quote:
Blyton is always the big test for my brakes as it is small and has a big succession of corners. The polymatrix pad maybe a starting point for me here
as ive seen other people talk them up on other forums,cheers.
laptoprob - 10/10/13 at 06:48 AM
quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
i run the wilwood dynalites on the radical. they are the basic radical brakes (not the upgraded floating disc type) and the braking performance is id
a different league to any 7 ive had including the caterham. ive had powerlited,hispec,ford wtc but this thing is a different animal!
cheers Dan, i know the brakes are great on your cars but again your running nearly 200kgs lighter than me so will make the difference. 
rodgling - 10/10/13 at 07:01 AM
What are you trying to improve about your brakes?
I have powerlites on an 800 kg car (with me in it) and think they are v good. But I am running 1144 pads, not the Wilwood pads which everyone on here
says are poo (I've not tried them). Try pads first as a cheap/easy improvement?
Benzo - 10/10/13 at 07:05 AM
quote:
Originally posted by rodgling
What are you trying to improve about your brakes?
I have powerlites on an 800 kg car (with me in it) and think they are v good. But I am running 1144 pads, not the Wilwood pads which everyone on here
says are poo (I've not tried them). Try pads first as a cheap/easy improvement?
Agreed! Put some good pads in 1st front and rear. Mintex 1144 or ds2500's would be what I would recommend!
[Edited on 10/10/13 by Benzo]
amalyos - 10/10/13 at 07:23 AM
I run powerlites on my RGB car, and their fine. The biggest difference I made was changing the pads this season. I went over to 'Polymatrix
A' pads, very happy with them.
adithorp - 10/10/13 at 08:18 AM
I'd have a bit of a read through the RGB forum before considering Hi-Specs. Several people have had problems with them. Two guys I go touring
with have had them and both had trouble with them binding.
I'd try different pads first. 1144's have been good for me in my Powerlights even on Alpine decents. Though I'm now at the point around
Blyton, where I'm only finding any more time by pushing the braking points and starting to get fade (for those that don't know it, it's
hard on brakes).
If you're getting fade though after that then you need either bigger or vented discs (or cooling ducts?). Changing calipers won't help a lot
with heat. There's not a lot of chance of going bigger on the discs under 13"s.
mazie - 10/10/13 at 08:30 AM
I run powerlites , solid discs and 1144's on a 700kg car with me in it and they are pretty awesome, never fade and the pedal feel is superb.
rdodger - 10/10/13 at 08:32 AM
I have Midilite's with 260mm vented discs. Powerlite on the back. Car is approx. 600kg. Fiat MC.
I started with smart pads. They took at least a couple of laps to work at all then were very good. Scarey on the road.
I now have 1144 all round. The pedal feels much better and the brake feel is really consistent. Fade? No chance!
edsco - 10/10/13 at 09:08 AM
I run Powerlites with Poly A pads on my race car in RGB series. I cant flaw them. The combo is very effective.
My only issue i have had this season with them was when racing on the GP circuit at Donington earlier this year. Doing the longer circuit with the
addition of two hairpns in quick succession meant i cooked the brakes big time. On talking with other racers later, it turned out everyone, or the
large majority, had experienced brake fade on the hairpins too which consisted of a large range of caliper makes.
I am running vented discs on front and still got brake fade, but I think the issue was more to do with lack of positive ducted airflow for cooling.
I was told that Poly A pads if allowed to get too low can also be susceptible to brake fade due to there not being enough pad material to absorb or
rather help dissipate the heat. However, worn pads were not the cause of my one and only specific issue.
My personal opinion Wilwoods give a good positive feel when combine with the right pads. I ran Wilwoods with Mintex pads on my Spire several years
ago and they felt numb, not particularly grippy or grabby, so swapped pads and things improved immensely.
Horzes for courses i guess.
laptoprob - 10/10/13 at 10:12 AM
quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
I'd have a bit of a read through the RGB forum before considering Hi-Specs. Several people have had problems with them. Two guys I go touring
with have had them and both had trouble with them binding.
I'd try different pads first. 1144's have been good for me in my Powerlights even on Alpine decents. Though I'm now at the point around
Blyton, where I'm only finding any more time by pushing the braking points and starting to get fade (for those that don't know it, it's
hard on brakes).
If you're getting fade though after that then you need either bigger or vented discs (or cooling ducts?). Changing calipers won't help a lot
with heat. There's not a lot of chance of going bigger on the discs under 13"s.
Will have a look Adi at the forums etc. My brakes went twice at Blyton when i was there last with you but the pads were at the end of their life etc
and yes Blyton is a pig on brakes for sure.
Im after a better brake all round really as i dont have confidence in them at present, they dont scrub speed fast enough for me. Im going to try the
Polymax A in them as im off to Oulton next Friday and now dont have the time to change the whole setup etc.
On another note my brakes have never faded at Blyton with Willwood pads in and my wheels are 15"
rodgling - 10/10/13 at 10:20 AM
Hmm. Looking at this: http://www.wilwood.com/PDF/Flyers/fl227.pdf why would anyone use any Wilwood compound other than A?
jeffw - 10/10/13 at 10:26 AM
I had Powerlite with solid discs and was melting the disc so went to Midlites with vented. I am running Hawk DTC30 pads which are very good but you
can use 1144s which are much better than the Willwood pads.
adithorp - 10/10/13 at 11:22 AM
quote:
Originally posted by laptoprob
On another note my brakes have never faded at Blyton with Willwood pads in and my wheels are 15"
In never had any fade from mine with the Wilwood SmartPads during the shorttime I had them fitted either... I didn't have any usefull braking
either though!
Davey D - 10/10/13 at 11:29 AM
quote:
Originally posted by rodgling
Hmm. Looking at this: http://www.wilwood.com/PDF/Flyers/fl227.pdf why would anyone use any Wilwood compound other than A?
Yeah its the Polymatrix A compund that i use. There came recommended to me from Andy at ABPerformance. With slicks on i can brake that hard that my
body is pressing hard into my harness straps. Loads of feel to them too. The odd time i pushed just that little too much and locked the wheels you can
feather the brakes, and re apply with full power again
coyoteboy - 10/10/13 at 12:28 PM
Disc diameter is one of the key drivers of the apparent braking force - how do everyones rotor sizes compare - that would be my first question. Given
the same piston areas all the calipers should give roughly the same stopping results, give or take a few percent. The difference will come when you
change the torque they can provide. This will increase stopping force available but increase the likelihood of fade. IF you're nowhere near a
fade limit, just up the rotor diam?
loggyboy - 10/10/13 at 12:57 PM
quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
Disc diameter is one of the key drivers of the apparent braking force - how do everyones rotor sizes compare - that would be my first question. Given
the same piston areas all the calipers should give roughly the same stopping results, give or take a few percent. The difference will come when you
change the torque they can provide. This will increase stopping force available but increase the likelihood of fade. If you're nowhere near a
fade limit, just up the rotor diam?
Surely a larger disc would also disipate heat quicker so balance out the increased forces applied?
pekwah1 - 10/10/13 at 02:31 PM
if you can find Carbotech brake pads for your calipers, they're supposed to be amazing!!
Not half expensive though....
PhillipM - 10/10/13 at 03:24 PM
They are, XP8's blow anything Wilwood offers away. The Wilwood compounds are pretty old though, so to be expected.
Powerlites are fine on lighter cars, anything much over the 700kg mark and you should be switching up to Midilites though, that's generally where
all these rumours of excessive flex come from - people running the smallest, cheapest caliper on cars much heavier than they were designed for.
unijacko67 - 10/10/13 at 04:12 PM
I had the Ferodo 2500 (FRP3108H) in at Blyton ppc day and although I wasn't as fast as you chaps I did have a tad more weight to stop and
didn't have any brake fade issues. I cant compare as I haven't used any other types, but seem to stop ok.
Neadles - 12/10/13 at 06:46 AM
I have HI Spec calipers with green stuff pads and solid disc, as this is how I bought it and after my first year with the car on track there not great
at all. I thinking mainly because i have never rated the EBC pads, but they do flex I thinkink as I have about 1.5-2 mm pad thickness defference
accross them as I have been warned by a few people this might happen. I like to brake hard and late and its just not doing it for me and at Blyton I
have cooked the brakes everytime which is what dictates my sessions length. So the seup will be changing! I've always been a fan of AP with
Dixcel carbon pads but don't think they would cost effective.
I am thinking of Powerlights with 1144 pads.
Rob if you want to try try my calipers as my car is away for the winter let me know. (I have Mk2 escort uprights which I beleve are the same as
cortina ones?)
laptoprob - 12/10/13 at 08:15 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Neadles
I have HI Spec calipers with green stuff pads and solid disc, as this is how I bought it and after my first year with the car on track there not great
at all. I thinking mainly because i have never rated the EBC pads, but they do flex I thinkink as I have about 1.5-2 mm pad thickness defference
accross them as I have been warned by a few people this might happen. I like to brake hard and late and its just not doing it for me and at Blyton I
have cooked the brakes everytime which is what dictates my sessions length. So the seup will be changing! I've always been a fan of AP with
Dixcel carbon pads but don't think they would cost effective.
I am thinking of Powerlights with 1144 pads.
Rob if you want to try try my calipers as my car is away for the winter let me know. (I have Mk2 escort uprights which I beleve are the same as
cortina ones?)
Thats a very kind offer mate but ive decided to go Polymatrix A race pads for next weeks visit to Oulton and test the water.(literally if its
raining).
If they perform ok i may stick with the Powerlites short term in view of changing to Midilites with solid disc.
I like AP too but dont have AP money 
StevieB - 12/10/13 at 08:29 AM
quote:
Originally posted by laptoprob
Hi all,
wondered if anyone can help on my brake upgrade quandry?
Im running Powerlites at present on Cortina uprights which was an upgrade from my std M16's running green stuff. If im honest i hardly felt any
difference.
Im now in the market to upgrade again.
My car has 262bhp, weighs around 590kgs and spend 80% of my time on track.
My first port of call is the Midilites with disc upgrade to possibly the vented version but have been warned they are heavy discs abd will have an
small adverse effect on brake performance.
So do i go with Midilites or are the HiSpec units any better and do i stick with solids or go vented?
My budget is 4-5 hundred quid by the way before anyone gets carried away
[Edited on 9/10/13 by laptoprob]
[Edited on 9/10/13 by laptoprob]
Do you have a bias valve to play with? Might be worth giving one a go before abondoning the powerlites and putting a load more money in (but give me a
shout if you do because I want some on my westfield )
If you can adjus the bias, you might find a better balance that suits your needs rather than forking out a heap of money to then possibly have a
similar problem.
jeffw - 12/10/13 at 09:12 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Neadles
I have HI Spec calipers with green stuff pads and solid disc, as this is how I bought it and after my first year with the car on track there not great
at all. I thinking mainly because i have never rated the EBC pads, but they do flex I thinkink as I have about 1.5-2 mm pad thickness defference
accross them as I have been warned by a few people this might happen. I like to brake hard and late and its just not doing it for me and at Blyton I
have cooked the brakes everytime which is what dictates my sessions length. So the seup will be changing! I've always been a fan of AP with
Dixcel carbon pads but don't think they would cost effective.
I am thinking of Powerlights with 1144 pads.
Rob if you want to try try my calipers as my car is away for the winter let me know. (I have Mk2 escort uprights which I beleve are the same as
cortina ones?)
The reason for your cooked brakes is a lack of cooling. Remember brakes will run hotter in a Fury/Phoenix than a Seven so you either have to run
cooling ducts or vented discs. The BEC Furys get away with it due to low weight but a CEC enclosed car needs the next brakes up...
Neadles - 12/10/13 at 11:20 AM
quote:
Originally posted by jeffw
The reason for your cooked brakes is a lack of cooling. Remember brakes will run hotter in a Fury/Phoenix than a Seven so you either have to run
cooling ducts or vented discs. The BEC Furys get away with it due to low weight but a CEC enclosed car needs the next brakes up...
I appreciate that Jeff, but it is a Furyblade so is light, the bite is not great and I cannot break as late as most. i thought about over heating and
ducting but I'm still not happy with the feel of the brakes. The MC's are right and the balance bar seems to be just about right.
laptoprob - 12/10/13 at 12:14 PM
quote:
Originally posted by StevieB
quote:
Originally posted by laptoprob
Hi all,
wondered if anyone can help on my brake upgrade quandry?
Im running Powerlites at present on Cortina uprights which was an upgrade from my std M16's running green stuff. If im honest i hardly felt any
difference.
Im now in the market to upgrade again.
My car has 262bhp, weighs around 590kgs and spend 80% of my time on track.
My first port of call is the Midilites with disc upgrade to possibly the vented version but have been warned they are heavy discs abd will have an
small adverse effect on brake performance.
So do i go with Midilites or are the HiSpec units any better and do i stick with solids or go vented?
My budget is 4-5 hundred quid by the way before anyone gets carried away
[Edited on 9/10/13 by laptoprob]
[Edited on 9/10/13 by laptoprob]
Do you have a bias valve to play with? Might be worth giving one a go before abondoning the powerlites and putting a load more money in (but give me a
shout if you do because I want some on my westfield )
If you can adjus the bias, you might find a better balance that suits your needs rather than forking out a heap of money to then possibly have a
similar problem.
I did think about the fact i may have needed a bias in there but the brakes hardly ever lock up to be fair so i think it about right anyway. It may
lock an inside wheel when braking downhill at speed but that pretty normal with weight tranfer etc.
Ill keep you posted on the Powerlite Steve if i decide to let them go
PhillipM - 12/10/13 at 01:02 PM
Bin the Greenstuffs.
We have Hispecs on the rear of the racer and have no issues with caliper flex, the pads wear absolutely square even down to a shadow on the backing
plate. Might be worth checking they're mounted perfectly square to the discs.
