Rat Rod Brakes: Do You Want To Stop or Do You Want To STOP?

You love the look of your Rat Rod and although stopping is not a huge issue, it should be of some concern. Here are some things to take into consideration when building your brakes for your ride. Looks, performance, or a little bit of both.

Lets face it, most Rat Rods are about the look. We are not planing on breaking any speed records or going to Daytona to race around some track. We want the whole car to look cool, yet retaining the ability to stop.

For most of our Rat Rods, we tend to stick with four wheel drum brakes. As they are the oldest type of brakes, They are era correct and using older Buick style drums with big fins are the look for sure. Some people go as far as to chrome the drums since they are very appealing. They are also very basic and parts are readily available for cheap prices.

Upgrading to front disc brakes will help dramatically in stopping power for your Rat Rod. And if you are running solid steel wheels with wide whitewalls, chances are the rotors will not be seen as you are driving. This will improve your driveability, but the die hards will not be too keen on the idea! They want their Rat Rod 100% authentic, 100% of the time.

Now going to four wheel disc brakes on a Rat Rod is not a norm. Although it does look odd, your could start a new statement, and will stop on a dime for sure! Many different manufacturers sell conversion kits for disc brakes for all types of rear ends and front suspensions. You can spend anywhere from 1000 to over 5000 dollars for a kit. It all depends on how fast you want to stop. Big names like Wilwood, Brembo, and Baer make all kinds of aftermarket braking systems for all different budgets.

So what you need to do is decide if you are willing to give up some stopability for looks or vice versa. You will stop just fine with drum brakes, especially since most Rat Rods are not that heavy. And you will also retain the look of an old car. But if you so choose, you can have the baddest stopping Rat Rod. You need to figure out what direction you want to go and most important of all, how much you want to spend.

Started by Art Tupaczewski, his experience in the auto body industry lead him to devise a way to find that "specialty part" for your car quickly, easily, and cost effectively. Whether just starting out, or a seasoned veteran, http://www.ratrodauthority.com has what you need.

Come visit us at. http://www.ratrodauthority.com for ideas, parts, vehicles and anything to do with Rat Rods, Muscle Cars, and Hot Rods.

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