stopping distances

[John Hertog <crossram@xxxx>]

Hi Ron,

Good question, about stopping distances. A few months back I went thru some
period car magazines and charted stopping distances for our cars, as
reported by Car Life, Road and Track, HotRod, etc. ; sixty-to-zero type of
stuff. I then compared to stopping distances for current cars as reported
in same magazines road tests.
I was VERY surprised to see that there was little or no difference between
the two! I'm not prepared to start the research process all over again,
you'll have to take my word as to the results, or do your own homework.

To be fair, I also remember the comments from these same period magazines,
describing the brakes as inadequate, prone to fade, not on par with the rest
of the cars' performance, etc .; so it seems that while the 300's did have
adequate zero-to-sixty stopping power, they somehow displeased the
magazine's testers.

It appears possible that a Chrysler 300 with a good braking system will stop
in the same distance than a new, current, disc-brake and ABS equipped sedan.
At least, on a one-time basis. I doubt this performance could be repeated
when the drum brakes get hot. Of course, it can be argued that you only
need ONE good stop if you have to jam on the brakes in an emergency.

My point, if I have one, is that disc brakes just work more smoothly,
evenly, and reliably, especially after multiple use, especially after they
have seen some use. They don't need periodic shoe adjustement. I installed
discs on my 300L some 30,000 VERY HARD miles ago and, so far, same pads are
still on the car. I've never had to mess with the system in 30,000 miles.
I've never regretted installing them. But, as I stated earlier, this car is
a real driver, not an occasional weekend / fair weather ride.

Kevin, you are quite right with your comments, by the way. It is entirely
possible that if my beloved '62 300 Sport had not been disc-brake equipped
and such a blast to drive, I might have just left it home and driven my
Subaru Brat instead. Of course, had that been the case, I'd be dead right
now. The speeding SUV that broadsided me at 60+ mph didn't seem to care that
I was driving at 5 mph, or had disc brakes on my car.

John