Drilling 9" drums?

My 9" brakes are in very good condition and I can't really afford to convert to 11" at this time, so I plan to use them for awhile.

My question is...has anybody drilled holes in their 9" drums, and gotten any significant improvement?

 

I would think it would make a decent improvement. That being said if it gives 8-10% improvement (highly unlikely), the 10" brakes would give you about 15% more braking just in surface area.

 

I figure it's gotta help some just from a cooling standpoint if nothing else. I'm just wondering if anybody has already done it with 9" drums, and what their results were.

 

If you put yours in the Water at all I would do it , 9" drums + water = scary stops. Every time I go into the water with mine its all over the place till I burn/squeeze it out. If I get my own drill press it will be my first project.
BTW I have 11"s on the front and 9"s on the rear.

 

Jason, If your brakes aren't working well, you can ease your jeep up to the back of mine and with my 4 speed I'll slow you down.....R) R)
ha ha ha












Sorry man.....

 

About did that at telico ,several times R).They work great dry but after they get wet the steer the jeep where THEY want to go not a strait stop. I understand that drilling the drums reduces this greatly.

 

Drilling rotors is supposed to help with degassing. I would think the same would occur with drums.:v6:

 

Didn't someone do this on this board a few years back. Seems like I remember seeing pics of it. Biggest benifit I think I could see would be allowing water to drain out easily.

 

Oh Billy!!!!! I believe this is yours.....

 

OK, I know all about the process, the benefits and how everybody does it to 11" drums! What I'm asking is, has anybody done it to 9" drums, and did you get any significant improvement on the 9" brakes? I can't do the 11" conversion anytime soon, so I'd like to improve the 9" for now.

 

Ron, I think that the consensus is to give 'er a rip and a snort. Certainly can't hurt any, and at very least water crossing won't be an issue any longer. Reading through the articles HERE lead me to believe that it helps any size drum brake. If it helps you any, I'll be doing my 9" rears in conjunction with my 11" fronts.

 

I'm gonna drill 'em when I get to that point Thad, but I was just wanting to find out if anyone has already done it, and if it helped or was just a waste of time given the much smaller braking surface of the 9" drums/shoes.

 

Wish I still had access to a Bridgeport and a dividing head....

 

Anybody ever had to pass a vehicular inspection with drilled drums? Did it pass? Here in Virginia we have an annual inspection and the inspectors can be pretty nitpicky. My Wrangler failed last year with about 5/16" of brake pad left. I argued with the guy that I could squeeze 5000 more miles out of those pads but he didn't buy it. Just wondering if drilled drums would raise eyebrows.