I would argue that the most talked about topic when it comes to manual brakes, is what do they feel like? There are a few variables that determine this, but in short, they feel great. A lot of times people will state the pedal is to hard, or it feels like the car wont stop.  If you are feeling this, something is wrong. A proper manual brake setup (matched ratio with master cylinder bore size, good pad compound, and Front / Rear Bias Adjustment) will net a great pedal feel with the exact same braking every time.

The pedal will feel a little more firm than a brake booster variant, but not in a negative way. The brake boosted variants always have a lot more travel than a manual style and will be significantly more sensitive to input.  So over the years, people have the muscle memory for that and think that is normal.  A properly sorted manual braking system will only feel slightly stiffer than the booster version, in a good way.

The modulation of max braking just before lockup is where manual brakes really thrive. We call it the 90-99% zone. Finding the exact level of leg pressure to get that exact threshold is just not possible with power brakes, as stated above they’re too sensitive which create inconsistency. So YES the 90-99% zone is a little more leg effort than power brakes but that’s what makes it so great. This is massively to our benefit in finding the right leg force every time. Even on a daily driver, it will feel more consistent and positive than the alternative.

In summary, properly sorted manual brakes are easy to drive on the track and street. There are many benefits as we have discussed previously, to a manual braking setup.  You will be very pleased with the drivability and on track performance from a manual braking setup.

Link: Chase Bays Power Steering Kits and Coolers

The power steering system is a common failure point for the S Chassis. The factory power steering system develop leaks in the aged lines and on the track, the constant back and forth of the wheels will overheat your fluid. Even when swapping your S Chassis, theres always a headache of adapting the power steering system.

The Chase Bays Power Steering Kit for Nissan 240sx / Silvia S13, S14, S15 is designed to eliminate these common factory power steering leaks, fluid spillover, & overheating issues w/ improved aesthetics, durability, & design. It comes with our Triple Baffled Power Steering Reservoir and BMRS lines which are ran in the highest forms of Motorsport. We’ve optimized and produce each fitting ourselves, increasing the o-ring size or changing the depth of thread, all to insure a consistent leak free install.

The addition of our power steering cooler  kit will aid in keeping the fluid at proper operating temperature. But the last reason to upgrade to our Power Steering Kit is to aid in engine swapping your S Chassis.

It is a fully complete A.N. Hose and Fitting replacement of the stock reservoir and hoses. From the reservoir to pump to rack (and cooler if upgraded). ALL Hose and Hose Ends are BMRS aka Brown and Miller Racing aka the best Hose/Hose  Ends in the world.

Our over-engineered Triple-Baffled Power Steering Reservoir (aeration & spillover proof) is at core of this kit. Our reservoir is constructed of 6061 aluminum & anodized black w/ laser etched cap. Reservoir itself uses our aluminum bracket & can be mounted in stock location or on the radiator core support to give clearance for top mount turbos.

We've put serious engineering time into internal design to negate aeration & spillover. The smaller fitting on Reservoir is fluid return from the rack and can be sent back at pressures up to 120psi. When that hits fluid in the reservoir it can cause extreme foaming aeration if not properly slowed down & directed. More the steering & RPM on the car, higher the pressures will be. This is what commonly causes spillover.  Most people think PS fluid is boiling over, but in most cases its just turbulence.

Power Steering is loop hydraulic system, it needs to be vented. Even the cap has a unique baffle design to block fluid from pushing out of vent. Go to any road race/drift/rally event & look at all factory (most aftermarket) PS reservoirs. By end of the day there's spillover around reservoirs. It was our goal to be the 1 in 100 reservoirs to have no spillover.  We're proud to say; that goal has been met.

Our clever reservoir mounting brackets makes a few adjustments from stock. Bracket itself works for S13, S14 & S15 chassis unlike stock. On S13 bolt holes are slightly further back on shock tower (like S14 & S15) but positioning is nearly the same. We did push reservoir toward engine 1" to allow room for wheel tubs.

If you have top mount setup then it may collide w/ reservoir. On our mockup chassis we have top mount GT2871R & it clears. Use our install photos as reference.

If you need more clearance in that area we make a kit that mounts reservoir on core support, click here: https://www.chasebays.com/products/chase-bays-power-steering-kit-nissan-240sx-s13-s14-s15-with-sr20det-or-ka24de-core-support-mounting 

By Bryan Leonard, Pro Race Car Driver and Chase Bays Builds Manager
https://www.instagram.com/bryan_leonard_racing/

We were fortunate enough to be invited by some friends to a private track event at Barber motorsports park. Shout out to Kai Goddard and Laura Hayes with Thunder Bunny Racing. We brought an EK to a Supra GT4/ BMW GT4/ Porsche GT4 party.

The day started out pretty tough with a check valve and push rod issues on the OEMC system (yet another reason to ditch it). SO we spent hours trying to sort that problem. We did so successfully and were finally able to hit the track. The next snag we hit was ride heights. So we had to immediately come in and start increasing ride height. Assuming the car was balanced we increased each corner the same amount to try to retain that balance. Eventually, after testing, we added rake in the car, solving the ride height issues.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to realign the car or check the corner balance, so we didn’t have an optimized setup. With that said we were able to lay a baseline time down of 1:57.41. I would say the major issues I had driving was the brakes, having to be so gentle on them and also having a bit of inconsistency from previous turns. I just didn’t really have the consistency to make great laps. We made multiple laps in the 57 region.

Dustin and Landon jumped on the car immediately and swapped over to the Chase Bays DBBE. It took us longer to bleed the brakes than it did for the guys to swap components. Once that was complete, we hit the track again, I immediately hit a 1:51.37. Right out of the gate the car was much more of a pleasure to pilot. The brakes gave me way more control and confidence to be completely honest. Theoretical time was 1:46.911. That is with the generic 7 sectors of Barber via AIM. Overall huge success. Everyone at chasebays have put the right amount of time, effort, and energy into this product. This is the second car I have had success with, that is equipped with the Chase Bays DBBE. Will be great to properly spring the car, corner balance, and align to go out and see what it will do.

Chase Bays Tucked Radiators

When you begin to use your car for drifting, road racing, rally, or just some fun hard driving, you’ll see the occasional rise in the engine coolant temperature with a factory radiator. Replacing your radiator with a larger aluminum radiator is the first step towards cooling efficiency and engine longevity. Chase Bays has taken this to the next level by creating an aluminum radiator that not only has larger coolant capacity and a dual pass flow design, but it also tucks itself within the engine bay to allow for more space, our larger fans, and added ease working on the car.

Theres quite a few reasons to go with our tucked radiator, first off…It looks better! An all aluminum tig welded radiator specifically designed to tuck itself underneath the core support of all of our most popular chassis. Moving it down and forward under the core support also allows for a better position for air flow and lets you run larger fans when needed. While some minimal cutting to the front core support is typically required, we did this to make the radiator as large as possible while saving overall space. This leads us into the second major reason to run our Tucked Radiator, extra space savings!

Saving space in a crowded engine bay is huge so remember our Tucked Radiator when engine swapping your Honda/Integra, S-Chassis, E30/E36/E46, or FD RX7 to get all the extra room you can get. We use a 3” thick dual pass aluminum core to have more than enough coolant flow and capacity while letting us adjust the width and height dimensions to perfectly fit each chassis. The amount of room saved averages from 6” to 8” depending on model and thats huge in a situation like dealing with a situation like putting a long JZ or V8 engine in a smaller engine bay. Hose Inlet and Outlets on our radiators are on the same side due to the dual pass core and once you install our tucked radiator lower and forward under the core support, factory coolant hoses won’t work. Because of this we offer a multitude of options when it comes to how to set up your fill point and hose routing, which is our third benefit to going with our Tucked Radiator!

We offer a completely modular system of 20AN ORB threaded adapters for the inlet and outlet. The most important piece being our Raised Inline Filler Neck that when mounted directly off the radiator will raise the fill point nearly back to stock height. The fill point still needs to be the highest part of the coolant system for ease of bleeding. From there we have multiple possible combinations for inlet and outlet adapters that allow you to thread on 16AN/20AN/1.38”/1.5” adapters to make your setup work perfectly!

Our final reason to get the Chase Bays Tucked Radiator for your setup is because its quality you can depend on and made to perform flawlessly. All of our radiators are pressure tested during production and then your order is checked thoroughly by our in-house quality control. When you go to order our Tucked Radiator you have the option to add our Chase Bays Radiator Fans that will bolt right on to the bracketing on each radiator. We also make a Dual Fan Relay Harness with 180º F Thermoswitch that greatly simplifies the wiring (couldn't be easier). It’s all fireproof sleeving and labeled to end any guesswork while installing. All together it’s a cooling system made to open up space in their crowded engine bays, greatly improve cooling performance, & get a better look aesthetically.

Dimensions // Application
24" Wide x 11" Tall x 3.5" Thick (3" Core) - Honda Civic // Integra

27.25" Wide x 13.5" Tall x 3.5" Thick (3" Core) - S Chassis // R32

22" Wide x 17" Tall x 3.5" Thick (3" Core) - BMW 3 Series

27.25" Wide x 13.5" Tall x 3.5” Thick (3” Core) - FD RX7

11 minute read

By Bryan Leonard, Pro Race Car Driver and Chase Bays Builds Manager
https://www.instagram.com/bryan_leonard_racing/

The fact is, manual brakes are on the fastest road race cars in the world. From IMSA to F1. But how is this possible!? You read online it was like trying to put your foot through a brick wall! How exactly can manual brakes improve lap times?

The major point I drive home to all those that I coach; consistency. If you can be a consistent driver and make decisions with intention rather than reaction, you are setting yourself up for success. So to be fast we have to be consistent drivers. We are the throttle, brake, and steering actuators on a car.

That means we need those things to be consistent. Throttle is generally consistent (unless you get into DBW with throttle shaping but thats not for this convo). Steering can be consistent if it is either manual, electronic, or properly cooled and managed hydraulic power steering. We also assume our suspension setup is correct and not out of alignment, producing consistency there too.

Braking consistency, this is the last step. I have and will always stand by the comment: braking is the hardest thing to do to extract a lap. How you get on the brakes, how long you are on them, when you release them, the time frame you release them in coupled with steering angle. That's hard stuff.

There is a reason why you see Miatas at the track beating up Corvettes and Porsches. Of course there is the driver mod, but doesn't that mean the Miata driver is utilizing the brakes more effectively? Because they certainly are in a lesser power car.

Now here's how we pull it off. I spoke of consistency earlier, we need to be proactive not reactive with everything we do. In order to accomplish this, we have to have a consistent pedal. The manual brake is the surest way to accomplish this. In a prior blog, I used the analogy of pressure from your finger to a wall. Here is a refresher, if I ask you to place your finger on a wall and give me a little pressure, you can do that, if I ask for a lot of pressure you can do that as well. Just because the wall didn't move doesn't mean there was no pressure applied to the wall.

So with a more firm pedal we can produce brake pressure that is consistent and predictable. With this you will be able to repeat results each lap because the pedal feels the same way. You will have the confidence that heading into 10a at Road Atlanta, that your brake pedal will feel exactly the same each time, thus allowing you to play with brake zone depth and releases. As we stated before, its also important how and when you release the brake pressure as well. Now that we know what the initial force feels like and how quickly the car decelerates. This will allow us to properly set up braking zones.

In conclusion, the opportunity list looks like this.

1. Consistent pedal feel (assuming proper setup, no air in the system, or overheated brakes)
2. Allows us to easily explore gains and loses in the braking zone by playing with brake timing and release.
3. Trains us to be proactive rather than reactive to our pedal. Power brakes inconsistency in pedal feel cause slight hesitation. This lowers driver confidence thus hurts lap times.

This is an example of a power assisted brake. Notice how the pressure is inconsistent? This could be due to the fact that the pedal moves to much and the driver "pumps" the pedal trying to get it to slow down.

This is an example of a manual brake trace. Notice how the initial braking force is high and slowly tapers off. This is what the brake trace should look like, this eliminates braking distance thus resulting in faster lap times.



These are all dual master setups with balance bars. They are great, but it’s not exactly in most of the grassroots/amateur motorsports worlds budget. Enter the Chase Bays Dual Piston Brake Booster Delete with Bolt-On 6:1 Pedal Ratio. This system allows you to receive many benefits from the manual brakes, without the fab/cost of an expensive system. Having now driven with this system, and won our first race with one, I can confidently say this is your ticket to faster laps. We took someone with zero experience with a manual brake, installed this system on his car, he immediately went faster. The only piece of advice I would give is to pump your brakes before the braking zones. Not a large amount of pressure, maybe 10%...just enough to reset the pads. Unless you have anti-knock back springs you need to do this. The power brakes give off the false sense of not needing to do this. I can assure you, you need to. When you strike curbs or load a side, the pads will push back a little. Thus the pedal will travel further making it seem like you have a long pedal. This happens on manual or power brakes. The power brakes just mask this a little bit more. By giving the brakes a small tap with your left foot pre-turn, you will have knocked the pads back into place.

8 minute read

By Bryan Leonard, Pro Race Car Driver and Chase Bays Builds Manager
https://www.instagram.com/bryan_leonard_racing/

Manual brakes can significantly your improve car control. They allow the driver to precisely adjust the amount of braking force applied which more accurately regulates the speed of the vehicle through turns, resulting in faster lap times. Manual brakes also help reduce the risk of wheels locking up, which of course can result in loss of control and longer lap times. Additionally, Manual Brakes  allow the driver to brake more consistently and progressively, which can result in smoother driving and improved lap times.

The FACT is, the fastest road race cars in the world have manual brakes. From F1 to McLaren GT4. The difference in those setups from just slapping a big master cylinder on a plate and calling it a day, is they use pedal boxes with a 6:1 or 7:1 ratio.A proper manual brake setup is achieved with:

• Matched pedal ratio with Master Cylinder bore size
• Good pad compound
• Front / Rear Bias Adjustment

With these three things you will get the exact same great braking every cycle. The modulation of max braking before lockup is where manual brakes really thrive. The 80-99% zone. Finding the exact level of leg pressure to get that exact threshold is just not possible with power brakes, they’re too inconsistent...especially with boost. Maybe your buddy did X and Y on the track with it but thats anecdotal info. Acquired Motorsport Data isn’t wrong. YES the 80-99% zone is a little more leg effort than power brakes but that’s what makes it so great. This is massively to our benefit in finding the right leg force every time.

Manual brakes are also great in Drift and Rally environments where nearly every turn has a different entry angle and speed, it’s a far less calculated Motorsport. We’re always making tiny on-the-fly adjustments. If we take the same turn 10 times, we may only hit the foot brake half the time. As well, left foot braking is more common…your left foot isn’t used to braking and is often done on the fly as a correction. With the stiffer slightly more leg pressure 80-99% braking, this allows us some forgiveness in not locking up the front brakes and easier modulation in the opposite foot used to controlled modulation.  

OKAY I WANT MANUAL BRAKES AND A 6:1 PEDAL RATIO! How can you achieve pedal box function seen in F1, Indy, IMSA, & GT4 without $5,000+ in parts? Without days of prep, relocation of under-dash components, and fabrication? How can we have a DUAL Piston / Isolated Front and Rear Circuits setup thats approved for nearly every sanctioning body from FIA to WRC to Formula Drift plus SAE and DOT approved? How can we achieve this without removing and drilling the stock pedal or without massive modifications to the firewall or interior? Well after years of hard work, testing, and procurement...these guys have got it figured out.

The Chase Bays Dual Piston Brake Booster Delete with Bolt-On 6:1 Pedal Ratio

This product covers EVERYTHING and its been proven time and time again to shave SECONDS off lap times.. Thanks for reading and hope this helps improve your build.

One of the most common questions we get is how manual brakes are a better option for your race or drift car. Manual brakes are preferred by most professional race car drivers because they offer more control and precision when stopping (and no it is NOT like unplugging the vac line on the booster on your car). This is especially important on the track, where braking inconsistency can cost you a race. Manual brakes allow you to apply the exact amount of pressure you want every corner of every lap. You can brake gently or quickly depending on the situation. 

Manual brakes provide more consistent braking performance. This is important because it allows you to have more control over when you stop and how much braking you're inputing. This is where it thrives for left foot braking and where the major benefit is for Drifting and Rally.

Finally, manual brakes are less susceptible to fading, which can be a major issue when racing. The brakes will remain consistent throughout the race, allowing you to stay in control even when the brakes get hot. So, if you want to give yourself an edge over your competitors, the Chase Bays Dual Piston Brake Booster Delete with 6.1 Pedal Ratio is a great option. It offers more control, reliability, and consistent performance.

Setup is extremely important for manual brakes...read How To Properly Set Up Manual Brakes to understand setup more.

Thanks for reading and hope this helps your build!

Hydro E brake, Hydraulic Handbrake, Hydro...there are many names and many options out there for a Hydro Handbrake. It's hard to choose! Even Alibaba even has handbrakes (don't buy them). We made this unbiased ultimate guide to assist in your purchase.

Theres are six major factors we'll be judging; Comfort, Handle Ratio, Size, Strength, and Price. Out of the gate people who cheap out regret it so just don't buy anything under $200 dollars. Also keep in mind who supports and gives back to the industry when you're purchasing anything. Sending money to companies who have no intentions of helping maintain and grow the industry is a bad idea.

Aesthetic is important. This is one product you have to look at a LOT and aside from that many of us hold this as an important standard even if it sits in our engine bay.

Comfort is strictly how it feels when you pull. Some handbrakes are so poorly designed they cause blisters.

Handle Ratio is often overlooked. It's the distance from the pivot point of the handle to the clevis/pushrod from the MC divided by the total length of the handle from pivot point to middle of where your hand pulls. If its wrong you get too long of a throw or too difficult to pull. MC size, brake pads, and caliper size play a factor but we'll work off if those are sized properly.

Size is about the base. How compact it is with the MC plus the foot print. This can effect where it goes if its too tall or too wide of a footprint.

Strength is simply about how strong it is PLUS the shimmy in the handle. There is a lot of force on this product so strength is important plus it is very difficult to get a solid product with no play in the handle left-to-right or forward play.

Price as always is important. A decent designer/engineer can make something incredible with no cost restraint but sales will go down beyond a certain price point. This has to be paired with the concept that more sales = more buying power which can keep the price lower on a fantastic product.

1) HGK Hydro Handbrake

This one wins because it's good looking, compact, strong, has a modular handle ratio, and it uses a Tilton Spherical Master Cylinder which is $265 on its own. It looks great and the handle is more rounded for a comfortable feel. It's out of most folks price range at $635 USD but when you understand manufacturing and of course the high priced MC it make sense. Great group who make a lot of great products.

Aesthetics - 5
Comfort - 4
Handle Ratio - 5
Size - 4
Strength - 5
Price - 3
Total score = 26

2) Chase Bays Hydro Handbrake

Easily passes as the best bang for buck at $229 to $279, for what you get it really should be sold for more. Its a good looking piece, very compact, strong, proper handle ratio, and looks to be the most comfortable grip of all. Also had a Hoonigan x Chase Bays collab years back which is fun. More color options would be nice but apparently that will happen late 2022. Speaking of giving back, they are building a TRACK!

Aesthetics - 4
Comfort - 5
Handle Ratio - 5
Size - 4
Strength - 4
Price - 4
Total score = 26

3) Bakemono WRC Hydro Handbrake

This one rocks because its got a true carbon or kevlar handle and its based of the 99-06 WRC Handbrake. The handle is round which is comfortable for pulls and it has a small footprint since it uses Tilton/Alcon spherical bearing design. It's ratio could be higher so it's likely a little more difficult to pull. The con, it's $500 without a Master Cylinder. The base is simple and if they were a larger company would likely go down in price substantially with higher purchasing power.

Aesthetics - 5
Comfort - 4
Handle Ratio - 3
Size - 4
Strength - 4
Price - 2
Total score = 22

4) DriftHQ Hydro Handbrake

A nice item from a newer company. The handle is squared which can get uncomfortable during a drift day but its compact, has a proper handle ratio, and is well priced. The handle has a cool look and shows machining marks which in many design circles is frowned upon as unfinished. Overall can't go wrong with this one at $229.

Aesthetics - 3
Comfort - 3
Handle Ratio - 4
Size - 4
Strength - 4
Price - 4
Total score = 22

5) Fische Racing Tech Hydro Handbrake

Very cool aesthetically even if its bulkier than the above offerings. It is strong, has the proper handle ratio, and has a rounded handle for comfortable pulls. It's quite expensive at $395. The carbon handle is just awesome though and likely where all the cost comes in.

Aesthetics - 4
Comfort - 4
Handle Ratio - 4
Size - 2
Strength - 4
Price - 2
Total score = 20

WORST Hydro Handbrakes

You can't have a best without the worst!

1) Alibaba Special Hydro Handbrake(s)

The master cylinders are faulty out of the box, they're often rip offs of an already bad design Handbrake, the handle ratio is all wrong, they're weak and bulky. They offer zero benefit to growing our industry and of course there is no tech support. They're really cheap so the price score is hard, it's a 4 simply based on it being cheap but really you'll get an expensive paper weight.

Aesthetics - 1
Comfort - 1
Handle Ratio - 2
Size - 2
Strength - 3
Price - 4
Total score = 12

2) Voodoo Hydro Handbrake

This handbrake came out after Chase Bays released their compact Hydro Handbrake so we're not sure what was going on over there. It's the biggest bulkiest handbrake one could think of. It isn't aesthetically pleasing at all. The handle ratio is way too high and would create a massive sweep of a pull. It's INSANELY overpriced at $465 dollars. I can't imagine why anyone would want this. The only pro is it looks to be strong...which is easy when it's that large.

Aesthetics - 1
Comfort - 1
Handle Ratio - 3
Size - 1
Strength - 4
Price - 1
Total score = 12

3) ASD Hydro Handbrake

This was an early design in the drift world. It works and there's some reputable cars that use it in their competition drift car. But it's got a lot of problems. The base is very tall compared to modern designs, it's over 5" tall at the top of the MC mounting point, it's just a Wilwood under dash pedal base flipped upside down. The handle is very thin and will actually make your hand blister and bleed on a drift day. The ratio is actually too high and makes for a very long throw. The base has two mounting holes that are inline, you'll notice if you've used one it wants to bend left and right even if mounted on reinforced steel. It's just simply unappealing from a design perspective. Aside from that it is strong and holds together over time. Overpriced compared to the rest of the market.

Aesthetics - 1
Comfort - 1
Handle Ratio - 3
Size - 2
Strength - 4
Price - 3
Total score = 14

Thanks for reading! Make the right choice!