Cutting Brake on a Jeep?

[Got to tinker]

Has anyone ever tried to put a cutting brake system on a street 4X4?

It really comes in handy on a tractor. In soupy mud or sand, having the ability to steer with assistance from the brakes seems like a big advantage. I know it is with a tractor, especially when traversing a slick hill or modulating the wheels in soft soil.

Some thoughts....

Disabling a section of the braking system to make this work is inherently unsafe for normal driving. Even having that ability with the chance to forget creates a problem.

Selectively braking wheels in slick conditions is how computer controlled traction assist works.

The Hummer was designed with open diffs but with the assumption that drivers would be trained to use "power braking" when encountering slippery terrain to modulate runaway wheel speed.

Adding additional master cylinders is impractical.

A locking diff on the rear will equalize wheel speed which means that the vehicle is going to try to go in a straight line no matter what the steering wheels are doing.

If locking diffs are on both axles they will "fight" each other when the vehicle is trying to turn.

My original thought was to put line locks on the front brakes and on the individual rear brakes. Isolating the front brakes (locking them out) and then having the ability to choose which rear brake was activated by the pedal.

It would not be hard to electrically interlock this the low-range on the T-case (to make sure that this thing never hit the hard road with the front brakes inoperative).

Any thoughts?

Just trying to build a better mouse trap.

[chief1ton]

sounds more like trying to build some kind of death trap, lol. i personaly wouldn't mess with trying any kind of mod like that on the front. especially on a street driven rig. besides i cant see a huge benefit for it on the front. on the rear it can be very usefull, "IF" you have a twin stick for digs, and "IF" you have an open or selectible dif. to try and lock or even slow a wheel with a locker would futile and damaging. it actually very common and easy to do on the rear. you simply put in a pair of ebrake handles between the seats (like most compacts have) and run individual cables.

[Got to tinker]

We kicked this around at work today among a couple of us, one of whom used to race a CJ. He suggested something similar to the cables but running some kind of pass-through brake cylinder with twin handles. He built a dune buggy for a guy with a unit like that. It would have to have an open diff or selectable locker. VW's were open and he said if you were quick enough you could modulate the brakes to gain some traction in the soupy stuff. We found an article about that twin stick thing on the internet but nothing for sale. The appeal of this was that it did not affect the normal operation of the brake system, how I am not sure. I am going to keep it in the back of my head as the build goes forward. First I have to put in the rad and electric fan that arrived today.

[Got to tinker]

sounds more like trying to build some kind of death trap, lol. i personaly wouldn't mess with trying any kind of mod like that on the front. especially on a street driven rig. besides i cant see a huge benefit for it on the front.

Sorry, I should have clarified. The line-lok on the front brakes would lock them out so they were inoperative (read potential death trap) that would allow the line locks on the individual rear brakes to be locked out so that when the pedal was pressed only the selected rear brake would engage, hopefully spinning the beast like a top. Of course if you forget and head for pavement with only one wheel with braking capability...to put it mildly...it would be bad.

[buggyman]

cutting brakes

I have independant brakes on my buggy(not street legal).Separate master cylinders and hydroboosts.I could not be happier with it.All that control ,no steering push,and avoided the cost of a selectable locker.I mounted my pedals close enough I can hit both or one . After a while it's second nature.Street rig? You may not even have the firewall room for this setup but if you did you could build a hinged plate to tie the pedals together for street driving.Just my adventurous opinion???? And I dont carry any liability insurance!!!

[buggyman]

Clararification

I wasnt very clear. My buggy has a welded rear and cutting brakes on an open front axle.

[snoopy]

You will need an open diff or selectable locker. Your emergency brake goes back to a connector that combines the two idividual cables, that would be a good spot to split the system and still leaves the hydrualic brakes alone. F1 cars used limit switch on the ends of the steering rack that would activate the rear wheel caliper on that side for faster turn in, the FIA outlawed it pretty quick.