[Mk2] [NA] big brake upgrade

[Ryan S]

na, I just don't get it man, i warped mine on the road during an emergency stop from about 70mph, slowed to a stop but i could feel the pedal start to judder as the stop progressed, You're not doing that on the track.

[ashley]

[Ryan S]

Whichever way I think about it- you are significantly harder on your brakes on track, especially with R888's once they are up to temperature.

The only real difference I can think of is that track/ race cars tend to be stripped of all excess weight, so the brakes are working to slow less mass...which would have a direct effect on the heat generated.

But I'm not gonna argue with you, just make sure you do preserve a sensible braking bias when you stick big brakes on

yeah deffo man, I wouldn't recommend not having a front/rear bias controller.

the brakes never really bothered me until I bought a 300zx TT. it was older than the mr2, muuuch heavier and stopped so much smoother, the brakes were amazing and just so effortless!

[synXero]

I put big brakes on because I was being a boy racer and I wanted to see if it worked. It did not improve the braking balance of the car it made it a great deal worse because the rears didn't get a chance to do their job properly. Looked cool though. And felt satisfying to use. I wouldn't say they drastically or even noticeably reduced the braking performance compared to stock. They just rebalanced the braking poorly. The effects were relatively small for road use.

I think it's a bit of a moot point saying you don't need to upgrade the calipers to provide better braking - because you can just use pads. This is technically true.

However - you could also say you don't need to buy wider alloys than stock because you could just stick R888Rs on your stock alloys (hypothetically) and achieve excellent grip. Yes, you could, but most people prefer to put on a larger wheel and usually a less extreme tyre. That extra width changes the feel of the car.

With larger braking kits you also change the feel. Albeit the feel of the pedal travel rather than say lateral grip with alloy changes. Yes your new brakes may be heavier or they may be lighter, but they are a customisation that you can make for a number of reasons. A more modern high performance braking set up ie 4 piston or 6 piston calipers do not suffer the same cold seizure issues that MR2 sliders are infamous for. They don't look like MPV brakes. They also provide a potentially greater range of pad types and compounds because, let's face it, sliders are not the be all and end all of performance braking anymore.

And last but not least, much like spending £1500 on buying a set of alloys isn't really going to improve your performance much - swapping out for a big brakes kit is just satisfying, looks good, and is a personal customisation of your car. And that's what's brilliant about MR2s for me: they are the car I learned to mod on. So rock on BBKers! (But be careful. Brakes are kind of important)

[Ryan S]

yours were Supra calipers and discs eh?? I reckon had you had a bias controller you'd have seen a dramatic improvement

[bobhatton]

yours were Supra calipers and discs eh?? I reckon had you had a bias controller you'd have seen a dramatic improvement

There is far more to it than just a bias controller, the front and rear have to be designed to work together and give the same braking amount as the stock ones front to rear.

We just use Porterfield pads and stock brakes for both our cars in the hill climbs and sprints.

[Ryan S]

na I'm not buying that at all Bob, the mr2 brakes are straight outta the Toyota parts bin, I refuse to believe that those front calipers just so happen to work with every other Toyota they're on by "design". Toyota have chucked whatever caliper they had at the time on the Mr2

[Nic]

According to the EPC the brake calipers and pads are unique to the SW20 MR2.

[Ryan S]

According to the EPC the brake calipers and pads are unique to the SW20 MR2.

Still near enough the same design as a family saloon, or a Rav4

[ashley]

[androo007]

I've noticed compared to other cars i have to press the brake pedal down much further before i feel any 'bite' from the brakes. Is that normal?

I have flushed the brakes with 5.1 brand new fluid no definately no air - the brakes brake just fine - just wondered if it was charateristic of the car or not.

Stock setup.

[Ryan S]

I've noticed compared to other cars i have to press the brake pedal down much further before i feel any 'bite' from the brakes. Is that normal?

I have flushed the brakes with 5.1 brand new fluid no definately no air - the brakes brake just fine - just wondered if it was charateristic of the car or not.

Stock setup.

perfectly normal for a design from the late 80's man total crap like everything else made back then!

[Nic]

I've noticed compared to other cars i have to press the brake pedal down much further before i feel any 'bite' from the brakes. Is that normal?.

No that's not normal, I have very little travel, a very firm pedal feel and good bite from the pads, they will stand the car on it's nose with very little effort.

When I bought my car the brakes were terrible, the calipers were in very poor condition and they had unknown pads and grooved discs fitted. One of the first jobs I did was to overhaul the brakes and it completely transformed them. My current setup is:

Overhauled stock calipers and carriers
OEM Toyota brake pads with new fitting kit (no anti-squeal shims)
OEM Toyota brake discs.
Rogue braided brake lines.
Motul RBF600 brake fluid.
Cusco brake master cylinder stopper.

The master cylinder stopper and braided lines really firm up the pedal feel. The OEM pads give far better bite than a lot of the so called 'performance' pads out there and I've always used OEM discs and never had any issues with them.

Those members who are saying the stock brakes are poor, what condition are your calipers in and what discs and pads are you using? There is a massive difference between a well setup set of stock brakes in good working order and tired old stock brakes.

[Ryan S]

my calipers were refurbed ones with oem discs and unknown pads, these discs were warped when i got the car though. and being my 4th mr2 I don't want to use the stock brakes again, i bought 200sx calipers and supra discs which will be fitted once my new engine is done.

I've had one mr2 where the brakes felt a bit more "modern" than they usually do and it was a rev3 n/a. no idea what discs and pads were on it but i had a rev2 tubby at the same time and the rev3 felt miles better. It felt like it had a different servo or something, the pedal felt way nicer and like I said it actually felt a bit more modern.

[Nic]

my calipers were refurbed ones with oem discs and unknown pads, these discs were warped when i got the car though. and being my 4th mr2 I don't want to use the stock brakes again, i bought 200sx calipers and supra discs which will be fitted once my new engine is done.

Do the 200SX rear calipers include the hand brake?

I've had one mr2 where the brakes felt a bit more "modern" than they usually do and it was a rev3 n/a. no idea what discs and pads were on it but i had a rev2 tubby at the same time and the rev3 felt miles better. It felt like it had a different servo or something, the pedal felt way nicer and like I said it actually felt a bit more modern.

Did they both have ABS? Mine is a Rev3 without ABS, perhaps that makes some difference.

[gavsdavs]

I've noticed compared to other cars i have to press the brake pedal down much further before i feel any 'bite' from the brakes. Is that normal?

Stock setup.

I think the master cylinder changed around the introduction of the rev2. Earlier models had 7/8 inch, later had 15/16 inch.

Pistolpetes rev5 has no pedal travel at all compared to mine (earlyrev2)
My brake pedal has much more travel but the braking force is still good.

They're just more 'progressive'

(Not sure how true that is...)

[ashley]

[Ryan S]

my calipers were refurbed ones with oem discs and unknown pads, these discs were warped when i got the car though. and being my 4th mr2 I don't want to use the stock brakes again, i bought 200sx calipers and supra discs which will be fitted once my new engine is done.

Do the 200SX rear calipers include the hand brake?

I've had one mr2 where the brakes felt a bit more "modern" than they usually do and it was a rev3 n/a. no idea what discs and pads were on it but i had a rev2 tubby at the same time and the rev3 felt miles better. It felt like it had a different servo or something, the pedal felt way nicer and like I said it actually felt a bit more modern.

Did they both have ABS? Mine is a Rev3 without ABS, perhaps that makes some difference.

No the 200sx upgrade is just for the fronts. Obviously fit a bias controller though, funny you mention ABS as the only one i thought was decent was the one that had abs. My current one is not abs

[bobhatton]

na I'm not buying that at all Bob, the mr2 brakes are straight outta the Toyota parts bin, I refuse to believe that those front calipers just so happen to work with every other Toyota they're on by "design". Toyota have chucked whatever caliper they had at the time on the Mr2

It is getting the right match between front and rear that is the problem when changing from stock to anything else, very very hard to get that right.

[rev3turbo]

The worst thing about stock brakes is they like to seize, however.... they are old, wear and tear, its bound to happen.

Other than that they are great, ive well maintained calipers, goodridge lines, drilled/grooved discs + carbotech pads with ATE blue fluid

they really are great, never fade and the warmer they get the better they seem to work, its one of my favourite things about the car.