Harrison brakes

[Merv and Sharon]

Yes Geoff, Matthew is good to deal with. I am about to order the AP Racing 4 piston front calipers with 330 rotors and so on. I have found that the existing Commodore (contaminating an otherwise Ford and Nissan, etc., vehicle ...) rotors on my Harrison needed a 1mm round shim to fit snugly on the hub. Some mismatch of Holden VR hub and VT rotor, I suspect.

[07cob]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

the existing Commodore ... rotors on my Harrison needed a 1mm round shim to fit snugly on the hub. Some mismatch of Holden VR hub and VT rotor, I suspect.

Merv

These shims, which look like egg rings, are readily available. I fitted some a while back, they cost me about $30 for the pair from a place in Logan if I recall. Makes the rotors fit snugly and run true.

Geof

[Merv and Sharon]

Thanks Geof. I remember that but could not get them up here, so I made them. The point the the guy at Race Brakes was making was that you shouldn't need to. The rotors should fit snugly, if they are the correct ones. My rotors have no number on their edge that designates their Holden history, they may not be OEM.

[07cob]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

Thanks Geof. I remember that but could not get them up here, so I made them. The point the the guy at Race Brakes was making was that you shouldn't need to. The rotors should fit snugly, if they are the correct ones. My rotors have no number on their edge that designates their Holden history, they may not be OEM.

Merv

The upgrade from VS to VT brakes is a common one and one that Warwick leverages in his front end design, for simplicity and better brakes. The spigott ring is the only additional requirement to properly marry the VT rotors with the VS hubs. We could of course fit VS brakes to the VS hubs (eliminating the need for the spigott ring and satisfying the Race Brakes bloke) but these are not as good (as I understand it).

I will be interested to hear what you end up with. The AP gear sounds like the goods. Will they fit under 16" rims!?!?!?

Geof

[Merv and Sharon]

Right, that makes sense Geof.

I am pretty sure that the AP Racing ones look the best and on the reviews I have read have great performance. They are a little ($500) more expensive than the ones that Warwick is presenting now. Both are excellent sets. Parts availability with AP Racing is also quite secure.

My rims are 17", aren't yours? They fit inside Krait's rims quite well.

[07cob]

Merv

No, I have 16s!

Geof

[Merv and Sharon]

Well you have some limits on that then.

[Beejay]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

I contacted Matthew Pearce at Race Brakes in Sydney and they suggested the same AP 330 rotor and their 4 pot caliper (as per Geoff), re-drilled rotor for the Ford stud pattern. All up about $2750. As I said, my Nissan rears are good now after re-build, softer pads and the new ute/wagon PBR master cylinder.

Not sure if that AP set up on the front would operate as well without the AP rear that you also have Geoff. I will also call Warwick to compare his new set up, which sounds good.

Merv,

Strongly suggest you talk to Race Brakes in Vic as opposed to Sydney. They are not the same company. I think you will find they are much more knowledgable....

Ben

[Gav]

Merv,
Depending on the construction of your rims the 330mm rotors might be a bit big.
The AP's and 330's in my 17" wheels are a good fit but you might run into clearance issues.

[Merv and Sharon]

Thanks Gav. I have Dragway wheels and they seem to have no 'lips' on the inner rims. I am hopeful.

How have you found the AP (CP5200?) caliper set up?

[Towmaster]

Originally Posted by Gav

Merv,
Depending on the construction of your rims the 330mm rotors might be a bit big.
The AP's and 330's in my 17" wheels are a good fit but you might run into clearance issues.

I have 343mm front rotors and EVO Brembo front calipers on 17" rims. They fit.... just.. I have 330mm and 2 piston EVO * Brembos on the rear. I got the EVO 8 Brembo calipers used from the states on ebay cost me $700 landed. I made the adapters to suit. They seem to have no problem with running 500hp, 270 front slicks and 300 rear slicks.. Like Wazza said unless you're racing then you don't 'need' the bigger brakes.... but yes they look better. And I mean if we didn't like to look better then we wouldn't all have cobras etc would we....

[Merv and Sharon]

What rims do you have Ash? US or Australian? Not many have Dragway these days because of the cost. I am really happy with them because they were so careful in getting them just right for clearance purposes.

I reckon we talk a lot about the HP/kw of our cars, but for me the brakes are one of the most important systems on the road. I had Brembos on my 'Rex Sti and they were terrific.

[Towmaster]

Merv,

They are Boyd Coddington 'smoothies'... Basically a boyd centre with dragway shells welded in. I needed hub adapters to push the wheels out a bit but it still all fits under the guards nicely. You are right, the Brembos are nice, a little bit better than the Nissan's. But only noticeable on the track when they get hot.

[Modena]

Merv, what do you mean not many have dragways because of the cost? What do they cost?

[07cob]

Originally Posted by Towmaster

.... but yes they look better. And I mean if we didn't like to look better then we wouldn't all have cobras etc would we....

If you just want them to look better, how about a set of these:

4x BRAKE CALIPER HOLDEN COMMODORE VV VT VS VN VZ HSV R | eBay

... sorry!

[Merv and Sharon]

Yes Geof, I did see those .... Good value really!

Modena, I paid about $3.1K for my Dragways which is at least a $1000 more than I paid for the Vintage Wheel Works wheels. However, the differences in my opinion were that I could sit down at the design table with the Dragway guys and make absolutely sure that I had offset/backspace spot on for my Harrison front and rear and that the relationship of the wheels to the arches was where I wanted it. With the VWW guys, they had a limit on what they could do and it turned not to be not enough for my needs. Nothing wrong with their product - it is excellent and the service great.

The second difference was the quality of the wheel construction it self. I am very impressed with the solidity of the Dragways, although their Hallibrand replicas looks fine when sandblasted, but not as good when polished in my opinion. I have another wheel model - DB 131 (Billet Wheels )

So, given the lure of wheels from VWW or VW, etc., in the US, I haven't seen too many new Cobras with Dragways lately. However, I would highly recommend them.

[Modena]

Merv I'm going to be using Dragway to I think. As you have said the US manufacturers cannot meet some of the offsets required by some AU kits. Having a local "hands-on" design session is a big plus too. The wheels I was going to get (from a sydney supplier) were going to be over $3600, so $3100 is palatable

[Merv and Sharon]

Modena, I used the guys at Slacks Creek (Ian) just south of Brisbane. They are very experienced. I seem to recall that the 3.1k was not inc GST, however. Prices vary with different wheels of course.

I picked the 131 as it is so easy to clean and keep clean. I also like their new Cobra 10 spoke and the DB51 in black.

[WKB]

Merv,
The DB 131 do look good. The wheels with the soft edge(I think that is what it is called)will give the effect of a deeper dish. A friend of mine had a set of these made in 19 inch and with the soft edge/lip rim for his cobra. These cost him about $6500.

Geoff,
I think those covers must be popular if can go by the number that are for sale on EBAY

Warren

[sambo]

I'm picking up my refurbished R33 calipers and machined discs later in the week and have decided to go with a Remsa pad on the rear and QFM A1RM pad on the front to suit VT Commodore. This is after trawling the Skyline AU forums and speaking to Greg at GSL Rallysport in QLD, very knowledgeable bloke and great pricing.

The Remsa pads are good for 650 degrees, low dust, low noise, low wear and supplied to Porsche Cup cars and Ferrari owners. Should be OK for the Cobra! Plus only $79 a set.

While the calipers/pads are being swapped I'm flushing with TRW GP600 brake fluid, recommended as good value fluid for moderate track work @ $65/L.

QFM Performance

So that's it for my budget brake upgrade/refurbishment. I'll post my experiences once everything has been fitted and bedded in.