No adapter Big Brakes
- DPDISXR4Ti
- Site Admin
- Posts: 14824
- Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2003 11:40 pm
- Location: New York
No adapter Big Brakes
I figured my post # 10,000 should be something worthwhile - perhaps someone will find this useful.
Presenting the no-adapter-needed Big Brake "Kit". Parts required:
2008 - 2010 Ford Focus Front calipers
Contour SVT Rotors ('05+ Focus rotors could also be used, but would require thicker spacers)
~ 3/8" spacers (didn't figure exactly, but that'll get you in the neighborhood)
New brake lines w/ banjo fittings on caliper side (might be able to use stock Focus brake lines, but I just clipped them off at the junkyard so don't know for sure)
And here it is mocked up on a hub. R&D time, about 10 minutes....
What's nice about this caliper is that it's Aluminum, so it's lighter than the smaller stock caliper. Like the PBR caliper, the bracket is iron, so it's not uber-lightweight, but lighter and bigger than stock is betterer.
Obviously what makes this do-able is the fact that the Focus spindle has the same caliper mounting spacing as the XR - just the offset spacing is a little different, but that's easily remedied. The Focus caliper does use 12mm bolts rather than 10mm, so boring the holes out to 12mm is required.
Yes, this is "just" a single piston caliper, but frankly, those seem to be the most reliable over the long term. I haven't put this into "production" but don't see any issues with it working.
Presenting the no-adapter-needed Big Brake "Kit". Parts required:
2008 - 2010 Ford Focus Front calipers
Contour SVT Rotors ('05+ Focus rotors could also be used, but would require thicker spacers)
~ 3/8" spacers (didn't figure exactly, but that'll get you in the neighborhood)
New brake lines w/ banjo fittings on caliper side (might be able to use stock Focus brake lines, but I just clipped them off at the junkyard so don't know for sure)
And here it is mocked up on a hub. R&D time, about 10 minutes....
What's nice about this caliper is that it's Aluminum, so it's lighter than the smaller stock caliper. Like the PBR caliper, the bracket is iron, so it's not uber-lightweight, but lighter and bigger than stock is betterer.
Obviously what makes this do-able is the fact that the Focus spindle has the same caliper mounting spacing as the XR - just the offset spacing is a little different, but that's easily remedied. The Focus caliper does use 12mm bolts rather than 10mm, so boring the holes out to 12mm is required.
Yes, this is "just" a single piston caliper, but frankly, those seem to be the most reliable over the long term. I haven't put this into "production" but don't see any issues with it working.
Brad
Unfortunately, there isn't. The base Focus guys step up to the SVT setup, but that requires new spindles as the mounting is different. Any of the other kits, Bremo, SSBC, etc all require modification.Grayson wrote:Going a step further, if there's an upgrade kit available for the Focus that doesn't use adapters, then those big brakes can also be used without adapters.
Nice find though Brad!
- merkurdriver
- Level 8
- Posts: 6365
- Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2003 4:29 pm
- Location: Northeast Ohio
- Contact:
- John Brennan
- Level 8
- Posts: 11630
- Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 4:19 pm
- Location: Scottsdale, AZ "Summer Is Coming"
-
- Level 2
- Posts: 138
- Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:08 pm
- Location: Middle TN
- Contact:
- milehighXR
- Level 7
- Posts: 2317
- Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:17 pm
- Location: Longmont, Co
- DPDISXR4Ti
- Site Admin
- Posts: 14824
- Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2003 11:40 pm
- Location: New York
Right, the caliper just needs to get spaced out ~3/8" to properly center over the rotor.John Brennan wrote:So for the spacers, you're talking about for the caliper mounting bolts?
11" The Contour SVT rotor is the "standard" rotor used for most of the big brake upgrades.John Brennan wrote:And do you know how big these rotors are?
Not specifically related to this, but the thing I discovered a couple years back is that the 2005+ Focus rotor is also 11" (and obviously the same bolt pattern and hub bore), but a bit thicker and offset a bit less than the Contour rotor. As such, it can be used as an alternative to the Contour SVT rotor by simply spacing the caliper out ~1/8". So in this case, you'd need a 1/2" spacer to use the Focus rotor instead of the Contour SVT part.
Brad
Re: No adapter Big Brakes
Nope. Sorry.DPDISXR4Ti wrote:I figured my post # 10,000 should be something worthwhile - perhaps someone will find this useful.
Tony Vissoc
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
- DPDISXR4Ti
- Site Admin
- Posts: 14824
- Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2003 11:40 pm
- Location: New York
Re: No adapter Big Brakes
Yea, I know. And can you believe I posted this information without including compatibility with all wheels as well? I totally suck!tvissoc wrote:Nope. Sorry.DPDISXR4Ti wrote:I figured my post # 10,000 should be something worthwhile - perhaps someone will find this useful.
Brad
Re: No adapter Big Brakes
Sheesh.DPDISXR4Ti wrote:Yea, I know. And can you believe I posted this information without including compatibility with all wheels as well? I totally suck!tvissoc wrote:Nope. Sorry.DPDISXR4Ti wrote:I figured my post # 10,000 should be something worthwhile - perhaps someone will find this useful.
Tony Vissoc
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
- milehighXR
- Level 7
- Posts: 2317
- Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:17 pm
- Location: Longmont, Co
So do you know what wheels will fit this particular set up? Or more accurately what wheels are you using now? And how well do they clear?
I'm looking for something that will fit behind the stock BBS style wheels, the ones with the locking center cap. And It can't break the bank either.
I'm looking for something that will fit behind the stock BBS style wheels, the ones with the locking center cap. And It can't break the bank either.
Johnny
1 86 XR aka Naomi- my first love, now daily driven project
DCLXVI
1 86 XR aka Naomi- my first love, now daily driven project
DCLXVI
- DPDISXR4Ti
- Site Admin
- Posts: 14824
- Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2003 11:40 pm
- Location: New York
Mocked up on a hub in a vise is the extent of my "testing" of this setup. Best bet is to look at the OE application - a Ford Focus with ~50mm offset 15" wheels. The 3/8" spacer requirement on the XR means a ~40mm offset wheel would clear with about the same clearance.milehighXR wrote:So do you know what wheels will fit this particular set up? Or more accurately what wheels are you using now? And how well do they clear?
I'm looking for something that will fit behind the stock BBS style wheels, the ones with the locking center cap. And It can't break the bank either.
Brad
- milehighXR
- Level 7
- Posts: 2317
- Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:17 pm
- Location: Longmont, Co