Custom big brakes

raptoranderson

raptoranderson

If I was to simply buy some drilled and slotted brake discs and put them on the front wheels, would I be able to complete the upgrade simply by buying a set of brake calipers that are bigger than the stock calipers and fit them provided they fitted inside the wheel hub when driving, or would I also need to line up the two brackets that hold the stock calipers in place with the new calipers? Buying a set of stock brakes from another Nissan that are bigger than the current ones is far less expensive than going out and buying a set of custom big brakes.

Also, what the heck do you do about the ABS for rallying and racing? Every time I stomp the brake the ABS kicks in and weakens the braking so I stop over a longer distance. I know it's essential for daily drivers, but this is also a rally project car.
 
Remove fuse for abs pump ;)
I prefer everything mechanical when going at a pace

As long as the calipers fit then you'll be fine :)
I used a 5mm plate with holes drilled to suit on the new caliper. Works just fine :)
 
I just prefer something else stopping the car for me hahaha

And thats exactly what i was thinking ... and would you being using Nissan calipers or could you use any calipers? And do you know of any stock calipers that are particularly large of the top of your head?
 
Any calipers that accept the ? M10 size hoses :)

Not sharing my new brake secrets just yet though :p

Alot of people use GTi-R brakes. I personally waded away from Nissan to get mine :)
But any brakes off a larger more powerful car will do.

Manufacturer brake sizes are based on weight mainly. So heavier cars generally have bigger brakes. Bigger engines means go faster = stop faster. So bigger brakes still
 
I agree with Andy about disabling the ABS during intense applications such as on circuits.

My K11 has GTIR front brakes, rear discs, ABS, occasional circuit track days and when you're braking hard near the limit at the end of a straight before corner entry, the last thing you need is some trigger-happy ABS actuator stabbing away very prematurely at any single wheel it see's about to lock up while also sending warning shock waves through the drivers feet like the pedal's about to bite it.

the modulated braking of each single wheel really offsets the braking forces around the cars C of G and upsets the cars braking stability as the light rear end just darts about all over and I have to correct the steering slightly.
this instability and juddering brake pedal made me more hesitant and insecure about trusting the cars behavior so the next corner I had to brake abit earlier and lighter = slower.

when I disabled the ABS, it was like night & day.
I could press the pedal as hard as I can to fully unleash the pulsar brakes and it would just tear my face off :)
by being able to brake full force and uninterrupted, I can trust that the brakes will perform the same each time and so I can brake harder and later = faster.
when I brake too hard beyond any of the tyres traction and begin to lock up, I can feel the very slight loss of braking (even though it's still deforming my face) and can especially hear the tyre skidding, at which point I quickly release and reapply the brakes but the overall braking force is still near 100% and stable.
 
early nissan abs was crap tho surely ? my guess would be that the k12 abs is more sophisticated system and will outbrake a non-abs car ?
 
raptoranderson said:
I just prefer something else stopping the car for me hahaha

And thats exactly what i was thinking ... and would you being using Nissan calipers or could you use any calipers? And do you know of any stock calipers that are particularly large of the top of your head?
Click to expand...
Do nissan not do an upgrade kit? find out the models? find the usual fitment on the nissan line
 
ABS is still an interfering gadget. As Paul said knocking confidence in the driver. No modern cars on the track still carry their ABS units which tells you something :)
 
ABS on the K12 is very very interfering. Driving down one of the backroads at x speed through one of the local rally stages I happened across a couple in a VW coming the other way and stomped the brakes from 45 mph. The ABS kicked-in and the 100m distance between us just got eaten up till i was about 6 feet from their front bumper. The look of shock on their face seeing a Micra flying towards them was priceless :p but still, it was intrusive enough to nearly double the braking distance and all i did was firmly apply the brakes .... more harm than help if you ask me.

And what sort of size difference woukd you get for brake pads and braking surface area with a set of GTi-R brakes? At current the pads are only 80mm x 40mm ....
 
Don't forget to add distance from the centre. As it'll apply more force being further away

The old stop the door from the hinge vs stopping it from the handle description
 
Yeah exactly ... well the slotted and drilled discs are 260mm diameter and the stock pulsar discs are 253mm diameter, so the calipers should sit pretty well on the new discs. Is it then a just case of machining the brackets so they reach the brackets on the suspension strut? And i notice these brakes are only one piston .... do more pistons just mean the force is more evenly applied over the pads or also mean more braking force?
 
raptoranderson said:
Yeah exactly ... well the slotted and drilled discs are 260mm diameter and the stock pulsar discs are 253mm diameter, so the calipers should sit pretty well on the new discs. Is it then a just case of machining the brackets so they reach the brackets on the suspension strut? And i notice these brakes are only one piston .... do more pistons just mean the force is more evenly applied over the pads or also mean more braking force?
Click to expand...
the chances of the nissan caliper bolt pattern and bell offset being correct on a renault designed platform are very slim o_O
 
Frank has a point. Are there any clio brake upgrades you can use?

More pistons even out brake pressure over the pad which equates to better braking :)
 
They look pretty similar when compared side by side (micra 1st pic and pulsar 2nd pic ) ..... but ill have a look for bigger clio brakes. And a new set of big brakes is some £400 from Ceika or a similar supplier so ..... brakes 1.jpg brakes 4.jpg
 
I think someone had a similar query a while ago.
I suggested the calipers off a clio Renaultsport edition (2003-2006 version) the 2.0 (182) sprang to mind.
...but I don't remember if they checked out :(

Good luck
 
The primera calipers are only specified as being P11 so I guess the same calipers fit the original and facelifted model .... they look to be about the same bracket placement and hose line placements as the K12 calipers :)

The clio renaultsport just doesnt have any brackets actually on the calipers ... thats not to say we couldnt weld some on :) however im not sure there would be much of a size or power difference between the calipers of two hatchbacks :confused:
 
The first two are the primera P11 brakes, the second two are the clio renaultsport
 

Attachments

  • brakes 5.jpg
    brakes 5.jpg
    6.8 KB · Views: 403
  • brakes 6.jpg
    brakes 6.jpg
    6.6 KB · Views: 408
  • brakes 7.jpg
    brakes 7.jpg
    6.6 KB · Views: 451
  • brakes 8.JPG
    brakes 8.JPG
    47.4 KB · Views: 521
And in reply to your post, Frank, the discs are said to be designed for a Micra K12 ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140744664452 ) but once ive got a pair of calipers sorted-out then I'll email the seller and ask him for caliper measurements to compare them to the measurements ive got for the stock disc bell :) failing that, i shall order the discs anyways and then exercise the returns policy if need be :p
 
raptoranderson said:
And in reply to your post, Frank, the discs are said to be designed for a Micra K12 ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140744664452 ) but once ive got a pair of calipers sorted-out then I'll email the seller and ask him for caliper measurements to compare them to the measurements ive got for the stock disc bell :) failing that, i shall order the discs anyways and then exercise the returns policy if need be :p
Click to expand...
that bell offset/disc height and disc thickness is quite different to the ad22v measurements mate, i would take jen,s advice and fit some bigger clio brakes personally
 
Comparing a set of discs for a Clio:

( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RENAULT-C...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item20c502ffea )

To a pair of discs from a Micra:

( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eicher-Fr...lat_Gen:K12|Model:Micra+C&hash=item4d0112d83e )

The dimensions are about the same except that the aftermarket discs are 20.5mm thick rather than the stock 22.0mm, the aftermarket height is 41mm rather than the stock 44mm and the minimum thickness is 17.7mm on the aftermarket rather than 19.8mm on the stock. But surely that'd mean you just had a few inklings of room on the actual hub itself, wouldnt it? Which is better than having the brake disc overhanging the hub and dangling about without being tightly in place ...
 
if you want to fit a parts-bin brake setup, you,re best to find a caliper with the correct bolt pattern for the hub first (and the dia/distance you want, ie, 260mm dia)
and then source a disc with the right offset that will sit in the middle of that caliper
its far easier to simply fit the brakes that were designed for the B platform chassis
 
Those are stock discs though, right? The stock discs for the K12 are 180mm and the new discs im looking at are 260mm so more room perhaps .... ill compare disc sizes
 
Ive just had another look and if i was to upgrade the brake discs the calipers wouldn't fit inside the current 15" rims :mad: so im either going to need bigger rims, which im already looking into, or a very clever compromise .... o_O
 
What pads are you using? Assuming the discs are vented as is, you might be good with just sports pads like EBC Greenstuff...
 
Just stock pads for the time being, but i had a set of Brembo pads lined up to buy for the new calipers. They are vented, so would you say that was the better option rather than trying to buy new wheels and everything?
 
raptoranderson said:
Just stock pads for the time being, but i had a set of Brembo pads lined up to buy for the new calipers. They are vented, so would you say that was the better option rather than trying to buy new wheels and everything?
Click to expand...
I'd say try performance pads and disabled ABS before you drop a hefty sum on new brakes, £40-50 pads vs. £800+ brakes kit... worth £50 to potentially save £750?
If they barely fit in 15" rims they are probably close to 257mm anyway, in which case they should be reasonably sized for your car I would imagine as the K12 isn't THAT heavy :)
 

Similar threads

09jools
front brakes
Replies
4
Views
1K
raptoranderson
raptoranderson
euros_tc
Big brakes
Replies
1
Views
594
vexorg
V
H
Brakes Snatching
Replies
0
Views
657
Homebird
H
Stani1029
big brakes
Replies
8
Views
1K
Stani1029
Stani1029
NeX
custom dials
2
Replies
94
Views
12K
Jimmywiththewhitemicra
Jimmywiththewhitemicra
Back
Top