MKIII Cortina brake upgrades

[daveh1932]

I heard that princess 4 pot calipers can be adapted to MKIII Cortina's, what is involved and are there any other options?

Cheers

Dave

[buzzard]

willwood  make several types of calipers  for mk3 cortinas

[Vista]

Yes they can but they aren't that easy to come by now and usually need a full rebuild anyway. By the time you've factored the cost of that in, you're not far off the cost of a set of Willwood 4 pots. They may not be the best caliper out there, but they're about the best for that money.

[deltamal]

As said, Princess 4 pots are hard to find, Wilwood or Hi-spec would be a cheaper and probably better option, I've got Princesses on my Mk3 but I bought them 15 years ago for £10, the re-furb cos £150, to buy a pair and get them sorted would prob cost around £300 now for 'old style' brakes.

[Escort Mk1 4 Door]

old style as in look or lack of stopping power?

[daveh1932]

Yes they can but they aren't that easy to come by now and usually need a full rebuild anyway. By the time you've factored the cost of that in, you're not far off the cost of a set of Willwood 4 pots. They may not be the best caliper out there, but they're about the best for that money.

Thanks, yes I've looked at the Wilwood kit and it looks good but a bit pricey but may end up going this route. I just wanted to explore cheaper solutions.

Cheers,

Dave

[daveh1932]

As said, Princess 4 pots are hard to find, Wilwood or Hi-spec would be a cheaper and probably better option, I've got Princesses on my Mk3 but I bought them 15 years ago for £10, the re-furb cos £150, to buy a pair and get them sorted would prob cost around £300 now for 'old style' brakes.

Thanks for the reply, do they need adaptor brackets to fit on? What disc did you use, standard or vented?

Cheers,

Dave

[SmokeEm]

I am under the impression 2.8i Capri vented discs and calipers bolt straight on with spacers

[daveh1932]

I am under the impression 2.8i Capri vented discs and calipers bolt straight on with spacers

Thanks that Sounds interesting, and worth having a look at. All the big brake kits I've seen have been listed as fitting cortina, escort and capri's so looks like there is some interchangability there,

Cheers,

Dave

[Vista]

The 2.8i caliper is just a spaced M16 caliper, the only thing it improves is brake cooling leading to less risk of fade. The actual braking performance doesn't really change as it's the same caliper and pad area.

[mk2 mike]

I had the 2.8 setup on my car when I bought it. They weren't all that tbh. I've got hi-spec 4 pots with braded hoses now and its worlds apart. Save up and go for some proper ones, the hi- specs aren't as much as you think.

[daveh1932]

Thanks for all the responses guys, I think I will save up the pennies and go for the aftermarket option! As far as I can see the Wilwood and hi-spec packages appear to be the most common kits available, or are there any other options?

Cheers,

Dave

[deltamal]

If I was changing brakes now I would go the Hi-Spec route, my set up is with the Capri vented discs with spacers in the calipers, they bolt straight on with some re-plumbing, Big red (ebay) make extended anti squeak shim kits to fit after the spacers are fitted.

[Vista]

Thanks for all the responses guys, I think I will save up the pennies and go for the aftermarket option! As far as I can see the Wilwood and hi-spec packages appear to be the most common kits available, or are there any other options?

Cheers,

Dave

 

 

AP racing are widely thought of as the best, prepare your wallet for a beating though

 

http://www.apracing.com/products/road_car_upgrades/road_brake_calipers/4_piston_calipers.aspx

[brettp]

I had princes callipers they where crap and very heavy I've got hi spec on the front now and wilwood on the back and like them both

[Vista]

I've just read an interesting thread on another forum about Brembo calipers from a Peugeot 406 fitting onto Ford struts, you'd need to run them with 15" wheels and I'm not sure what disc you'd need but it's got to be worth looking into

[Escort Mk1 4 Door]

yes i have seen them run them on escort mk5 and mk6's and there a 330mm disk i believe and im sure its 16's and up

[Vista]

There are conflicting reports on which disc to use, one poster says a 315mm disc from a 728 BMW, the other says Peugeot 307 HDI front discs. A 315mm disc should just about go under a 15" rim, not sure what size the 307 ones are though.

[Escort Mk1 4 Door]

406 are 17's i think as the smaller modles are 16's wheel, surely if the disk gets to small the pads will form a lip. that couls cause issues