Colin Grundy Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 On thouroughly re-checking the build manual to ensure I haven't missed anything, I noticed this "Fit the rear brake pads, (for a car fitted with uprated front brakes these should have blue tabs, for a car fitted with standard brakes the rear pads should bear the number 3460)" Now, on checking the remaining bits and bobs I notice tucked away in the corner of a box a pair of brake pads with the number 3460!! doh! Presumably then, I have the rear pads to go with the uprated front brake set up. The pads were pre fitted into the calipers and on checking they do indeed have a blue dot. Thinking about this and reading a miriad of threads on this topic it appears that the rear brakes are the sevens Achilles heel so what are the implications of leaving the pads in there and not changing them over to the standard ones. BTW my front brake set up is standard. Your advice would be most welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 Sounds like Caterham fit different friction material for the "uprated front brakes". This would suggest that the front/rear brake balance is different between the standard and "uprated" brake set ups. My suggestion would be to go with the Caterham recommendations. It may be that you will get too much rear wheel brake force (will result in rear wheel lock and a spin eventually) or insufficient rear wheel brake force (will result in longer stopping distance and less efficient use of available grip). Either way I think you should follow the manufacturers recommendations. Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Grundy Posted February 11, 2003 Author Share Posted February 11, 2003 Justin Thanks for the reply. Not the answer I wanted to hear, but my gut feeling is that your probably right. My reasoning was that the rear brakes on any seven come in for critisism for not being beefy enough, so I thought that leaving what is presumably a more efficient pad in would do no harm. If I am going to change them I suppose doing it before I put fluid in the system and bleeding them etc is the best time. If anyone else reads this thred can you confirm that DOT 5.1 non silicone fluid is the recommended brake fluid. Caterham suggest DOT4 but I'm sure thats not right. Sorry to be a pain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 Agree with JAG, but experiment with an open mind. The big AP brakes give a more front bias, so the rears will have higher friction pads to try and redress this balance. This will show up as a rear bias if used with normal front brakes. The brake bias will be at its worst on a hot dry day with high grip. In the wet, the brake bias will be more effective if set slightly more to the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 Both DOT 4 and DOT 5.1 are perfectly respectable fluids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Grundy Posted February 11, 2003 Author Share Posted February 11, 2003 😬 Thanks Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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