Upgrade breaks

[tomsbad6]

I thought I would try something new I like my old breaks for me they work just fine I've used the Toyota truck calipers front and Nissan 300z discs on rear for about 12 years my stepson was visiting from Florida this summer he drove the car for a week he races crotch rockets in Florida he thought my car was faster than his Honda CBR 1200 but he thought the brakes high speed were frightening I think he's just used to motorcycles but anyway I thought I would lose a few pounds and will see if the brakes work better they breaks worked good from about 70 miles an hour and down the fronts were little iffy up over 140 miles an hour at those speeds it seemed to be rear brake heavy but not going slower I put my car on a diet this winter the brake conversion dropped 15 pounds in unsprung weight I cut 28 pounds in unnecessary frame crap in the front and move the sway bar up so it cannot hit the ground. This is what I used afco 11 75 x 8 10 drilled vented rotors the catalog said they were 7 1/2 pounds when I weighed them they were only 6 pounds I went with Mazda RX7 calipers for small pistons and very lightweight less than half the weight of Toyota truck calipers I had to build a hat to fit them on TR six hubs it was very simple I don't normally take pictures while I work but I thought some of you folks might enjoy the photos I have not test  the car yet it was only 6° here this morning I figure I'm going to have to get better rotors for the rear of my car now time will tell will see how it balances. As you look at the pictures you'll see I did machine work on the triumph hubs they were turned on the bearing races with bearings in them so I know they are now straight old triumph hubs are never straight I don't know if it's how they were made or whether they're old and just wore out I do know to make them straight you must turn them rotating on their own bearings anyway here are some photos tell me what you think PS total cost was about exactly 200 bucks

[tomsbad6]

more photo

[tomsbad6]

[mgb260]

Tom,Looks good! That's the kind of How To article we love on this site!

[tomsbad6]

Hello it's me Tom we hit 37° today a little cold but I still got to go for a test drive the brakes worked really well since I do not run power brakes you used to have to push little bit the new brakes feel just like power brakes it was too cold to drive it too fast I did get hundred everything seem very smooth I jumped on the brakes very hard from 70 to o and the car stopped straight and smooth it seems now like I could use a little bit more rear brake I don't think it's a big deal for they are certainly the best brakes the car has ever had my rear brakes are Nissan 300ZX Turbo Sumitomo 2 piston calipers I'm thinking maybe I could try drilled and slotted rotors on the rear what I do not know is what pads I could try on the rear that would bite harder everybody says something different on what pads bite the hardest I'm not the kind guy go spend 120 bucks on brake pads my rear brakes could use just a little bit more bite anybody out there know which type of pads really work the best without covering the wheels in metal dust every time you stop I don't think my rear brakes need much but they are certainly second-class compared to my fronts anybody has any experience with this let me know I'd love to hear from you. Signed ya baby it felt good to drive it

[DC Townsend]

Tom,

Year of the RX7 caliper important? Thinking I might pick up a pair and the information would be helpful in getting the correct part.

Thanks,

David

[tomsbad6]

1990 RX7 Turbo some other ones had it and they used it other years they were $42 at O'Reilly auto

[DC Townsend]

They look very similar to the Toyota calipers I'm currently using

[mgb260]

David, The Mazda calipers use a thinner rotor(22 mm/.866) than your 1" thick rotor. The  rotor Tom's using is .81 thick. Plus much wider mounting pattern. My old thread of Cressida rotor for stock MGB 4 bolt upgrade explains the difference. We talked about using .030 stainless shims behind the pads when using the .81 aftermarket rotors as they might over extend when the pads wear.