1.6 laser brake upgrade

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MiniMan
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1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by MiniMan »

Hi everyone,

Its been a while since I've posted so its great to see its still going strong.

My 1.6 d reg 1986 capri laser recently passed its MOT - whilst it was up on the ramps we had a look at the brakes and I've made the decision to bite the bullet and spend some money upgrading them.

Front brakes

I was thinking of purchasing the rally design front brake kit - https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_i ... s_id=21725 with x-drilled and grooved discs - guessing this should fit nicely as its basically like for like and offer plenty of braking power?

New braided hoses - https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_i ... s_id=21859

Rear brakes

New 8" brake shoes
New 8" brake drums
New fitting kits
New wheel cylinders

I was going to pruchase these all through tickover - https://www.tickover.co.uk/shop/contents/en-uk/d63.html

Master cylinder

I'm in two minds whether to replace the seals and refurb my current master cyclinder or just update it with a new one from tickeover - https://www.tickover.co.uk/shop/content ... /p419.html - would like your thoughts on this?

Any advise would be appreciated

Thanks in advance as always, great to be back on the forum
Sam
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Mc Tool
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Mc Tool »

The disc kit is ok but you only need to buy the caliper kit to widen your old caliper not a whole new caliper ( which looks like you would have to disassemble to fit the supplied kit anyhow ). I have had this setup on my Capri for a few years now and if your expecting any real increase in brake power better reach for the tissues . The venting helps keep things cool for a bit longer but there is still a lot of room for improvement . I have now got a 285mm 4 pot kit from Burtons ( shoulda gone to Rally design ) ... not yet fitted and ally hubs to help offset the extra weight of the disc's , got springs , Gaz inserts , adjustable TCA's and roller bearing /rubber top mounts too ................bit of work ahead of me :D
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by nigecapri »

If you get brake fade then you do need a service and/or upgrade.
Can you lock the front brakes? If so then the brakes are working and you need better tyres.
Brand new standard discs, pads, drums, shoes, fluid and braided hoses will make a startling difference over old worn bits.
An anti-dive kit or slightly stiffer front springs will also make an improvement.
Bod9084
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Bod9084 »

Hi when you say brake fade is there a pedal or are you losing the pedal if you are losing the pedal you
Have to pump it to get it back it’s normally the back brakes need adjustment
Brake fade if the brakes don’t work very good when worm you need better pads or upgrade
To bigger dicks or vented
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Peter-S »

As Nige says, good condition stuff will help. The thing to bear in mind with effectively upgrading to 2.8 spec is that you will have exactly the same disc area and exactly the same size pads as you do at the moment.
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Bod9084
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Bod9084 »

Yes but vented disc cool better
fordperv
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by fordperv »

Yep heat is the killer vented will keep it cooler, I remember boiling the fluid on my laser on a spirited drive, shat myself as the pedal hit the floor and had no brakes
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MiniMan
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by MiniMan »

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your advice as always - the brakes just don't feel as effective as they have in the past I was also keen to switch to vented discs as I too have experienced the pedal to the floor scenario .... :shock: :shock: :shock: - I thought this kit would be a great a start and the price didn't seem too bad - https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_i ... s_id=21725 I think I'm right in thinking everything I need is there? Calipers, discs, pins, bolts .... I'll just need braided hoses and some decent pads?

Regarding the rear as mentioned I was just going to replace the shoes, springs and give them a serious clean - its 1.6 and just one a more responsive feel when I hit the brakes - do you reckon everything I listed above will fit nicely? master cylinder? front kit? before I make the purchase :)

Thanks Sam
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Bod9084
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Bod9084 »

Hi when I did my brooklands I rebuilt the callipers I got a set of seals and a set of stainless steel pistons
You also can get a kit to covert you mi16 callipers to vented so will you have them stripped down
The kit is 4 spacers and longer bolts it’s not hard to do the worst thing is getting out the old pistons
But you will never have eney problems with the brakes as the pistons will not rust so they don’t Sees
And the last thing in the kit is 4 washers to space the callipers where you bolt them to the strut
they are standard to all to all ford Capri vented callipers even factory fitted ones
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by 340truck »

FFS save your money. This is a 1.6 laser we are talking about? Please tell me how you manage to drive on a public road in such a manner to experience brake fade? Also tell me where so I can avoid the area and not get killed by someone driving like an idiot. My Rat did 100+ laps of the track on standard brakes with greenstuff pads with no fade whatsoever.

As Nige says...if you can lock the front wheels then the brakes are fine. A clean up with new discs and pads will get things as good as you need for the road, Spend your money on decent tyres and suspension upgrades if you wish to make the car drive better.
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Bod9084
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Car(s): I have got a 1981 3000s and I have just got my self
A 1987 2.8i thay are both red
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I have had a lot of fast fords vans all ways put bigger engine in
I also have had motor bikes I have a 1200 Suzuki bandit
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Bod9084 »

Well the worst thing is riding your brakes on long steep banks
Or if you have a calliper sticking lt feals like your brakes are spongey and don’t slow you down
If your soevo is not working it makes your brakes deal like the peadel is very hard
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by 340truck »

Bod9084 wrote:Well the worst thing is riding your brakes on long steep banks
Or if you have a calliper sticking lt feals like your brakes are spongey and don’t slow you down
If your soevo is not working it makes your brakes deal like the peadel is very hard
Riding your brakes = bad driving technique
Calliper sticking = brakes are faulty, overhaul required
Servo not working = brakes are dangerously faulty, overhaul required, vehicle should not be driven

Pathetic excuses. Anyone taking chances with their brakes is a major risk to the safety of other human beings. I repeat....standard brakes in working condition are more than good for a 1.6 laser driven on a public road. Save your money.
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Paul G
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Paul G »

:agree: Unless you are going to drive like a total cnut, standard brakes that are well maintained and in good condition should be perfectly OK. On a 1.6, or even a 2.0, all these fancy kits aren't worth fitting.
fordperv
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by fordperv »

I only hit country roads for spirited driving and I managed it :drive: before anyone asks It had new discs, recon calipers, new flexis and new fluid so no items were old and in need of repair and I don't ride brakes
Bod9084
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Car(s): I have got a 1981 3000s and I have just got my self
A 1987 2.8i thay are both red
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I have had a lot of fast fords vans all ways put bigger engine in
I also have had motor bikes I have a 1200 Suzuki bandit
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Bod9084 »

Hi I am not making thing up just trying to give examples of bad brakes
Sounds like some one is a mr perfect
The thing about solid brakes is when they where made they used asbestos in the brake pads
& shoes know they ues other stuff
Which is a lot harder compound which makes the brakes get hotter and we all know that hot
Brakes = brake fade whether you have faulty brakes or a bad driver
Plus a Capri is a Hevey car and I think upgrading your brakes is not a bad thing to do
I do recommend to upgrade in the way of vented discs is not a expensive upgrade
You bon,t need to put six pot callipers or willwood
And stainless steel pistons are a good way to keep pistons from seizing
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Goz »

i bought that exact kit from Rally Design. my Capri has been off the road for over 15 years and the calipers were seized. This kit was not much more than the calipers alone and i thought a sensible upgrade. The calipers when they arrived were the correct calipers for the disks, wider halfs and no spacer required. Its all bolted on with no issues
i dont know how well they work yet because the rest of the cars not finished
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by -JC- »

Jeez guys give the guy a brake ( ;) ). It's an m16 calliper still, just vented and spaced, he's not fitting an m16 machine gun to the bonnet. Believe it or not, not everyone sees 40 year old technology as a foolproof masterpiece. Things have moved on. Modern cars have bigger calipers and discs for a reason. Someone people actually get enjoyment from upgrading their cars, and making it better than Ford intended. Let's face it, the capri was made on a budget using lots of old cortina parts. Plenty of room for improvement.

Miniman - I have that exact brake setup. It seems to work pretty well, although I did have issues initially with the caliper sealing properly around the holes for the spacer, resulting in a slight fluid leak. In hindsight, I think I'd have rather gone for a hispec / wilwood setup etc.
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by D366Y »

-JC- wrote:Jeez guys give the guy a brake ( ;) ). It's an m16 calliper still, just vented and spaced, he's not fitting an m16 machine gun to the bonnet. Believe it or not, not everyone sees 40 year old technology as a foolproof masterpiece. Things have moved on. Modern cars have bigger calipers and discs for a reason. Someone people actually get enjoyment from upgrading their cars, and making it better than Ford intended. Let's face it, the capri was made on a budget using lots of old cortina parts. Plenty of room for improvement.
I was going to say the same thing; no it's not always essential to do mods and I might say that certain mods are unnecessary but I don't think I'd knock someone for wanting to stop better! Would much rather see someone try to stop faster than go faster and not be able to stop...

I still need to fit the 2.8 discs that were donated to me by Neil (sheff) but I never manage to get round to it, will be done this year for sure!
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

D366Y wrote:Would much rather see someone try to stop faster than go faster and not be able to stop...
Excellent point!

Andrew.
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Re: 1.6 laser brake upgrade

Post by timfromull »

Am I right in understanding that you're not supposed to split calipers into the two halves because of the factory torque settings or something?.......
Or is that nugget of information from my imagination or a geezer down the pub? :headscratch:
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