Brake upgrade????

[growler]

Hi guys been having a good look around my second fav site (ebay)
and spotted front disc brakes but these ones have holes and grooves in them.
or cause my front discs are solid so can i fit these or do i have to stick like for like??

come on dell boy bet you know the answer you rascal guru you, lol

[J J 007]

i have drilled and vented disc and braided brake lines no problem easy fit

[duncanamps]

I've got the drilled and grooved ones on my Bambi and it makes a noticeable difference coming down long hills, I still have working brakes at the bottom of the hill now 

[Dell Boy]

There grooved to disperse water & ventilated to cool them.
Neither of these was felt to be a requirement by the manufacturer on such a low powered & light vehicle.
Where Rascarrys fall down on braking is, due to its lightweight the rear end skips in the air & the rear wheels lose grip.
BUT, if it is a Bambi/Nipper/Romahome they would probably give a small percentage improvement/help with stopping.
If everything is working correctly in the braking system the brakes are very, very good on Rascarry`s & you can do stoppies easily.
BUT when they are bad they can be next to useless. I had one in yesterday with very poor brakes but I was only doing an engine transplant & no more so off it went & it had an M.o.T. not long before.
Its your call if it is worth the cost but make sure everything else in the braking system is working correctly & as designed.

Derek.

[J J 007]

i have said this before though i have the drilled and vented disc + ebc pads not sure if they are any better,but do recommend braided brake lines you will pay the same for the old rubber ones but these last longer and do not expand therefore better,saying all that one van i sold had standard brakes would put you through the windscreen,personal preference i suppose

[growler]

thanks guys, 3 guesses what ill be doing next weekend, just to know which brake pads to get now, lol
if there on ebay or your selling them give me the link, thanks

[duncanamps]

Would like some recommendations on pads too.  Using the EBC greenstuff but I'm not convinced they have much "bite".

[mcalvert39]

I dont think the brakes on my van have ever been changed from new and the vans about 18 years old now. Only the fluid has been changed and a couple of rear cylinders. And guess what. I can do stoppies no problem when empty. Kinda scary actually when the lights change to red and im still doing 50.
I cant see the need for upgrading the brakes on this kind of vehicle unless you plan to do lots of braking I.e track work.
If i had poor braking i think id start by changing the rubber brake lines and look if the rear compensator was working.

[J J 007]

HEL braided brake lines  do a set for a vauxhall rascal fits all

[spacehopper]

There grooved to disperse water & ventilated to cool them.
Neither of these was felt to be a requirement by the manufacturer on such a low powered & light vehicle.
Where Rascarrys fall down on braking is, due to its lightweight the rear end skips in the air & the rear wheels lose grip.

Derek.

In years of Rascaling I cannot see any reason to 'upgrade' the braking. If your brakes are poor it is down to poor maintenance or worn components. If the system is set up correctly and well maintained it is more than adequate. As Dell says the only fall down is that in an empty van the back end is light and wheels can lock....but upgraded components will not change that! This is due to weight distribution - only weight in the back and correct driving will improve it!

I have found that a major source of poor braking is the sliding mechanism on the front calipers can seize (sometimes they can be freed - sometimes not) - fancy discs and braided lines won't improve that.

Upgrading components is never a solution to poor maintenance! (Not that anyone on here has a badly maintained van of course!)

[duncanamps]

An empty van at 750kg is one thing, a Bambi at near 1400kg the brakes are definitely not "more than adequate" requiring, in my opinion, an excessive force to lock the front wheels.  Brake fade is another serious problem when fully loaded and faced with a sustained downhill braking session.

I have had the normal discs and pads give up downhill on two occasions, due to overheating of the brake assembly and out-gassing from the overheated pads requiring cadence braking to avoid disaster.  Both the overheating and pad gassing were fixed by fitting slotted and drilled disks and the van is now able to descend steep hills without incident, including Bayble Hill which is a 21 degree incline (that's 1 in 2.9 in old money).

In my case, it's not about poor maintenance, it's a basic design issue.

[growler]

i agree with you totally when it comes to safety i would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it any day besides drilled vented discs would look bad ass, lol

[J J 007]

i bought them coz i liked them go for it same as the braided brake lines

[duncanamps]

Yep I've got the HEL braided lines too, about half the price of the normal Suzuki ones 

[duncanamps]

@Beefy if you want a laugh check out this brake failure of my Bambi van.  There's 18 stone on the brake pedal and it's still speeding up....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj3PBT6pvaA
Warning: contains strong language (well if your brakes failed you wouldn't be saying "flip" and "ruddy")