Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2012 09:16:04 -0600
Reply-To: OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: front brakes
In-Reply-To: <3AE3EB34-A365-420B-9833-F6A53FEF28BF@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
Frank
Does your '87Westy still have OEM size wheels & tires ?
ORR ~ DeanB
On 5 Jun , 2012, at 3:24 AM, Frank Condelli wrote:
> OK, from the land of been there done that. For the past 6 ~
> 7 years may more or less, I've lost count, we have spent our winters
> travelling to and from home to Mexico and all over Mexico. So if
> you think you have some mountains around you check your Mexican
> geography. Try the road from Penlenque to San Cristobal for
> starters. Try the entire Mex 200 on the West coast. Try the road
> between Puerto Escondido and Oaxaca. I could go on & on.
> So.......the story is our 1987 Westy with around 700,000 kms on her
> has its OEM brakes, nothing special, good new pads, shoes properly
> adjusted and new Dot 4 fluid every couple of years, should be
> changed every two years, did you know that ?, before setting out and
> using the gearbox properly for down hill decent, never overheated
> any brakes and never ran out of brakes so what's all the fuss about ?
>
>
> On 2012-06-05, at 12:00 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
>
>> On 06/04/2012 04:39 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
>>> Driving a vehicle in hilly territory requires some skill. While
>>> brake
>>> upgrades and such buy some time or capacity any downhill
>>> application of the
>>> brakes for an extended period will become a problem.
>>
>> [description of techniques snipped for brevity]
>>
>> I do do what is suggested, such as downshifting my auto trans to hold
>> back my speed, etc. I have never smelt hot brakes, not sure if this
>> vehicle's brakes stink up the joint when when overheat so that
>> might not
>> mean much; but after hearing so much about how wimpy the stock '84
>> brakes are, how swell the Big Brakes are, &c., &c., a fellow starts
>> to
>> wonder if this isn't something he should look into before he
>> plunges off
>> the road to certain death and becomes a headline.
>>
>> So my question is: will DOT4 brake fluid and attentive use of engine
>> drag via downshifting pretty much make bigger brakes a non-issue?
>>
>> If the answer is "yes," then I've saved money for something more
>> interesting.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Frank Condelli
> Almonte, Ontario, Canada
> '87 VW Westy, '00 Kawasaki 250 Sherpa, "98 Ducati 750 Monster &
> Lionel Trains (Collection for sale)
> Frank Condelli & Associates - Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in
> the Ottawa Valley
> Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust Systems
> BusFusion a VW Camper camping event, Almonte, ON, June 07 ~ 10, 2012
|