Tower view brake upgrade

[CMJ]

I need to upgrade my brakes on a YR2000 5ltr with 16" wheels all round. I fancy Tower View Services larger discs, braided hoses and new pads to front. Are there any other alternatives and can these be bought without fitting so I can get the factory to fit at the next service. I want brakes that will last the distance on a track day such as Oulton Park (fast) but also offer very postive bite as this is what I prefer. NB I also use the car each day.

[pete]

I've got the Tower View upgrade on my Griff 500. They're a marked improvement on the standard 260mm discs; not sure how much of this is just down to decent pads, new discs, braided hoses and new fluid though. Bite is fabulous after the first couple of stops to warm up the pads (and no worse than standard when cold), but if you want *really* sharp feeling brakes, you may be better to splurge on 4 pot calipers as well.

I fitted mine myself, so it's certainly possible to buy them parts only.

Pete

[spend]

If the factory are going to do the work, can't they fit the AP upgrade that they supply with the spider wheel upgrade. AFAIK it only needs 16" front wheels - and at £1400 for the complete kit, I would guess the cost for just the brake kit would be somewhat less.

Dave

[CMJ]

Good point re factory upgrade cost. Anyone got any ideas how much ? Also I am guessing the cost of Towerview upgrade to be about £650 but think this includes fitting. Any ideas ?

[GarryM]

Another uninformed but well meaning post... I don't know what the factory would charge for just the brakes BUT bear in mind the brake/wheel upgrade package was conceived to get rid of a load of surplus 16" spiders. I have had a price (from somewhere else) for the same AP callipers, 285mm discs up front, new discs at the back and new pads all round all for, wait for it, £1200. So with the factory upgrade you get new wheels and tyres for about £200. Good deal (if only I liked the wheels and tyres )

[pvapour]

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=9&t=89819

[jonnyb]

Had this fitted to mine over the winter, it costs about £550 inc vat and that includes the larger disks, pads (front and back), fitting kit, and braided hoses all round.

Its a huge inprovement over the standard disks (once there beded in)

[chimhunter]

Had mine done back in September. Great upgrade and they were completely fade free on the track day I attended in September.

Definitely worth it.

Rob

[victormeldrew]

I had 285mmm discs and four pots fitted at Peninsula, along with braided hoses and DoT5. If bite is what you are after, thats the way to go! Enough bite to lock the fronts at pretty well any speed, but enough feel to make sure you don't. Retardation enough to burst eyeballs. What more can you want?

PS the DoT5 is a personal preference of mine, and not universally recommended; DoT4 performs better, but for my money the Silicone DoT5 which NEVER absorbs water (and thereby degrade) is a better bet in the long term. I'm a lazy git and can't be bothered changing fluid every year!

[k44ent]

I have just ordered (From Tower Racing) a pair of 300mm front discs, fast road pads and 4 pots for the front and a pair of groved discs and fast road pads for the rear. They are due for delivery tomorrow so will hopefully fit them over the weekend. Have also got braided hoses and Castrol DOT 4 fluid. Will post feedback when fitted. The total cost was about £1100.

[greenv8s]

victormeldrew said:

for my money the Silicone DoT5 which NEVER absorbs water (and thereby degrade) is a better bet in the long term. I'm a lazy git and can't be bothered changing fluid every year!

I'm not so sure that is a good thing. You will get the same amount of water in the system regardless of the fluid type you use. The question is, do you want this water to be absorbed by the fluid or do you want to leave it to accumulate? Even severely degraded fluid has a higher boiling point than pure water, and I suspect water pockets will cause more problems with corrosion and seals.

[squirrelz]

Got to say that I thought the reason brake fluid was hygroscopic, was because it needed to be.