If you’ve just tuned into our series on Baer’s cool Deep Stage Brake package, here’s a short recap: Essentially, the folks from Baer Brakes recognized the need for brake packages for heavy, very fast street cars. Now if you haven’t been paying attention, fast street cars are the big news in drag racing. There are all sorts of different venues for these cars. All have a variety of different rules and regulations, but the common ground is the need for street legal equipment. Basically, we’re talking about cars that can be close to two tons in weight and have performances that can be well under 8-seconds in the quarter mile. Fair enough, but once you get a car like that up to warp speed, you know you’ll have to slow it down sooner or later. That’s exactly what Baer accomplished with their heavy duty Deep Stage brake setup. And if you go over the first three segments in our series, you’ll see the special rotors, hats, calipers, and mount bracket that went into their unique system. This time around, we’ll wrap up the series with an examination of Baer’s brand new “Remaster” master cylinder (and to see more on the entire system, check out our past three segments).
Baer’s Remaster is a fully machined, billet aluminum master cylinder. Unlike some other master cylinders available that are “universal” (with left and right hand outlet port fittings), the Remaster is built for the application. That means you can specify which side of the master the outlets are located. This is more work for the folks at Baer, but it’s technically two less places to leak for you!
The Remaster is a short, compact design that fits both power booster and manual brake applications. The master is actually shorter than most: Our 15/16-inch bore job (shown below) has an overall length (to the firewall) of 6.050-inches. It’s just under 5.00-inches tall to the filler cap and it’s 3.00-inches wide. 1.00-inch bore Remasters are the same overall size, however the 1-1/8-inch bore jobs are slightly larger. In any case, it’s a tightly wrapped package.
The actual mount pattern is such that GM and Ford applications can make use of the same master cylinder. The firewall mount is engineered to fit both. For long pushrod applications, Baer includes a special insert adapter (bullet adapter). Another really neat feature is the two-piece mount arrangement. Baer designed the master with a removable mount block. That means if you change configuration (or even cars), you can take the master with you. All you need to change is the mount block.
The filler cap is a screw-on assembly. Note that each billet cap is engineered with a knurled edge. You don’t need any special tools to check or add fluid. Simply unscrew each of the caps to gain access to the respective fluid chambers.
All Baer Remasters have the ability to bolt a proportioning valve block to the bottom of the Master Cylinder. You don’t need a special bracket to mount the prop valve, plus it simplifies the brake line routing. In addition, if you already have a Baer proportioning valve, then it’s a simple matter of specifying your master to accept it.
Speaking of prop valves: You’ll need one. Simple as that. Baer recommends it on any disc brake conversion (with rear discs or with rear drums). Keep in mind that most cars we’re discussing have had the original factory distribution and proportioning valves eliminated. These OEM valves were often called “combination valves”. They included a brake pressure warning light sender along with a fixed rear brake-proportioning valve. While we don’t have room to go into all of it here, with a front disc, rear drum setup, there will be too much brake pressure applied to the drums (without a prop valve). Adding taller tires on the rear (for example, slicks or tall DOT tires) will also upset the brake balance, simply because the taller tire provides more leverage when you hit the brakes. With these variables on cars without a prop valve installed (and adjusted), what you’ll regularly encounter is back brakes locking up way before the front, and with a really fast car, that’s no fun. The solution is to reduce the brake line pressure to the back wheels.
And that’s where the adjustable proportioning valve enters the equation. According to Baer: “Our prop valve has approximately 9-turns, lock to lock. Turning the valve all the way counter-clockwise will make the outlet pressure approximately 57% of the inlet pressure. With the valve in the full clockwise position, the outlet pressure will be approximately 90% of the inlet pressure.”
“Starting with the valve set approximately 4-1/2 turns, test the brakes. When set properly, the rear brakes should lock up just after the front brakes. If the system is not set properly, readjust the valve and test the vehicle again. Continue adjusting until you are satisfied with the front/rear brake bias for your vehicle.”
One last thing: Just like the calipers, Baer can color coordinate your Remaster to your calipers or to your under-hood accessories. Baer does all of their coloring in-house, so custom mixes are possible.
As you can see, the folks from Baer have done a fabulous job on the design and production of their entire Deep Stage brake system. If you’re having issues bringing your hot and heavy hot rod to a screeching halt, this is the package for you.
And FYI, down the road, we’ll be rebuilding a Camaro (and Nova) subframe. We’ll show you how the Baer setup installs. It’s very intuitive, and the folks at Baer have taken the time to ensure bits and pieces mount in the right spots! Meanwhile, for a closer look at the Remaster along with Baer’s adjustable proportioning valve, check out the accompanying images.
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