DeTomaso Mailing List: February 00, Message #114

Wayne wrote:

>One lister recently mentioned he was going to install
his prop valve in the passenger compartment
(Presumably so he could make adjustments internally
while driving for more subtle adjustments) - Pros and
cons?
Got one and gonna put it somewhere.

>>>Pros:  You can adjust your front-to-rear balance from within the car to 
account for changing conditions as your brakes heat up,  your fuel load 
lightens, etc.

Race cars are set up this way, normally using a prop valve that consists of a 
detented lever.  Each detent changes the ratio X percent so the driver can do 
it by feel, easily, while on the fly.

Realistically, will you EVER need to do that on a street car?  I doubt it.  
You will experiment and perform several hard stops, making adjustments each 
time until the front brakes lock up slightly before the rears, and then you 
will leave the valve untouched for years.  The only reason subsequent 
adjustments will be required would be if you changed to different tires 
(different coefficient of friction could easily change the F/R braking 
capabilities) or brake pads or other brake components (ditto.)

Thus there's no real reason to mount it where the driver can reach it on the 
fly.  To do so would require chopping a hole in the floor, and probably 
re-routing the hard line to the rear brakes, which means added complexity.  
(Both cons, IMHO.)

The Nor-Cal Shelby Club guru Don Wolleson mounted a Wilwood prop valve in his 
'67 GT-350 with the knob sticking through the driveshaft tunnel into the car, 
it's a very nice and elegant installation.  He wrote an article detailing how 
he did it; he may have physically dismantled the valve so only the knob 
protruded through.  You can write to him at don.wollesen@amd.com to ask him 
for a quick 'n dirty summary.

I've now got Wilwood valves installed (or about to be installed) in four of 
my cars; all of them are installed fairly close to the master cylinder.  
Adjustment can be tricky when the motor is hot (I use an AF issue nomex glove 
'cause there's lots of hotness about), but like I said, it's an 
adjust-and-forget proposition.  And on the Pantera, the master is in a nice 
cool place anyway.  So my vote is for the front trunk compartment.

Cheers!

Mike