2 Brake Calipers Off of 1 Master Cylinder?

SquidBonez

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Would running 2 calipers off of one master cylinder make the brakes less effective? I'm planning on running MCP brakes right now (the master cylinder has two lines coming out of it, 1 for each piston of which there are two per caliper). My question is if I added a T to each line and just ran both pistons off one line (one line for the first caliper, the other line for the second), would that weaken my braking power?
 

Barîb

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Someone I knew had a similar problem trying to run three off of a master cylinder, just not enough power, not sure about two tho. I’m almost certain there is a part you can buy to run more brake fluid into that then splits into a T but don’t know the name of it.
 

SquidBonez

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Someone I knew had a similar problem trying to run three off of a master cylinder, just not enough power, not sure about two tho. I’m almost certain there is a part you can buy to run more brake fluid into that then splits into a T but don’t know the name of it.
MCP does have a single piston caliper I know. I could just run one of the two lines coming off the master cylinder to their respective calipers. For my application each tire needs its own brake caliper rather than both tires being braked by the same caliper (like on a solid axle).
 

SquidBonez

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You need a master cylinder sized for your calipers.
I have to run two calipers and I don't think I can realistically fit two master cylinders (nor do I want to buy two $100 master cylinders). There is another way to brake both tires and that's by putting a single rotor/caliper on the jackshaft. Only issue with this is that since the rear tires are being driven via two separate chains off said jackshaft that - in the event one of the chains comes loose - I don't have brakes on that tire. Now imagine if both chains somehow kicked off simultaneously...now I have no brakes at all...not safe. Plus I'm not sure if braking the rear tires through the chain is good for the chain itself (granted the chain is already under stress due to needing to move the tires so I guess it's strong enough to stop them too...)
 

Barîb

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I believe I know of a solution for that. I’m almost certain a YouTuber by the name of Vasily Builds ran a sort of hydraulic reservoir off of a single master cylinder on his shifter kart, however he has issue with having enough power. I’ll look into that for you and see what I can find, cant gauruntee it would cheaper than master cylinder, idk.
 

ONE-EYE

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Seems like it should be possible as long as the mc is big enough. You might could run it like a regular car mc with an individual line for each caliper. Seems like it'd work fine as long as you bleed the air out good. On another note, you could always install a backup manual handbrake for emergencies lol.
 

Denny

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I meant getting a MC sized already for two calipers. You can’t take a sized for one brake and expect it to work 2. Not gonna happen.
 

SquidBonez

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I meant getting a MC sized already for two calipers. You can’t take a sized for one brake and expect it to work 2. Not gonna happen.
True but the MCP master cylinder has two lines because the rear caliper is dual piston (one line for each piston). If I used 2 front brake calipers (which are single piston, thus one line a piece), would that work?
 

SquidBonez

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Seems like it should be possible as long as the mc is big enough. You might could run it like a regular car mc with an individual line for each caliper. Seems like it'd work fine as long as you bleed the air out good. On another note, you could always install a backup manual handbrake for emergencies lol.
I've considered doing a mechanical brake on each rear tire hooked up to a handbrake but I'd have to figure out running brake cables to them.
 

madprofessor

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My understanding has always been that the only real reason the MC reservoir is partitioned off with each side having it's own MC piston is for safety in case one blows off a line or etc. In those applications one is always going to the front brakes (larger side if not equal) and one to the rear brakes. I think you should be able to run any setup that way.
 

SquidBonez

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I'm starting to wonder if it's even necessary to do two hydraulic calipers on the tires and just run one on the jackshaft. Since there are two chains going to the rear tires, if one pops off I still have braking in the other tire (think like the old 1WD/1 wheel peel go karts). While this wouldn't be ideal obviously it should be enough to slow down and limp home. The only situation where I would have absolutely no brakes is if I lost both chains simultaneously, which I find very unlikely to happen. Especially since both chains will have chain tensioners to help keep them on.

If this is still unsafe I can do a mechanical brake on one of the rear tires as a backup so I at least have some form of braking in the unlikely event both chains pop off at once. Should I even bother?

EDIT: Here's a visual of some crosskarts that run single calipers on the jackshaft for their brakes. No backup/emergency brake on the tires either.
Screenshot_20211102-213815_YouTube.jpg
khHN1EmF.jpg
 
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SquidBonez

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Another thing I just thought: wouldn't a jackshaft brake wear the pads way quicker? Since it's being driven directly from the engine rather than after gear reduction, it will be spinning way faster. I feel like that would accelerate brake wear massively.
 

madprofessor

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If it's peace of mind in case of an emergency situation that you want, you can add a peace of mind brake for practically free. Remember the wear-your-tires-out scrub brakes? Some scrap steel rods, bars, pipes, angles, etc. can be slapped together to make a scrub handbrake that you'd hopefully never have to use, but would actively provide reliable peace of mind. Hmmm, would make a good parking brake.
 

SquidBonez

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Your right it will wear the pads quicker and chains and sprockets too.
In that case I might just do a swingarm rather than IRS. Less chains to worry about plus I can easily brake both rear tires safely. I could still add a mechanical caliper to the jackshaft for some e-brake drifting action. The braking force will be multiplied through the gear ratio (like a driveline brake). And it wouldn't be something I use all the time so pad/chain wear would be minimal.
 

Denny

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Just remember drive line brakes have not been used since the Model T Ford, and Edsel Ford had the good sense to talk old Henry out of continuing to utilize them for longer.
 
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