Front Brake Replacement FOUND

[Sy V]

£616.87 (with combi discs), you could nearly pay for another bl**dy wedding for that!

[Darren]

you could nearly pay for another bl**dy wedding for that!

<br><br>Yea right, the church want £550 and that doesn't include any flowers. <br><br>I think I'll be hard pushed to get any change out of £10,000. <br><br>The more I think about it, the money pit + £2000 to £3000 would more than cover the expense.<br><br>Don't tempt me. [smiley=devil.gif] [smiley=devilman.gif] [smiley=devil.gif]

[John_W]

That is illogical.  <br><br>Equation as  understand it is:<br>Wedding = Elan + £3000<br><br>re-arrange variables to demonstrate that <br>Elan + no wedding = 2xElans + £3000<br><br>QED.<br><br>John<br><br><br> [smiley=biggrinjester.gif]

[DeeAitch]

ElanScanMan, did you check Regal Autosport www.regal-shop.co.uk? They list big brake conversions for Astra which have 280 mm disks - £300 inc Astra V6 calipers - these should have 41 mm offset. Maybe they will sell disks seperatly. Also worth checking Clio disk thickness, Elan / Astra should be 24mm I think.<br>Did scrappy disks come with mounting brackets at £45?

[ESM]

Dave,<br><br>The Clio disc is the closest to a matching standard disc out there with a radius above 256mm (it is 24mm thick). Using a couple of 3mm washers to match the disc offset is no problem and will increase the caliper clearance from the inside of the wheel. The bloke at Sejoc agrees its the best choice of base disc. By the way I was referred to Sejoc by EBC, Sejoc are their biggest UK distributor.<br><br>Regal sell standard sized 256mm drilled/grooved discs at £120. A 266mm disc set derived from Regal discs would certainly end up more expensive since you're starting with custom discs and customising them more. In addition the disc offset won't neccesarily be 41mm, it could be offset by the thickness of the caliper mounting bracket to improve wheel clearance. <br><br>That's what I thought anyway.<br><br>Cheers<br>  Alan<br><br>PS The scrappy calipers came complete - including the carrier.

[rob]

Nice one Sy, but what the hell are combi discs?  ???<br><br>Did you order the lines and pads too?

[DeeAitch]

Alan,<br>According to Needforspeed.co.uk the Clio disk - even for the Williams - is Dia 259, thickness 21 (1.6 is 20 - strange), offset 41. I know this info is sometimes inaccurate e.g one site lists Astra as being 5 stud! but worth double checking before parting with your hard earned. Out of interest I see Regal are listing a budget Astra V6 conversion at £245 but I guess this does not include the mounting brackets. Fancy splitting the cost of a V6 caliper and seeing if it fits your brackets?

[Sy V]

Cheers Rob, pads (EBC GS) ordered (from Volvo 240 and Aston Martin something or other!).<br>Braids coming from SJS with dampers when I decide which ones to opt for.<br><br>Combi discs are the drilled and grooved (40 spondoolics more).  

[ESM]

[quote author=Dave link=board=suspension;num=1057127333;start=45#46 date=08/12/03 at 11:34:58]Alan,<br>According to Needforspeed.co.uk the Clio disk - even for the Williams - is Dia 259, thickness 21 (1.6 is 20 - strange), offset 41. I know this info is sometimes inaccurate e.g one site lists Astra as being 5 stud! but worth double checking before parting with your hard earned. [/quote]<br>I pretty much sussed out the closest discs myself -  Sejoc agreed the Clio came closest. Here's my disc list:<br><br>ASTRA 2.0i & GTE V 87-91:  256 24 21 41 60 4 <br>CORRADO 1.8 G60 V 88-95:  280 22 20 39 65 4 <br>CLIO 2 (98 MODEL) 2.0 16V SPORT  280 24 22 44 61 4 <br>CALIBRA 2.0i TURBO 16V 4WD & 2.5 V6 V 92->  284 24 21 41 70 5 <br>S40, V40 (ALL MODELS) (280MM DISCS) & 1.9 T4 V 97->  280 24 22 45 69 4 <br><br>see http://www.exford.co.uk/Brakeworld/Appguide/Webframe.htm for a nice source of disc/pad dimensions.<br><br>

<br>Out of interest I see Regal are listing a budget Astra V6 conversion at £245 but I guess this does not include the mounting brackets. Fancy splitting the cost of a V6 caliper and seeing if it fits your brackets?

<br>The V6 calipers will probably bolt right on.  The problem will be you will still need a non-standard disc size to run them (294mm if the pattern continues). It probably wouln't fit in my 15" wheels apart from anything else. I reckon the 16v ATE caliper is about the size of caliper I want, put on much bigger discs & pots and you'll have to start worrying about front lock-up being too easy!  ::) <br><br>Cheers<br>Alan

[Philbo]

[quote author=ElanScanMan link=board=suspension;num=1057127333;start=45#48 date=08/12/03 at 23:29:05]<br>The V6 calipers will probably bolt right on.  The problem will be you will still need a non-standard disc size to run them (294mm if the pattern continues). It probably wouln't fit in my 15" wheels apart from anything else. I reckon the 16v ATE caliper is about the size of caliper I want, put on much bigger discs & pots and you'll have to start worrying about front lock-up being too easy!  ::) <br><br>Cheers<br>Alan[/quote]<br><br>Hi Alan<br><br>The HiSpec calipers are pretty darned compact and the maximum size of disc that can be installed with those on a 15" wheel is 285mm, and there is so little clearance it's hard to believe the wheels don't foul the caliper...<br><br>So overall I think a 294mm disc is out of the question.<br><br>If you're prepared to fit the things yourself the HiSpec gear really isn't all that expensive for something that is known to fit and work - if they can be persuaded to actually deliver something <br>

[ESM]

Philbo,<br><br>I was seriously tempted by the Hi-Spec offering but they don't respond to my e.mails >:( and, as you say, have a bad reputation for lead-time... Anyway, I don't race or go on track days - fade just isn't a problem for me - so I don't really need big discs. All I really need are reliable calipers and the ATE 16v calipers are that... It won't take too much of a dump on my insurance premium either. <br><br>I still might upgrade to Hi-Spec at a later date - once I stop scaring myself to death with an unmodified car .<br><br>Alan.<br><br>PS All you guys buying Hi-Spec brakes at the moment should get together and put in a single order. You could probably get a discount and the larger cash 'carrot' might induce them to work faster!

[DeeAitch]

Yes, it would be nice if Hi-spec were to acknowledge our existance. Anyone know the secret of getting response from them?<br>Alan, Do you know the piston Dia in the ATE calipers? Also when do you plan a trial fit. If possible I would like to pop down and have a butchers if it is conveniant.<br>

[ESM]

Dave,<br><br>My, very accurate, tape measure says the pots are 52mm diameter - this agrees with what Gregor heard from ATE above. <br><br>I was planning on getting Chris Foulds to put on the calipers when I was getting my front shocks replaced - that'll happen when he can get some bushes for them (another item on back-order at Lotus). I don't do critical repairs because I have no garage and only one car ::). I'll take some pictures of the calipers and the installation (should it work). <br><br>Alan.

[Sy V]

Yes, it would be nice if Hi-spec were to acknowledge our existance.

<br><br>I don't know what you're like with technology Dave, but why don't you give the telephone a try.  

[DeeAitch]

Sy,<br>Are they still Bakerlite? I'll nip out and get one this weekend!

[DeeAitch]

Thanks Alan, look forward to seeing it work. If you are waiting for the lower bush that connects to the bottom wishbone you are in for a long wait, Bell & Colvill told me they had been waiting 2 years! Best salvage the old ones.

[Dimitris_GR]

Hi guys.<br>I just got back from a two weeks vacation time.<br>Please take some time to download the EBC pad catalogue <br>http://www.ebcbrakesuk.com/Assets/2004pad&shoe.pdf<br>It includes all the pads EBC makes. If you search for "Astra", you'll find the pads for Opel Astra models 91-98 AND the Calibra 16V are both the type "760". The Calibra Turbo's type is the "976", which is wider (9mm) because it comes with wider disks. This explains (maybe) the disagreement on how the pad sits on the Elan's disk. I double-checked my brakes and both calipers and pads fit perfectly on the disks.<br>The only thing that I still dislike is the tiring phenomena that appear when breaking hard several times, but I am sure that the pads I am wearing are inferior quality and are held mostly responsible for the problem.<br>Awaiting for September so everyone come back from holiday...

[Peter]

Thanks Dimitris your the man just down loaded it myself a quick browse and its unlocked a couple of mysteries on other cars Ive had.<br><br>Cheers

[westonben]

I'm sorry, I'm a little confused  :-[<br><br>Why do Dimitris' calipers fit as a direct replacement, others don't seem to think it's the case?<br><br> ???

[ESM]

Dimitris says his fit and I don't doubt him. As to why other attempts with 16v calipers have resulted in pad overlaps, I don't understand either  ??? I guess either his calipers are a little different to those previously tried or his pads are. One century I'll get round to trying my Cav. 16v calipers and I'll let you if it works for me.