Sierra brakes

[shaun s3c]

Hi could anybody tell me if sierra calipers fitted to my 1990 s3c are the same as fitted to all sierras 1.6 2.0 etc cheers shaun

[zombeh]

1.6(with vented discs)/1.8/2.0 and diesel without ABS

Not sure whether the 1.6 with solid discs uses the same calipers, the cars with ABS certainly don't.

[Russell Mc]

Doubt the same caliper could be used for solid and vented discs. I have some 240mm discs, pads and matching calipers if you are looking for some

[TurboTony]

The brakes on my 1991 S3 are made by ATE and the same as fitted to Sierra. They have the numbers 893 and 894 cast into them. They were fitted to Sierras from about 1987, IIRC, I look for 2.0 litre models in catalogues. 240mm ventilated discs (calipers for non vented will not fit). Pads are Mintex MDB1175 or MDB1883 or equivalent. You have to be careful when looking on ebay or elsewhere because many suppliers list TVR S pads as being a completely different type - as fitted to earlier vehicles, I believe.
As you may have guessed, I have been looking at this in the last couple of weeks!!!!!

[Barkychoc]

Solid discs definately wrong caliper.

260mm upgrade very easy, covered many times if you search, but in essence you need the 260mm calipers and the carriers and a new set of discs and pads. Just bolts straight on.
Make sure you get the carriers calipers are no good on their own.

[v8s4me]

As above - easy peasey and probably the cheapest brake up-grade option. Very effective too.

[The Horse]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I'm wanting to replace the calipers, discs and pads on my 1991 S3c as they are very much passed their best.
It seems sensible to upgrade now for minimal extra cost and so I am looking at the 260mm discs and calipers from the XR4i.
This threads says you need the correct caliper carriers. Any ideas where I can get the correct caliper carriers from ?
Cheers
David

[phillpot]

The Horse said:

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I'm wanting to replace the calipers, discs and pads on my 1991 S3c as they are very much passed their best.
It seems sensible to upgrade now for minimal extra cost and so I am looking at the 260mm discs and calipers from the XR4i.
This threads says you need the correct caliper carriers. Any ideas where I can get the correct caliper carriers from ?
Cheers
David

One option may be to sniff around the Chimaera/Griffith Forums, most of them had 260mm as standard but many owners are upgrading to fancy four pots or bigger Ford stuff so may have originals for sale?

[greymrj]

Agreed, the 260mm do make a surprising difference, not a massive difference to brake power (think it was 10-15%) but if you are driving the car hard (no point in having it if you dont!) then the performance is noticeably more consistent. The 260's get rid of heat noticeably quicker.

As Mike says, get the 260 caliper assembly from the Chim and it is a dead easy job. (Please don't go for one of the spacer mods, messing with brakes could lose us a good S!)

[The Horse]

Thanks chaps.
I've asked on the TVRCC forums.
There are calipers for sale on Ebay from Steve Strange which I've asked confirmation that they are the 260mm ones as my Chimaera is an early one with 240mm brakes too.
Perhaps I should upgrade those too if its a simple swap.
David

[GreenV8S]

The standard brakes on my V8S were so badly balanced that I'm surprised they got type approval. They were noticeably rear biassed and tended to induce oversteer under heavy braking - the last thing you want on a rear wheel drive sports car that already has a load of engine braking.

Keeping the same piston sizes but moving them outboard by a couple of centimeters is a very good way to correct the problem. I view this as correcting a safety issue rather than a performance upgrade but the bigger rotors also give better cooling and less tendency to grab under heavy braking.

I found 285mm slightly better than 260 in terms of brake balance, pedal feel and cooling but this is about as big as you could hope to fit in 15" Imolas and your mileage with other wheel types might vary.

[The Horse]

I've sourced some front calipers and carriers from a 1997 Chimaera.
There seems to be 2 options for the 260mm discs, some are 53mm high and others 58mm high. Any idea which ones I should use ?
The 240mm discs that were originally fitted to my S3c were 58mm high.
Thanks
David

[zombeh]

58mm, 2wd sierra with ABS.

[mk1fan]

Of course you read the brake upgrade wiki at the top of the forum?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Kitchski]

The Horse said:

I've sourced some front calipers and carriers from a 1997 Chimaera.
There seems to be 2 options for the 260mm discs, some are 53mm high and others 58mm high. Any idea which ones I should use ?
The 240mm discs that were originally fitted to my S3c were 58mm high.
Thanks
David

IIRC, the 53mm high discs are the type fitted to the early XR4i, and not the ones you need. Mind you, some TVRs were fitted with those, so if you're running them without spacers then they could well be OE.

[The Horse]

Thanks
The callipers arrived today and they fit perfectly with the original 58mm discs (from a height point of view) and the pads that are fitted are Ferodo FDB579 as per the WIKI brake upgrade page mentioned above.
So I'll order new 260mm 58 high discs and new pads.
I've also ordered new stainless steel braided flexi pipes so will fit it all when they arrive.
Thanks for the input.
David

[The Horse]

Before and after photos of the front brakes. I've fitted the stainless braided hoses to the front, what a sod due to corrosion of the old hoses.
Still need to replace the rears....access looks terrible
The braided hoses fitted to the front are each 1 inch longer than the originals. I hope it doesn't cause a problem.






Happy motoring
David

Hmmmm ...... photos were vertical when I uploaded them !

[Kitchski]

The hose length might cause you a problem. Have you tried putting the wheels back on, and then swinging the steering from lock to lock to make sure it's not fouling the tyre?