Brake upgrade

[keirv6]

Is there a brake upgrade for a 84 turbo my car has solid discs,is it possible to use vented discs and different calipers?

[Guest teigan]

yes. upgrades are available in the u.k. can't remember how much it was, but i have the same car, and decided i'd wait, and make the car compatible with '85 on brakesets. it'll be cheaper in the longrun. whatever you do, don't change the rears, unless you're made of money. it won't make a nooticable difference.

[lotushiast]

Hello ! I have mounted brakes of a BMW 750i on my car . This are Brembo 4 pot

calipers with a ATE POWER DISC 330x28 mm . But You have to use at least 17 inch Wheels . Years ago i used ALFA ROMEO GTV6 Brembo 2 pot calipers with a Peugeot 405 265mm vented Disc . This fits straight in , but You have to bore new holes for the fixingbolts into the disc and slightly larger centerbore ! This is avery cheap upgrade and for my opinion very effectiv because i used OMP discs grooved and with holes in it . Regards Harald !

[Guest Troy Halliday]

PNM do a brake upgrade kit if you follow the link bellow to my build diary you can see what they look like.

[hilly]

Hi have got a PNM brake kit on my 1981 S3 (in fact the first to use the Hispec calipers) and they are very good.

Price is around

[f1karting]

I developed this kit, which is available, if you are interested.. contact me at f1@horizon.bc.ca if you want more info. Jan

OE 15" wheels fit without modification.

Edited December 3, 2005 by f1karting

[f1karting]

yes.  upgrades are available in the u.k.  can't remember how much it was, but i have the same car, and decided i'd wait, and make the car compatible with '85 on brakesets.  it'll be cheaper in the longrun.  whatever you do, don't change the rears, unless you're made of money.  it won't make a nooticable difference.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The 85-on brakeset is as a waste of time IMO...

The OE rear rotors are crap.. the heat causes the rotor to distort and go cone shaped. They have much room for improvement.

I am presently working on an affordable floating rotor inboard brake set up for the S3.. should have a mock up ready in a few months. It will include a mechanical/hydraulic e-brake system.

[keirv6]

I developed this kit, which is available, if you are interested.. contact me at f1@horizon.bc.ca if you want more info. Jan

OE 15" wheels fit without modification.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow they look great! How much would a set like that cost?

[Guest teigan]

The 85-on brakeset is as a waste of time IMO...

The OE rear rotors are crap.. the heat causes the rotor to distort and go cone shaped. They have much room for improvement.

...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thanks for the warning. i was seriously contemplating coming home with a set in my luggage next year. i'll do more research now. is your kit fully sealed against everyday street muck?

[f1karting]

is your kit fully sealed against everyday street muck?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My car probably wont see much "street muck" so it wasnt a design requirement for me. I believe the pistons can be special ordered as sealed units, but cant be sure. I would have to ask. I cant advise on the long term enviromental effects on the non-weather sealed units. I would say that anyone fitting these should pay more attention to maintenance if used more on a daily basis.

They cost me about $1000USD per side including the machine work for the rotor hats and caliper adapters. They are "bolt on".

For a given brake pedal input, the kit provides about 15-18% more brake force to the front wheels than OE. Which is a close as I could get to balancing the front/rear bias using OE rear brakes. The bias can be adjusted from there, to some degree, by selecting from about 5 of the 15 available pad friction compounds.

I believe that using modern tires, which have higher grip, that under braking, the front weight transfer would a bit higher than using mid 80's tire technology, so figured that additional front brake force would be a benefit.

It is important to maintain the brake force balance of the car, otherwise, even though the big brakes may provide better heat management, they wont result in shorter stopping distances. This is something many people forget when upgrading to "big" brakes. Sure, high grip tires help, but a properly heat managed and balanced brake system along with high grip tires will give optimum results.

Many people also do not realize that with big brakes, there is at a certain point in the sizing, where increased mass and unsprung weight become a factor, adding work load to the suspension and work to the brakes themslves just to control there own rotational inertia.

On this kit the assembly is actually 2.5# lighter per side than '84 OEM but there is likely slightly more rotational inetia to overcome because of the moment of inertia of the vented rotor. That is another reason why we needed to factor in more effective brake force in the design.

[Guest teigan]

i'll have to pass then without a sealed piston. racing brakes don't do well for neighborhood errands. what have you done for your rear brakes?

[f1karting]

you might as well save your time and money then.. you wont be needing these brakes for neighborhood errands..

[Guest teigan]

they do look cool though. seen similar housings before and am still stunned by the structure and mass.