Fitting Rear Discs to Reduce Costs?
Discussion
Good Morning Fellas,
To the point, My first car has Drum Brakes on the rear wheels (as you may expect for a FWD first car).
However, I don't like Drum Brakes and would prefer it if the car was fitted with discs all round.
Would having discs all round save money on pads (rather than the fronts doing all the work and the drums a comparative sweet FA) by sharing the load all round... yes I know the bias would have to be changed.
I can do the work myself, if need be drag the Uncle (yes, he's a mechanic and not a painter&decorator) in if need be.
I reckon £400-£600 for the kit
If it's likely to halve=> the regularity of changing the front pads then it might be finacially sound and would give me peace of mind.
Opinion please? Random abuse, If valid, also welcome...
Cheers
Gas
To the point, My first car has Drum Brakes on the rear wheels (as you may expect for a FWD first car).
However, I don't like Drum Brakes and would prefer it if the car was fitted with discs all round.
Would having discs all round save money on pads (rather than the fronts doing all the work and the drums a comparative sweet FA) by sharing the load all round... yes I know the bias would have to be changed.
I can do the work myself, if need be drag the Uncle (yes, he's a mechanic and not a painter&decorator) in if need be.
I reckon £400-£600 for the kit
If it's likely to halve=> the regularity of changing the front pads then it might be finacially sound and would give me peace of mind.
Opinion please? Random abuse, If valid, also welcome...
Cheers
Gas
GasolineFire said:
Would having discs all round save money on pads (rather than the fronts doing all the work and the drums a comparative sweet FA) by sharing the load all round...
No. The amount of work being done by the front (and hence the bias) is dictated by other factors (weight distribution and height of centre of gravity, principally).If you make the rears do more work, they'll lock up first.
The cost of repairing the car, loss of no-claims bonus and loss of earnings from the protracted hospital stay after you spin backwards into oncoming traffic is, on balance, quite likely to outweigh the savings from reduced front pad wear.
HTH
Given that the car I have has manufacturer brakes with are by and large considered as "poor" or "lacking feel" I thought I sound to address the issue and since my partner drives the car less "smoothly" than I do, and I'd rather her not end up with someone elses tailgate embedded in her face, upgrading brakes didn't seem like quite a daft idea...
When I said I knew the bias would need changing it's because Discs would be more efficient than Drums and so would need LESS bias... so that they don't lock up...
So no, I'm afraid your metaphor doesn't really help.
When I said I knew the bias would need changing it's because Discs would be more efficient than Drums and so would need LESS bias... so that they don't lock up...
So no, I'm afraid your metaphor doesn't really help.
GasolineFire said:
When I said I knew the bias would need changing it's because Discs would be more efficient than Drums and so would need LESS bias... so that they don't lock up...
So... if you reduce the bias to your shiny new rear discs so that the front:rear bias remains correct, your front discs will be doing just as much work (and wearing out their pads just as quickly) as they were to start with.The only financial justification for changing to rear discs is if you have a desperate need to burn £600.
Give it to charity...
If you want braking performance then you never start with the rear brakes. They really are just there to keep it stable under braking.
As Sam says, if you adjust the bias to the point that they are only as effective as they were before the upgrade, it's really just an exercise in pointlessness.
The conversion would never pay for itself in rear pad saving either.
If you want to improve braking, then some different front pads is a much better place to start. If this is just to combat how your partner drives though, I think some advanced driving tuition would be the best modification of all.
As Sam says, if you adjust the bias to the point that they are only as effective as they were before the upgrade, it's really just an exercise in pointlessness.
The conversion would never pay for itself in rear pad saving either.
If you want to improve braking, then some different front pads is a much better place to start. If this is just to combat how your partner drives though, I think some advanced driving tuition would be the best modification of all.
LaurenceFrost said:
If you want braking performance then you never start with the rear brakes. They really are just there to keep it stable under braking.
As Sam says, if you adjust the bias to the point that they are only as effective as they were before the upgrade, it's really just an exercise in pointlessness.
The conversion would never pay for itself in rear pad saving either.
If you want to improve braking, then some different front pads is a much better place to start. If this is just to combat how your partner drives though, I think some advanced driving tuition would be the best modification of all.
That'll do it then. Thank you. As Sam says, if you adjust the bias to the point that they are only as effective as they were before the upgrade, it's really just an exercise in pointlessness.
The conversion would never pay for itself in rear pad saving either.
If you want to improve braking, then some different front pads is a much better place to start. If this is just to combat how your partner drives though, I think some advanced driving tuition would be the best modification of all.
You said that the reports on your car said 'poor' and 'lacking feel'.
I would say change the rubber hoses for stainless steel braided hoses and replace the front pads with quality performance pads, you'll be really surprised in the improvement.
Good brake balance is most important otherwise you can induce a spin under braking - never good. Think about where all the car's weight is, that's where you need the strongest brakes.
By the way you can also get rear brake shoes in enhanced braking material, try contacting EBC or Mintex direct, I chatted to a guy on the EBC stand at the NEC the other year and he said they do better brake material if you ask. However try the other mods first.
Chris
I would say change the rubber hoses for stainless steel braided hoses and replace the front pads with quality performance pads, you'll be really surprised in the improvement.
Good brake balance is most important otherwise you can induce a spin under braking - never good. Think about where all the car's weight is, that's where you need the strongest brakes.
By the way you can also get rear brake shoes in enhanced braking material, try contacting EBC or Mintex direct, I chatted to a guy on the EBC stand at the NEC the other year and he said they do better brake material if you ask. However try the other mods first.
Chris
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