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Old 10-14-2003, 09:36 PM   #2
cdlong
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i don't know much about the skyline brakes so i'll talk about the Z32 and generally. there are three types of parking brakes, integrated calipers, drum brakes, and a drum-in-hat. drum brakes have a built in parking brake and are virtually never used in performance cars. stock 240s use an integrated caliper. that's where the caliper has a screw built into the piston that will apply the service brake (the main pad) when the cable is pulled. a drum-in-hat uses a standard caliper (either a sliding caliper or a fixed opposed piston like the Z32). inside the hat (the raised portion) there is a drum type parking brake that has seperate pads and a seperate braking surface. that gives the drum in hat certain advantages that i won't go into because i'm tired of typing. i hope that helped, feel free to ask anymore questions.

well, i might as well add a little more. an integrated caliper is simplier and cheaper (though not cheaper than a straight drum) but when the brakes are used the pads and rotor get hot. when you go to park your car you clamp hot pads against a hot rotor, which can cause brake roughness. an integrated caliper can't be used with a fixed caliper. a drum-in-hat stays cool and doesn't matter if it works smoothly but it costs more, a big deal to auto companies whether you want to admit it or not. if you don't use a drum-in-hat often it might freeze up, while an integrated brake gets used all the time (though mine did freeze up because the previous owner never used it). drum type parking brakes also have a self locking feature, integrated calipers do the opposite. as the drum cools, it gets smaller in diameter and tighter against the pads, as a rotor cools it gets thinner and the parking brake loosens up. generally it's not a problem, but it comes up more when you use a vented rear rotor. ok, now i'm done.
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Last edited by cdlong; 10-14-2003 at 10:11 PM..
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