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Princess 4 pot calipers
Steve Hnz - 29/6/04 at 08:23 PM

Two quick questions.
Will I be able to run 13" wheels on a Cortina upright if I fit Princess 4 pot calipers?
Can I run a solid disc rather than vented so as not to have to widen the 4 pots?

steve m - 30/6/04 at 07:16 AM

I run capri 13" wheels with princess 4 pot calipers, and the system works well, I do not think that vented disks would fit, even on my setup the gap betwwen caliper to wheel is minimul

steve

britishtrident - 30/6/04 at 06:32 PM

Princess calipers are of little or no benefit, the various pipework solutions tend to be untidy hard to bleed and the calipers are even heavier than the grossly over weight Cortina ones hence do nothing for the unsprung weight.

Steve Hnz - 30/6/04 at 07:43 PM

Steve M, Thanks for the response, what size discs are you running with them, Cortina ones or have you something else? Cheers, Steve Hnz.

phelpsa - 3/7/04 at 12:08 PM

I am using princess calipers and they are actually about the same weight as the M16 caliper. I am also using vented discs and they do fit under 13's. If you do it right then the calipers are easy to bleed, you need two pipes going in to the caliper using a t-piece. I went to the morgan factory yesterday and I have found out that they use them.

By the way Steve Hnz, I am using Capri vented discs (247mm).

Adam

Steve Hnz - 3/7/04 at 01:58 PM

Adam, Have you needed to put a spacer in to run the vented discs or are they ok as is, also what width & back set wheels are you running, steel or alloy? Thanks, Steve.

phelpsa - 3/7/04 at 04:21 PM

They are spaced for vented discs, but they came like that. You can get spacer kits for them from Burton Power for around £30 per pair (I think). I am not using 13s as they will not go ove the rear brakes but I have tried a 13x6 steel with an ET35 offset on and it fits with a 10mm spacer so an ET19 wheel should fit. If not a 3-5mm wheel spacer will sort it out.

Adam

[Edited on 3/7/04 by phelpsa]

phelpsa - 3/7/04 at 04:28 PM

Britishtrident, cost might be the overwhelming factor here. Some people want better stopping power without spending £200+ on a set of ali 4-pots from hi-spec etc.. These calipers can be picked up for <£50 per pair and offer a lot more braking power than the 2-pot M16 usually used.

Steve Hnz - 4/7/04 at 03:17 AM

Thanks, Adam, right on the mark, mine cost me $NZ100, `bout UKpounds 34 & are in good nick, not rusty & needing seals at worst, Don`t `spose you have a pic of how you linked the two circuits would you, you talked about a T piece. Thanks, Steve.

phelpsa - 4/7/04 at 09:49 AM

I have not connected them yet as I haven't got that for with my build yet but see Steve m's archive as he has fitted them.

Adam

britishtrident - 4/7/04 at 03:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
Britishtrident, cost might be the overwhelming factor here. Some people want better stopping power without spending £200+ on a set of ali 4-pots from hi-spec etc.. These calipers can be picked up for <£50 per pair and offer a lot more braking power than the 2-pot M16 usually used.


Braking efiiciency is controlled by a lot of factors the most important is the cooling area of the disc.
Fitting vented discs with decent performance brake pads is a good start combined the two will make a much bigger impact on fade than changing the calipers. I have raced Davrian of similar weight and performance to the Locost with 10.25" solid discs with the P14 calipers all round with no noticeable fade after 12 laps and believe me nothing out brakes a Davrian or Clan on slicks the braking for a hairpin was like hitting a brick wall.

The standard M16 calipers are alread too big they were also used on the front of the Granada a car times the weight of a 7 -- big calipers although they have more piston area aren't of much advantage, the bigger the caliper the more it covers of the disc reducing the cooling area. Back in the the 70s the Escort MK2's principal oponent in club racing and rallies was the Chrysler Avenger/Sunbeam --- the brakes on the latter were generally regarded as better thasn those on the Ford which were notorious for fade --- only real diference between the two girling braking systems was the Avenger used much smaller P14 calipers.

With calipers heat disapation, rigidity and light weight are the things to look for.

The other thing that has to be considered is brake balance to much braking force at the front will only result in the front wheels doing all the braking again causing the front brakes to heat up faster.

Steve Hnz - 5/7/04 at 11:19 AM

Thanks BT for once again for your obviously knowledgeable input. In my case I don`t intend to race, I`m embarking on this build to satisfy a long term dream. I built my own house, I build my own bikes & now I want to build my own car. I`ve always been a bit of a petrol head in a highly tuned 4 cylinder way rather than a V8 way. Stopping such as it has to do won`t be continual enough as in competition for fade to be a problem, but I do want it to be complete. I also happen to think that 4 pots nicely cleaned up & exposed behind clubman wheels look way trick. Go figure! I never claimed good sense has much to do with it. Just good fun. While I`m in total agreement with your rational & I know the Cortina calipers will stop me just fine, I`m going to go with the princess ones anyway, just because I can. maybe the next build (?) will go back to basics & some P14 calipers feature in that. Anyone Know what else had these, what did Chevettes have?
Cheers, Steve.