Big brake conversion kits and uprating the brakes

Find out about "Brake upgrades and brake conversion kits"

The brakes of a car should never be overlooked, especially if you have made the engine more powerful.

Being able to stop the car quickly can be a real life safer. We shall take a brief look at the various components of a braking system and see what can be done to improve a cars braking ability.

The cars brakes convert the movement of the car into heat. So how does all of this take place and where does the heat go?

When you push the brake pedal a servo is activated which causes pressure to rise along the brake lines which are filled with brake fluid.

As fluid does not compress it exerts pressure in the pistons which push the brake pads into contact with the brake disks.

It is the pads and disk which cause the friction much like a bicycle brake but obviously on a much larger scale.

The fluid is a vital element of this system. If it contains bubbles of air, or even water which boils relatively easily, then the whole braking system is compromised.

At best the brakes are spongy and more pressure has to be applied, at worst you suffer from complete brake fade and this can be catastrophic!

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Most manufacturers recommend that you change the brake fluid once a year or at least get it checked. A gravity reading is taken and this determines the purity and effectiveness of the fluid.

The brake pads are made from a high friction material and must withstand very high temperatures so asbestos is often included. (This is why you should be very careful when dealing with brake dust.) Sport pads require warming up before they start to bite and reach peak efficiency.

Standard pads, however, give fairly good cold braking but become less effective at high temperatures or under heavy use.

Choose pads that match your needs carefully. Larger pads will increase the effectiveness of the brake. The disk has the job of dissipating the heat created.

The larger the disk and therefore the larger the surface area the better this is.

Grooves on the surface of the disk help to keep away gas build up under the pads and drilled disks are more effective at dissipating the heat.

Vented disks typically have a gap between the two contact sides and a central gap which gives twice as much surface area.

So the best disks are big, drilled and vented. (We have heard reports that drilled disks are prone to warping and breaking due to weaknesses but if you buy a good quality kit you should be fine.)

As the disk and the pad size is important most people will upgrade their disks by getting a big brake conversion kit.

It is not possible to fit a larger disk, or just put larger pads into a standard braking system, both need to be matched.

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2 Responses to “Brake upgrades and brake conversion kits”

  1. panagiotis says:

    hello there you have conversion kit rear disks brakes for aygo toyota? thanks for your time!!!

  2. A.Seed says:

    i am also looking for a supplier of full size rear disc brake kit for the aygo, 107 and C1 (same car branded different)