Rear brake upgrade on a 1988 5K CST to 20V vented rotors: Is it worth it for city driving?

[Brett Dikeman]

At 4:08 PM -0400 5/19/03, Brett Goetz wrote:
>I'm considering an upgrade of my rear brakes from the standard solid
>rear discs to calipers and vented rotors from the 1990 20V or V8 and a
>master cylinder from an Avant.

FYI- the V8/s-car/200q20v rear calipers cost a small fortune, rotors
are more expensive too.

>   I don't race, I really don't even drive
>very fast, but I have never been happy the way this car's brakes have
>performed.

When was the last time you checked and relubed the guide pins?  Clean
them completely, look for bent pins or notches.  Rotors are within
wear spec, and not glazed over, or wearing unevenly inside vs.
outside edge?  Have you removed the pistons, cleaned up the bore and
piston(I discovered some odd stuff built up one time, like cooked
paste/grease...alcohol did a decent job), and reassembled lubed with
brake fluid?  Check the boots while you're there, replace any that
look like they might split.

Are you sure the proportioning valve is working?  One dead giveaway
on this one is no brake dust, period, on the rear wheels, and a stuck
valve is semi-obvious(driver's side, look for a spring off the rear
suspension to a valve.)  Proper adjustment procedure is in the
Bentley, involves using a specific size drill bit to space the spring
properly on the tip of the lever.

Brett
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