Rear brake upgrade
Discussion
Lets start from the very beginning....
Why do you want to upgrade your brakes...?
Are you intending to Track the car..?
Do you know how the brake bias is set currently on the car..?
How do think the car would feel after..?
How do you want the car to feel after..?
Have you upgraded the fronts..?
The fronts do most of the work (70%..?).. are they OK..?
To be honest, I think I posted something very similar a while ago...
Since then...
I have upgraded the fronts to grooved discs (same Dia/size)...
Put Mintex Fast Road pads on the front..
Added Braided hoses....
Renewed Fluids...
IMHO if you feel that the brakes are still lacking for your driving style or applications for your S then I would recommend the Rear upgrade...
There are numerous cheaper, better value and MORE effective avenues to try first.... All IMHO of course...
Dave
Why do you want to upgrade your brakes...?
Are you intending to Track the car..?
Do you know how the brake bias is set currently on the car..?
How do think the car would feel after..?
How do you want the car to feel after..?
Have you upgraded the fronts..?
The fronts do most of the work (70%..?).. are they OK..?
To be honest, I think I posted something very similar a while ago...
Since then...
I have upgraded the fronts to grooved discs (same Dia/size)...
Put Mintex Fast Road pads on the front..
Added Braided hoses....
Renewed Fluids...
IMHO if you feel that the brakes are still lacking for your driving style or applications for your S then I would recommend the Rear upgrade...
There are numerous cheaper, better value and MORE effective avenues to try first.... All IMHO of course...
Dave
I found that the retardation of the brakes was fine (in fact very good considering they are Ford parts with drums at the back) in the few track and airfield days I attended with it.
However, the problem lies with brake fade under repeated hard braking, to the point at which on an airfield day this year I lost all bracking altogether and went straight on on a hair pin (Sean737 - I did miss the cones and just went onto the live section of the airfield so nothing was damaged)
To this end, Dave's suggestion of upgrading the front discs and pads as well as possibly reinforcing the brake lines to stop expansion would seem the way to go IMO.
However, the problem lies with brake fade under repeated hard braking, to the point at which on an airfield day this year I lost all bracking altogether and went straight on on a hair pin (Sean737 - I did miss the cones and just went onto the live section of the airfield so nothing was damaged)
To this end, Dave's suggestion of upgrading the front discs and pads as well as possibly reinforcing the brake lines to stop expansion would seem the way to go IMO.
I was never very confident about the brakes on my old S2, but to its credit they survived lots of track days without any problems. Getting the right fast road compound can make a lot of difference, and if your brakes are getting hot then good quality DOT5.1 fluid is essential, and flush it if it has been overheated. Also if your brakes are getting hot then grooved discs and drums will delay brake fade by dispersing the gas under the pads/shoes.
Mine originally had dust guards on the wheels, I took these off for track days just in case, but couldn't really feel any difference. Ducting cold air to the brakes makes a small but worthwhile difference.
It can be hard to tell from the feel of the car whether it is the front brakes or the rears which are overheating. However, it should be quite obvious if you check the external temperature of the brakes after a run (an IR thermometer is good for this to save you getting burnt and covered in brake dust).
Driving style can make a big difference to overheating brakes too. If you get most of your braking done at high speed and ease off the brakes as you slow down, also brake more gently for longer rather than anchoring up at the last moment, and concentrate on getting your corner entry speed right rather than trying to save time under braking, the brakes run a lot cooler.
Mine originally had dust guards on the wheels, I took these off for track days just in case, but couldn't really feel any difference. Ducting cold air to the brakes makes a small but worthwhile difference.
It can be hard to tell from the feel of the car whether it is the front brakes or the rears which are overheating. However, it should be quite obvious if you check the external temperature of the brakes after a run (an IR thermometer is good for this to save you getting burnt and covered in brake dust).
Driving style can make a big difference to overheating brakes too. If you get most of your braking done at high speed and ease off the brakes as you slow down, also brake more gently for longer rather than anchoring up at the last moment, and concentrate on getting your corner entry speed right rather than trying to save time under braking, the brakes run a lot cooler.
GreenV8S said:I'd certainly say driving style was the problem I had, I was the only sub 4 litre there that day so wanted to do us V6 owners proud
Driving style can make a big difference to overheating brakes too. If you get most of your braking done at high speed and ease off the brakes as you slow down, also brake more gently for longer rather than anchoring up at the last moment, and concentrate on getting your corner entry speed right rather than trying to save time under braking, the brakes run a lot cooler.
I'd agree with the sentiment here…. Discs are the rear look nice, but not really worth the money (IMHO).
Put braided hoses on, change the fluid for 5.1, and maybe get some bigger callipers on the front (the XR4i Sierra ones fit)… coupled with some decent pads and brake discs.
As for the rear… EBC do some "uprated drum shoes"….
Put braided hoses on, change the fluid for 5.1, and maybe get some bigger callipers on the front (the XR4i Sierra ones fit)… coupled with some decent pads and brake discs.
As for the rear… EBC do some "uprated drum shoes"….
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