Tran

Has anyone used these and do they actually make a difference?

https://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazd...t/61-2338.html

I recently upgraded to AP Racing Pro5000R calipers (extremely stiff) with a very beefy lug to radial bracket and full floating AP Racing hardware but i'm running out of float travel, presumably from spindle compliance.

I saw these but they look way too thin a gauge to do anything and I think the main bit that is moving is the lower caliper lug, but still, if these are easy to buy and actually make a difference, I could run them as a stop gap...

I did think about Keislers but would want them to have a direct radial mount and I'd need to buy the rears too.... And some full size Xidas.....

Zed.

dont moss sell them (@ a horrible price?)


^^ my thoughts also, theres a whole load of 'must-have' braces available that I belive are like 'the emperrors new clothes'

I'm probably wrong though

Rich.

duthehustle93

I've been under the belief that this compliance is in the knuckle and the wheel hub, rather than the spindle itself; for the spindle to flex it'll also require compression of the inner races and bearings of the wheel hub at 12 o'clock. I've recently boxed in my knuckle and machined a reinforcement ring that press fits around the knuckle boss and bolts into the dust shield holes. I haven't gotten around to testing if it'll fix my knockback issues, but it couldn't hurt.

FWIW, I have a set of the Ken Auto/Nilex Front Spindle Supports sitting on my work bench brand new that I'd be willing to sell if you're interested. I never installed them, just decided to go this route instead since I have a welder and access to a machine shop.

engineered2win

Also what hubs are you running? If it's stock, then that's a big part of it.

Tran

I think there's a bit of terminology confusion that happens here. I think a lot of people use spindle/knuckle interchangeably. The boxed knuckle does look a lot better! I suspect if you could somehow tie your reinforcement ring into the caliper lugs you'd have a very sturdy setup. Please post back with how you get on!

Brofab E30 hubs. I'm fairly confident that it's only brake torque twisting the knuckle/spindle causing the issue. I'm not actually getting any noticeable pad knockback.

nashvill

Do you have some pic or thread about this brake setup? I have been thinking of going the same route.

chuckieho

I'd be interested in seeing that brake setup also

OptionXIII

Hey @duthehustle93 how do you feel about the welded on reinforcement after a few years of use? After installing a really stiff Afco F88 BBK setup, I've experienced pretty significant piston knockback for the first time. I've got Brofab E30 hubs as well, it's about as stiff of a front brake and knuckle assembly as bolt on parts can be.

I also have a Jeep Cherokee XJ. This sort of welded on reinforcement is pretty common in that world when the more intense off road guys want beef up the front axle "C" area. Did you do any special preheating of the upright? Any specific guidance on how you welded it? I haven't welded to the axle on mine, but I did have to MIG weld a billet spacer to the cast knuckle for a WJ big brake swap. It wasn't my best work,and grinding the weld back revealed some cracks despite preheating the upright as hot as my oven could get it. Looks like you TIG'd yours.

duthehustle93

I did this reinforcement as an attempt to fix what I thought was knockback but only saw some improvement (likely was just a placebo effect). What ended up fixing my issue was just a reman set of brake calipers. I measured everything on my old calipers, everything was in spec and I even rebuilt them using OEM seals... no leaks and retraction looked perfect. I honestly have no idea what was actually wrong with them, but tossing in a set of cheap reman calipers fixed the problem entirely. With that said, I don't have any issues with this reinforcement, but I can't say it improved anything either.

Hmm, here I was thinking I'm all innovative! haha. Good to know it's been done and proven before. I might have preheated it a bit with a torch, but I never removed it from the car to toss it in the oven or anything for a proper pre-heat. If I did anything, it wasn't very significant. No special guidance, I vaguely remember it being a really quick job. I recall just grabbing a piece of flat stock mild steel from my metal bucket, cutting and bending it to shape, prepping both surfaces, and welding it right in on the car. It took a weld really nice, no weird porosity or dirtiness that I sometimes deal with while welding old car parts. Yes, I TIG welded mine but I don't see why a MIG wouldn't get the job done. The car has since been used and abused and I haven't seen any cracks forming or propagating.

OptionXIII

For some reason I must have gotten you confused with the OP and assumed you had a BBK setup. I never had an issue with knockback on stock sliding calipers, but now that several other members and myself have installed BBKs all at once, a few of us have noticed knockback issues that weren't there before. It seems that's the natural result of any hub/spindle flex when you've got calipers that can't move around with the rotor.

My hopes for a cheap proven fix have been dashed. Maybe someday I'll give it a shot, but it definitely won't move to the top of my project list. I'll just keep giving the brake pedal a tap with my left foot before the braking zone in the meantime.

Thanks for the feedback!