mounting line lock on a column shift

[joflaig]

Where would you mount the button for a line lock on a column shift car. I beleive you must keep the button held down when in use. I was thinking the indicator light could go in a switch panel under the dash. I hate to see wires all over the place. Anyone have something setup like this? Please don't ask why a line lock...it may be something you already got out of your system. 

[Rolling_Thunder]

it should be a push to active then push to diactivate...   no need to hold it down...       

[Ghoste]

That must depend on the brand then because all the ones I have ever had, including the one in the car now have to be held on to be avtivated and release when you release the button.  I have always used Hurst units.
I've known people who have mounted the buttons on their column shifters.

[joflaig]

it should be a push to active then push to diactivate...   no need to hold it down...       

The Hurst requires you to hold it down. Which brand are you refering to?

[hemihead]

I think holding it down became a safety thing because of non - drivers . The older units were just on and off .

[joflaig]

It makes perfect sense, but it's a pain if you have a column shift. At least with the Hurst unit I'm not sure the button will look very sublte (or pretty) on the actual column shifter, but that is the closest location to the right hand, excluding the wheel itself.

[Ghoste]

I've seen them on the steering wheel as well.

[joflaig]

I've seen them on the steering wheel as well.

maybe on a switch panel makes the most sense since gaining split second timing would not be the issue most of the time.

[Ghoste]

Unless you are using it to hold your car at the starting line.  In that case split second timing is exactly what you are after.

[joflaig]

Unless you are using it to hold your car at the starting line.  In that case split second timing is exactly what you are after.

Exactly, but I won't be doing that very often or very seriously.

[Mike DC]

 
                             
You could use the steering wheel's horn button/ring with a little wiring work. 
Just install a switch somewhere to toggle it back and forth between the normal horn function or the line-lock. 


But you'd be in a real mess if you were trying to hit the horn in traffic and accidentally turned on the line-lock.  The horn/toggle thing would be a wiser idea if there was some sort of warning light or something.  Gotta make sure it's never prone to being left in line-lock mode by accident.

 

[Ghoste]

How about just wiring the switch up with some extra length of wire and hiding it loosely under the seat, then when you want to use it, just reach under and pull it out?

[joflaig]

How about just wiring the switch up with some extra length of wire and hiding it loosely under the seat, then when you want to use it, just reach under and pull it out?

That's not a bad idea. I wonder if I could rig a short lever with the switch at the end and attach it to the seat frame so it pulls up in-between the driver's seat and the buddy seat.

[FLG]

Sorry if im hijacking the thread, but i have a question on how you guys mount your line locks. Ive seen most line locks people have simply lock up the front wheels. In the future im thinking of getting one and well, wouldn't it be better to put on the rear brakes? Instead of pressing the pedal down and holding the button and releasing the brakes which locks the front wheels, why not just mount to your rear brakes and hold the button down (without pressing brake pedal) and then pressing the brake pedal with your foot. Since the line lock is activated, when you hit the brakes you will only be braking with the front wheels allowing you to not only roast the rear tires, but move around a bit if you want.

[Mike DC]

But the brake circuit is plumbed to push both the front & rear lines.  If the rears are blocked and the pedal is pushed, it's gonna force that pressure somewhere --  I dunno, maybe back through the proportioning valve?  Probably not good no matter what it does.

That basic idea could work, but probably not quite so easily.  Maybe the best way to do it would be to rig up several line-locks to be activated at once by the same button, and do a little custom brake line work?  Set it up so that the pressure that would have been pushed into the rear lines would also get dumped all into the front circuit whenever the rear line is locked off.   

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You want a better way to do all this? 

Just pay $100 or so, get a hydraulic E-brake thingy like the WRC & drifting & Hollywood guys use, and then plumb it into the front brake circuit rather than the rear one. 




It's basically a large piston (clutch-like) master cylinder deal with a handle on it like an E-brake (or they make them in pedal-operated setups too).  No electricals, no power assisting gear, nothing but a handle-operated version of a brake pedal. 


When it's plumbed up correctly, it has NO effects on the stock 4-wheel brake pedal's action at all.  (Well, no more than a line-lock does anyway.)  It's entirely acting below the proportioning valve on just the front or rear circuit by itself, just like the line-lock would have done.   

Pull the handle = squeeze the front or rear brake lines independently from the rest of the brake system. 

 

[FLG]

Mike, but if you put it on the rear and closed the valve..it would just work as a stopper holding the fluid back. All the pressure should just go to the front brakes.

[Mike DC]

 
With the line-lock, I don't know what it would do to the proportioning valve if you did that.  Maybe it wouldn't hurt, maybe it would.  Not sure. 


Either way I don't think I would wanna mess with the proportioning apparatus like that.  Just personal opinion.  It's a delicate thing that governs how the car stops, and it's so sensitive to the perfect setting that most autocross racers run manually adjustable ones.