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MG MGF Technical - Trophy Brakes

I'm seriously considering upgrading my brakes to the Trophy brake discs and calipers; my question is - what type of brakes does the trophy have on the rear and do I need to upgrade those too?

Dan

The Trophy (and TF) uses standard MGF rear calipers and discs, so strictly speaking, there is no need to change these items Dan.
Rob Bell

Dan,

IIRC the Trophy calipers only fit behind 16" wheels, so if you have standard rims then these will preclude the upgrade.

Chat to Victoria at the MGF Centre >> http://www.mgfcentre.com/ << >> (01902) 403045 << As i know she has some in stock and at reasonable prices.

SF
Scarlet Fever

Further to SF's comments IIRC Trophy calipers only fit behind trophy 16" wheels, as these are larger internaly than the standard 16" ones
Kingsley

According to the MG blurb, the front to rear brake distribution was altered for the AP/Trophy brake setup to increase rear braking and prevent premature activation of the ABS.
Would this mod need doing if upgrading to Trophy bakes?
Steve White

Interesting as my Trphy does not have ABS ?

Paul;
Paul Waine

Steve, yes, it would be worth swapping the bias valve from the Trophy to your car if upgrading to Trophy front discs and calipers.

Having said that, Dave Livingstone's car uses front Trophy brakes, with - I suspect (Dave may be able to confirm or refute) - the standard MGF bias valve. He has ABS, which helps out, but the car's brakes seem to work pretty well.

Regarding the Trophy caliper clearance, Andy and Kingsley are quite right - there are critical clearance issues. However, Nik reported a month or two ago that the MGF Centre were able to fit the Trophy brakes behind the 16" multi-spoke alloy wheel - albeit using a 1.5mm spacer, and a little 'dressing' (with an angle grinder!) of the caliper... ;o) Whether similar work can get other 16" wheel styles to fit over these brakes, I have no idea...
Rob Bell

>>Interesting as my Trphy does not have ABS ?<<

Paul, the majority of UK-spec Trophy's weren't fitted with ABS. These cars are low-volume type approved vehicles :o)

Later, fully EU homologated cars, WERE fitted with ABS. I don't know the VIN number cut-off to this change - may be Dieter can help there, if anyone is interested?
Rob Bell

Thanks for the help guys - I already have Trophy alloys so that's ok.

I would be interested to find out more about this 'bias valve' if anyone has links to the info...

Cheers,
Dan.

Dan

This valve is also known as a brake pressure proportioning valve. It is located to the left of the brake master cylinder - can be seen as the T-piece connector on this piccie: http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/servo_side_ani.gif

No idea what part numbers of this component are... :o( Not an awful lot of info in workshop manual :o(
Rob Bell

Rob,

Came over the valve change when evaluating the differences between the F and TF.
Desided to swap the whole car for a TF160 insead of just the brakes! (hence the parts I'v been selling off!)
Jus countin the days till I pick it up :)
Steve White

This valve, if there is a significant difference, may be of use to those like myself who have bigger/better front brakes. I'm not knowledgeable enough to be able to say whether my brake balance should be more forward or back. Anyone else have more info about the differences between the two?

P.
Paul Nothard

Easy way to tell, get into a supermarket carpark and get the car traveling in an arc at 30, press the brake untill you start to slide, if the back end goes first then you have too much bias to the rear, if the front end goes then you have too much bias to the front (this is safer than too much at the rear), if you can adjust then adjust so the front just slips beore the rear.
Will Munns

The Trophy bias valve will almost certainly increase the rear bias: a single piston caliper will have to perform more work than 4 four pistons on a larger diameter disc with a larger pad to disc contact area.

Whether the Trophy bias valve would be appropriate for other big brake conversions is less clear: it may send too much effort to the rear brakes... locking the front brakes is a lot safer than having the rears lock.

A better bet would be to obtain an adjustable bias valve. AP do one, and can probably be purchased via Demon Tweekes - see also AP's own web page: http://www.apracing.com/car/cylinder/pvalves.htm
Rob Bell

<<A better bet would be to obtain an adjustable bias valve.>>

perfect for locking up the front wheels, whilst you "smoke" your rear tyres.

a must for every boy-racer.

paul weatherill

This thread was discussed on 13/03/2003

MG MGF Technical index

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