BIG MAMMA BRAKES

[AshleyO]

OK, so Dax Rush
Ford Sierra Sapphire base
Range Rover 3.9 V8 and SDI gearbox
Brakes are totally capable of slowing this beast down, but stopping in a "sheep on road" emergency or sharp corner, I'm not so sure
Looking to upgrade brakes. Callipers, pads, whatever else. Gold-dust fluid if needs be
Mmm, yellow callipers also on the dream list, to match the nosecone
Anyone any experiences or tips?

[greenwoo]

guess the starting point is do they work 'at all'....if you give the pedal a massive shove do they work?
often the master cylinder is a mismatch to the system due to being designed to work with servo, if that's the case with yours swapping it for a smaller bore would be a cheap/easy try out.
maybe changing the pivot point of the pedal would/could also help
better pads?
then beyond that you're into calipers/discs etc but unless you just go for some uprated ford stuff then its going to be pricey....

[b33fy]

As Mark says, maybe look at optimising what you have in the first instance. It may be worth listing the current brake setup in case there is an obvious issue or upgrade that others have done or sorted.

If you think an upgrade is needed then look at some of the proven conversion kits out there rather than a bespoke solution, such as ones from HiSpec or Wilwood. I went totally bespoke on mine with some six pots on the front and am still messing about with them to get them how I think they should be. Like yours, they work but need a big push to haul up the car. Looking at changing the pads and possibly pedal box to improve the pedal ratio. If that doesn't work then a servo. It doesn't help that I have huge brakes on the daily driver that are over assisted, making comparisons is the natural thing to do, though its like comparing apples to oranges.

[Fury1630]

^What they said^

But if that's all good, I swapped the Sierra front brakes for a Wilwood conversion kit, there was a deal on, they were £300 or so inc. pads.

1/ they were noticeably better in spite of going from vented to solid discs.

2/ it lost 10kg of unsprung mass from the front.

I have the Fisher supplied master cylinder which is common to Caterham & Westfield.

[steve m]

I had similar problems when I built my 7,
My brakes were ok, but you had to stand on the peddle with my bum forced into the seat, the brakes would work, but not really effective

firstly, I drilled a new hole in the brake peddle 15mm closer to the fulcrum point, this gave me better braking due more leverage, 20% approx. better feel
secondly I was donated, a pair of princess 4 pot HEAVY calipers much better, 15% approx. better feel
thirdly, green stuff pads, another 10% approx. benefit

Now the brakes work very well, infact to well, but also we have to take into consideration, that we all drive big tin tops around all day and week, with servo assisted brakes, yet out toy cars are no where near the same, so an allowance has to be made
mine is always when I harness up, as I cant move, yet in the tin top I can

steve