S1 Front Brake Conversion

[Sunbeam Fanatic]

Not as major as much of the work in this section but I thought you may want to see a couple of pic's of the brake conversion just being fitted on the front of my S1.

Cheers,

Steven.

[silverfrost]

Looks great steven, love the look of smart alloy callipers and new brake discs, a great upgrade for our model of car

regards danny :yes

[Mikes2esprit1979]

Nice one steven, where did you get this done?

Are the parts available or did you get it made for you.

[Sunbeam Fanatic]

Hi,

A good friend of mine (Ian Davies) runs a business called SportMotive (not sportomotive) in Stoke-on-Trent, he mainly works on TVR's (old & new) but also manages my eclectic fleet! It is he who puts into reality the mad schemes I come up with!

The discs are actually RS Turbo (cheap) which have been modified to fit, the calipers are the billet Powerlite (about

[yeller77]

I'm currently working on an electric water pump conversion that flows more than the std. belt driven variety and of course is not hampered by low rev's which is when S1's (especially) start to overheat, i.e. in traffic. With some smart electronics (delay timer's) it will be possible to have the water pump and fans running for a period after the engine is switched off allowing a sensible cool down. This will also allow a relocation of the pump so it's not so awkward to get to and I may gain a couple of HP as the engine will not be driving the pump! Modern water pumps have a long duty cycle and are not prone to breaking down, you just have to get over the psychological barrier of not having an engine driven pump!

Cheers,

Steven.

Keep us posted how this progresses, I've been contemplating one of these but have yet to work out clearance, blanking plate and head flow hose issues.

Cheers!

Eric

[USAndretti42]

I'm currently working on an electric water pump conversion that flows more than the std. belt driven variety and of course is not hampered by low rev's which is when S1's (especially) start to overheat, i.e. in traffic. With some smart electronics (delay timer's) it will be possible to have the water pump and fans running for a period after the engine is switched off allowing a sensible cool down. This will also allow a relocation of the pump so it's not so awkward to get to and I may gain a couple of HP as the engine will not be driving the pump! Modern water pumps have a long duty cycle and are not prone to breaking down, you just have to get over the psychological barrier of not having an engine driven pump!

Cheers,

Steven.

Disc conversion looks very nice. What made you decide to do it? Was it so you had more easily available calipers? Are the brakes a lot better now?

To be pedantic, the electric water pump is still driven by the engine albeit via the alternator. I would expect it to need more power than a mechanical pump as the alternator is about 80% efficient (as you will be driving the alternator fan anyway).

[Sunbeam Fanatic]

Disc conversion looks very nice. What made you decide to do it? Was it so you had more easily available calipers? Are the brakes a lot better now?

To be pedantic, the electric water pump is still driven by the engine albeit via the alternator. I would expect it to need more power than a mechanical pump as the alternator is about 80% efficient (as you will be driving the alternator fan anyway).

Hi (been away for a while),

I just wanted modern calipers that give a decent selection of pad types and vented discs, I plan to use the car on the occasional track day so wanted to avoid fade. Brakes are much sharper and don't need as much effort to obtain the same response.

I see your point about the electric water pump but my view it that it is indirectly driven, i.e. it is driven by battery reserve. As i'll be disconecting the water pump belt / pulley the nett effect is still one less engine driven pulley. So long as the alternator can keep the battery supplied it will be fine, I'm looking into high output low weight replacement alternators (I have several fitted to other cars from Cambridge Motorsport) which when coupled with a larger capacity battery will cover the draw of the pump.

During the brake upgrade the rack was discovered to be past it's sell by so that has been replaced and I'm also fitting a full Urethane bush set to the front suspension (upper and lower wishbones, ARB, spring mounts etc.) along with new rod ends and ball joints so it's ended being a fairly comprehensive front end re-build!

Also fitted a pair of pacet 8" fans to the radiator in place of original items ........ just need to bring the back end up to scratch now.

Also had it on the rolling road, the theoretical calculation to convert road BHP to flywheel came in at 152, original spec's state 160 so not too bad considering the age.

Fitted an MSD6AL ignition amplifier and suitable coil which has helped smooth the ignition / running considerably (I've used them on other cars in the fleet).

Just can't quite seem to fix the speedo, the odometer is working but not the actual speedo, seperate posting needed ........!

Cheers all,

Steven.

Edited March 22, 2007 by Sunbeam Fanatic

[Esprit Aviation]

Steven,

Brakes look great!

I'm running a Davies-Craig waterpump in my '85 Esprit Turbo. It has been two years now w/ no problems. I believe the HP freed up by using an electric pump is more substantial than most realize! I wish we could have before and after dyno runs to put a figure to it. My pump draws only 3-4 Amps(as I recall). So you may not have to upgrade the battery or alternator by as much as you think. I have to get busy today, but here are a few pics of my install.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e399/esp...picture377a.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e399/esp.../picture404.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e399/esp.../picture350.jpg

Cheers, Lee

[Sunbeam Fanatic]

Steven,

Brakes look great!

I'm running a Davies-Craig waterpump in my '85 Esprit Turbo. It has been two years now w/ no problems. I believe the HP freed up by using an electric pump is more substantial than most realize! I wish we could have before and after dyno runs to put a figure to it. My pump draws only 3-4 Amps(as I recall). So you may not have to upgrade the battery or alternator by as much as you think. I have to get busy today, but here are a few pics of my install.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e399/esp...picture377a.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e399/esp.../picture404.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e399/esp.../picture350.jpg

Cheers, Lee

Hi Lee,

That's brilliant, just what I am after and if it's good enough for an '83 Turbo it'll be good enough for my '78 S1!! The blanking plate / pipe elbow you have is almost exactly the design I have come up with, I was just trying to think of the best place to put the pump so it's not battered with road debris or cooked by the exhaust!! I've been looking at some US sites for pumps as they make a lot for the popular V8's and I was thinking of adapting one of those, but as they are mainly made with mounting plates I may end up going for one like yours. As i've just had mine on a rolling road I know have a base to measure all improvements against so I'll be able to let you know what I generate by removing the belt driven pump.

Cheers,

Steven.

[Esprit Aviation]

Steven,

I'm pleased to hear you are going w/ an electric pump. Many are scared of them, so they are quick to put them down. No one realizes that mechanical pumps are much less efficient, for so many reasons.

Please note that I will be removing that elbow on the blanking plate to straighten and improve flow. Also there is a thread or recommendation to enlarge the actual passage in the front of the block where the water flows into it. As it is a very small opening, I believe this would be a very good thing to do. I'll try to find it.

My pump weighs so little, and is so efficient I would highly recommend one.

Now, here is my latest idea. I'm going WAY out on a limb here so I expect much flak, etc, from the 'doomsayers'.

I am going to reverse the coolant flow through the entire system. I believe it will alleviate much of the temperature differential problem between cylinders. Ducking now!

Let me know what your thoughts are on this if you dare! I am looking forward to your rolling road comparison.

Cheers, Lee

Edited April 8, 2007 by Esprit Aviation

[MrDangerUS]

Lee,

Davies Craig pump is an excellent idea!

"I am going to reverse the coolant flow through the entire system. I believe it will alleviate much of the temperature differential problem between cylinders."

Have you done this? What are the results?

Edited October 23, 2013 by MrDangerUS

[Bibs]

This topic is from 2007!