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Finned Brake Drums


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Do these Alfin type brake drums make a noticeable improvement to braking on the road? They certainly look nicer than my rusty old drums.

Hope everyone is staying well.

Cheers 

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36 minutes ago, DRD said:

Do these Alfin type brake drums make a noticeable improvement to braking on the road? They certainly look nicer than my rusty old drums.

Hope everyone is staying well.:o

Cheers 

Given that the standard non finned drums were made and sold by the manufacturer as being "the standard" for normal roadgoing vehicles (TRs were always noted as having good brakes in the day)  and that many of us have used these standard drums in racing at speeds and over many laps in conditions "unlikely" to be replicated on the public roads and not suffered with poor braking, why would you be concerned about it ?

As for the finned drums, they look good, and perform well, whether the Alfin type drums ever get to a stage where you think you've exceeded their capabilities :o will be down to you, are you a driving God ?

Mick Richards

Edited by Motorsport Mickey
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The modified replica ones look great, but can warp over time. I've now gone back to standard drums.

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I've always thought of Alfin drums as bling rather than useful upgrade. And to my eye, a standard drum with a finish of heat resistant satin black paint looks just as good.

Merely my opinion of course!

Nigel

Edited by Nigel Triumph
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I do have rear Alfins on my 4a but theyre the original 10" version not repros, I dont often get them hot enough to worry about it but they do a great job of giving me a good handbrake ;)

Stuart.

 

photo1576.jpg

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On 4/19/2020 at 11:17 AM, DRD said:

Do these Alfin type brake drums make a noticeable improvement to braking on the road? 

my ha'penny's worth . .  

      Alfin brake drums are cast aluminium with a cast-iron liner.  Heat conducts better through aluminium than iron or steel ..so they dissipate heat better.  I feel their fins are largely cosmetic, but they would add to the surface area exposed to the air ..particularly when you come to a stop or at crawling speeds.  Brake fade is not something you ought to experience in rural England nor suburban driving  ..but lessening the risk of it might be considered a good thing as you're having fun in descending a long mountain pass.   Conversely, if your driving is typically in a very cold climate - then brakes which don't warm up can be a hazard.

Of course aluminium is noticeably lighter than steel too.  And while this has negligible effect on overall braking (their weight saving being such a tiny percentage of the total kerb weight of a TR6) - the lesser unsprung weight (something like 2 - 2.5kg each) ought to make a difference with (suspension) control ..more so on IRS cars.  This saving in mass, at the end of a trailing arm, lessens the amount of work a damper has to do in controlling it. 

If you spend money on lighter wheels would you not also want to save the weight of the brake drum ?   

As to whether you or I might actually feel the difference is another matter altogether.  I guess that depends on the road and temperature conditions encountered  ..whether that be a pot hole in a Hampshire country lane  or blasting around the Pyrenees and down into Spain.

As an aside..  the relatively small ( 7") rear brake drum on my Norton Commando motorcycle is iron, and it has the rear drive chain sprocket machined into it.  Because the old sprocket was worn I bought a new one ..from a reputable Norton Specialist.  It was pretty heavy but I could see no obvious sign of it having been balanced, so I asked my local machine shop to check and if necessary to correct it.  They needed to remove the equivalent of a 3/8" nut and bolt in weight out of one side.   It might be worth checking your TR's much larger brake drums, especially if they are iron ones.

Pete.  

p.s.  I presume you know that unless horribly scored or badly worn - your old brake drums can be machined / skimmed to clean up and true their inside face.

.

Edited by Bfg
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The fins can act like the blades on a ventilator. These fins will cost 10 HP, each. 
No, just kidding.

Waldi

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I must confess I put them on the 6 years ago. 

Decided I couldn't justify them on the 4A as I haven't ever overheated the rear brakes before or after fitting them on the 6 but have got 1144s hot enough to fade on the front and even boiled the brake fluid in the Alps on more than one occasion. (Not since I put the vented conversion with the caliper spacers in)

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