Only took me 8 years to do this

[DangerousDerek]

Brembos from a E38 BMW and Ford RS 324mm discs

[Pink_Floyd]

You won't regret it.

[QBee]

Oh, so you plan on being able to stop then? Excellent choice, if I may say so. I run similar myself.

[PhilH42]

Looks good!

Just how much of an improvement in stopping are we talking , say percentage with this setup?

[QBee]

Quite a substantial difference with the right pads and discs.
Depends on what you are doing with the car.

[PhilH42]

QBee said:

Quite a substantial difference with the right pads and discs.
Depends on what you are doing with the car.

It changes weekly!

I'm not saying it couldn't stop quicker and better or look nicer for that matter with the upgrade, but I don't feel any urgent need to upgrade for performance reasons. I mean I don't feel left wanting....but then again you don't miss what you don't have.

[QBee]

You would only really notice it on a track day, and you could do a lot with better pads

[PhilH42]

QBee said:

You would only really notice it on a track day, and you could do a lot with better pads

That I can understand being on their limits and factoring in the extra heat.

They look pretty though.

[ChimpOnGas]

Well I don't track my car, but believe me these Brembos have transformed the way my Chimaera stops on the road.

I love leaning on them, simply brilliant brakes and in my case fitted with Brembo road compound pads.

[Classic Chim]

^^^^^^^This.
For me it brings a new confidenence in the cars ability.

[QBee]

I tried competition pads, but all they did was squeak like crazy and boil my brake fluid, and the stopping power seemed no better.
The Hawk pads I use are a compromise road and track pad called High Performance Street pad

[ChimpOnGas]

I've used the well respected Ferodo DS2500 (admittedly on my original cast iron anvil sliders) and the only difference I found on the road was they made a lot more dust, they may well offer some improvement on the track but on the road where I use my car they just made the wheels black in a week.

Switched to the Brembo conversion with Brembo road compound pads and the car stops night and day better, and with my Brembo setup dust is a thing of the past, I literally go weeks now without the need to clean my wheels whereas with the DS2500 pads in my original calipers cleaning was a weekly chore.

You don't upgrade brakes by fitting fancy pads, you upgrade brakes by fitting better critical hardware

Braided lines for a firmer pedal, bigger discs for more leverage, opposing four piston calipers matched to the master cylinder's displacement, and the correct balance front to rear are the solutions to better brakes, forget the idea of fitting fancy pads to the marginal original hardware.

Of course tyres play the biggest role closely followed by the suspension, fit the Brembo conversion and Ben Lang's Mk4 Tuscan 2 Bilsteins and you won't be disappointed. Being a road based Chimaera I run this brake/suspension combo with Uniroyal Rainsport 2 boots and have no complaints whatsoever, I could take stopping to the next level with a more track day focused tyre but I also like to know when the heavens open I'm not going to aquaplane into the central reservation.

[QBee]

Uniroyal Rainsport 3s are a superb tyre for all conditions - thanks for the recommendation on that, Dave.

[94Griff500]

Not to hijack this thread; however, I've been trying to find Rainsport3's for the front of my Griff in 205/55-15 and can't locate them ANYWHERE!
Nobody seems to have them in stock. Does anyone know of a provider that has this size? I wold like to keep the 55 ratio on the front for better ride & original; however, are others using 50 series on the front with no noticeable ride issues? I'd consider 50 series if no issues...
Any help locating front RainSport 3's is greatly appreciated...
Doug

[QBee]

94Griff500 said:

Not to hijack this thread; however, I've been trying to find Rainsport3's for the front of my Griff in 205/55-15 and can't locate them ANYWHERE!
Nobody seems to have them in stock. Does anyone know of a provider that has this size? I wold like to keep the 55 ratio on the front for better ride & original; however, are others using 50 series on the front with no noticeable ride issues? I'd consider 50 series if no issues...
Any help locating front RainSport 3's is greatly appreciated...
Doug

http://www.clickontyres.co.uk/buy-tyres-online/product/20550r15-uniroyal-rainsport-3-86v2055015vun0362392000

[94Griff500]

Thank you Anthony: they have 205/50-15's for the fronts , but not the proper original 205/55-15's that I'd rather have.
They do have 225/55-16's for the rear, but again, not the original 225/50-16's.
I know there's not much difference in diameter between 50 & 55 ratio sidewalls, but am trying to stay original sizes both F & R.

I can't seem to find anyone with the originally sized 205/55-15 fronts AND also the 225/50-16 rears in stock with one vendor.
I'll keep looking..... Thxs for the quick reply!
Doug

[kevd]

I am looking to carry out this Brembo conversion over the winter months. But I have a couple of questions that I need to ask you knowledgeable folks about. Firstly the mounting brackets I have seen, appear to have 2 x 12mm holes for mounting the bracket to the original hub assembly with through bolts & nuts, my original Ford calipers have 10mm bolts to secure to the hub. I guess my options are to drill out the hub casting to 12mm. or try and source a mounting adaptor plate that has 10mm holes for securing to the hub. The second option would be my favoured one, as I could return the car back to original spec at a later date if so required. Does any know if this option is available.
Secondly, I am looking to use a standard Brembo 324mm disk part No 09.5486.50, can any one tell me if these come with a painted or plated finish as I cant stand the bare steel disks that rust in the centre. The last Brembo disks that I fitted to the wifes Mini did have a nice dark grey finish, and haven't rusted.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Thanks Kev

[quattrophenia]

quattrophenia said:

Great upgrade. I didn't go quite this far when I did mine, but it was a great improvement over the tired original lines, pads , discs and callers and really inspires confidence knowing you can stop! . The chaps at my local indy made a good point whilst we we discussing the subject. The brake Master and slave cylinders are not the best quality on old tvr's and you can only upgrade at the wheels so much until the rest of system becomes the weekest link and doesnt provide adequate fluid pressure to the callipers to maximise their potential.

[Classic Chim]

quattrophenia said:

quattrophenia said:

Great upgrade. I didn't go quite this far when I did mine, but it was a great improvement over the tired original lines, pads , discs and callers and really inspires confidence knowing you can stop! . The chaps at my local indy made a good point whilst we we discussing the subject. The brake Master and slave cylinders are not the best quality on old tvr's and you can only upgrade at the wheels so much until the rest of system becomes the weekest link and doesnt provide adequate fluid pressure to the callipers to maximise their potential.

I'd agree with that in essence if your talking pre 90's cars!
If you look at the original Chim/Griff front calliper the one piston is pretty big and requires a lot of pressure to use.
I've found with my big Brembo conversion the pedal travels a few mm further down before you get effortless bite and grip on the discs.It took about 3 days before this became normal and my brain re adjusted to it.
I'd say 90% of the time I now use much less hydraulic force to get the same level of braking from very gentle to emergency stops, so infact im using the hydraulics less.
In my experience the Brembo calipers/Brembo pads and Brembo Ford Focus 324mm discs require very similar levels of hydraulic movement as the originals and feel perfectly matched to the hydraulics on the road.

In answer to the question of bolt size, I think as you are moving the caliper further away from its mounting point that size increase is necessary, as is pinching the bolt with a nut on the back. (Vibration)
You could contact ( Caprisport) as I think they make the brackets for this conversion.
Brembo,,, brilliant brakes.
I always said my brakes are fine on the old ones,,, no they ain't when you've got these fighters on.... different world, like driving a BMW dare I say,,, or even a Ferrari as they are from the Modena 360

[Classic Chim]

I'm actually in love with them