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Brake Upgrade, Best Used 4 Pot Solution


uk89camaro

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Although they are sized to work with the standard MC, some prefer the AP Master cylinder with these.

When i had these i couldn't get them to work with a standard master cylinder, they worked well with the AP one though.

I am with gadgetman on the AP supplied pads they need a bit of heat in them to make them work really well, but when they have ............ eye bulging good

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True,fit the AP mc in addition with the AP brake kit, and made some difference,but like said above,the do need more heat to operate right,

next week getting a mintex set to be used for short sprints,as the feedback from the club members is really good!

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Just to avoid confusion, as it's on the other page and now looks a little out of context! The quote above about some people preferring the AP master cylinder with "these", is referring to use with the Hi Spec/CAT/Westfield lightweight 4 pot callipers.

For those with the Westfield AP 4 pot callipers, I'd only use it with the AP master cylinder, unless changing to a twin MC plus balance bar set up.

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Go to dot 5 fluid, really good braided lines and try mintex pads, then change the calipers if you have to. I did not like the green stuf pads, found the mintex better for feel, but others will disagree. That said the Ferodo Ds were good as well....for me, so try a few to find what works for your style.

The ultralight and other direct replacements are in terms of spacings and fitting, but require more fluid for the same pressure due to the sizes of the pistons. as a result you might find that your pedel feels initially longer dead travel then more solid. To some this is fine as the solid reasuance is enought....others find the dead travel unnerving.....the bigger MC fills the dead peddle bit to give you reasurance. However if you can lock the brakes with the M16's you do not need better brakes as they can already overpower the grip available so perhaps better tyres/suspension/Geo setup/ARB would be the move for you?

Also when very light the alloy housing will flex and this will give a really odd braking feel when really on a hot blat. Sometimes the slightly heavier and stronger calipers are the better ones. IMHO these ultralights are right on the boarded for a typical westfield. I think they are rated for 700Kg cars and while everyones thinks there westy is 580Kgs or similar....it will be very close or more to 700kgs full of fluid and 2 up.

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I've got Wilwood Powerlites (I think they're actually rated at 750kg). I haven't done any track days but they're fine for road use. Standard master cylinder and drums on the back. My car weighs 560kg with half a tank of fuel, all the other fluids, jack etc etc. Then add another 90 for me.

I changed the m16s as one was sticking and it when I took it off I was staggered by the weight even compared to normal tin top calipers.

The wilwoods are something like 2.7kg a side lighter.

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I have Outlaw M16 calipers with DS3000 pads. I previously had HiSpec but didn't get on with them - one blew a seal. The Outlaws have been good - no problems. The DS3000 are really aggressive pads and are not really recomended for road use - but I do use them - remembering that if they're cold you need to hit it a bit harder than when they're warm.

Matt also had good results with the Compbrake M16 calipers.

One thing to note is that I had a lot of flex in my pedal box area which we beefed up with some extra bracing. It made a huge difference to my braking and my confidence in my brakes. What I thought were spongy brakes actually turned out to be a 'structural' issue so this is always worth a look.

All that said if you can lock the fronts then the calipers are not the limiting factor!

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Go to dot 5 fluid,

Careful... DOT5 fluid is silicon based and WILL NOT MIX with "normal" brake fluid.

Normal fluids are DOT3, DOT4 and DOT5.1. For a road car DOT 4 will be fine. I've had DOT4 in my car for the whole of it's life. I bleed the system every couple of years and the brakes are just fine.

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Yeh, don't use Dot 5, you'll die! Dot 4 is completely adequate for track cars as long as it is a good un.

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Dot 5.1 is for ABS braking systems!

Dot 4 is all you need

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If the pedal is soft I would be giving the rears a good dose of looking at first .

check for air in the calipers ?

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