I've put nearly a half million miles on my Westy with the original smaller brakes.  Boiled my DOT 3 fluid once, about twenty-five years ago, then learned to drive.  

Bigger brakes would be nice, but certainly not a necessity.  If I wear out tires, brakes, and front end components at the same time, I'll do that upgrade.  

Karl Wolz
Sent from my electronic umbilicus

On Jun 4, 2012, at 6:07 PM, Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> On 06/04/2012 04:39 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
>> Driving a vehicle in hilly territory requires some skill. While brake
>> upgrades and such buy some time or capacity any downhill application of the
>> brakes for an extended period will become a problem.
> 
> [description of techniques snipped for brevity]
> 
> I do do what is suggested, such as downshifting my auto trans to hold
> back my speed, etc. I have never smelt hot brakes, not sure if this
> vehicle's brakes stink up the joint when when overheat so that might not
> mean much; but after hearing so much about how wimpy the stock '84
> brakes are, how swell the Big Brakes are, &c., &c., a fellow starts to
> wonder if this isn't something he should look into before he plunges off
> the road to certain death and becomes a headline.
> 
> So my question is: will DOT4 brake fluid and attentive use of engine
> drag via downshifting pretty much make bigger brakes a non-issue?
> 
> If the answer is "yes," then I've saved money for something more
> interesting.
> 
> --
> Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
> 1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
> Bend, Ore.