AP Calipers and custom discs on a MK1 with 15" wheels..

[Lauren]

very very nice
how much please say:)
i want a brake upgrade on mine i am just not happy with them at all

If your brakes are working properly they should be more than adequate, particularly so on a stock SC thats being used on the road.

Mine are fine on my SC and it has done a lot of trackwork.

One thing you need to do though is get rid of the dustshields on the rear of your discs as you have aftermarket wheels you need to do this to ensure cool air gets to the discs okay as wider wheels block the air scoop.

[Lauren]

its width mate? about 4ft...or do you want the bar diameter? i think its 14mm but dont quote me on that,i will check both dimensions today for you.

It may be useful to remember that the SC auto has a 14mm rear ARB as stock.

[PW@Woodsport]

It may be useful to remember that the SC auto has a 14mm rear ARB as stock.

.....and then switch to a mk2 turbo rear bar as its actually 20mm diameter not 14mm as i first guessed,checked it today.For vashy the width of the tubby rear bar is 116cm.

[pistol supercharged pete]

is it a straight swap then paul??
cheers

[vashy]

its width mate? about 4ft...or do you want the bar diameter? i think its 14mm but dont quote me on that,i will check both dimensions today for you.

Thanks, sorry yeah I meant diameter. 14mm sounds good, my current one is 12. I want to make my car less understeery. I'm also thinking of trying stiffer rear springs.

John

[vashy]

20mm! I think that could be a bit big..! I think with that on my ickle mk1 it would go sideways around every corner, the inside rear wheel in the air, tripod style!

[PW@Woodsport]

ah i see,well the turbo rear bar is 20mm diameter not 14 as i first thought,was getting my superchargers and tubbys mixed up! it will certainly do wonders for the rear end,a very noticeable drop in roll when i fitted it.

Pete it requires a new mounting position slightly further back on the chassis legs,this is done by cutting a small 1 inch access flap in the side of the chassis leg above the new mounting position,then drill the new holes into the bottom of the leg...put a nut on the inside of the chassis leg via the access hole and spot weld it captively in place,do this for all four mounting bolts.I took the open chassis opportunity to inject vast amounts of waxoyl into the chassis before welding the flap back up.Other than that you use the mounting brackets and rubbers from any mk1 front anti roll bar to fasten it up with,it also bolts straight onto your existing drop links,jobs a guddun.

[Brian_S]

HI Toni,

Looks nice. You should do the rear too IMO though. There's plenty of braking force involved at the back of a mid engine car. You might find that it dives under braking with them on the front.

You can get around the handbrake caliper by using something like the puck caliper from Wilwood. I'm sure AP will have a solution somewhere along the lines.

A friend has just got the ford GrpA setup which sits under 15's, Magnesium wheels too At the back, the handbrake will probably just be dealt with by mounting a wilwood puck caliper, which is solely designed to be a handbrake caliper.

Hope the twin charger engine is coming along now!

[Lauren]

ah i see,well the turbo rear bar is 20mm diameter not 14 as i first thought,was getting my superchargers and tubbys mixed up! it will certainly do wonders for the rear end,a very noticeable drop in roll when i fitted it.

Have to say i'm a bit worried that going to a 20mm arb on the rear might be a bit much on a MK1.

I understand it will reduce roll, but what is it like when you get beyond the grip limit and the car starts to handle. I ask this because i know what Vashy drives like. He does a fair few trackdays and will push his car pretty hard, certainly beyond what you'd do on the road.

I am just concerned that it'll make it very oversteery.

I also think that increasing oversteer to counteract understeer because of the front end is not really the way to do it. The MK1 will always understeer it is simply how the geometry of the suspension is designed to operate so its difficult to counter.

Earlier cars with their slightly different rear geo tend to understeer less and handle sharper as a result.

I think a 16mm rear ARB may be worth trying but 20mm sounds way too much.

[vashy]

...I ask this because i know what Vashy drives like...

LOL!

I'll take that as a compliment (:

[PW@Woodsport]

driven mk1's with all sizes of ARB on the back including a SC that wasnt even fitted with one,the 20mm mk2 turbo equipped ARB cars handled the best out of the lot,ok there are other factors too but the overall improvement due to the tubby roll bar was very noticeable....in my opinion the stock rear bar on a mk1 isnt up to scratch.Every mk1 i build has the rear mk2 turbo ARB fitted,try it for yourself.

[tonigmr2]

HI Toni,

Looks nice. You should do the rear too IMO though. There's plenty of braking force involved at the back of a mid engine car. You might find that it dives under braking with them on the front.

You can get around the handbrake caliper by using something like the puck caliper from Wilwood. I'm sure AP will have a solution somewhere along the lines.

A friend has just got the ford GrpA setup which sits under 15's, Magnesium wheels too At the back, the handbrake will probably just be dealt with by mounting a wilwood puck caliper, which is solely designed to be a handbrake caliper.

Hope the twin charger engine is coming along now!

Unfortunately AP has nothing to offer...like the sound of tubby calipers though.
T

[Brian_S]

How can they have nothing to offer? You buy bell's, rotors and calipers from them, and they certainly sell them!

Making them fit isn't difficult.

[tonigmr2]

What I mean is you can only have a hydraulic handbrake with AP rears - they don't have any mechanical fixes for it. That wouldn't pass an MOT unfortunately.

T

[PW@Woodsport]

just thought id correct myself,rear mk2 turbo anti roll bar is 19mm diam not 20mm.