Not a moment too soon!
Discussion
Matthew Poxon said:
They have definitely seen better days!
My original (pre Brembo) front callipers were partially seized Matthew, It's likely the rears were doing 70% of the work and for far too long 
All new now... and in the case of the fronts upgraded to Brembos with big ol 324mm discs
Decent brakes have massively enhanced my driving pleasure
All that gas is asking of those rear brakes Dave 
Good brakes,, it's dizzying it's that pleasurable,
I dunno about you but all the other mods are great but the better Brembo front brakes has elevated the enjoyment level behond anything I would have imagined,, it's hard to describe how good it is, a bit like going from a kit car to some Jag brakes, it's not just how well they stop the car, its like the car has gone up in class,, I feel elevated and deeply confident inside, it's such an impotant part of the car that I was very worried about the effects but it seems there made to measure.
Very impressed ain't the word.
Best £500 I've spent any day
Good brakes,, it's dizzying it's that pleasurable,
I dunno about you but all the other mods are great but the better Brembo front brakes has elevated the enjoyment level behond anything I would have imagined,, it's hard to describe how good it is, a bit like going from a kit car to some Jag brakes, it's not just how well they stop the car, its like the car has gone up in class,, I feel elevated and deeply confident inside, it's such an impotant part of the car that I was very worried about the effects but it seems there made to measure.
Very impressed ain't the word.
Best £500 I've spent any day
I was speaking to PeteGriff at the Growl about brakes and how much of a difference 4pots make. We both agreed that while the original brakes never failed to stop the car they never inspired confidence especially with the long pedal travel. I decent 4pot conversion is night and day difference, it really gives me the confidence to press on more and leave braking later as I know I can shed speed very quickly. On track they do not overheat which is brilliant as well, about 2 big 100MPH+ stops on track and the originals were spent.
Mine were in a similar condition
Mine were in a similar condition
ClassiChimi said:
All that gas is asking of those rear brakes Dave
There's more weight in the back for sure Alun, but it's only like you carrying a bag of sand. It will ask a bit more of the rear brakes but I'm convinced the car actually handles better since the conversion and once I uprated to 400lb rear springs to stop the occasional bottoming out it's absolutely spot on.The bigger influence on wearing out my rear brakes so quickly was that my original cast iron sliding single pot front calipers we partially seized so the rears were doing most of the work.
There's something deeply pleasing to me about my TVR on LPG, especially the way it howls on full chat just like any other carefully set up Chimaera on an after market ECU, lightened flyweel, Stealth cam ect ect, it seems so wrong for a car to perform like that on taxi fuel but the reality feels and sounds so right
And like you say, the Brembos are absolutely sublime
Matthew Poxon said:
I was speaking to PeteGriff at the Growl about brakes and how much of a difference 4pots make. We both agreed that while the original brakes never failed to stop the car they never inspired confidence especially with the long pedal travel. I decent 4pot conversion is night and day difference.
Exactly Matthew, I'll second those comments too I drove a race car Mazda at Snett a couple of months ago, standard Mazda Calipers but proper race pads and discs,
f
k did it stop,, with the 4 Pot Calipers and enough money to chuck at brakes every week end,,, the Tvr would be massive on the brakes,, it's all in the pads and discs really but as you say Matt, the progressive way the pressure applies with these big brakes and multi Pistons is precision personified.
It's a lot like the engine
Powerful
f
k did it stop,, with the 4 Pot Calipers and enough money to chuck at brakes every week end,,, the Tvr would be massive on the brakes,, it's all in the pads and discs really but as you say Matt, the progressive way the pressure applies with these big brakes and multi Pistons is precision personified. It's a lot like the engine
Powerful
Are there any of these fancy race/track day pads that also work well on the road? I'm not keen on loads of brake dust, squealing noises and especially pads that take a while to warm up.
But I accept things have moved on, so given my above preferences, are there any sharper performing pad compounds out there that would still meet my needs?
I'm currently running Brembo discs and pads up front, and Pagid discs & pads on the rear as I like to match brand on discs & pads. This set up is low dust, silent and works perfectly on the road, even from first application in the morning.
Any pad suggestions welcomed, but only if there are genuine advantages without too many negatives
But I accept things have moved on, so given my above preferences, are there any sharper performing pad compounds out there that would still meet my needs?
I'm currently running Brembo discs and pads up front, and Pagid discs & pads on the rear as I like to match brand on discs & pads. This set up is low dust, silent and works perfectly on the road, even from first application in the morning.
Any pad suggestions welcomed, but only if there are genuine advantages without too many negatives
Best overhaul performance inc a good handbrake come from the OE Motorcraft/Lucas pads Dave, nothing comes close on the road manufacturers spend fortunes on developing a best compromise at low and high temps etc bearing in mind the same pad was good enough from Sierra 2.0i to Cosworth inc the heavy Granada Cosworth even back in the day never seen proof of over worked rear brakes even on track from the donor car, you just wont get enough heat in em to warrant sports/race material, they often come up new old stock this is a bargain just cut the wires off http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-ford-sierra-rear...
Edited by Sardonicus on Sunday 3rd July 23:27
Trial and error but it's a simple fact race style pads wear far quicker, destroy the discs and offer all or nothing type of braking.
Brummie knows his stuff on brakes and his 200 mph Cerb stops very well, I think he concentrated on 5 stud Calipers etc but he'd be a chap I'd be asking to point me in the right direction.
Anthony uses Hawk and his car stops very well too.
I dislike Brakes that create excessive brake dust, I'm tempted to go for a more aggressive pad but only by a small amount, just slightly more instant bite would be perfect but I'm being picky as the Brembo pads do a fine job.
Brummie knows his stuff on brakes and his 200 mph Cerb stops very well, I think he concentrated on 5 stud Calipers etc but he'd be a chap I'd be asking to point me in the right direction.
Anthony uses Hawk and his car stops very well too.
I dislike Brakes that create excessive brake dust, I'm tempted to go for a more aggressive pad but only by a small amount, just slightly more instant bite would be perfect but I'm being picky as the Brembo pads do a fine job.
Sardonicus said:
Best overhaul performance inc a good handbrake come from the OE Motorcraft/Lucas pads Dave, nothing comes close on the road manufacturers spend fortunes on developing a best compromise at low and high temps etc bearing in mind the same pad was good enough from Sierra 2.0i to Cosworth inc the heavy Granada Cosworth even back in the day never seen proof of over worked rear brakes even on track from the donor car, you just wont get enough heat in em to warrant sports/race material, they often come up new old stock this is a bargain just cut the wires off http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-ford-sierra-rear...
Thanks Simon To be honest I'm happy with my Brembo fronts and Pagid rears and I must confess to remain a bit sceptical of race/track day pads as my experience of them is the compromises don't really make them 100% suitable for regular everyday road use.
Oddly I've never thought to seek out OEM Motorcraft pads but your R&D comments make perfect sense to me, good call
One for the memory bank, as I expect I've got 20,000 miles of stopping on the car now so it'll be a while before I need new brakes.
Good tip though
ChimpOnGas said:
Thanks Simon
To be honest I'm happy with my Brembo fronts and Pagid rears and I must confess to remain a bit sceptical of race/track day pads as my experience of them is the compromises don't really make them 100% suitable for regular everyday road use.
Oddly I've never thought to seek out OEM Motorcraft pads but your R&D comments make perfect sense to me, good call
One for the memory bank, as I expect I've got 20,000 miles of stopping on the car now so it'll be a while before I need new brakes.
Good tip though
Back in the day To be honest I'm happy with my Brembo fronts and Pagid rears and I must confess to remain a bit sceptical of race/track day pads as my experience of them is the compromises don't really make them 100% suitable for regular everyday road use.
Oddly I've never thought to seek out OEM Motorcraft pads but your R&D comments make perfect sense to me, good call
One for the memory bank, as I expect I've got 20,000 miles of stopping on the car now so it'll be a while before I need new brakes.
Good tip though
if someone complained of a piss poor hand brake or MOT failure on the same on either Sierra or Granada and the mechanism was free it was usually down to poor quality rear pads or mostly with Sierra's (Cosworth mainly) silly comp brake pads giving poor friction coefficient at low temps (yes it dont just affect TVR's) the same piss poor handbrakes were available back then too with the right conditions its not just the TVR cars, I would often see these pads cause difficulty on Renault 5 GT Turbo's Pug 205 GTI's etc all where the owners thought they knew more than the manufacturer obviously 
your current FR & RR combo is good and if your happy with the Pagid rear pads then stick to em but for 12 squids I know what I would be fitting Sardonicus said:
ack in the day if someone complained of a piss poor hand brake or MOT failure on the same on either Sierra or Granada and the mechanism was free it was usually down to poor quality rear pads or mostly with Sierra's (Cosworth mainly) silly comp brake pads giving poor friction coefficient at low temps (yes it dont just affect TVR's) the same piss poor handbrakes were available back then too with the right conditions its not just the TVR cars, I would often see these pads cause difficulty on Renault 5 GT Turbo's Pug 205 GTI's etc all where the owners thought they knew more than the manufacturer obviously your current FR & RR combo is good and if your happy with the Pagid rear pads then stick to em but for 12 squids I know what I would be fitting
To be honest my handbrake has always been very good for a Chimaera, indeed the guy that delivered my car back from Surface & Design after my headlight conversion said he moves a lot of Chimaeras and my handbrake was one of the best he'd come across. if someone complained of a piss poor hand brake or MOT failure on the same on either Sierra or Granada and the mechanism was free it was usually down to poor quality rear pads or mostly with Sierra's (Cosworth mainly) silly comp brake pads giving poor friction coefficient at low temps (yes it dont just affect TVR's) the same piss poor handbrakes were available back then too with the right conditions its not just the TVR cars, I would often see these pads cause difficulty on Renault 5 GT Turbo's Pug 205 GTI's etc all where the owners thought they knew more than the manufacturer obviously your current FR & RR combo is good and if your happy with the Pagid rear pads then stick to em but for 12 squids I know what I would be fitting Mnid you, recently it was getting a bit marginal which is only to be expected when you take a look at the pads that came out. So with the old worn out rear Pagids removed and new Pagids fitted with new Pagid rear discs.... and the handbrake is back to be really quite good (for a Chimaera).
Personally I prefer the type of rear brake arrangement with a small drum brake set in the rear disc to give the handbrake, mechanical clamping of the brake pads on the disc to hold the car on a hill always seemed an inferior system to me.
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