Front brake replacement

[McBreadhead]

Firstly after a long absence, I'm back. Been getting muddy with off road shenanigans amongst other things but nice to be back and hope everyone is well.

Secondly and partly the reason for the absence is that, despite many attempts to cure squeaking from the front hubs, the RH front brake eventually seized in a cloud of smoke. No drama, just pulled off the road. 

So I'm going to need new discs, calipers and pads. Caterham charge £250+ a side for just the calipers I think, so probably £650 all in incl pads. 
 

Car is an uprated xflow road car running 165bhp on 14" x 6" rims so considering options:

1) could buy some second hand standard calipers and fit new discs

2) buy new all Caterham at £650+

3) buy new Hi-spec calipers 2pot (or uprated 4pot which only cost £174/side)

4) buy uprated new Caterham kit for £1,100+

I've heard it said the std calipers are good for up to 150bhp so maybe an upgrade beckons. Interested in any experience of similar and what upgrades have impacted rear brake balance.

Thanks in advance.

McB

 

[rob.mcc45]

Hi McB,

Before you start spending a fortune, I recently changed my front pads to Mintex 11440, these were recommended/supplied by Simon Rogers and provided a significant improvement. I have a 420R with the uprated master cylinder but standard discs and calipers, i have DS2500 rear pads.

I was considering upgrading my calipers and discs prior to this change.

Hope this helps, Rob.

 

[SM25T]

Welcome back. I fitted HiSpec Ultralite 4 pot calipers. They weigh 1kg each as opposed to 3kg for std Triumph jobs. Can use the standard 232mm solid discs ... I went for 260mm solid discs.

[Richard Price]

£650 ! ?

https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-GRID005768

Calipers, £61 each

Discs, £12 each

Mintex 1144 pads at around £40

[Toby S]

Thumbs up from me for Mintex 1144 pads

[McBreadhead]

Richard, thanks haven't been able to get through to C7 parts so was extrapolating with what info I had. Those prices sound a lot more reasonable.

Rob, yes the Mintex 1144s would be my pad of choice.   The uprated master cylinder sounds interesting

SM25T, thanks and what would you budget for that Caliper/disc upgrade?

[SM25T]

Did mine a long time ago. Recall the CC big brake upgrade then was £650. Sure the HiSpec package with pretty red calipers, 260mm discs, hoses and brake pads was only around £350 ?

[SM25T]

Give them a call. HiSpec in Dartford .... about 3 miles from us.

[7 wonders of the world]

I run Hispec all round 

4 pots up front and SVA 2 pots on the rear all on frilled 9" disc with AP maser cylinder, pad wise i've tried all the normal options but prefer Ferodo DS3000 all round  

[elie boone]

i have build a 7 with Hi-Spec all round but with vented rotors at the front and 2 pots at the rear as it's a track only car but with a std master cylinder and it's the best ever brake set up with the best pedal feel i had on any 7

[TomB]

Tell us more about the HiSpec rear callipers.  Ive got the 4 pots on the front with Mintex 1144 pads, with standard sierra brakes on the back.  Wondering about saving some unsprung weight at the rear and fitting a HiSpec rear.  How does the handbrake mechanism work, and do the standard CC hoses work?    

[elie boone]

Tom, the Ultralite SVA caliper is a direct replacement for the Sierra caliper, it would be a good time to change from solid lines to flexible brake lines. Hi Spec uses a banjo connection so that is different from OEM. For the handbrake cable it must be possible to modify the caliper lever to accept the OEM cable. http://www.hispeccalipers.co.uk//svaultralite.html

[TomB]

Cheers Elie, so new hoses needed - these could be made up by Think Automotive easily enough. I’ve already got flex hoses, so that unfortunate I guess. The standard handbrake cable have an eyelet hoop on the cable which hooks onto the lever. I wonder if the cable could be attached to the HiSpec calliper with a small nut & bolt through the cable eyelet and lever. 

So are they ‘better’ than the Sierra callipers, aside from a weight saving and looking shiny? 

[SM25T]

HiSpec can make hoses for you. They did for my fronts

[elie boone]

Tom, the Sierra calipers have 1 piston and a lot of moving parts whereas the Hi Spec has 2 pistons with no moving parts that makes a big difference. For the hand brake, other you use a bolt trough the eyelet or open up the hole in the lever like the one on the Sierra caliper.

[EEK]

#9 - 7 Wonders - do you happen to know what piston sizes you have front and back? I have gone 4 pot front, standard disc size, thinking about the back now - but to keep balance reasonable any thoughts you have on rear piston size would be helpful.
Thanks

[7 wonders of the world]

34.6mm on the front and  ISTR 38mm on the rear

[blueyedbiker]

4 pot Hi Spec Ultralites on the front of mine with a fairly irritating clack as the wheel rotates, any solutions?

Ta.

[SM25T]

Not something I have noticed with mine. Have you asked HiSpec ?

[blueyedbiker]

Hmmm, never thought of that, good shout.

[SM25T]

Cant see it being calipers. Something rotational.... disc not central in caliper slot ? Pad backing shim missing ? Disc run out ... grit between it and hub ?

[TomB]

My HiSpec fronts squeal like a stuck pig when coming to a stop, but not noticed a clicking 

[SM25T]

That's no anti-squeak shims behind the pads, or difference in friction material between current pads and coating on discs from previous pads ?

[Nick Berry]

I reconditioned both calipers when one of the pistons stuck. Not too difficult and not expensive to do (although one caliper did need to be split to get a seized piston out). Used some red rubber grease under the dust covers to help combat new corrosion. Changed to Mintex M1144 pads from standard at the same time and new flexible lines as well. I looked at using new replacement calipers too but these lacked the quality of the original Girling ones - at least to look at. Checked for any run-out on the discs after cooking one of them but they were fine. Another narrow escape from that upgraditis path.

[EEK]

#17 - @7 Wonders, many thanks for info