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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Brake discs and pads

My disc brakes are currently green stuff pads with drilled and grooved discs. Although generally seem ok I feel could be better during heavy braking.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Les
Les Robinson

Hi Les, is the front suspension standard ?

I ask as I have had single arm dampers come apart under heavy braking !

Mal
Malc Gilliver

Hi Mal
Yes standard suspension.
Les
Les Robinson

Hi Les
You could upgrade to Red pads which should give a bit more bite.
Yellow or Blue would probably be too much for road use.
Cheers
Steve
S G KEIL

Les,

I'm looking to improve the dampers as I believe most of the softness is due to how much the top arm deflects under braking, when you say 'feel' what do you mean ?

Don't forget that pedal travel is directly affected by how well your rear drums are adjusted
Malc Gilliver

Greens aren't really up to much for heavy use, and I think they get a bad rap because they are sold at a high price as an "uprated" pad, then people use them on track and they disintegrate! But EBC specifically say they are not for track use. They are a mildly uprated, low dust street pad. IMO, they sort of fall down a bit of a gap between regular pads and "proper" uprated pads.

The next "proper" step up from road pads is yellows (you can't get reds for the Spridget). I have used yellows and solid discs for about three or four years. I drive the car on the road and have done a few sprints, track days etc. in that time and they have held up pretty well. They finally met their end after a track day this year, but have taken a fair bit of abuse in the process. If there were no other options I would be happy to use yellows again.

However... I am going to try the Mintex M1144, as they are what everyone recommends and I want to see what all the fuss is about. I have new pads and discs ready to go, as well as the taper roller bearing conversion to do.

Comments about front dampers are very true too. Triangulating the front end makes a big difference to stability under heavy braking. There is a bloke who does a kit, but I hear he won't have stock until the spring. Or Peter May do a similar thing.

Comments about the rear brakes are also true. I have gone down a rear cylinder size to push the bias forward as the rear shoes kept needing adjusting up after short amounts of heavy use, which makes the pedal feel inconsistent/scary.

Hope this helps,
Malc 2.








Malcolm

My disc brakes are a conversion from drums.
Got dual 3/4” master cylinder, 3/4” Morris Minor rear brake cylinders.
Rear brakes are adjusted regularly to maintain minimum travel.
Interested in peoples thoughts on what is best disc and pads for road use.
Les
Les Robinson

TBH I have used Green stuff pads for many years and have no complaints. I did fit NOS calipers a few years ago and all the bearings, bushes etc are in good shape along with new solid discs. I found uprating the hoses to Aero quip was worth while as it improved the feel. Yes rear brakes are 3/4" MM
Bob Beaumont

How well any Sprite stops isn't down to just the brakes but how much weight the brakes are stopping.

What will really pull up and work well on a Frogeye won't feel anything like the same on a 1500 midget.

A public weighbridge will give a reasonable (they round up the actual weight) idea of the weight of the car being stopped and help comparisons.
Daniel

Malcolm. You can get red stuff pads for Spridgets, I’ve got them.
Over the last few years I’ve had a few different types of pads. On grooved discs, the Green stuff ones completely fell apart after some spirited driving round Zandvoort so I changed to 1144s on the same discs and they were great. On a rapid descent on a mountain road in Croatia they were smoking when I stopped at some lights but they never faded at all.
I have since changed from wire wheels to alloys ( another story) and I now have solid discs with red stuff pads and they have been very good.
One caveat about 1144s. It says on the packet that they are for competition use only and not for road use. But who would know?
My front suspension uses MGB shocks on sliding plates from Mamba Motorsport. I had the shocks made slightly softer because the Sprite is lighter than the B. The triangulation really makes a difference.
b higginson

I have bog standard solid discs and ceramic pads, can't remember the brand. Fine on track days. I have not changed them in years. The ordinary pads that came with the disc set were totally gone after one track day. I don't mind adjusting the rears often, well it's not that often with a low mileage.
Les Rose

Hi Bernie, they must have phased out reds, as they have updated their range recently. I can't find them for sale. On paper they seemed like a real nice pad.

I think the yellows are the equivalent of the M1144s and my experience is similar: you can get them really stinking hot and they still work!

Totally agree on the triangulation. Not just my own opinion but the feedback of loads of others that have fitted the kit. Jump as hard as you like on the brakes and the car stays straight and stable.

But back to Les Robinson's Q. Greenstuff and drilled discs should be more than ample for road use, if everything (brakes and suspension) are all in good order.

Malc.
Malcolm

Malc. EBC Red stuff pads are all over eBay, some just pads at £52 ish and others with discs in a set at £125 ish.

Les. Are your pads the same set you had in at Zandvoort or have you since replaced them? If they are the same ones, you have done very well. Mine were goosed after that day, maybe something to do with your discs being better than mine.
Geoff Dixon has just bought some 1144s so you could ask him how they are next time you see him. To be honest, I think that 1144s are the best pads I have ever had on the Sprite, I only changed them when I swapped from wire wheels to alloys. As I had to change discs I got the Red stuff pads and discs together. They work well if you observe the “brake in “ procedure when you first fit them.
Bernie.
b higginson

Bernie
The discs are the same from when converted from drums.
I originally had 1144 pads but they squeaked quite a bit, this could possibly be due to having drilled and grooved discs? Anyway changed over to Greenstuff. Can’t remember which pads had fitted for Zandvoort, guessing the 1144’s.
Will speak to Geoff at the next meeting.
I am thinking about going back to standard discs.
Les
Les Robinson

Anyone want a set of new old stock Ferodo DS11 competition pads? They've been in my garage for at least 20 years and I won't ever use them. Make me an offer (and I'll throw in a set of retaining springs and split pins).
Jon
Jonathan Severn

Here's a pic of the MGB front shocks on my Sprite.
Bernie.


b higginson

Bernie, are the MGB shocks a straight swap for Spridget ones or do you need to make other modifications? How much difference to they make to the handling?

MSUK Roadgoing Production rules allow dampers to be upgraded, even lever-arms swapped for telescopics, but suspension mods are basically limited to stiffening and lowering. I think that adding extra links such as in Frontline kits, would be forbidden but maybe, by fitting MGB dampers, one could argue that it's merely an damper upgrade.

Colin

PS. Another vote for ll44s as recommended to me by Peter May, but then my Sprite is only mildly modified.
C Mee

Colin.
The MGB shocks are not a direct swap with the Spridget ones. They mount on a plate which utilises the three Spridget mounting holes. The B shocks then mount by four bolts and nuts and the shocks can then slide in or out to alter the camber.
I’ve got another set for my project Midget, so I’ll take some pics tomorrow and post them here.
Bernie.
b higginson

Colin. Here are the pics. You can from the first one that some body mods are needed. Image 2 shows the plate loosely in position. You also have to make a second bump stop for the other arm of the B shock. Besides having the shocks softened I also had the droop altered because on the B the shocks are mounted flat but on the Spridget they are angled up so need more droop to rest on the stops.
You get all bolts, poly bushes for the top trunnions and mgb top trunnion bolts.

On the road the car feels more planted and more stable under braking.

Apologies to Les for thread drift.
Bernie.






b higginson

This thread was discussed between 27/10/2023 and 04/11/2023

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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