master cylinder

[Rich E Byrd]

Has anyone got an idea about changing to a newer style plastic type see thru master cylinder that bolts in and runs four wheel disc brakes?

 

[MaineShark]

I've considered this, so I looked into it. The C3 master cylinder is actually larger (bore diameter) than most modern cylinders. For example, the C4 cylinder has only 70% of the piston area of our cylinders. So, you'd only get 70% of the braking (if it would even work at all - you very well might run out of pedal travel before the calipers actually reached full extension).

Supposedly, the ZR1's master cylinder is quite similar to our cylinder.

So, there really wouldn't be any advantage to the swap, other than a small reduction in weight.

Not to mention that the newer cylinders don't bolt in - there would be quite a bit of work in adapters to get it to fit and function, and would probably eliminate the weight savings, small that they would be.

Joe

 

[Rich E Byrd]

But if I remember my physics properly and that guy Berdanelli with the hydraulics stuff a smaller pipe hence line would increase pressure to the calipers. I'm really not concerned about the weight saving but the newer technological and visual advantage instead of having a big cast iron master cylinder. Thanx for your thoughts. Anyone else?

 

[MaineShark]

True, you would increase pressure (P=F/A - smaller area means more pressure), but the smaller diameter would move a smaller volume of fluid, so it could never properly fill the large cylinders in the calipers, particularly as the pads and rotors wore, and the pistons had to travel farther.

You might check into the ZR1 master cylinder, since it's supposed to have a similar bore to ours. I've never paid attention to the master cylinder, the few times I've had an opportunity to look under the hood of a ZR1, so I can't tell you what it looks like.

I think the only advantage would be visual - there really isn't much technology in the master cylinder, itself. Most of the braking advances are in the calipers and booster, and active control systems like ABS. Master cylinders are fairly similar, technologically.

If you're thinking about braking upgrades, though, I know some people have adapted modern (C4 or C5 - I can't remember which) calipers and rotors to fit on our cars. Going that way, you would possibly be able to use the modern master cylinder, or continue to use your existing master cylinder, for a 44% increase in braking, rather than a 30% decrease. You'd have to watch out, though - your pedal would have less travel before lock, so you'd have to be more sensitive with your brake use in order to keep from accidentally applying them more aggressively than you wanted.

Joe

 

[Rich E Byrd]

Thanx for the valuable info!!!