MG MGF Technical Big Rear Brakes! BBS discussion at MG-Cars.net

MG MGF Technical - Big Rear Brakes!

Time to put something up on the BBS about this - as about 3 months and 4000 miles ago, I went up to Wayne Nation's (of VHS) place and had a set of 266mm rear rotors fitted to my beloved F. 4000 trouble-free miles later, and the time has come to report that they are really superb. At the beginning of the year, I finally fitted the larger 304mm AP Racing front discs, replacing the venerable 240mm standard set up using Mintex 1177 pads. I had little problem with this combination - although the rear brakes always seemed to suffer much more than the fronts - possibly a heat thing. The problem with fitting a larger front rotor is the possibility of over-braking the front axle - and I wrote about the 'great big brake mistake' before (here: http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/brakes/big_brakes/Big_Brakes.htm) I have found this a particular problem on any F fitted with the AP front rotors, without ABS, on heavy braking: the fronts would always lock prematurely - and compared to my 240mm standard set up on more aggressive pads on the front and rear, these larger front brakes were not apparently capable of the same ultimate retardation. A partial solution proved to be the fitment of 1177 rear pads to the 1144 pads to the AP fronts - in other words redress the balance by using more aggressive pads on the rear than on the front. A number of the trackday fraternity have done this and report a good result - as did I on my car in the months that I had the standard rear discs. But the problem of rear brake heat dissipation remained, along with accelerated wear of the rear brake components. Wouldn't it be nice to have a rear set up that offered the same benefits, but used less aggressive pads, was capable of shifting more heat, last longer as a result - and ultimately be cheaper to run in the long term? I had looked at a number of options, including floating rotors which offered less unsprung weight as one of their many benefits. But cost proved to be prohibitive - not only in terms of initial set up, but also in terms of replacement rotors as they wear out. A better solution would be a more 'mass production route' - and to this end, Dave Livingstone and I approached the VHS chaps for a solution. It has taken quite some time, but I think that the results are well worth it. The combination of 304mm front and 266mm rear, using 1144 Mintex pads all round is simply awesome. There is very little in the way of premature front lock up. There is absolutely no evidence of rear lock up either, whatever the weather conditions. Sadly, my work and exam commitments have stopped me from going on track so far, but I know that Dave has consistently found himself out-braking himself into corners - an annoying situation if you find yourself having to get back on the throttle having come to a halt some way ahead of the corner! LOL I have to say this kit comes very highly recommended! And that it stops the rear brakes looking quite so weedy behind those nice alloys of your is something of a bonus... see picture attachment :o) I gather that the kit is available for DIY fitment - I am going to put some instructions on line soon for those wanting to brandish their spanners - will let you know when they're up :o) Go on, you know you want to! (And no, I don't have any financial connections of any sort with VHS! Me just happy punter :o))

Rob Bell

David, I was struck by how similar our figures were, so I think that we're probably on the same wave length :o) Hi Steve - indeed it's been ages! Hope you and family are well! Dave, Steve, yes, the calipers are spaced out - and retain the original mechanisms and cables. As David infers, the handbrake can be a bit of an issue, as the spacing out of the calipers does mean that any slack in the cable is taken up, but my brakes so far haven't required adjusting, although Dave's did. The spacer is pictured below: (PS discs are standard Peugeot rotors, but re-drilled with the MG PCD - cost I think 80 quid a pair at current production levels, would get cheaper if uptake became a lot higher of course ;o))

Rob Bell

This thread was discussed between 10/11/2007 and 17/11/2007

MG MGF Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGF Technical BBS is active now.