Brakes!

Boxing day is usually pretty boring so I spent boxing day afternoon in the workshop tackling the first bit of the Super Cup project. The brakes.

Theres nothing wrong with the standard Cup calipers or disc sizes - these are the same as used on the 172/182 Clio Cup Race Cars and they do the trick no problem on a car as light as the Clio, assuming the components in them are fairly decent.

The original spec was Brembo HC discs on the front - however I scored some Brembo Max discs for the same price as bogo HC's. The Max discs are actualy HC's with (mostly cosmetic) grooves cut in them. I've also got two lots of pads to try - Carbon Lorraines and Performance Friction 01 Compound. Will let you know which is best for a mixed use car such as this Cup but the CL's are in first!

Having stuck the car on axle stands (the 'other' Clio was on the lift) I stripped down both front corners and got in there with the wire brush to clean the muck off the uprights, wishbones etc. The ball joints and track rod ends were all in good nick so no need to change those. The Calipers weren't in bad nick but the slides weren't as free as they could be and they looked a bit of a state.

I stripped down both front calipers and rebuilt them with new slides, boots and seals. Then gave them a paint with some fairly default VHT. If it stops them rusting I'm happy, not really into bling red calipers ;-)

I also had a set of Goodridge hoses to go on, I tend to use braided hose on cars which'll be on track mainly because it is much more resistant to damage from abrasion or contact with other components - not because it is 'better' as such.

Once done I bled the lot through with AP 5.1. I also added some temperature tell tales to the outer front pads and caliper body so I can see what sort of temperatures the brakes get upto in hard use. This'll give me some idea of how much work the pads and fluid are doing and if I've cooked them or not!


Once bedded the CL's seem pretty good but
fairly noisey. Required pedal effort is minimal and pedal travel before the brakes start to retard the car is pretty much zero. Feels very nice!