Rear Calipers.. a superioR solution..

[Jamie N]

Well it had to happen, out with the notoriously poor OEM rear calipers and in
with a (fairly) modern pair of Honda Type R rears.

Again not a straight fit, in fact a hundred miles from a straight fit!, and requiring
so much thought and working stuff out I am not even going to do a 'how to', so
why bother showing us them you ask!, well this shows that provided you have the will,
some access to tools and machinery, and the determination, you can replace the rear
calipers without having to spend several hundred pounds, because during the research
I did with these I actually found a few others that would also work without a doubt.

But I really wanted these ones as I was always so impressed with the calipers on
my own Honda, I knew if I could work out a way of fitting them I would probably
have the best handbrake any Elan could ever have, well I wasn't wrong, after fitting
and final bleeding / then setting up the cable adjustment I started the car, into 1st
gear and lifted the clutch slowly.... the back end just squatted right down and not
even a creak from the discs, held completely solid and that was without even bedding in the
Pagid pads.

After taking it a good run I parked it on the steepest incline I could find, even after
jumping up and down in the seat like a demented escapee it wouldn't move.

Next job.... the fronts .

[Rambo]

Well done Jamie

Another 1st from the depths o' Fifeshire

[clemo]

indeed the lotus honda M100 is born

[Steve A]

clever sod (again)

[Jamie N]

Quick update on the Type R caliper conversion.... My relative with the silver Elan had an MOT 2 weeks ago and failed on the handbrake
efficiency (shock horror!), so I decided to do the conversion on that as well, and the modern handbrake mechanism.

Along with H/B efficiency it also had a slight imbalance on the front service brakes which was a result of a sticky slider, remedied that
and done a full brake fluid change with the ever faithful clear piece of washer jet hose plugged with a screw in the bottom and a
10mm slit just above it, was actually surprised how good the footbrake was after that, with the engine running the pedal feel was
excellent, no sinking or sponginess and a good sharp bite, probably even better than McWhitey .

Caliper and handbrake conversions done and off it went for an MOT yesterday morning, parking brake locked on both rollers and recorded
25% (minimum 16), and that was without the setup even being bedded in properly as the MOT had expired and I couldn't take it for
a good run, Tester was made aware of the conversion and had a good inspection of it with a subsequent nod of approval, and more
importantly...a new MOT, happy days .

[clemo]

good to hear .

[Jamie N]

Another update on the Type R rear caliper upgrade, fitted a set to the S2 this last weekend, I had forgotten just how good these are, as with the sets I fitted
last year it was apparent straight away, without even bedding in the pads the grip was phenomenal, I suppose when you look at the scenario.... Man
swaps 1980's badly designed and antiquated brakes for modern and superbly designed Honda Type R brakes.... it was never going to be anything less .

Actually made a slightly different setup for the handbrake support bracket and lever which makes the overall job a bit easier, its still a fairly involved
process but for anyone that is reasonably competent mechanically its all fairly basic stuff, so for all the new members and others who might be
having brake issues I thought it was worth posting up, if you have the ability to fit these you will probably have the best gripping handbrake / parking brake
possible on an M100, on this one,4 clicks of the handbrake see's it going from fully released to fully locked up.

These calipers will last a lifetime if looked after, the sliders don't have rubber rings on them (which swell up on the originals and jam them), they are
slimmer pins which are inserted into the carrier with the proper Honda grease and ingress of water is prevented by a rubber boot, provided you grease
them up once a year and keep everything clean they will last many years trouble free, exceptionally easy to service and change pads, no pins going
through the pads either, the springs are at the top and bottom of the pad, which just pops in place with ease. The pads are also wider than the originals,
they are actually a perfect fit for the width of the disc braking surface, the original pads are about 6mm short of the inner edge.

The main thing you need to fabricate to fit them is a 6mm thick flat bracket based on the shape of the bracket that is removed from the hub, drilled
to take the new carrier bolt spacing, if you can do that and get the carrier mounted on the hub with the disc centralised in the carrier then the job
is certain to succeed, the rest is easy enough, nuts and bolts. .

[NewLogik]

Another update on the Type R rear caliper upgrade, fitted a set to the S2 this last weekend, I had forgotten just how good these are, as with the sets I fitted
last year it was apparent straight away, without even bedding in the pads the grip was phenomenal, I suppose when you look at the scenario.... Man
swaps 1980's badly designed and antiquated brakes for modern and superbly designed Honda Type R brakes.... it was never going to be anything less .

Actually made a slightly different setup for the handbrake support bracket and lever which makes the overall job a bit easier, its still a fairly involved
process but for anyone that is reasonably competent mechanically its all fairly basic stuff, so for all the new members and others who might be
having brake issues I thought it was worth posting up, if you have the ability to fit these you will probably have the best gripping handbrake / parking brake
possible on an M100, on this one,4 clicks of the handbrake see's it going from fully released to fully locked up.

These calipers will last a lifetime if looked after, the sliders don't have rubber rings on them (which swell up on the originals and jam them), they are
slimmer pins which are inserted into the carrier with the proper Honda grease and ingress of water is prevented by a rubber boot, provided you grease
them up once a year and keep everything clean they will last many years trouble free, exceptionally easy to service and change pads, no pins going
through the pads either, the springs are at the top and bottom of the pad, which just pops in place with ease. The pads are also wider than the originals,
they are actually a perfect fit for the width of the disc braking surface, the original pads are about 6mm short of the inner edge.

The main thing you need to fabricate to fit them is a 6mm thick flat bracket based on the shape of the bracket that is removed from the hub, drilled
to take the new carrier bolt spacing, if you can do that and get the carrier mounted on the hub with the disc centralised in the carrier then the job
is certain to succeed, the rest is easy enough, nuts and bolts. .

Thank you for sharing, it's really interesting. Do you have any more photos of the setup and how it's fitted ?

[par]

They need a custom spacer to fit on the Elan.

This is a great set up. If I didnt already have PNM brakes on the rear I would definitely be pestering Jamie to put a kit together for me

Having had plenty of Honda's in the past their calipers are just so reliable and unbelievable easy to fit work on, under 15 minutes to change pads on both sides is easily achievable with the longest part being the time taken to jack up and remove wheels!

[Tuga2112]

Jamie,

im assuming we are talking about a civic type R
which years made the type of caliper your using ?

[Patton]

Hi Jamie , my car has just failed on the hand brake , the calipers have already been refurbished to get through the last mot so I don't fancy throwing more money at them , if I ask nicely could you put together a kit for me please or if not do you have a diagram of the adapter plate and which model/year Honda the cailpers came off and will try to have a go my self
Many Thanks Paul

[Chrisbdart16]

Hi,
I’ve not used the LEC site before but hopefully I am on the forum subject of the Honda upgrade. I have my spacers and am fine with making the adaptor plate. The whole thing confused me a little as I started out with ep3 brakes not those from the fn2 (ep3 you can’t move the caliper close enough to the centre to get the pads over the disc... I digress)

With the correct brakes I am wondering how you (Jamie or anyone else that has successfully managed the conversion) made the handbrake bracket fit.
Mine doesn’t fit because of the bottom of the rear of the hub. Dodd you bend it change it??? And then using the same handbrake cable you would have had to change the connector at the rear too. Weld some other form of attachment to the caliper.

I now have brakes that are going to work all the fronts are rebuilt (even I could manage that) but just need to work out the handbrake. Any help so much appreciated...

[Chrisbdart16]

Hi I tried to post on this thread already. Can anyone tell me what they did to make the handbrake assembly fit behind the hub please. My number is 07525642521 any help greatly appreciated.