Emergency brake question...
 

My track car is a former Spec Pinata and it doesn't have an emergency brake? Is that common for that class? Do you guys still have your emergency brakes?

I removed my emergency brake on my HPDE car when I installed the rear FM Wilwood kit.

It's pretty common in spec miata to remove it. Something about brake pads dragging when they get hot, blah, blah. I still have my e-brake, comes in handy all the time, and I've never noticed any issues. Then again, I don't typically jack the car up and spin the rear wheels every time I come off track.

Is emergency brake in your terms the "handbrake"..?

I would like to fit a wilwood rear caliper to improve rear pad wear (i presume it does?) and was just wondering about this.

Can a hydraulic handbrake be fitted or some sort of line lock type device be installed to achieve the same purpose?

My car is still road registered and i'd like to keep the handbrake.

Flyin' Miata : Chassis : Big brake kits : Flyin` Miata four piston rear brake upgrade - street

--Ian

Emergency brake=hand brake

They are actually neither, they are park brakes, but it's just a difference in terms. The drift guys call them a hand brake, because thats what they use them as.

I have no park brake, the mechanism is removed from my sport calipers. I would like to use a hand brake, as a park brake.

Well, we call them a Handbrake down her in NZ, I think Aussie and England etc do too.

Ain't no drifters influencing my lingo!!! (i'm far to old :) )

Nowadays it could be called finger/button brake...

I would personally not trust a line brake to hold the car in a slope over a couple of days (as a mechanical brake usually can be assumed to do), but I normally use gear + handbrake when parking anyway.

Sine you like to keep it road legal, what does your inspection require?

Would it really be that had to swap brakes the day before an inspection? I mean some guys swap their whole turbo setups out.

You could go with the FM setup.

A local has 2 calipers on each rear wheel, 1 is like a hr dragster caliper and he has the hand brake cable pull a master cylinder mounted in the trunk that feeds the jr dragster calipers.

Im not worried about inspection, its more for practical use. I like driving the car out and about for the odd weekend drive and we live in a very hilly country, not having a handbrake is not really viable unless pure race car.

Overall the key reason is that the car value is substantially more being road legal than not...not to mention easier to sell if it ever came to that.

Plus if i ever get complaints for having a turbo in the car I can point to the other cars in the class (honda's , 240z's etc) and say well it is the only "Road Legal" car in the class....being in this class with a turbo is a bit of a loop hole exploited by the previous engine owner (not to mention a couple of other past entrants).

As we get quicker and more consistantly at the pointy end of the field I am preparing arguments in case some defense will be required towards disgruntled competitors... hopefully won't be an issue.