front brakes

Ian Anderson · Post by **Ian Anderson** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:11 pm

Have a look at
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/builders-for ... ld-up.html

Those brakes are on my GT40 replica and stop the car really well.
Fit inside a 8inch wide 15 inch rim.

Rears are off a Saab 900 turbo (I believe) as the Saab Turbo has a handbrake that works on its front wheels. So this gives a lot of brake on the rear too (but then the engine is at the back on mine!)
Rears fit inside 10 inch wide 15 inch rims

Ian

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:02 pm

If it was me, I'd go for an aluminum caliper everytime.

Dont forget production cars are built for profit...cast iron is cheaper.

How many race calipers do you see constructed of cast iron ?? Ive never seen any.

If aluminium wasnt the best material to use, then all of the aftermarket race calipers, used in all sort of motorpsort around the world, then they would be made of something else.

And I like my aluminium AP 4 pots

Ian, you have done incredibly well to fit such big brakes under a 15" wheel. Are the discs quite far inboard ? or is teh caliper just a very snug fit ?

Even my 310's inside 16" rims, dont leave a lot of space. I couldnt stick a balance weight where it wuld hit the caliper inside the wheel for example.

Ian Anderson · Post by **Ian Anderson** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:53 pm

Hubs on the front are standard Granada
Calipers bold direct on to the hubs (no adaptors)

We did have to machine about 1mm off the outside of the disc to stop it touching the caliper bridge (decided it was easier than modding the mounts)

I agree these things are heavy (but then again I'm not a lightweight either) and if they did not come with the kit I would have Willwods or Hispecs on the car.

I don't know the disc diameter off hand but yes it is all fairly tight but then everything is in this car

Cheers
Ian

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:37 pm

the point i was trying to make in my very first post on this thread, and since, but seem to have totally failed,

was that there are very different types of break use and as a result materials and caliper design differ as a result (and yes fassion, bling factor and cost of manufacture all come into it, so does the ability to re-cycle which is one reason more ally is used in production cars) my point was that the ability to stop a car from high speed with a cold breaking system is very different to running round in circles with the car at 75% to 100% max speed for an hour and you should design the system accordingly.

or just don't bother to think about it and use 4pot "ally every time"

. My car will use multi pot (probably 6 pot hi spec on the front 4 pot hispec on the back plus a single pot lightweight caliper with handbreak) all ally but I will fit them as I intend taking the thing sprinting, hill climbing and a little road use. My wife's jag will stay with the cast steel sliding calipers as we generally drive it for an hour or so on the motorway at about 85 then slam on the breaks so we can stop at the services (much as a drag recer

but not if you see my point

) it wont be taken on track days, sprints or hillclimbs so it won't get a set of brembos off an XKR ( I actually think these have more to do with the fitting of four £850 a time 20" BBS alloys [which I also am not fitting]and the owner realising that the sliding calipers don't really fill the new rims than stopping the car, who's use won't change). I do think it is a mistake to dismiss the production stuff just because it isn't sexy, virtually all of it will have had 100 times the testing and design money put into it as the aftermarket stuff.
May I thank all for their indulgence in reading what I have written so far

. this forum has the best people on it.
best regards
Mike

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:45 pm

When I was deciding on what brakes to get, my only limitation was wheel size. They had to fit inside a 16" wheel.

I think there was a 6 pot option at 310mm, but I didnt see any point, nor did the braking supplier.
Certainly at that time, AP didnt make any 6 pots suitable for anything smaller than 310mm ( might actually have been 315-330 though )

As for 10 pot TarOx....what a bloody gimmick IMO.

Im all for cutting costs and DIY kits etc. And there are plenty of Brembo calipers out there these days, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi, Subaru all use them in varying sizes, as well as some having their own alloy 4 pots, non-brembo.
Porsche are the othe otehr biggy, with a lot of kits based around their calipers.
Movit do a lot of kits. Stoptech are another braking kit supplier with a good rep.

When considering caliper options, another important area is pad availability. No sense in using calipers, you cant buy decent pads for, or indeed cheap pads if possible.

That said, so far my AP 4pot 310x32 floating discs on DS2500 have around 5000+ miles, and the pads still look like new. I expect to get quite a bit of usage from them.
Damn good pad.

ihatesissycars · Post by **ihatesissycars** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:55 pm

Well, i have caprisports front and rear brake kits and ever since fitting them i have given them very little thought. Everytime i hit the brakes they do exactly what i have expected of them and nothing else.

To say i have forgotten about them is the biggest compliment as i've never used them and thought "hmmm, they were a bit poo/grabby/faded/noisey/etc that time!"

This proves to me that single pot sliding mondeo calipers can do the job!

Post by **Coops** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:57 pm

wait until you see the new brembo package caprisport has for mine Gav

uses a 310mm disc like stevie has on his granada,

ihatesissycars · Post by **ihatesissycars** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:01 am

I remember you saying about that. I keep looking at some 4 pot brembos off an Evo or similar but my present calipers are about 1mm away from the inside of my wheels as it is so i dare not attempt anything else!

davemgb · Post by **davemgb** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:06 am

I would only use aluminium calipers on a genuine race car that will never see a public road - Why? In my experience the biggest killer of calipers is corrosion - mix aluminium with road salt and watch the corrosion happen. Maybe paint and coating technologies are much better these days, I don't know.

Dave

ian.stewart · Post by **ian.stewart** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:37 am

davemgb wrote:I would only use aluminium calipers on a genuine race car that will never see a public road - Why? In my experience the biggest killer of calipers is corrosion - mix aluminium with road salt and watch the corrosion happen. Maybe paint and coating technologies are much better these days, I don't know.

Dave

I had to go thru 3 sets of Porsche Bembros before I managed to get a useable set

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:30 pm

What was wrong with them Ian ??

Considering Prorsche, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi, Subaru and no doubt countless other manufacturers fit aluminium calipers, surely they cant be that bad ??

Ive seen as many cast iron calipers with siezed parts due to corrosion, as I have aluminium. More often than not its the pistons that sieze anyway, which is not related to what the caliper is made of.
Its usually corroded pistons.

ian.stewart · Post by **ian.stewart** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 4:53 pm

Stevie, on the Bembros, top and bottom, there is a stainless screw on plate which I assume is a wear pad for the brake pads, this appears to be where the corrosion begins, possibly by these stainless pieces moving under pod movement and fretting the powder coating underneath, then the corrosion gets under the rest of the powder coating, also where the dust seals are fitted, they appear to have a steel edge that retains it in a thin groove just by the edge of the piston bore, some of the seals may damage the the groove powder coating resulting in electrolisis betewwn the steel and the ally calliper, as the steel seal ring rusts and starts to pop out of its groove allowing more moisture in, not only does the ring rust but the edge of the piston bore can fall away, on one half of a calliper I found corrosion 10mm into the piston bore

bones · Post by **bones** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:04 pm

hi all, well ive been getting the car ready to go on the trailer, fitted the front struts and anti-roll bar, and a problem with it, the anti-roll is from a capri 2.8 and so are the struts, when i bolted them up the struts move forward to the up right panel till they hit. i got the car as a shell so this is the 1st time the struts have been on, has anyone got any pics of how it should look, advice needed ,

rich.

ian.stewart · Post by **ian.stewart** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:14 pm

Rich, what front suspension x member are you using, I know you are using billies on the front , is the rest Escort??

bones · Post by **bones** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:52 pm

hi Ian, the x member is an escort one it came with the car.or it was in the boot anyway.