brakes for 2.1 type 4 engine/ 140hp

[sshulk]

How much braking power would I need for a 2.1 type 4 street engine. Im thinking about 130 to 140 horsepower out of the engine. Do I need big brakes, or could I stay on the cheaper side like the topline kit? Im thinking I will need rear discs aswell. what do you guys think?
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[RailBoy]

Big Brakes, well, the Topline kit is plug and play, I am running it front and rear with a 2180. Thing is don't forget the Supers run about 2,200 lbs, so front and rear disk once you have them on you will notice a tremendous difference. Just call up Topline John, nice guy and has the details. I did front and rear all at the same time do to I changed my lug nut bolt pattern over to Porsche when I went German Looker... RB
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[Zed999]

Need? No more than you aready have as standard. You haven't made it appreciably heavier so unless you normally brake with your foot on the fast pedal the power of the engine is irrelevant.

[andy198712]

[slalombuggy]

If you plan on driving at higher speeds and want to stop more than twice from speed without having the pedal go to the floor then do all 4 wheels, a bigger master and upgrade to S/S hoses at the same time. Disks shed heat a lot faster and they don't expand away from the shoes like drums when they get hot and they will take a lot more heat before they begin to fade. This summer I turned the rear rotors on my race car blue slowing the car down rapidly from 120mph while doing some testing (rear brakes only) they pedal never got soft and the brake effort remained constant.

BTW I run nothing more than EMPI brake kits on all my race and street cars and have never felt the need for anything bigger or fancier. Leave the $1500, 4 piston, vented rotor brakes for the show cars and 2300lb road race cars.

brad

[nextgen]

I run 4 wheel discs, went to dropped front spindles and had a choice of drum or disc.. I think I have stock Ghia fronts and 914 rears with emergency brake. Trivia, I when I had them rebuilt I was told only 914 and Ferrari Dino had them. Hope they got bigger and better.

Seriously for a street car fronts are a big upgrade. Try it first. You are not a race car. Sure do rears if you have the extra money.

I had my entire front end redone, new tie rods, ball joints etc. they car is runing great.

The guy that did the job test drove it and and said now all you need is to have your brakes done???? I said those are new discs and pads. The owner of the shop asked the guy -- when was the last time you drove a car with out power brakes. All relative.
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[H2OSB]

sshulk, I was told by Humble (from GL.net) many moons ago even the typical disc brake kits would have been enough to stop his turbo Subaru equipped 1303, and he was a regular autocrosser, so don't feel you need to get crazy with brakes. Even with as much power as you'll be making with a 2056 T4, it's still pretty modest compared to what some of the guys here on the Samba are making with their big T1s. I do recommend disc brakes simply for the ease of maintenance.

Technically, however, drum brakes are more effective for stopping due to having quite a bit more surface area where the braking material meets the stopping surface. That said, drum brakes don't shed heat as well as discs, nor water.

H2OSB

[Zed999]

[[email protected]]

I like discs because they are self adjusting, and don't fade like the drums do. That alone is worth the upgrade.
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[andy198712]

[oprn]

VW brakes were barely adequate back when the cars were new. Speeds have gone up a lot and traffic is a lot more dense than it was then. It is my view that our vintage brakes need to be upgraded to meet current driving conditions even with stock engines.

On one has ever died from lack of engine power but inadequate brakes is another story altogether! Get the best you can afford and do the engine later!