Fiesta mk7.5 Front brake upgrade

[LesPes]

I am looking for info on the parts needed for putting 278mm discs on the front. I managed to get some nice drilled and grooved ones with some st150 calipers, problem is the calipers dont fit even with the carriers which have the smaller hole. I have read the post where people say you can drill them out but my thinking was getting the later st180 caliper, same shape as my originals but then i guess i need to find carriers. I have trolled the net looking for info but in truth it seems like there are so many different variations that it all gets a little confusing.

Has anybody done the conversion? this time i need to get the correct set up and fit it, the joys of tinkering ,lol

[LesPes]

Big shout out to Willy for pointing me in the right direction. Many thanks

[Splatman]

Hi I'm looking to do this upgrade also.  Could you help me with what parts I need? Pumaspeed do a kit but haven't answered my email.

[Bobr]

Could you point the rest of us in the right direction please?

 

[ThaiFiesta]

ST180/220 calipers and carriers and ST discs is the easiest way to do it. It’s a simple bolt on. You may need new brake hoses. 

[Splatman]

Does anybody bother informing their insurance they've made modifications???

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi.

If anyone need any help with insurance for modifications then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

[Splatman]

I'm with Adrian Flux Dan and my policy is up in Jan.  Is there normally much of a premium hike after doing this mod?  Currently paying about £350 fully comp.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi all,

Are you insured through Flux?  We generally won't hike the premium for this non-performance enhancing modification but it's imperative that you do advise your insurer. 

Many thanks.

Dan

 

 

[Splatman]

Well Flux is the broker but it's underwritten by some firm based in Malta I think.

[Splatman]

Markerstudy

[Splatman]

Do those discs fit the disc protector/shield thing that sits behind the disc???

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi again,

Thanks for advising and it would appear that your underwriter is Trinity Lane (Malta based) which is part owned by Flux.

If you wished to message me your details when you do the brake upgrade.

Thanks.

Dan

 

[Cragrat]

I used a set of ST 150 calliper's and discs on mine. Straight swap. The discs are about 25mm bigger in dia but the surface area of the pads is also greater. More positive braking but not too harsh.

[Splatman]

It says Markerstudy on my policy Dan. I'll give Flux a ring before I do anything.

[Eatonm112]

On 11/14/2019 at 3:34 PM, Splatman said:

Hi I'm looking to do this upgrade also.  Could you help me with what parts I need? Pumaspeed do a kit but haven't answered my email.

You'll need fiesta st 180 calipers and carriers and disks . It's  a good set up over std.

if you want more you can get a set of calipers from a 2007 mondeo along with the carriers ( pistons are a touch bigger than the st ones ) 300 mm disks from a mk 1 focus st which is as good as you'll get before 4 or 6 pot set ups that are quite pricy.

[LesPes]

On 11/21/2019 at 3:27 PM, Cragrat said:

I used a set of ST 150 calliper's and discs on mine. Straight swap. The discs are about 25mm bigger in dia but the surface area of the pads is also greater. More positive braking but not too harsh.

Dunno how you managed with st150 calipers. This is what i got mistakenly at first, while the 278mm discs fitted fine the calipers wouldnt fit even with the larger carriers as the holes dont match up and the standard carriers dont give clearance for anything over the standard disc.

Karls post is spot on with what you need and what choices you have St200 also work.

I also did the rear axle swap out from drums to disc. Didnt mess about i just dropped the whole axle and replaced it with one from a st. The hardest part with this was taking all the heatshields out from underneath to get at the handbrake linkage and once i worked out how the cable actually releases it was fine just to swap them over, cant say the rears make a lot of difference performance wise but it makes a huge difference to look at with the red calipers it must be good for another 5mph.😁

[Eatonm112]

2 hours ago, LesPes said:

Dunno how you managed with st150 calipers. This is what i got mistakenly at first, while the 278mm discs fitted fine the calipers wouldnt fit even with the larger carriers as the holes dont match up and the standard carriers dont give clearance for anything over the standard disc.

Karls post is spot on with what you need and what choices you have St200 also work.

I also did the rear axle swap out from drums to disc. Didnt mess about i just dropped the whole axle and replaced it with one from a st. The hardest part with this was taking all the heatshields out from underneath to get at the handbrake linkage and once i worked out how the cable actually releases it was fine just to swap them over, cant say the rears make a lot of difference performance wise but it makes a huge difference to look at with the red calipers it must be good for another 5mph.😁

Hi fella

I did the rear ST axle swap and agree not any extra performance from the disks although the handbrake is not as good. Rear axle makes a difference with handling the car has less body roll in the corners.

 

Going back to upgrades

Forgot to mention you can put 278mm disks on the back if you have upgraded the fronts to a 300mm set up. You will need rear carriers from a Mk 1 Focus ST and disks.

[LesPes]

31 minutes ago, Eatonm112 said:

Hi fella

I did the rear ST axle swap and agree not any extra performance from the disks although the handbrake is not as good. Rear axle makes a difference with handling the car has less body roll in the corners.

 

Going back to upgrades

Forgot to mention you can put 278mm disks on the back if you have upgraded the fronts to a 300mm set up. You will need rear carriers from a Mk 1 Focus ST and disks.

Funny you should mention the rear discs, i was only looking at mine yesterday thinking that they looked a bit tiny, mk1 focus carriers seem to be a little elusive are they the only ones that will fit? Also are the focus rear discs not 281mm?

[Eatonm112]

1 hour ago, LesPes said:

Funny you should mention the rear discs, i was only looking at mine yesterday thinking that they looked a bit tiny, mk1 focus carriers seem to be a little elusive are they the only ones that will fit? Also are the focus rear discs not 281mm?

The disk size is as you say 281. 

The carriers come up on eBay every so often but they are expensive as they are rare.  I paid about £80 for mine with the calipers which you will not use as they have larger pistons which will be over kill. 

Going back to the larger front calipers they come from a Mondeo Mk3 and have a 57mm piston which is 3mm larger than the Std and ST calipers so should really make a noticeable improvement.  As the calipers from the modeo are really old I took mine to eurocarparts and got the exchanged for a recon set by Pagid. parts no 133590311 and 133590321 and the pads 101590298

You will also need brackets to mount these just search for MK7/7.5 Fiesta 300mm caliper brackets just dont use the 12.9 grade bolts included and source some 8.8 grade. 

[Cragrat]

Just checked my invoice they were ST180 calipers not ST150. Sorry.

[LesPes]

On 11/15/2019 at 4:52 PM, Splatman said:

Does anybody bother informing their insurance they've made modifications???

Rang my insurers and ran my mods past them. Came back with a brilliant reply,

"we have entered your mods into the system, your premium will remain the same"

Result !!!     well done Adrian Flux.

[ThaiFiesta]

On 11/30/2019 at 3:48 AM, LesPes said:

Rang my insurers and ran my mods past them. Came back with a brilliant reply,

"we have entered your mods into the system, your premium will remain the same"

Result !!!     well done Adrian Flux.

Better brakes. You should have received a discount 😂😂

[brains_t]

2 hours ago, ThaiFiesta said:

Better brakes. You should have received a discount 😂😂

No chance, they expect Londoner's would have gained the ability to do better handbrake turns. On a serious note, I am surprised there isn't an admin fee for recording the change, most insurances apply this rather than state an increase in premium.

[LesPes]

14 hours ago, brains_t said:

No chance, they expect Londoner's would have gained the ability to do better handbrake turns. On a serious note, I am surprised there isn't an admin fee for recording the change, most insurances apply this rather than state an increase in premium.

£30 but as mine renews now it's free.