z-beater

Can you do a writeup on installing those axles? I have heard of some people running them but no one has done a really great write-up

bwaits

Those are the ReSpeed/Moser 5 lug axles. They drop in like factory yet give you the 5 lugs needed to run our rear big brake kit due out in a few weeks.



www.mrcmg.com/respeed



-billy

Dysfnctnl85

Sorry I haven't been around here lately, but I'm going to be finishing this thing up really soon. For real. No really, I swear, haha.



Just like Billy said, these axles are DIRECT replacements. Take the old ones out, push the new ones in, simple as that.



Can't wait for the brake kit!

rowtareh

Yeah, you are so full of it.



Congrats though, I have been watching this for years now. I am going to use this thread as a reference for a 1st Gen Project.

Dysfnctnl85

Just after I posted that I got pneumonia. I'm not even kidding. I'm recovering though and planning my next steps in the project. I think Billy is almost done with the rear brake kit so I'm going to start there!

Dysfnctnl85

I only had one goal today -- to get my car to roll -- and I failed. I did have fun trying though. I hammered the studs into my new axles (.505 knurl, 1.5" btw). I had some trouble at first, but a neighbor had a square piece of steel that I used right on top of the studs and pounded them into place. He actually used to press in studs just like this at Ford before they had machines. My plan was to use the 4 wheels/tires off the FD chassis I have but they turned out to be too wide to even bolt up front. As you can see from the following pics, 245 (I think that's the width of the front tires on the FD, I'll double-check) is way too wide even for the back. They are 18" FYI.



I have no plans to put 18" on it when it's done, I just wanted to get the thing out of the garage and clean it up before putting the engine back in!



After putting the two FD front wheels/tires on the REAR of my FB, I tried everything to get something up front to work. I eventually pulled a spare tire from my Eclipse, but had no luck with my mom's spare tire, our Jeep's spare tire, or anything else for that matter. Then it started to get dark. My plan for tomorrow is to see if my Eclipse wheels/tires will fit up front -- they're 215 50R 17s. As a side note, the car is still on jackstands, so don't get confused.



Enjoy the progress, I know I am .























I'll have more updates tomorrow! It's good to be back.

z-beater

Cool, one question though... you think that stock FD wheels would fit up front?

Dysfnctnl85

I'm not sure what the stock size/offset is. It doesn't look like anything over 7" is going to fit up front...the biggest problem with the wheels I have is the offset, the center of the wheel is flush with the outer edge of the tire...

ColinRX7

Make sure you do some mathematical calculations to make sure you have the appropriate amount of braking balance you had with the old booster assembly.



Quite frankly, the best thing to ask somebody about (or look up from OEM) is the brake pedal as a lever.



It's likely a type 2 lever (fulcrum on one end, cylinder "load" in the middle, and your actuator "foot" at the other end), just like most cars.



You need to know the distance from the fulcrum to the cylinder piston rod, and from the fulcrum to the end of the pedal.



This dictactes your mechanical advantage.



For example, if the pedal is 12 inches from the fulcrum, and the piston rod is 6 inches from the fulcrum, then you have 2:1 mechanical advantage. Don't forget, mechanical advantage dictates braking ability as much as any other component. This is what calculates the amount of mechanical force turned into hydraulic pressure.



If your pedal is 12 inches from the fulcrum, and piston rod is 3 inches from the fulcrum, all of a sudden you have 4:1 advantage.



What does this mean to you? Let's math it out.



Applying 25 lbs of force on the brake pedal from your leg, in scenario 1 yields 50 lbs of force on the rod. Scenario 2 yeilds 100 lbs of force. A difference of as little as 3 inches of position (dependant on total length) can mean double the force. This could cause you to think there is some kind of serious problem, when it's just related to leverage.



Also what is the master cylinder diamater compared to the FB?



A miniscule differece again potentially means big differences in brake pressure.







For example:



Let's say an FD driver applies 20lbs of force to a brake pedal that has 4.5:1 mechanical advantage. The pedal rod is activating a 1.125" diameter master cylinder piston. What is the PSI produced?



We need square inches of the piston. This will be Area.

A=pi r^2

A=pi (d/2)^2

A=0.994 sqin



We need translated force to the piston. This will be Force.

F=20 x 4.5

F=90 lbs



Now we can find pressure. P = F / A

P = 90/0.994

P = 90.54 psi



NOW, Let's say an FB driver applies 20lbs of force to a brake pedal that has 2.5:1 mechanical advantage. The pedal rod is activating a 0.990" diameter master cylinder piston. What is the PSI produced?



(precalculated)

A = 0.7697

F = 50

so,

P = 64.96 psi



So that same 20 lbs of force you always laydown in that car during medium braking, with some parts swapping might mean you're missing or gaining up to 1/3 pressure differential.



This might not be a noticeable difference when you are pushing the brakes hard, but lightly loading the brakes potentially won't yield as much results as before, and your car might feel like it always has no brake pads left. On the other hand, it could be the other way around, and your brakes will be too sensitive for your liking.



So, as long as the brake lever, fulcrum, and piston rod positioning is all the same, and the master cylinder diameter is the same, you're laughing. If there's any differences, perhaps do some calculating, and maybe you can do a few seconds of FB brake lever modifying so you don't have any surprises.

Dysfnctnl85

Whoa Colin. None of that entered my mind...which is why I'm on here in the first place .



Thanks for the invaluable information!



As far as finding an additional wheel/tire for the front, I have a friend bringing one in tomorrow. We'll see how it works out!