DieselSpider wrote:Yes if you modify the bias so much that the fronts lock before the back so that you don't get much rear braking proportionally until the fronts are almost locked then yes the rear compensator is moot however then the rear brakes serve little purpose in normal use except to provide for the parking brake. That could pose a problem at times when driving on public streets in real world situations.
Perhaps obviously, my "thought experiment" questions were not entirely academic. I have the Wilwood big brake kit and intend to install it this winter. I also have an uninstalled compensator bypass hose. Any reluctance on my part to preserve the compensator stems from the fact that I suspect, as you do, that it would be "moot", in which case it could actually be considered a potential liability, e.g., as a possible source of brake fluid leaks. Might it be better to simplify by removing a part rather than preserve it, when it likely has no benefit? That's what I'm struggling with.
(In a similar situation, though less related to safety, I decided to preserve the throttle body heater, replacing the cover with Mark's billet aluminum version. The car will never be driven in cold temperatures, obviating the need to keep the throttle plate from freezing, but the new plate has a bleed screw which helps burp the cooling system, so net-net, it's a plus.)
I guess one solution to the potential problem you raise is to replace the aged compensator
and buy Mark's
rear brake kit.
