Brake Upgrade.

[Tea Drinker]

OK, so I posted this...

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/74461-volvo-v50-brakes-onto-focus-mk1-non-s-t/

So, here's an update. I've bought ST hubs from eBay, the caliper adapter brackets from eBay, got the Brembos and sent them for blasting at a friend of a friends.

I've compared my Brembos with some from a Focus RS, basically they appear identical. Apart from the colour.

I've also bought a pair of wheel spacers, the consensus of opinion is that I'll need them for clearance behind the wheel.

Still to do:

Paint the calipers.

Buy and apply stickers.

Clean up hubs.

Paint hubs and caliper brackets.

Buy brake hoses.

Buy longer wheel bolts.

Save up for discs.

Buy discs.

Bolt onto car.

Tell the insurance company.

[Dee_82]

Are you changing the rear brakes as well?

You need to keep an eye on your brake bias, by fitting significantly uprated brakes on the fronts alone, you might shift too much brake bias forward.

Shifting too much weight forward under braking will firstly hammer your front discs and pads an largely make your rears ineffective. Both of which will help reduce grip on the rears potentially adding a bucket load of over steer as your ar$e starts slipping out under braking. In saying that, I put discs on my rear getting rid of those horrible drums, well chuffed with the look

[la_midgeet]

I have been considering this myself, (changing the rears).

Let me know how it goes & costing of it :)

[Tea Drinker]

To Dee 82

Actually, and counter intuitively, the less brake effect on the rear, the less likely you are to oversteer. Ford actually fitted smaller diameter rear drums to something (I forget what, RS2000 Mk1? Mexico?) to allow drivers to brake deeper into corners.

If I fit rear Discs (and I may well do) it will be for purely cosmetic reasons.

To la midgeet

Costs so far...

Brembos £ free! (but lots of horse trading) they looked truly awefull, I took pics, but now can't find the memory card. :(

Blasting £20 (semi mates rates)

ST170 hubs £30

caliper brackets £51.99

Tin of Hammerite gloss black for the hubs £19.99

Paint brush £1.99

5mm spacers £12

Total so far $135.97

Also need brake flexi's (£35-ish)

[Dee_82]

that depends if your braking on a corner, if you shift too much weight forward through a significantly forward bias brakes then the rears will lighten kicking them out.

I did the math a while back, stock its somthing like 70-30, with 265mm discs on the rear it and 278 on the front it would shift it to about 65-35, originally i had got a set of rear 280 carriers with the calipers so was considering using them but that would have made it around 60-40 which I think would have been a little too rear causing them to lock up, just now I think its perfect, rears don't lock up but you can feel it tugging back and the nose isn't diving down so much

[Tea Drinker]

I'm not going to lie to you, drum brakes are rubbish*. A stock disc/drum set up on a poverty spec focus probably has almost all of it's brake effort provided by the disc. I don't know what equations you're using to get your effort ratios, but I wouldn't be surprise if you found those disc/drums gave you something like 90/10, and they're fine for balance.

*You can spend loads of dosh on grooved drums, uprated shoes/lining material compound and fitting bigger wheel cylinders. Even with the self servoing effect of a perfectly maintainer twin leading set up, it'll never be anywhere near as good as a !Removed! poor disc set up. In my experience.