I read that the weight distribution on my 85 GT is 43.4%/56.6%. I was just curious, why does it seem easier for the front tires to lock up when stopping than other cars I have owned?

Depends on the quality of the braking system, I believe. My '84 would lock up all four wheels and still maintain a straight line. BUT the brakes were recently overhauled under a recall.

How are your rear brakes, calipers, hoses?


J.

The subject of brake bias was discussed in another thread recently but in a nutshell:

All cars are designed with a bias to the front brakes that insures that the fronts lock up first. If the rears were to lock up first, they would loose traction and then most the breaking would be be done by the fronts with the non-rolling rears free to slide in any direction. A spin would be virtually guaranteed. With a mid or rear engined car this is even more of a danger so you can understand why the engineers and lawyers at GM would have put more front bias on the brakes than simple weight distribution might seem to dictate.

Ralph Nader and his mid 60s book “Unsafe at Any Speed” are still a painful memory for those at GM I’m sure.

Engine weight sitting on the back ones makes it harder to lock them up. Plus more breaking power goes to the front ones.

quote Originally posted by ViperBlue85GT: I read that the weight distribution on my 85 GT is 43.4%/56.6%. I was just curious, why does it seem easier for the front tires to lock up when stopping than other cars I have owned?

quote Originally posted by jaskispyder: Depends on the quality of the braking system, I believe. My '84 would lock up all four wheels and still maintain a straight line. BUT the brakes were recently overhauled under a recall. How are your rear brakes, calipers, hoses? J.

How do you expect a brake system designed for an Iron Duke Fiero to work properly for a GT with the heavy boat anchor in the back?

I have an 86 with an 88 rear cradle swap. Braking is very balanced now UNTIL they get really hot. Then my front brakes fade while the back brakes are vented, doing most of the braking. I spun out going 110 last year with crappy tires and a few weeks ago got squally but recovered fine having good tires. I really need to put grand am brakes on the front soon!

If your tires suck, your brakes are going to lock up easier. Increase the grip of your tires and you might be amazed how much better your braking system works.