Brakes

[v6 steve]

as you all know iv got the 3.2 in the cally and i think i need to get bigger brakes ive got std calipers with 308 vented discs, im going to put braded lines on but what else should i get ? i dont want to have to change the wheels or spend to much but iv got to make the beast stop. Any suggestions

[MJ]

you not got the omegas stoppers?

i'd have thought they would be adequate and 5 stud

[tazz666]

you not got the omegas stoppers?

i'd have thought they would be adequate and 5 stud

i dont think there is the clearance with the discs and calipers

[v6 steve]

tryed them but they need machineing to fit

[cornishtaz]

Steve if you go bigger can I have 1st dibs on the 308 set-up if you sell them

[Fraz]

all you need is new 308 discs along with pads...braided hose lines, fresh Brake fliud......more than enough

[kdchorse2]

I presume you have already looked into parachutes and thrust reversers when you were installing the warp drive in the CalLY?

[Johnny A]

why would you need bigger brakes? Its a 3.2 V6 not a blown V8!

This is how much understanding of brakes works:
Most designers build cars to have brakes that can handle stopping the car as quickly as possible in standard form:
Enough energy transfer (from friction to heat) to out-do the level of energy transfer the tires can do - can you lock your front wheels up in the dry?? if you can fitting bigger brakes will do nothing.
Sufficient cooling for X-amount of hard braking
Give the car a perfect front-rear braking bias based on the weight of the car at the front and rear

Most of the time people who think their brakes are crap on a standard or even modded car usually:
Have s**t fluid that has water ingress
Have air in the fluid
Have cheapo pads made of wood
Have cheapo discs
Have not followed correct bedding in procedure - this is a main one
Have fitted really nice alloys that have disrupted the airflow moving over the discs - so they cannot cool down properly

MOST standard brake systems are more than up to the job of a modded car (calibra included).

My senator for example has:
Standard discs (delphi discs)
EBC redstuff pads
Dot 4 fluid changed every year
Standard flexi lines

My senator did 110 miles on a race track a month ago and was out-braking many 'hi performance' cars out on track (skylines, few porsches)

So lets say you went out and bought some really nice Brembo 320mm rotors, alloy bells and large 4 or 6-pot front calipers.

Look nice don't they!

They stop REALLY well too (compared to your original setup which had pads bought from some dodgy autojumble)

If you go too mad what happens is all the brake bias get shifted to the front brakes as they are HUGE, this means the rears do very little at all - reduced efficiency.

Basic idea behind bigger brakes if you maintain the correct bias:
Bigger brakes = can handle more heat transfer

So unless your going to be constantly braking hard from 150mph over and over, or are making a touring car - you simply need to use decent discs, pads and fluid.

If on the other hand you just want to look good you will need to fit big brakes to the rear also or fit a pedal box (more expense).

Don't think I know all this stuff because I am some sorta brainiac - I too years ago bought a second hand set of Hi-spec 6-pot calipers with 330mm bells and rotors for the carlton.

I couldn't understand why they were no better than the old brakes, so I did a lot of research and found all this out.

[MarkV6]

can you lock your front wheels up in the dry??

My first cally ('96 2.0 eco) had Hi-spec 335mm 6pots an kicked the abs off at over triple mph figures with sticky Bridgestone So-2's (circa '00-01) fitted.

Surely on an 'enthusiasts' site a brake upgrade on the front will have an effect on a straightline stop?? As weight transfer does happen...

Most of the time people who think their brakes are crap on a standard or even modded car usually:
Have fluid that has water ingress
Have air in the fluid
Have cheapo pads made of wood
Have cheapo discs
Have not followed correct bedding in procedure - this is a main one
Have fitted really nice alloys that have disrupted the airflow moving over the discs - so they cannot cool down properly

That's a big brush to hit the site with....

[v6 steve]

cheers for that guys think im going to go for new 308mm discs new pads braded lines and new fluid

[Johnny A]

As weight transfer does happen...

and the designers didn't take that into account when building the car? The 16vs had a near perfect 50/50 weight split front to rear, in your world the same sized discs and calipers would have been fitted all round then?

Bloody designers, all monkeys

There is always room for improvement, but IF you can lock up your front wheels with warm tires on a bone dry road your brakes are fine. Maybe upgrade the tires so they can transfer more energy first eh!

I hate having to repeat myself

[MarkV6]

in your world the same sized discs and calipers would have been fitted all round then?

Never said that did I?? Besides that would cause the rear to be 'overbraked' and dangerous.

There is always room for improvement

Which is why people fit brake kits??

IF you can lock up your front wheels with warm tires on a bone dry road your brakes are fine.

Could standard brakes do that over triple mph speeds?? If not then surely the big brake kit is better?

Maybe upgrade the tires so they can transfer more energy first eh!

Which is why I had the S0-2's fitted as they were one of the most 'grippy' tyres on the market at the time. Couldn't have slicks on could I?


My point was that any 'aftermarket' performance brake component should improve on the standard setup.

[Mark1]

Steve my brake kit came with Vectra GSi calipers and it stops alot better.

[Stupink]

Agree with Johnny on this one for road use, on track bigger cooling is worth having..
Assuming you're strong enough in the leg just press the pedel harder... If you don't like pressing them hard then an "upgrade" could make it easier to press.
do the braded lines etc though to help with the "feel", wash the fluid right through. see how you get on.

What tyres you currently have? that's definately the best first place to look to spend.. I run parada spec2 on my scrapheap, good tyre without spending huuuuge ammounts, but you'll still lock them over 100mph with std brakes if you press hard enough.

[Johnny A]

I love the way MarkV6 you have cut up my sentences to make me look stupid.

I am fed up of arguing with you, I have tested and tested and learnt from my own mistakes on what works and what was essentially a waste of money that could have been better spent elsewhere.

I could easily correct you on some of what your saying because some of it is pub talk and some of it is true, but your not going to listen so why bother.