Re: Packard Mortality Statistic

Posted by Leeedy On 2021/12/29 12:20:25
Quote:

Wat_Tyler wrote:
I have one word to say about the whole disc versus drum fussing: puddles. I hate cars that change lanes by themselves because half the brakes flooded out.

And at the end of the day, it's 'Murrika and people get to do what they want with their stuff, including their old cars, classic or otherwise. I'm not a fan of the tuner kids or the hoopdie guys, but they're Car Guys and they're doing Car Stuff, and I can support that. That includes Chebbie engines, disc brakes and chopped tops. Not a fan, but it is what it is.

Besdies, there are better things to fight about, like religion and politix . . . .


I am certified at 147 MPH test driving on a banked oval. I have driven thousands of different cars over many decades and many terrains and conditions in my professional career. I am a member of Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE). I have designed vehicle systems and worked at the OEM level in the automotive industry all my life. I was lead engineer for a major car corporation. I was a street racer on Woodward Avenue back in the heyday of that place. And I can assure everyone: drum brakes on all of my cars stopped them just fine– as long as the vehicles were driven sanely and the brakes were kept in proper adjustment and condition.

18-wheel trucks DO NOT have disc brakes. They have DRUM brakes. And yes, I have even driven a Peterbuilt 18-wheeler across the USA on a haul. And yes, I know how to use a "Jake-Brake" in an 18-wheeler and have used one on both California's Cahon Pass and Tehon Pass. But trucks don't STOP with Jake-Brakes... they slow down with Jake-Brakes. And 18-wheel trucks hauling up to 80,000 pounds also can't magically suddenly stop when a Honda Civic decides to suspend the laws of physics, whip over and cut the truck off without adequate braking room (this is why so many are squished on the interstates). Check out a few YouTube videos if you refuse to believe someone who merely tells you these things. And yes, trucks ARE indeed advised to go slow and use lower gears on steep hills. A very sane, safe, logical, skillful thing to do. And –surprise!– cars (including Packards) CAN also downshift to use engine braking too (whether automatic or manual!!!.. that's why they put the markings on the gear selector!). Such things are usually advised in a good car owner's manual. But, hey... who bothers to read those things– right?

Drum Brakes do NOT cause an automobile to "change lanes" because of a "puddle." And Disc Brakes do NOT make an automobile steer straight through a "puddle." Driving into puddled water–especially too fast –is the same no matter what kind of brakes you have. Avoid doing it.

It is belief in myths like these that get people injured and even killed on the highways... every day. People ought to know better by now, but they don't.

I remember vividly when I was living in Washington state (I had a house in Gig Harbor area and we got tons of rain) I witnessed a pile-up of several cars on the highway. When the blinding rain came, I slowed down while other crazies plowed right on through and even sped up! I eventually pulled off at an exit and went to a gas station.

A driver came rolling in a few minutes later with a battered, smashed-up new SUV. The driver got out and began a speech: "I just don't understand it! I've got disc brakes, 4-wheel drive, ABS and I still spun out when I hit that water!!!"

THIS kind of thinking is the essence of people somehow believing that disc brakes will magically cure everything on an old car and somehow make it "perform"... but it's all jive.

People have to drive safe and think safe rather than believe in fairy tales and think the vehicle can magically make up for bad driving and bad weather. Disc brakes–no matter what anyone may believe or argue into the ground– will not save anyone from bad driving or bad weather.

Installing disc brakes on an old car like a Packard IS a "choice"... but it is NOT "restoration" or an "upgrade." This is just wording that hides what is actually being done: customizing and modification. Call it what it is. Forums are great places to argue on forever. I'm presuming none of you is channeling Sterling Moss or driving in an endurance race. I am also presuming none of you has a time machine or that you imagine this is a discussion merely of which technology is superior to which... since there obviously is a reason why disc brakes AND airbags and ABS and electronic engine controls and other things were invented. This is despite the discussion of old cars and ignoring that the ultimate extreme thing here is to YANK your entire engine, brakes and chassis and go ALL self-driving electric!!! Why stop at just disc brakes? I am also presuming that all of you actually KNOW how to drive without your foot constantly on your brake and that you KNOW how to use your emergency (or hand) brakes. I am also presuming that no one reading this will know that I was working on developing a system called "electrorheological braking" (know what that is?) nearly 30 years ago. Skills behind the wheel obviously vary as do levels of intellect. But this is not an argument. I won't comment any further on this matter so have at it...

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