LCAM-01XA
Full Access Member
Oh yeah, the hydro is the way to go for improved braking performance. All I was saying is it's not always needed (I've driven quite a few trucks that stopped just fine on vacuum), and there is at least one area the vacuum has the upper hand over the hydro.
FWIW to me the Ford hydro swap how we typically do it here kinda sucks. Not in stopping power, it's got plenty of that, but the pedal just doesn't feel quite right. Now, mind you, I'm comparing the monster master in a drum-braked Ford to the full-factory GM setup in a comparable 1-ton truck of similar vintage, so a bit of apples to oranges, but still, to me the hydro-swap without rear discs leaves something to be desired as opposed to something that was engineered that way to begin with. I've been playing with these things for years now, trying different combinations of masters and pedals trying to get it "just right", and I think the best results yet came from a truck that retained all of its factory brake parts except for the booster - that one just got the hydroboost mounting plate modified to drop the hydro down to where it lines up exactly like the vacuum booster did, holy cow did that thing stop like a race car yet still had pedal feel very much like a new truck. I just wish the pedal swap was easier in the '91-down trucks, not looking forward to that job again...
FWIW to me the Ford hydro swap how we typically do it here kinda sucks. Not in stopping power, it's got plenty of that, but the pedal just doesn't feel quite right. Now, mind you, I'm comparing the monster master in a drum-braked Ford to the full-factory GM setup in a comparable 1-ton truck of similar vintage, so a bit of apples to oranges, but still, to me the hydro-swap without rear discs leaves something to be desired as opposed to something that was engineered that way to begin with. I've been playing with these things for years now, trying different combinations of masters and pedals trying to get it "just right", and I think the best results yet came from a truck that retained all of its factory brake parts except for the booster - that one just got the hydroboost mounting plate modified to drop the hydro down to where it lines up exactly like the vacuum booster did, holy cow did that thing stop like a race car yet still had pedal feel very much like a new truck. I just wish the pedal swap was easier in the '91-down trucks, not looking forward to that job again...