No adapter Big Brakes

[DPDISXR4Ti]

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.

[Grayson]

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.

[hEaT]

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.

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.

Nice find though Brad!

[merkurdriver]

Nice!

[John Brennan]

Yes, and a worthy milestone post.

So for the spacers, you're talking about for the caliper mounting bolts?

And do you know how big these rotors are?

[noslack2mack]

Excellent info! Thanks for the post.

[milehighXR]

Will those fit behind the stock BBS style wheels?

Good find.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

So for the spacers, you're talking about for the caliper mounting bolts?

Right, the caliper just needs to get spaced out ~3/8" to properly center over the rotor.

And do you know how big these rotors are?

11" The Contour SVT rotor is the "standard" rotor used for most of the big brake upgrades.

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.

[tvissoc]

I figured my post # 10,000 should be something worthwhile - perhaps someone will find this useful.

Nope. Sorry.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I figured my post # 10,000 should be something worthwhile - perhaps someone will find this useful.

Nope. Sorry.

Yea, I know. And can you believe I posted this information without including compatibility with all wheels as well? I totally suck!

[tvissoc]

I figured my post # 10,000 should be something worthwhile - perhaps someone will find this useful.

Nope. Sorry.

Yea, I know. And can you believe I posted this information without including compatibility with all wheels as well? I totally suck!

Sheesh.

[milehighXR]

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.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

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.

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]

Ok off to boneyard to find parts, and see it it will fit the stock XR BBS style wheels. Unless someone beats me to it which is highly likely...

[Frag]

What is the piston size in the caliper vs stock? vs pbr?