Evo Brake Conversion

Il_Domino · Post by **Il_Domino** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:59 pm

A good friend of mine has managed to obtain a complete set of brake calipers and matching discs from an Evolution Lancer (don't know which series though). These things look huge! Very good condition too.

Anyways, i was interested if the conversion would be:

A: Overkill!

and

B: Difficult.

Anyone with experience here would be great!

salacious · Post by **salacious** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:16 am

You'll need at least custom made brackets and probably 17" wheels and maybe spacers

Post by **smorison** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:11 am

the good news is that the struts / brakes are identical between the FTO and EVO's upto EVO5 ...

you will need to fabricate a mounting bracket for them and definately will need 17's ... you will also need new rotors to match the callipers...

if you really want them then it'll set you back quite a bit or you could just buy the brake upgrade kit which we've finished building and will be up for Group buy very shortly... the kit includes new lightweight callipers 327mm Rotors, mounting bracket, i think it also includes braided lines and some other goodies

Il_Domino · Post by **Il_Domino** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 2:35 pm

smorison wrote:the good news is that the struts / brakes are identical between the FTO and EVO's upto EVO5 ...

you will need to fabricate a mounting bracket for them and definately will need 17's ... you will also need new rotors to match the callipers...

I believe they are evo 4's... my own non-technical background opinion..

rotors same as discs? cos i already have the matching ones

Post by **smorison** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:27 pm

evo4's are fine

rotors = discs

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 10:21 pm

aren't they twin-pot calipers only?

RichardH · Post by **RichardH** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:22 pm

Il_Domino wrote:
Anyways, i was interested if the conversion would be:

A: Overkill!

and

B: Difficult.

Anyone with experience here would be great!

My thoughts are that it's overkill. Disadvantages include a possible change in front/rear bias. The balance is factory-set for the existing brakes, and might change one way or the other if you replace stuff.

Also, I'm pretty certain FTO brakes *are* EVO brakes - just EVO I/II/III. That's what the RalliArt garage said, anyway.

You'd also have to look seriously at why you want bigger brakes. You'll never need a larger pad surface area for extra cooling during road use. On the track you can bring the existing system to a higher spec and do just fine. If it's a better pedal feel you want, improving the current setup will yield great results.

This is the setup I'm now running... on stock calipers, master cylinder, rotor sizes, etc.:

- Pagid RS4 pads front.
- Mintex M1155 pads rear.
- Braided brakes lines.
- DOT5.1 fluid.
- DBA slotted rotors front.

Plus very frequent caliper servicing to keep the sliders and rubber dust/grease covers in good nick.

I've recently started doing 30 minute 1-on-1 motorkhana training sessions every fortnight, coz my track driving was getting dodgy!

The above setup coped really well, with no hard pedal, no soft pedal, no hiccups at all. I needed to do a couple of cool-down laps every 5 minutes, but that was heralded by the lovely smell of roasty brakes, as opposed to a reduction in performance. I haven't had to bleed anything or replace anything yet, so it's hanging in there very well indeed.

Now, the above ain't cheap! You can spend a fortune on brakes before you even think about upsizing calipers. Breaking it down a bit for more sane FTO owners:

BRAIDED BRAKE LINES: You can live without these unless you do sustained track work. Those simply eliminate the crap pedal that comes with the old rubber lines getting really hot and soft, thereby becoming prone to expanding. It was also overkill on my part getting braided lines on the rear.

DOT5.1 FLUID: About $25 a bottle, and it took 2 bottles to flush out the old DOT4 fluid. But it was more resistant to boiling than the DOT4 stuff I tried. Keeping standard DOT4 fluid fresh and air/water free will go a long way towards keeping good pedal feel.

PADS: Just buy the best pads you can afford that match your usage. The more track-friendly they are, the more grindy or squeaky they may be on the road. They may also be crap when cold, and will certainly belch out dust all over your wheels.

ROTORS: The DBA slotted ones are good. No complaints at all. Buy 'em!

Hope this helps!

- Rich

Il_Domino · Post by **Il_Domino** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:51 am

Wow!

Thats a lot more than what i expected.

Thanks heaps Rich, huge help.

I had a good look at them, the discs ain't looking in the level of quality i orginally had thought they might have been. I've declined buying them... i don't have the time to go to circuit days anyways, so i probably would have never used them to their full potential.

They looked pretty cool though!

Chiangstar · Post by **Chiangstar** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:56 am

yeah i agree with RichardH... apparently motor vehicle developers spend heaps of money getting brake sizes correct and there's a lot of science behind the actual sizes they make the brakes... so my understanding is that *upgrading* your brakes to something thats not specifically designed for your car can have bad effects on brake bias ... and maybe even cause unpredictable handling under braking...

simon

Post by **smorison** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:57 pm

for general use, as richard said...
if you want to go out onto the track then upgrades are worthwhile... especially if you change tyres and run semi's or full slicks...

if its for looks then just make sure you don't screw up your balance too much...