[StudebakerMatt]

I have a Studebaker with a S-10 frame. I just recently put new wheels and tires on. They are 18's all the way around. The backs are a little taller and wider. The day I got them on my rear brakes went out. The wheel cylinder rubber blew off the rear drivers side.

My questions... Does having bigger tires/wheels put more pressure on brakes, is it a good idea to upgrade to a bigger brake, maybe convert the drums in back to disc? Has anyone had this problem??
Thanks

[OneMoreTime]

I think that problem was just one of those things "that happens" had nothing to do with the wheels at all..just do the repair/rebuild and carry on..

OMT

[StudebakerMatt]

Thanks! I already have the parts to fix it....i'll be driving it to work tomorrow........ I would like to put Disc brakes all the way around some day....just to make it look better....

[Triaged]

Wheel cylinders go out often. Mostly because of all the heat contained within the drum.

One easy option for stronger rear brakes is to put wheel cylinders from a manual brake s10 in. They are 3/4" insted of 5/8" (on power brake s10's) and will provide more rear braking.

As for converting the rear to disc I don't really see the need if you still have the stock front brakes.

To give you an idea of how under designed the front brakes are I would get about 12-14kmi on a set of front pads in my s10. I changed the rear shoes at 60kmi and they were only about half worn (factory shoes). My rear axle had about 120kmi on it when I swapped it out and there was about half the shoes still left even though I swapped in the larger wheel cylinders....I did however have some problems with the drums warping a bit when they got too hot...but they always went back round when they cooled off.