41 replies to this topic

[unburntfuelinthemorning]

I upgraded from drums to discs recently using this kit from Minispares.  No servo is fitted and without the self servo effect of the drum brakes higher pressure is required on the brake pedal but not too much, I like the solid feel of the pedal and the brakes feel so much more progressive than the drums.

 

Now with drums I've found that if you try stopping really quickly from 75 ish you have almost no braking left by about 40 due to heat build up but they come back quite quickly so next time you need them they're there again.  I decided to test the discs from a similar speed by braking proper hard and they were certainly very capable of slowing the vehicle down - I'd say quicker than with drums but at the next roundabout say half a mile away I had a very solid pedal but very little braking.  This continued for quite a few miles afterwards and was rather disconcerting as I changed to discs to improve brake fade not make it worse. 

 

Once the brakes had cooled properly they worked fine again but it's shaken my confidence in them a little.  In general use they are fine, even when braking quite hard but a few genuine hard stops on the motorway could be interesting.

 

Any ideas what's going on here as other people don't seem to report this issue?

 

 

[MiniMadRacer]

What year is the Mini, and what wheels do you have, and perhaps an upgrade of Pad to EMC

[MiniMadRacer]

or these

 

http://www.minispare...|Back to search

 

[Maccmike8]

Pad and brake fluid upgrade would be my first route.

[GraemeC]

Have you bed the pads in?

Have you re-bled them since installing?

[whistler]

Did you change the flexi hoses? Have found that they can partially collapse over the years and reduce the pressure going to the callipers.

Have had that problem on a mini that had upgrade from drums to discs.

[MiniMadRacer]

Fair point Whistler, and if I recall correctly the hoses from Drums to Disc are a different length to stop them rubbing on the tie rods, but to be fair that length issue wont cause a brake problem (until they chaff through of course)

[imack]

I'd try a decent set of pads first, never heard of ultimax pads, but 'low dust' would stop me buying them, they've got to produce dust if they're going to work properly. I wouldn't touch anything made by EBC either.
I'd go for minutes m1144's or some old school m171's if you can find any NOS. Can't beat having some proper asbestos in them!

[mini13]

i agree with above EBC greens are terrible IMO, i would recomend mintex 1144's

[absx2]

I use these....

http://www.minispare...MS.aspx|Back to

With no issues but it sounds like you need Mintex 1144 if you are going to be heavy on the brakes a lot.

I`ve been ripped off by EBC in the past on cars and bikes, don`t believe the hype.

[cal844]

Ebc are rubbish, far too hard a material, my 7.5 inch Ebc pads struggled to bed in

[sonikk4]

I have to say i caned the backside out of my converted brakes with the pads supplied by Minispares and had no issues with brake fade. and this me batting along the bypass at Hailsham which has several roundabouts. 70 mph batting along.

 

Now the only thing i did that has been mentioned was fit some stainless braid hoses and the Cooper S master cylinder. Other than that its the full conversion kit from drums to 7.5' discs.

[Spider]

I've had fade in Discs, but not from a single stop / slow down like that.

 

In addition to what the other guys have suggested here, what wheels are you running and what's the Air Flow through them like ?

 

Also, have you fitted the 'Stone Guards' to them ?

[Maccmike8]

Maybe they are binding resulting in a hot disc even before braking.

If you have a temperature gun, go for a normal steady drive then see what the temps are like.

[cal844]

I've had it a few times, the car was driven hard though BUT its on a black tag master cylinder