021).]