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E-Brake Stay or Go?

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I've been cleaning up the interior of the Boss for HPDE and track day duty Since I don't drive on the street anymore I removed the passenger seat, center console, radio/HVAC panel, etc. I don't want to completely remove the interior in case I decide to go back to stock (unlikely) so I left the carpeting and headliner. Do I need to leave the E-brake handle and cables? I only use it now after loading it in the trailer. Removing the cables looks like a chore so I will likely leave them as is but the handle won't be a problem. Do pure race cars leave them? I don't recall.
 

Bill Pemberton

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Most pure race cars will not have , but I like Blacksheep's idea. When you are a 1 man operation they come in quite handy. Just remember never to set it after coming off the track ( warp your rear rotors ).
 
I have learned not to touch the e-brake ever other than the trailer but that's why I was thinking of ensuring it never happens. I have a set of parking mats bolted in my trailer so when my front tires are between the humps it doesn't move so the e-brake is only a back-up. I think it bothers me more because it's ugly sitting there like a growth on the tunnel......not exactly a good reason to tear it out I know.
 
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Ebrake goes! IMO Ebrakes are worky and often fail to consitently hold on a hill even in streetcars. I would never rely on one especially putting a racecar in an elevated stacker. You can always shut the car off and put it in gear or park if auto/DCT which is much more secure than the ebrake. Then there is another 10lbs to delete...
 
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Ebrake goes! IMO Ebrakes are worky and often fail to consitently hold on a hill even in streetcars. I would never rely on one especially putting a racecar in an elevated stacker. You can always shut the car off and put it in gear or park if auto/DCT which is much more secure than the ebrake. Then there is another 10lbs to delete...
Except in my case ,that's simply not possible, I place the car in gear and use the parking brake for extra security, on stackers there's always a crew member around to throw a chock under the car on the elevator. FWIW, the Aston in GS has a parking brake, we don't use it, ,( it's divorced from the actual brakes, ) , it also self cancels when the car goes into gear, but it's an homologated part.
I remember at Laguna Seca when we ran brand X, the car was pitted on the incline, so when we did the fuel, tire, driver change, the stupid thing wouldn't stay put. So one guy had to stick a wedge under one of the tires, hopefully, one that was on the ground at the time..it was just more Mickey Mouse to deal with, with limited personnel We weren't allowed to tie it to a retrieval line, it had to be placed and removed by an individual. Fortunately, it was to prevent the car from rolling backwards, if it had been the other direction, I'm not sure we could have removed, it..maybe drive over it.
 
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10 pounds? if you are that worried about weight, I'd be drilling out bolts, using carbon everywhere, spun aluminum 3 piece wheels, no undercoating, acid dipping, TIG rather than MIG welding, no electric window motors, lexan instead of glass, use chromoly instead of mild steel, there's a lot of ways to save more weight. I need the E brake to load the trailer, that is all, and they do occasionally come in handy instead of the tire wedge.
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
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Like Blacksheep, I load my trailers alone. I have a wheel over enclosed trailer where the car sits on an incline. A parking brake is very handy and necessary for me. I do allow the brakes to cool before loading.
 
I wasn't too serious about the 10lbs..........but any weight I can get out of our porky sleds is a bonus. I will be doing Optic Armor front and rear. I would love to replace the doors and all that weight with hollow units but without a cage I'm not going there.
 

Bill Pemberton

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I need an extra 15 lbs off mine , but it mainly consists of me not having cravings due to Covid Cabin Fever. I am becoming too much of a consumer ----consuming food by the minute, by the hour, by the day!!!
 
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I wasn't too serious about the 10lbs..........but any weight I can get out of our porky sleds is a bonus. I will be doing Optic Armor front and rear. I would love to replace the doors and all that weight with hollow units but without a cage I'm not going there.

I wouldn't either normally gutted doors =door bars in tech since you are removing the side impact protection built into the doors.
 
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10 pounds? if you are that worried about weight, I'd be drilling out bolts, using carbon everywhere, spun aluminum 3 piece wheels, no undercoating, acid dipping, TIG rather than MIG welding, no electric window motors, lexan instead of glass, use chromoly instead of mild steel, there's a lot of ways to save more weight. I need the E brake to load the trailer, that is all, and they do occasionally come in handy instead of the tire wedge.

How much weight does one drop from acid dipping a Mustang? Can't imagine it's much, is it? Assuming you manually remove the sealant and deadener.
 
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How much weight does one drop from acid dipping a Mustang? Can't imagine it's much, is it? Assuming you manually remove the sealant and deadener.

Well some acid baths will remove the deadener, then it goes to the real acid bath. The point is, if weight is that much of an issue, you might as well go hog wild, the key is to only dip the roof and door panels, the fenders are already super light, the hood carbon or aluminum, maybe the deck lid, you have to be careful with the floor pan because it's more structural, but the cage will make up for a lot of it, especially if you are allowed to run the tubing through the firewall. I don't think any of the current teams do any of this, (with possibly one noticeable exception, and it's not Phoenix.) The idea of chromoly is a great one, while 2.5 mild steel and chromoly weighs about the same, the strength of the chromoly allows you to basically, cut the thickness in half. Many organizations will not let you run chromoly, and it has to be TIG welded, but it is much, much lighter than MS. Ever pick up a bare sprint car chassis? you can walk around with it, the whole car is under 1500 pounds ready to run. With regards to drilling bolts, it's extremely labor intensive, but was worth 5 pounds, and that was on a kart chassis that I built, which included drilled spindles and a hollow steering shaft and a titanium 40mm axle. Titanium hardware is an easier, but far more expensive way to do it.
 

Fabman

Dances with Racecars
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A hand brake is something I miss...I'd keep it for anything but a full on race car.
 

Bill Pemberton

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Somehow Doc that sounds better than losing the brakes at the end of a straight and finding you don't even have an e-brake. Great , all you have done is make those of us who don't have one anymore , think it sure would be nice to have one!!!
 

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