Front Brake Replacement FOUND

[Dimitris_GR]

Hi All,<br>I am in the very very pleasent position to announce that I have FOUND and INSTALLED a front brake direct replacement caliper set.<br>It is an OPEL ASTRA GSI caliper that fits perfectly!<br>It is a two-piece slightly bigger 1 pot caliper that has a just a bit bigger piston, but considerably bigger pads that work great. It is a newer technology caliper that NEVER sticks!<br>The performance seems to be improved, making the car dive in braking, and -finally- stop!!!<br>The pedal feeling is great.<br>More on this when I make more fast Kms and after my next track day, but it seems to be the perfect low cost improvement for our brakes!!!<br>So, I am reeeeeeally glad!  ;D ;D ;D

[nitroman]

Me too.  Now how in the hell do I get Opel parts here in the states?????   They left the US market 25 years ago!  Good discovery though.

[ESM]

Now I am confused. I understood the 1990 Vauxhall Astra GTE (GSi ?) caliper fitted on the Elan but I'd heard, from a couple of sources, that the pad stuck out 5mm past the edge of the disc.  <br><br>Could you give us the part details?<br><br>Cheers<br>  Alan

[Sy V]

Dimitris<br><br>This confirms stories I've heard in the past...please enlighten us with the details.<br>He says, trying not to get too excited.<br><br>Nitro...easy.  We'll buy them all up and put them on e-bay at a pre-arranged price.

[chrisP]

Dimitris<br>     How did you get them to fit? along time ago I tried fitting Astra gte calipers to the standard elan disks (Delco calipers) and as Alan said they placed the pad too far out and over hung. The newer ATE type calipers I have not tried as I assumed they would be the same. Have you had larger disks turned down to fit the calipers or something??<br><br>Chris

[Dimitris_GR]

Well, there's not much to say, besides that I'm talking about Opel Astra GSI, not GTE (GTE was an earlier model). There was only one GSI, in mid-90s.<br>It was a perfect fit. The disks were the standard size 10" disks I used to wear.

[ESM]

Top[smiley=banana.gif].

[Sy V]

So do we, this side of the pond, reckon that equates to a 1993 Vauxhall Astra GSI perhaps.<br>2.0ltr 16 valve 150 bhp?<br>

[Sy V]

Dimitris, the internet is awash with GSE calipers...any chance of a part #?

[stevo]

mk2 astra gte, 8v and 16v, 89-92?<br>mk3 astra gsi, 16v, 93 on.<br><br>differant brakes for sure, my mate used to have both.

[Sy V]

http://www.tomstickland.co.uk/astra/mod ... lipers.htm<br><br>Anyone care to have a wee shuftie?<br>

[stevo]

mmmmmmmmmm, cheap (in a homer style). <br><br><br>what about clearance isues on standard 15" wheels?<br><br><br>more poor spelling, stevo.

[ESM]

[quote author=Simon V link=board=suspension;num=1057127333;start=0#10 date=07/02/03 at 05:05:35]http://www.tomstickland.co.uk/astra/mods2/wheels/atecallipers.htm<br><br>Anyone care to have a wee shuftie?<br>[/quote]<br>The trouble is that on his main page he says he warped two pairs of discs in short order with these calipers...

[Elanbloke]

It's interesting that this is consistent with the info I got from classicbrakes, they said the ATE Astra GSI calipers would fit the Elan and they were a much better caliper. This was when I had just handed the money over for my standard re-furbs! On the subject of heat and warping, I have been thinking about trying some additional brake cooling. The idea is to remove the big rubber bungs from the bottom of the front inlets in front of the oil cooler and the charge cooler. Then attach shallow ducts feeding into flexible hose that is cable tied along the ends of the front anti-roll bar finally pointing at the calipers.  Finding a suitable duct is the tricky bit.   Any thoughts?

[Elanbloke]

Sorry he said Astra GTE not GSi -  in case there is a difference!

[Avonvilla]

So are we now saying a "cheap" upgrade kit could be the usual ebc discs and pads ( pads for the gsi calipers thou ) and the Astra gsi calipers ? plus brake lines and fluid etc. Roughly £250 ? How good would this be compared to the hi spec option ?

[rob]

Bloke<br><br>you can get 4" flexable ducting, the sort you get on a bathroom extract fan. This duct is flexi duct so it will bend and even skwish where needed.<br><br> I think it is about the right size IIRC. I would also let the ducting drop below the spoiler to act as a scoop to pull more air across the disc.

[Doug]

Nothing is without consequences . . . <br><br>We would expect the warping is due to the inner pad having better contact and the outer less secondary to the lame sliding mechanism.  The way you plan the cooling it will obviously cool the inner side--but just beware that rotors can be warped from "uneven cooling" as well!!<br>

[Matthew Welsh]

Then how do you explain O.J. Simpson?

[Elanbloke]

Mmm... interesting point Doug, I guess I won't know till I try it - luckily standard discs are fairly cheap!