Chim small brakes question

[iguana]

Hello TreVoR'ittes just a quickie then I'll scurry off to where I belong

So-

The small front dics on early Chims- (240mm?) were they on a single pot sliding caliper? or twin pot four pot etc etc ?

Oh and was this just on Chims or did early Grifs share the same set up?

Oh and what was the upgrade to, size & caliper type.

Cheers

Lizard

[the dodger]

Lizzy, I'm pretty sure it's a single-pot sliding calliper and is the same on various Fords including some Escorts and Sierras. It was the same on the Griff too. I wasn't aware they upgraded until the 5.0L which have bigger discs (260mm I think).

The rear discs/callipers were changed to vented type discs around '96 I think.

BTW I have just had my early (94) set-up refurbished, fitted braided hoses and EBC GreenStuff front pads and they're now great! Only used on the road though.....

[chris547]

I have an early Chim 93 4.3, 30K which could do with a brake overhaul. The brakes are good however the rears can lock up if I am heavy. Should I just replace what's there or up grade? if the latter what to? Is there an upgrade say for the front which costs not much more than the Ford Sierra stuff fitted as standard?

I do believe that I can stop the car faster than if I had anti-lock brakes. Anyone else agree?

[tahiti450]

chris547 said:

I do believe that I can stop the car faster than if I had anti-lock brakes. Anyone else agree?

IMHO: Having mainly spent the last 24yrs driving non-ABS cars (rather .. ahem .. too quickly), my view on the usual ABS set up (that is excluding any really trick/ fancy ASC or whatever)is:

Certainly in the dry ABS is a pain in the neck, because at maximum retardation you will be getting some partial / intermittent wheel locking. (this is esp noticable in a FWD car braking heavily in the dry into a turn, when often the unloaded rear wheel will lock up completely without really affecting the retardation / stability at all - you only have to watch BTCC etc. If this car has ABS then even a relatively small speed difference between one wheel and any other will trigger the ABS, which then starts to fight against any further increase in brake-line pressure, blunting the decelleration. Certainly this is less of an issue in a RWD car, but in general in the dry and assuming you have a sensitive foot and modulate the braking then I say lose the ABS.
In the wet its not so clear cut and I think on balance there may be some benefit with ABS, I have to admit it does give me more confidence in less-than-good-grip conditions. I also think that for Joe public - in an emergency situation / in the wet etc it is probably a very good thing, but for ultimate retardation in good conditions and a skilled driver it costs. Best option is a switchable system (with default on and manual cancel)?? Wait for the avalanche of *!#~@!!

[ian8542]

I use EBC Greenstuff pads which are an excellent all round pad.They are very reasonably priced and don't dirty the wheels like other pads do.
What some people tend to do is fit different pads front and rear. If you put Greenstuff pads on the rear and retained the standard pads up front, you are likely to lock the rear wheels under heavy braking.

[the dodger]

I had to replace my rear pads last year - in a hurry. I could only get patern Ford ones. This year I had the system overhauled, new braided hoses, new dot 5.1 and Greenstuff front pads. For the first time ever I can lock my wheels - fronts mainly. Oh

[stesrg]

Hmm i fitted mk4 escort red dot drilled discs and red dot pads and braded hoses exellent but a little dusty around the front.

[the dodger]

stesrg said:

but a little dusty around the front.

PODIE! Help needed here I think.

[poorpeet]

IIRC Early Sierra Cosworth discs & calipers are a straight swap for the pathetic original 240mm set up.
Ring around the motor factors & you will be suprised how cheap they are.

[ian8542]

How much? and do they include brackets?

[Targarama]

You need to replace the discs and calipers with something more up to the job of stopping a powerful car. The std calipers are the same as I had on an old 1988 Escort 1.3.

Wilwood do an upgrade and so do HiSpec. My brakes were fanstastic after this upgrade - no fading on the track and powerful on the road, worked well from cold with Ferodo DS2500 or Mintex pads. EBCs don't work well until they're warmed up (remember, TVRs are under servoed (on purpose) compared to family cars where EBC might feel much better).

http://trefor_jones1.users.btopenworld.com/BrakeUpgrade.html

Peter Humphries wrote an article about upgrading brakes for Sprint a year or two ago. Basically going to 285mm on the front reverts the balance to the front, but not too much. 4 pot calipers give decent stopping power too, esp. if you replace the fluid and fit braided hoses all round.

[DustyC]

stesrg said:

but a little dusty around the front.

OI! STRERG! NO!
You will not come into these fine forums and start spreading rumors about me in such a way.

[stesrg]