Discussion
hello people . i made a thread 2 months ago when i was looking to buy a caterham . then i found one and i bought it . since im a motorcycle addict since the 90s , i like good brakes , and im very familiar with hard braking from insane speeds using 2 fingers on a not boosted brake circuit stopping about 280 kilos . now , after the testride i did in the caterham i bought i thought the brakes where faulty or something , the pedal is wood , the braking force is low and to block the front wheels is hard if not near impossible . i searched around on the internet and ive learned that this is a caterham habit . to me it seems that if the brakes would function with a lot more bite , i would get much more confidence , but is this possible ?
the setup in my car is the radial mounted 4 pot caterham calipers , unknown pads ( mounted by dealer so prob oem ?) and the master cylinder is on the foto . any thoughts on this is apreciated . tnx in advance .
the setup in my car is the radial mounted 4 pot caterham calipers , unknown pads ( mounted by dealer so prob oem ?) and the master cylinder is on the foto . any thoughts on this is apreciated . tnx in advance .
I’m have standard brakes with MIntex 1144 pads and there fine.
I have , however , got the AP Racing master cylinder , which transformed my brakes for both feel and also removing a horrid dead spot at the top of pedal travel.
Also available are high effort pedals , but four pots are almost overkill on a standard 7, so there maybe an underlying issue.
I have , however , got the AP Racing master cylinder , which transformed my brakes for both feel and also removing a horrid dead spot at the top of pedal travel.
Also available are high effort pedals , but four pots are almost overkill on a standard 7, so there maybe an underlying issue.
By the looks of things, Ferr already has the Caterham supplied uprated master cylinder. The orange cable tie is the clue!
I changed the standard, AP Racing branded pads for Ferodo DS3000 pads on the front & DS2500 on the rear. That resulted in an eye opening improvement! It was much better, in terms of feel & ultimate stopping power. I can certainly lock the front wheels now. The first time I really hit the brakes hard, I disappeared into a very impressive cloud of tyre smoke!
I have the standard, two pot AP calipers on the front & the standard Sierra type on the rear, but I have a friend with a 620R who has the same set up as you & is very happy with the same combination of Ferodo pads.
I also have the ‘high effort’ brake pedal, which I think is a big improvement on the standard pedal, although some people don’t get on with it. Brake feel is a subjective thing, I think.
I changed the standard, AP Racing branded pads for Ferodo DS3000 pads on the front & DS2500 on the rear. That resulted in an eye opening improvement! It was much better, in terms of feel & ultimate stopping power. I can certainly lock the front wheels now. The first time I really hit the brakes hard, I disappeared into a very impressive cloud of tyre smoke!
I have the standard, two pot AP calipers on the front & the standard Sierra type on the rear, but I have a friend with a 620R who has the same set up as you & is very happy with the same combination of Ferodo pads.
I also have the ‘high effort’ brake pedal, which I think is a big improvement on the standard pedal, although some people don’t get on with it. Brake feel is a subjective thing, I think.
Yeah brakes are so subjective.
I've got DS2500 all round and I've found them excellent on road and trackdays.
I've always treated my 7 brakes different to other cars though. On my RenaultSports I could just stand on the brakes hard and I assume thanks to the servo and ABS, they'd just provide a brilliant amount of braking.
On the 7 I tend to be gentler in the initial application and then pile the pressure on. I don't lock up very often, but I definately have when pushing too hard though.
EDIT: I was going to say, I'm also on the 4-pot fronts and the uprated cylinder.
I've got DS2500 all round and I've found them excellent on road and trackdays.
I've always treated my 7 brakes different to other cars though. On my RenaultSports I could just stand on the brakes hard and I assume thanks to the servo and ABS, they'd just provide a brilliant amount of braking.
On the 7 I tend to be gentler in the initial application and then pile the pressure on. I don't lock up very often, but I definately have when pushing too hard though.
EDIT: I was going to say, I'm also on the 4-pot fronts and the uprated cylinder.
From my experience with my 620R it's the rear brakes that need sorting out. The standard Sierra calipers are not very good and pads wear very fast.
You can replace the rear brakes with the 420R race setup which has vented disks and improved calipers. These don't include a handbrake though so you need a seperate system if you want to retain one. I have electric HiSpec ones fitted to mine which work well.
Apart from that I would recommend the Hi-effort brake pedal which improves feel.
You can also fit a bias valve so you can adjust the force going to the rear calipers which helps too.
You can replace the rear brakes with the 420R race setup which has vented disks and improved calipers. These don't include a handbrake though so you need a seperate system if you want to retain one. I have electric HiSpec ones fitted to mine which work well.
Apart from that I would recommend the Hi-effort brake pedal which improves feel.
You can also fit a bias valve so you can adjust the force going to the rear calipers which helps too.
Blue 7 said:
By the looks of things, Ferr already has the Caterham supplied uprated master cylinder. The orange cable tie is the clue!
I changed the standard, AP Racing branded pads for Ferodo DS3000 pads on the front & DS2500 on the rear. That resulted in an eye opening improvement! It was much better, in terms of feel & ultimate stopping power. I can certainly lock the front wheels now. The first time I really hit the brakes hard, I disappeared into a very impressive cloud of tyre smoke!
I have the standard, two pot AP calipers on the front & the standard Sierra type on the rear, but I have a friend with a 620R who has the same set up as you & is very happy with the same combination of Ferodo pads.
I also have the high effort brake pedal, which I think is a big improvement on the standard pedal, although some people don t get on with it. Brake feel is a subjective thing, I think.
wait , i have the most race mastercylinder from caterham on there already ? i looked mine up in caterhams site and i thought its the standard one that comes as oem when you dont click the more costly ones ? i also checked and my front discs are ventilated ones so tey cant be lacking can they ?I changed the standard, AP Racing branded pads for Ferodo DS3000 pads on the front & DS2500 on the rear. That resulted in an eye opening improvement! It was much better, in terms of feel & ultimate stopping power. I can certainly lock the front wheels now. The first time I really hit the brakes hard, I disappeared into a very impressive cloud of tyre smoke!
I have the standard, two pot AP calipers on the front & the standard Sierra type on the rear, but I have a friend with a 620R who has the same set up as you & is very happy with the same combination of Ferodo pads.
I also have the high effort brake pedal, which I think is a big improvement on the standard pedal, although some people don t get on with it. Brake feel is a subjective thing, I think.
Benbay001 said:
How much change is there when the brakes are bedded in?
I didnt test drive my 170R for very long at all before signing, and i loved everything except the brakes. The car had 30 kms on it, so im hoping they just needed bedding in.
yours is an r so also the 4pot calipers and uprated master cylinder ? I didnt test drive my 170R for very long at all before signing, and i loved everything except the brakes. The car had 30 kms on it, so im hoping they just needed bedding in.
What I suspect is that the OP has the high effort pedal as well as the race m/c, so little to upgrade there I would think. I'd get new pads (plenty of recommendations on here0, bed them in properly and see how they are.
Upgrading the rears will also (as described above) help if they are the standard sierra brakes.
Upgrading the rears will also (as described above) help if they are the standard sierra brakes.
As others have said - start by putting known road pads in. If it has race pads, they need temperature to work properly- the ones on my race car are horrible until really hot and you can’t get them hot enough on the road.
Secondly - the Caterham brakes if used on track are prone to getting air in the system. We bleed them several times a weekend when racing. Easy to do but has to be done in the correct sequence.
Secondly - the Caterham brakes if used on track are prone to getting air in the system. We bleed them several times a weekend when racing. Easy to do but has to be done in the correct sequence.
jimhcat said:
From my experience with my 620R it's the rear brakes that need sorting out. The standard Sierra calipers are not very good and pads wear very fast.
You can replace the rear brakes with the 420R race setup which has vented disks and improved calipers. These don't include a handbrake though so you need a seperate system if you want to retain one. I have electric HiSpec ones fitted to mine which work well.
Apart from that I would recommend the Hi-effort brake pedal which improves feel.
You can also fit a bias valve so you can adjust the force going to the rear calipers which helps too.
Jimhcat - Did you fit the Hi-spec calipers? what mounts/fixings were used?You can replace the rear brakes with the 420R race setup which has vented disks and improved calipers. These don't include a handbrake though so you need a seperate system if you want to retain one. I have electric HiSpec ones fitted to mine which work well.
Apart from that I would recommend the Hi-effort brake pedal which improves feel.
You can also fit a bias valve so you can adjust the force going to the rear calipers which helps too.
Regards, DD33
FuzzyLogic said:
Secondly - the Caterham brakes if used on track are prone to getting air in the system. We bleed them several times a weekend when racing. Easy to do but has to be done in the correct sequence.
I’ve heard other people say this. Do you know what causes the air to be sucked in?
people , im dutch and buying at british shops will take weeks because brexit , i buy in my own country or germany . so my front calipers are the caterham 4 pot radial mounted ones and rear i have the so called sierra calipers . im not trying out all kinds of brands normaly so i was thinking i just see if brembo has pads for my calipers and i do with that . anybody know what the indication is for the calipers i got ? i come from bikes , and with bike pads they have a shape base code wich means wich shape the pad has and for wich caliper it is . does this work the same for cars ? and if so , anybody know what the code is for the calipers i got ?
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