4 pots VS Fiesta calipers??
Turbo Mini Forums

hi

im just wondering what brakes to use on the turbo mini once its all done.
weather i should stay with the 4 pot minispares 7.5" disc calipers or go for the fiesta calipers, or even fork out and get the pukka 7.9" KAD calipers with the good discs etc.

im not sure im going to be confident with the minispares type in the turbo as there not as good as i want now, and thats with my NA 998!!!

so basicly whats the best brakes for 10" wheels? performance wise.
im not planing on using a servo as theres no room and i like the feel with no servo.


cheers
josh

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

Hi,
I can't see any reason why the set up you've got won't be the best, a few people on here use those calipers.
What's the problem with your current setup?
Have you thought about upgrading the pads and discs on your current setup?
I run EBC turbo discs (spots & grooves) and Black Stuff pads. Can't fault them myself.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

Edited by Bat on 31st Mar, 2007.

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Would of thought 4 pots would be better. Aren't fiesta those single pot on a slider jobs?

I use 4 pots and cant fault them. didnt trust them at first, but now im used to runnin without a servo i cant fault them, it is just a different driving style!

iv just got standerd discs ground down to 7.5" at the moment and black stuff pads along with the minispares 4pots,
with know servo and the rear drums adjusted propoly.

they work ok but i would prefer if they were better if you know what i mean.

the driving style i have learned is to not use the brakes much!! lol

would discs make that much of a differnce?

cheers
josh

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

Hi,
I can't vouch the discs would make an improvement on their own as I fitted mine at the same time as some exchange calipers.
Are the pistons free in the calipers, don't know how long you've had them on the car.
Personally I'd stick a servo on, brakes always feel more responsive to me with a servo.
When I get in something servo less it feels like it'll never stop.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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theres no room for a servo! lol
there just over a year old and i dont think the piston in the calipers are stuck.
saying that there is a slight squeeking noise coming from the wheels somwere! although the brakes have felt the same way as they do now since iv had them, i just want more stopping power, you can never have to much i recon! lol
are the KAD ones much better than the minispares ones? anyone used both so can compare the 2?

cheers
josh

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

Hi,
If you want more braking power you'll need bigger brakes and bigger wheels to fit them under.
I can't imagine the KAD would much different unless they've got different sized pistons.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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Basically there are three things you can play with assuming you are stuck with a set size piston (I think Minispares, KAD and the standard Metro 4pots all run the same diameter pistons), accting radius, pad area and pad material.

The main reason I'd never even consider using 10" wheels on a quick Mini is the lack of braking power available, even the 8.4" discs are a bit marginal when your trying to pull up behind a modern car that has just gone into emergency stop with ABS!!

I am not sure what the piston diameter or pad area is with the Fiesta calipers, may be Rob (British Open) does as he runs them, but it is possible they could give you a little more stopping power if in tip top condition and the above points check out in your favour.

As I say 8.4" discs are the minimum for me .... going bigger on my own car .... as large as I can fit behind the rims (which may be bigger than 13")

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

Knowing the difference in pad area between the Mini and Metro pads it looks like the fiesta pads will have a little more area than the metro ones.

Could work well ...... still not been in you car Rob ..... would be interesting to try the brakes some time as then maybe I could stop winding up GMOC members by telling them they need to dump the 10"s

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

So, does area stop our cars? Nah..
Sliding calipers suck. That's sort of the end of the story..

Also. 4.pots 7,5" brakes are more than sufficient on anything roadgoing. That's another fact.

why do sliding calipers suck?
Rob would you say you can brake with confidence?
does the pedal feel good?
are you using a servo?
i would of thought that if theres more serface area than the metro calipers then it would be better at stopping you?

cheers
josh

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

Hi,
I would say more pad area means more friction = more stopping power. However you've gone backwards on leverage by fitting smaller discs, therfore the caliper is closer to the hub and this reduces the braking power as the clamping area has less leverage against the disc. :(
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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The other factor is of course piston size.

At a guess I'd say the single fiesta piston is about the same area as the two pistons on the mini callipers, but I'll measure later in the week and post my findings.

Rob ... leave your winter 12s on ...... wouldn't want to be spotted out and about with wheels that are obviously too small

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

If you have no room for the later servo due to IC pipes then the only way to go is a pedal box or if space is really tight one of these mounted directly on the bulkead

I used Metro 4 pots with no servo just std S m/cyl and they were sh*te. The car just would not stop. By having a servo or altering the bore of the cylinder improves braking feel - efficiency is unaltered and this is not in question anyway.

On 5th Sep, 2011 Vegard said:
I stand corrected. You should know

I've found the same as Scruffy but with the later (and safer) GMC227 tandem master cylinder and some good quality road pads the brakes are really good (until you fit Mintex pads at which point they become crap again!!)

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

Bigger pads mean better wear issue as per our latest clutch discussions. The same applies on brakes.

scruffy is that the KAD box or similar you were telling me about? i may just go down that route.


cheers
josh

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985