hopo 154 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Salutations all, To be blunt the brakes on my 82 S3 NA are Pants.. Uterly pants. My daily driver is blessed with some mighty BMW M-sport anchors that catapult you towards the front windscreen in an vicious manor, so the first few fast corners in the lotus are terrifying! Although im not looking for 22" ceramic discs and pads as big as a field i am looking for a slight step up from the standard........ what would you fine folk suggest? what have others done to their cars? I must also note that im not looking to break the bank either (theyr bad enough as it is) so what are my best low cost options? Many Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
andydclements 788 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I've gone non-standard, custom, but it's not really any cheaper than off the shelf upgrades becuase of the economies of scale of having the machining done. You can go AP, but also worth calling Mike & Lotusbits, i know he has a setup for the later cars, he may have one for the earlier ones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
molemot 521 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 The old Bugatti quote...."I make my cars to GO...not to STOP!" Quote Scientists investigate that which already is; Engineers create that which has never been." - Albert Einstein Link to post Share on other sites
matk 17 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 While accepting that the G Car brakes are not amazing, I do know that some guys have had good results simply running through their existing systems from top to bottom making sure the fluid is new and everything else is as should be. Have you tried that? As far as upgrades, I believe PNM do bigger calipers for the front for early G Cars, but as far as I know there isn't anything for the rears. Quote Regards Mat Link to post Share on other sites
Buddsy 1,643 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I know Simonf has the AP racing upgrade and I think they are ment to be the best. Only problem is they are Quote "Belief is the enemy of knowing" - Crrow777 Link to post Share on other sites
silverfrost 1,390 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hi Hoppo, I went down the route of thinking about changeing the fronts out, however I have the 85 brakes, but just put recon callipers fro s.j, EBC vented and drilled discs and greenstuff pads! A very cheap route and im sure they make them for the pre 85 cars, also fitted stainless braided hoses, the backs I cant comment on as mine are now outboard, Try s .j. sportscars regards danny Quote A Link to post Share on other sites
ajheath 100 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I would agree with Dan the best economy route is refurb the calipers. change the fluid, and fit EBC grooved discs and either Green stuff or Red stuff pads. Should be able to do it for about Quote Link to post Share on other sites
910Esprit 544 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I seem to be one of the few that like the balance & feel of the original G car brake set up. I suspect they are not at 100% if you think they are pants! I guess things have moved on since the early 80's but the contempary reviews I've read also highly rated the G car brakes. I run an entirely stock system apart from braided hoses and fresh 5.1 brake fluid Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mds666 0 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 one thing to remember when you improve the performance of the pre 85 setup is you will be putting alot more stress on your trunions... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jussi 1 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Like Adrian said, EBC grooved discs and green pads....after that your car brakes are very different than before B) I had EBC discs and pads on my previous CC and they worked pretty good on track conditions also....with original brakes I couldn't drove no more than couple of laps. Definitely going to put EBC brakes on my Esprit, when it's time to next brake service. Quote Check my blog and leave comments/suggestions Jussi's photography blogSee you in G+ Jussi Alanko in Google+ Link to post Share on other sites
hilly 1 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 There aren't a lot of options for the pre 1985 S3/TE. PNM do a Hispec kit with vented disks and new alloy calipers about Quote 1981 S3 4.2 V8 6 speed (The Mutant) Mutant V8 Conversion Thread Knowledge is power .................... apparently. Link to post Share on other sites
andydclements 788 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Keep in mind grooved discs are grooved to get rid of dust, but it reduces the available pad to discs contact area, so if dust isn't your limiting factor, you can reduce the braking effectiveness. A good low dust pad can be more effective. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AJay 1 Posted May 3, 2009 Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 Here is a shot of the PNM/Hispec billet 4 upgrade fitted it today, still bedding in but oh so much better than the standard brake setup. I remove and clean the calipers every year as part of the service, and thought that the brakes were good, this year i developed some nasty vibration caused by the pads rusting to the disk (long story) any way as i needed new disks i took the opertunity to upgrade and WOW what a difference. (It might be that i have been living with the vibration for too long). well worth the money, especialy if you need new components to the existing system. The kit keeps the balance of the brakes and the disk is the same size, but vented. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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