Front Brakes leaking

[Steve T]

Just went to do a quick check of my 2006 1.8 SV Roadsport 140 and found some leaking brake fluid on N/S front wheel. Traced it to the caliper, inner piston seems to be leaking. Only done 2,500 miles all road use so a bit surprised to see rubbers apparently worn already. The pads are contaminated now so will be thrown away. Checked the banjo etc and all seemed very tight, no sign of leaks other than from inside caliper around pad. Never noticed this last time I took the car out, last weekend, but that was the first trip out for 2 months, maybe it was the cold ?

 

I have stripped the suspect caliper and cannot see any obvious problem so I suspect a new set of rubbers will do the trick, clean disk and new pads.

 

However, I have never been happy with brakes and will soon be doing an engine upgrade to 175BHP ish so as i have the brake system in bits upgraditis seems to be taking over.

 

Should I:-

 

a) Go to Caterham for the big brake upgrade AP 4 pots etc;

 

b) Give James Whiting a call and go for the Alcon 4 pot, retaining standard disks and M1144's;

 

c) Just repair the standard ones I have got and replace pads with M1144's;

 

I would prefer to have more braking power than just a pad upgrade though and have a budget available (£500 ish), current pads have FER344H GF on them, presume Ferodo of some sort, as supplied by CC with the kit last January.

 

I intend to do a few track days (2 or 3) each year so dont expect to be tempted by bigger M/Cyl and prob not vented disks.

 

Have read some of the history in search pages but just need guiding in the right direction

[CageyH]

If you want to retain standard discs, give James Whiting a call

If you want to sell the car back to Caterham at any point, you probably need the Caterham kit.

The thing that puts me off the Caterham kit is the cost of the replacement brake discs.

 

Only dead fish go with the flow....

[Steve T]

From a stopping performance only point of view, cost aside, I presume the Caterham kit is a better performance than the Alcons, which are a better performance than the standard Caterham calipers.... is that correct ?

[CageyH]

It depends on many variables and intended use.

If you are doing outright track use, probably the vented discs would be best.

But with such a light car, do you really need them for occasonal track use?

 

Get the Alcons and fit some pagid pads.Shoukld stop well enough.

 

I still have the standardbrakes with 1144 pads in, which work well enough for me at the moment.

 

Only dead fish go with the flow....

[Steve T]

So if i get a standard replacement caliper from CC and change the pads to M1144's and give that a go, can I keep the existing disks as they have only done 2,500 miles, do the M1144's have the same swept area, and what is the best way to clean the brake fluid of the disk ?

[Paul McKenzie]

Steve,

 

I think you're wasting your money 😳.

 

1.a replacement standard caliper from CC is going to cost you a bomb

2. new standard discs are peanuts (£26/pair from my local Factor)

3. 1144 pads are going to improve front end braking, but they cost more and your brakes are still going to overheat and give you a soft peddle when you do your 2 or 3 trackdays

 

If I were you I'd cadge a ride in someone's Cat (preferably on circuit) with the Big Brake upgrade and see for yourself the difference - I can guarantee you'll be convinced that anything else is just a compromise.

 

Paul

[Geoff Dixon]

I went through the same dilemma years ago. I always felt as if the car was breaking from the rear.

I went for the James Whiting Alcon package which is a really nice piece of kit. Light alloy 4 pot calipers save a bit of weight and you dont have to go to the considerablee expense of replacing the discs so is an easy job to do in an afternoon. I also upgraded the pads and fitted an uprated master cylinder. Brakes are now superb. Have had no problems with overheating. This is much cheaper than going down the Caterham route.You have to watch you dont upgrade the front set so much that you then have to resort to upgrading the rear brakes. Balance is the key.

[Paul McKenzie]

BTW I didn't mean it to sound like the CC kit was the only answer, as I'm sure the James Whiting kit also does what you need, it's just that I think anything other than a caliper upgrade just doesn't cut the mustard if you really want to improve braking.

 

Paul

[CageyH]

You should be able to get your caliper rebuilt quite cheaply, but if you can, try before you buy

 

Only dead fish go with the flow....

[Steve T]

Thanks for your tips guys, I am really tempted to go for the CC Big upgrade at £550 + vat, however, Sandra at CC aftersales has agreed to exchange my defective caliper for a new one foc under Warranty. So, I will put the new one on for now and meantime I have ordered a set of M1144's from JW to try in them. At least this way I will have a good set of standard calipers if I ever want to restore to standard and I get to see the difference with better pads.

 

(And SWMBO see's I have at least made an effort along the way to spending £600 of her newly acquired inheritance, which I am relying much greater on in a few months for the trip to Milton keynes 😬)

 

Then, when I still want more brakes I can do the big upgrade CC or JW. Can I use the 1144's in the AP calipers or are they different altogether (not having seen one in the flesh) ?

 

I have some Isopropyl alcohol, is this suitable to clean the disks with ?

[Paul McKenzie]

Different...and don't forget the uprated m/c , or does SWMBO read this

 

Paul

[Billyboy]

Ask the nice lady at CC to knock off the money for the new caliper under warrenty and add to itfor the BIG BRAKE upgrade! CHEEKY I KNOW *thumbup*

 

GIVE IT A GO they can only say no!!

 

Infact thinking about it if the car is under warrenty they should do it for you!!!! SO add to that additional cost for labour ect ect and get a deal *cool*

 

Edited by - Billyboy on 30 Jan 2007 13:36:48