FRP ALCON / HISPEC inspect, replace etc guide

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jacko

New member
Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
2,840
topics

1) intro & info about alcon brakes
2) frp alcon caliper basic inspection / how to change disc & pads
3) How to fully strip the calipers & replace parts / fix all the typical issues.
4) where to buy bits
5) bolts; technical info to source your own (ie international FRP owners)

please be aware that this guide is constantly evolving as myself and others try / discover new things or have parts made etc. it is also meant in good faith to help people, anyone without this similar attitude will find there life made very hard by those who have put a lot of effort into this guide and others like it!

enjoy and feel free to ask questions. pm is preferred as im trying desperately to keep this guide as short as possible! all comments / questions i use will wherever possible have that persons name on....im not trying to steal anyones thunder.

thanks
 
intro & info

discs available;
(295MM X 28MM disc)(minimum thickness is 26mm)

original is ALCON and each side has curved veins so you need to buy a left and a right. from ford if your lucky, better off talking to alcon direct but you have to pay through an official supplier. available a little cheaper through a motorsport dealer (dewitts?) but i dont have any details as yet. Pumabuild & Pumaspeed usually have them in stock.
price typically is £440 a pair

option 2; a 2 piece disc. these are kits that have a 'standard' rotor (outer part of disc; where the pads rub) which is cheap(ish) and replaceable. the centre part is aluminium (saves 1kg over a standard alcon disc) and is machined to the spec of the car; its the expensive bit. BUT you keep the expensive bit forever! making a new set of discs a lot cheaper as your only replacing the worn out rotor which is a standard part.

HISPEC; i sent off a spare old alcon disc to hispec years ago (kindly donated by eldood as he had one lying around) and they copied it perfectly into one of there 2 piece discs. this cost just over £400 delivered which is nearly a £40 saving on the alcons! and they were grooved!
odd side effect; i havent had squeeling brakes since having the 2 piece discs....! THESE ARE AVAILABLE 'OFF THE SHELF'
prices as of 2007;
just over £100 x2 for the centres to be made
just under £100 x2 for grooved discs
around £65 x2 for plain discs
(so come replacement time a set of 'discs' can be as cheap as £130 odd!!!)
speak to roy on 01322 286850

GODSPEED (?); havent seen them personally but exactly the same as hispec's but the centres are a little cheaper, the rotors are a little more expensive. not sure if bits are interchangeable. (more than likely as the rotors are prob the same!) as far as i know this was a one-off, dont know if anyone else has had them...

others?
skimmed discs can be available cheaply sometimes; these are 'used' but are above 'minimum thickness' (in my opinion your on borrowed time but prob good for a quick fix til you can get hold of some new ones....)
pb do a red-dot disc (it isnt designed for the frp & according to those who have tried them is a bodge fit and they really squeel)
pumaspeed do a 'standard ford disc machined to suit...' but i havent tried them

HISPEC do a mitsubishi disc that has been redrilled from 5 stud to 4 stud. it has the exact same dimensions but the mitsi is a 5 stud hub and the puma is 4. this isnt a problem at all. IIRC there about £100 each

personal preferance? iv tried the alcons, and grooved hispecs & now giving the plain hispecs a go. hispecs didnt seem to last quite as long as the alcons; but there half the price! i have driven them through the french alps & they were awesome.....(i do drive hard! everyday!)

FOCUS RS DISCS DO NOT FIT! keep getting questions on this. there is only one frp with frs discs & this was PUMASPEEDS OWN CAR; it was rebuilt by them after a crash iirc. they made a bracket to space the caliper out further as the disc is bigger. I will get round to having a proper conversion kit (rather than a one off) done by HISPEC soonish which will be available to buy direct from them. HOWEVER; FRS discs are only about £20 cheaper than alcons......! there brembo. i will get hispec to make a set of 2 piece discs for the kit....

ST170 discs do fit iv been told BUT they are MUCH thinner so your running your pistons a lot further out which is a gamble i wouldnt like to advise on. (get in touch if uv used them & let us know....)

squeel rating...
red dot (horrible and also get 'feedback' through pedal as the grooves are quite viscious; so iv been told)
alcon (awful)
hispec plain rotors (little bit here & there)
hispec grooved rotors (silent)


pads available;
original is mintex 1144 mdb1992 skimmed to 15.2mm thick

the frp pad shape is used as standard on ferraris and porsches (944?) so if you know a good motor factor you can get them direct, HOWEVER....!

instead of being a standard thickness pad they were machined down to 15.2mm TOTAL thickness (without shim). from 16mm (i think) so these will only fit on semi worn discs.

(i have been told by spike that standard thickness pads will fit if you do not add the sticky-back shims. squeels like hell apparently but after 6 months theyv worn enough to put the shims on....)

options;

ford, pumaspeed, pumabuild etc at about £120 in an alcon box

from alcon through a supplier...prob same price

hispec; will skim a mintex 1144 mdb1992 pad to 15.2mm & post for less than £70! you get them in a mintex box with a standard shim not one thats already been stuck on at alcon (there sticky backed!) the alcon ones are shaped 'better' to stop squeel however iv had no issues using bog standard shims. (esp when im saving £50!)

other pads?

greenstuff from pb & ps (very harsh and noisey apparently)
pagid are available somewhere...(eldood rates them but i havent had a go)
ferrodo (£130!!!!) currently being tested on mine! (f**k&n AWESOME!!) specced as race pads (for those who have found the mintex's a bit girly!!)

all the above should be available from hispec


the calipers;

a good design...god only knows why they used UNF and not METRIC fittings though
NO DUST SEALS ON PISTONS; can prove fatal if the whole caliper is not kept clean / cleaned every 6 months
they didnt paint the interior of the calipers....bare aluminium and water do not mix; resultant corrosion can be fatal. this was done due to cost (i believe; trained designer) as its easier to make the whole caliper, mask of the interior & paint than paint each half on the outside, then inside then build...
original paint is baked on. eldood (other forum) does a repaint service but it is not baked on....any spilt brake fluid will strip it clean off
it is based on the alcon h-caliper but i believe the internal space that accomodates pads & disc has been reduced (as pads are made thinner) to ensure everything must be bought through alcon, through ford, under contract....(gits!)
i believe the inner half were skimmed slightly on the mating faces... the fact this provides 'zero' for the drills to make the holes to bolt the 2 together and that the end holes have been drilled 'too far' as if by accident supports this (as they are the only holes & theres only a 1/4 hole present; if it was deliberate theyd be a 360 degree 'full' hole....It also means the 'split line' down the middle of the caliper is not actually in the middle of the caliper....!
said hole allows water in and in contact with bare aluminium; corroding it and the steel bolts....to each other....major trouble
generally the use of 2 different reactive metals (steel bolts into ali calipers) is not ideal....the resultant reaction even before oxygen / water gets involved can be fatal over the years. i use stainless steel bolts (non reactive)
pad rails are a fairly soft grade of stainless and easily reshaped if careful UPDATE; I HAVE HAD SOME OF THESE MADE; £5 EACH (ALCON CHARGE £30!) SO PM ME IF ONE OF YOURS IS BROKEN
all bolts are steel and rust
bleed nipples and bridge pipe unions are steel and rust
bridge pipe is stainless with steel unions and rust into caliper...£25 EACH!

price of caliper new....£450 EACH
ebay find; pushing your luck to 1) find some, 2) pray there not dead! good sets go for about £400 or less complete & usually with spares

UPDATE; CONSIDER ALL 2ND HAND ALCONS TO BE SCRAP. the issue above (esp lack of painting internally) is becoming a structural issue. my standard advice to frp owners now is to bite the bullet and buy a full new set as rebuilds can cost upto £800 if done properly! if your selling a 2nd hand set then sorry, even if they look great, take off the pad rails & there will be a scary nightmare waiting to bite. they are no longer worth hardly anything. if you are selling a good pair then please prove it by taking good photos of the pad rail / piston area. if they are actually good they are worth a lot. if you can undo all the bolts on the caliper there worth a fortune!

i highly recommend that if your frp is a 'daily runner' you look long & hard for a spare set of calipers....due to their nature of needing to be kept clean you have two options...
1) have one set & every pad change is a 12 hour ordeal of cleaning, fixing, painting....and your car is rendered useless if you need new parts OR
2) have a spare set which can be pampered at your leisure / convenience and availability of funds.....making a pad / disc swap a 2 hour 'swap everything' job....leaving you free to service the dirty calipers when you have the time. this is my prefered option....the spare set sit in a display case in the garage until needed!!! (uv prob seen them in my ebay auctions!!)

pistons;

stainless steel 38 and 41mm (2 per caliper)
approx £40 each from ford, alcon, ps, pb
eldood has his own made that are slightly shallower (allowing use of thicker 'standard' pads). he charges over £200 for a set as he uses a normal local engineering company....

i have sent off a set to hispec motorsport and then can make them for less than £10 EACH! THATS £80 A SET!!!! have 2 in my spare alcons just waiting to go on the car. dont feel they need testing tho as hispec make pistons for a living....

CAD drawings of both pistons for those of you who have access to CNC machines. must be centre ground tho to remove machining marks.
you can take 1mm off the top max to use thicker pads

i have taken upto 1.5mm off the alcon pistons (tiny bit less off the hispecs) to get them flush with the caliper face.....awaiting testing with pads

both pistons are bored down to 26.5mm from the top. forgot to add that dimension to the drawings but they are to scale (printed a4)

[albumimg]1281[/albumimg]

[albumimg]1280[/albumimg]

STL files can be emailed on request

anyone wishing to do the same with titanium (i know i am!) offcuts from ebay are a cheap way to get good titanium. i will be going for 6al4v and somehow getting hold of hot nitric acid to dip them in as it reacts with the metal and creates a very tough outer layer
 
1) frp alcon caliper inspection & cleaning and pad & disc replacement

you will need;

wheel nut locks, spanner etc
jack, axle stand
pliers, 17mm spanner, 17mm socket etc
pad spreader or big flat screwdriver
hammer
brake cleaner aerosol x2 and a toothbrush
wire brush
silicone spray
copper grease
new discs, pads, scissors to cut shims, torque wrench for hispec 2 piece discs
rags

distructions!

'break' wheel nuts; undo them half a turn

jack car up (i use a strong suspension component as if the worst should happen (ie with a flimsy french car!) these are replaceable whereas dents in the chassis (even the 'jacking points') are not!)
[albumimg]688[/albumimg]
remove wheel nuts and wheel
[albumimg]689[/albumimg]
remove the safety pin holding the pad retaining pin in.
slide out the pad retaining pin (i use a m6x100mm stainless bolt with m6 stainless nyloc nut; ebay)
remove the pad retaining spring plate
[albumimg]690[/albumimg]
use a pad spreader to spread the pads THE MINIMUM DISTANCE to get them over the rusted lip on the outside of the disc. this has the side effect of pushing still dirty pistons into the seals; NOT GOOD so go easy. the use of a large flat sccrewdriver as a lever will do.
[albumimg]705[/albumimg]
remove pads & inspect. dont worry if they are different thicknesses; this seems to be the norm! 2mm is the minimum pad material that is safe; mine were 4mm and have been replaced.
[albumimg]704[/albumimg]
use a 17mm socket and wrench and a 17mm spanner to remove the caliper retaining bolts. the nuts should not be reused as they are safety nuts but in reality i have used mine a few times and have been told there not available from alcon!

hispec (motorsport brakes) use nyloc nuts...
i have sourced m10 nylocs in stainless...try ebay etc or local fasteners supplier. i can sell for 50p for 4 at meets or £2.50 posted

NEVER LET THE CALIPER HANG BY ITS HOSE; support it with string etc

remove caliper & remove disc. this can be fun! get a big hammer.... dont be shy & hit the disc hard inbetween the studs; you need to break the corrosion on the back holding it to the hub.
[albumimg]706[/albumimg]
fix the caliper to the hub carrier with one bolt to save holding it.
[albumimg]707[/albumimg]
notice my calipers are painted internally..... (hammerite spray smooth blue, use an aluminium primer first; acid etch is good but expensive)
use 'brake cleaner aerosol' and a toothbrush to clean the inside of the caliper. the pistons need to be spotless. there are no protective dirt seals so any dirt that gets left on gets pushed into the seal and knackers it.
you may need 2 aerosols to be safe.
[albumimg]708[/albumimg]
lube the pistons / seals with silicone spray lube, leave for a few minutes & wipe off excess

inspection.

[albumimg]758[/albumimg]
(knackered! notice white corrosion, rusted torx screw that will snap off when you try to undue it.... this pic was kindly nicked from another forum!)
the pad rails (abutments) are £30 each from alcon! they should be straight; if there not there is corrosion underneath where water has got in. the torx bolts holding these on will have rusted solid so you wont be able to straighten them (rebuild needed).
alcon did not paint the aluminium around the pistons so there will be a good chance that this is knackered (bubbly etc), if this has spread to the pistons and the seals then a rebuild or major surgery or new calipers are needed.

the calipers will need a clean like this every 6 months ideally and all corrosion scraped off. but your losing a war unless the exposed aluminium is sealed over with paint; best to do off the car. see my 'rebuild' post later on.

[albumimg]759[/albumimg]
another pic blatently stolen from another forum! (mine are all in good nick!)
scoring, pitting or general non shinyness of the pistons usually means you need new ones! £40 each!!! (ps, pb etc) eldood has had his own made locally but there still expensive as there not a specialist. HiSpec motorsport can now make them for less than a tenner each! (4x less than ford, 3x less than eldood)

mine in the pics have come up shiny & fine, no corrosion (tips will be in the 'rebuild' thread.) 2 have been replaced with hispec pistons.

alcon calipers CAN be a serious health risk to the wallet but they CAN be easy to look after if built better than alcon did originally! my frp has been used everyday for the last year, been through the alps etc & about 20k miles in just over a year....

i am looking into having mine anodized.... eldood does a repaint service however this is only standard paint, the original has been baked on at alcon, so it wont last as long but will refresh them. and no matter what is said; aluminium will react with oxygen! so it must be sealed; alcon didnt do this at the factory (around the pistons) as it would have involved assembling the calipers in a way that would have added more processes (& therefore more cost) to the production line. remember these are RACING calipers so ordinary consumer quality control or longevity did not feature!
anodizing is not a possibility due to inclusions in the ali from the casting process (!!) i still reckon its do-able but they didnt want to risk it! iv opted for plan b; powder coating. hard core baked on paint that will resist brake fluid. all red brembos are powder coated....budget £100. well worth doing.

putting back together....

CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS!!!!!!!!

the hub needs to be as smooth as.... remove ALL rust with a wire brush

thoroughly coat the hub with copper grease

[albumimg]760[/albumimg]
if using hispec 2 piece discs then the centres need to be swapped to the new rotors, use new bolts, tighten a few at opposite sides to get the 2 sat flat, tighten all bolts to 11nm

coat the inside centre of the disc with copper grease (not the rotors!!!)

replace discs, spray brake cleaner on a rag & run over the rotors on both sides to remove any grease or oil

replace calipers (ideally with new nuts)
i use stainless m10 nylocs

use pad spreader to push pistons all way into housing

[albumimg]761[/albumimg]
cut shims to correct size for pads & stick on

[albumimg]762[/albumimg]
coat rear of pads and a small amount on the metal backing plate where it sits on the pad rails with copper grease
(TIP; the relationship between pad and pad rail seems to cause squeeling & when rails have copper grease on it soothes this. seems to help for me but it is a small tweek; the brakes will squeel for other reasons too)

(TIP; if youv just been doing an inspection and re-using same pads swap them over...ie put the inside one on the outside...for some reason the pads dont wear evenly so this will get the best out of them....make sure you bed them in tho)

pads can be slipped into calipers

pad retaining spring, pin and safety pin (or spring and m6 nut & bolt) can be cleaned & replaced

[albumimg]763[/albumimg]
notice the copper grease on the alloy bell (disc centre) to stop it corroding onto my alloy wheel (id never get the wheel off again!!!!)

well done! have a drink of tea / coffee / pint of vodka (delete as appropriate!) & then start the next one!!!

when finished pump the brake pedal to set the pads to the disc and check the brake fluid level.

bedding in procedure....(a generic guide)

drive gently for 200 miles or so OR....

use the pads at 50% 3 or 4 times at half pressure
gradually build up the braking force and speed on further braking. when braking from a higher speed do not let the pads overheat and slow down to a higher speed, never becoming stationary...

ie; 4 brakes at 30mph gently to 20mph
2 at 60 to 30 increasing pressure
1 at 80 to 40 etc etc increasing pressure and heat each time

it is a gradual process.....
drive around gently to ensure the pads cool before leaving the car stationary.
 
how to... fully strip the alcon calipers and fix all typical issues....

work in progress...............

to remove pistons you need to place a block where the disc & pads were (do this whilst calipers are on car) and press brakes to push pistons almost fully out......use 2 blocks or do one at a time but prevent 1st set from moving further.....ie by keeping that disc & pads in...

[albumimg]1320[/albumimg]

this is my mk2 block. bit thinner than the last one & a lot more solid! will see how it works but you get the idea; it gives the pistons something to stop against or the pressure would blow one out & the rest would be stuck.... this is a work-in-progress but im already happy as its much cheaper to make than eldoods and has the benefit of not needing zipties to hold it in place! ameteur!!!!

remove from car (see guide above)

place in vice

remove bleed nipples, bridge pipe (11mm spanner), and main allen key bolts....

stuck / rusted bolts?
use a hand burner to warm stuck bolt (before youv rounded it!!!) then quench with cold water.... then place the caliper in a bag and hide from 'er indoors' in the freezer! for 2 weeks! seriously!!!!!
takes 2 weeks for alloy to cool and contract, the steel bolts dont really change size so you are splitting the corrosion. using the heat and water has slightly hardened the surface of the bolts and you stand more chance of getting them undone without damaging the head, now youv split the corrosion using the freezer you should not run the risk of snapping the heads of.....
copious amounts of wd40 etc do help a little.
PLEASE REMEMBER; these are £450 calipers; go easy!!!!!!
split caliper halves, clean and inspect.

due to the age of the calipers i am finding this is not enough anymore. I am now freezing them for 2 weeks, attempting to dismantle.....stuck bolts mean i have to remove the pistons and seals and place in an industrial oven for 20min at 300 degrees C, quench in cold water and repeat for 5 cycles usually.....this breaks the corrosion. you have to be very careful using heat as it can age harden / affect the aluminium calipers strength. i have a degree in this so i am happy to play with ovens.....

any bolts i havent the time to sort (can take me a week to get round to doing just one!) i take to a local engineers but its £20 a go (even there struggling with them & it takes them ages)

order off ebay....
unf 3/8 stainless brake nipples x4 (classic cars / harley davidsons!)
stainless allen socket head / cap head;
m8 x60mm x4
m8 x70mm x8
m6 x100mm x2
m6 stainless lock nut x2
(pad rail bolt replacement.....m5 x8mm socket head allen (easier to tighten 'in caliper')

that little lot can cost £40, altho the bolts can all be had from a local supplier for a couple of quid. pm me if your having trouble or keep an eye on ebay for my auctions

i am considering making new bridge pipes with stainless fittings...watch this space UPDATE; done! made to order for £50 a pair if iv got everything in stock....look 95% oem, i do use a slightly smoother curve on the corners. theres a piccy of them in the gallery on calipers & with other bits

the torx bolts holding the slider (abutments, pad rails) are not easy to find, i will seek an alternative (again in stainless). prob allen key ones...
UPDATE; SEE ABOVE. im now using allen heads as there easier to live with

torx bolts stuck? dam right!!!! try all of above, if no joy carefully manipulate a hacksaw blade to cut a slot in the head; undo with screwdriver....

pad rails / abutments.....£30.50 & £5pp with a 6 week wait so far....! having some laser cut & shaped at a very cool engineers near me so watch this space.
UPDATE; £5 EACH, POSTED. only a handfull left

[albumimg]1285[/albumimg]

ON REFITTING ENSURE THEY WILL NOT RUB AGAINST THE BRAKE DISC!!! on a corroded set of calipers its a little harder to judge exactly where they sit so be careful as it makes a bloody awful racket if you spin the wheel let alone drive the car.

to remove pistons (after being forced most of the way out...) i use a) hands & brute force! b) 'quick clamp' (b&q) which has a grippy rubber end & wiggle free



inspection; oh dear!

inspect interior of calipers for bubbling, whiteish corrosion, general nastyness. if it has spread to the seals where pistons were & seals are not sitting properly anymore then it may be serious engineering work or fatal.... pm me; i need to see them.....(shot blasting is the only way to sort it these days....)

UPDATE; CALIPERS REALLY NEED TO BE SHOT BLASTED AT AN ENGINEERS TO SEE HOW MUCH CORROSION THERE IS. THE CORROSION CAN LOOK SOLID BUT UNTIL THERE BLASTED YOU WILL ONLY BE FOOLING YOURSELF........

[albumimg]758[/albumimg]

pistons; other than being dirty (clean them, then again, then again til there immaculate!) there should be no 'pitting' (corroded rough areas or 'holes') and very little 'scoring' (straight lines where crap has stuck in the seal and scratched piston as it moved...)
new ones are circa £40 each from ford, £30 from eldood or £10 from hispec motorsport (professionals!), i am going to have a go at making some titanium ones eventually

new ones are being sourced by a friend.....for a lot less than £40 each...watch this space; ring Hispec motorsport; £10 each

best to budget for new pistons if you do not know the history of yours; im seeing a lot of horrible pistons, some look worse than shipwrecks!

[albumimg]1283[/albumimg]

from the left; good, horrible, shipwreck!

building them (properly; unlike alcon!!)

the interior of the caliper is bare aluminium and as such will corrode; all exposed metal needs to be painted. ideally powder coated; should last forever.
mask off where pistons go, where all pipes go etc
prime ( i use acid etch; super tough but still doesnt resist brake fluid / cleaner!)
paint, hammerite smooth blue spray is a good match but not exact

[albumimg]1284[/albumimg]

powder coating is ideal but budget £100

replace seals (pumaspeed / pumabuild / ford) if there crusty

replace pistons, using supplied grease in seals kit (or any silicon grease)

i am going to look into sourcing the seals through industrial suppliers...cutting out pumabuild, alcon etc completely.....
if you need half a set then talk to demon tweeks

straighten pad rails using a straight edge as a guide, a vice and a hammer but be gentle; there £30 each! i 'glue' mine on with hi temp silicone sealant; to seal against any water getting underneath....its bl**dy expensive tho....then use stainless bolts

rebuild calipers with all stainless steel parts and use copper grease on all bolts
(top & bottom bolts go into holes that are so badly drilled they went all the way through! bung the hole with a little silicone sealant to stop water getting in, add silicon from the exterior...)

i paint the lettering on mine with humbrol acrylic; seems to last.

your done


I have just had a set blasted (they 'looked' mint but werent!) then powder coated (VERY SOLID) to seal the aluminium from oxygen. i have used 'matt brilliant blue 5007' iirc. looked good on chart but is a little lighter and glossier than oem.

[albumimg]1282[/albumimg]
 
jan 09 updates;

more pics added
my own pad rails added
powder coating pic added
NEED FOR ALL CALIPERS TO BE SHOT BLASTED & PAINTED PROPERLY discussed
CAD drawings of pistons added. solidworks parts, drawings or stl files can be emailed.....
 
when powdercoating, did you have to retap all the threads ? jow did you stop the coating going in where the pistons go. cheers
 
they masked all those areas off so as not to be damaged / clogged by blasting / paint
 
UPDATE SUMMER 09

HISPEC motorsport can make pistons for just over 8 quid EACH!!!!! i already have 2 waiting to go on car...very happy with them.

as always be nice & give them as much time as possible please....
 
FOR SALE / WHERE TO BUY.....

i can supply ALL the bolts / nuts required in stainless bar the hi tensile mounting bolts. kits from £15 to £20 depending what you need.
caliper rebuild kits include;
main bolts x12
spring retainer bolts & nuts
pad rail bolts
copper washers for brake line
caliper mount nyloc nut
all stainless for £15

add a fiver if you want new caliper mounting hi tensile bolts

i also have quite a collection of seals....pm me if you need 1 or 2 instead of buying a full set. if you need approx half a set talk to demon tweeks; £25 plus vat. (basically theres no need to replace them unless there damaged or crusty!)

pad rails / abutments;
my own; £5 each
alcon; £25 each!
ps; mine are stronger too!! but only have a few left

bridge pipes;
alcon; £30 each (steel ends!)
my own; £25 each fully stainless (made to order cos they take me a while)

pistons;
alcon; £40 each
hispec motorsport; £8.20 each!

bleed nipples;
ebay; £5 each. search '3/8 unf stainless bleed'
http://ccsfasteners.co.uk/stainless-bleed-nipples-c-89.html?osCsid=adaacf41245da85dc36e8b8ff53a0cb9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
cheers craig

unions (if you want to make your own bridge pipes)
http://www.stainlessparts.co.uk/product/search" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
cheers craig

brake line to caliper (unf to metric) adapter;
comes with front brake lines (steel)
my own custom stainless versions; £15

brake lines;
goodridge; bloody expensive braided with steel fittings
my own; REAL braided hose with stainless rebuildable fittings; fronts cost £130 to build!


pads / discs; i go to hispec
 
sourcing your own bolts for rebuilds (repeated from above post) especially for international frp owners as the postage on my bolt kits is in the region of £25!!!!

find a local bolt / fasteners supplier & print off the following list;

stainless steel a2 allen socket / cap head;
m8 x 60mm x4
m8 x 70mm x8
m6 x 100mm x2
m5 x 8mm (or 10mm) x8

stainless steel a2 nyloc nuts;
m6 x2
m10 x4

copper washer 10mm (internal) x 1.2mm thckness x2

10.9 hi tensile bolt m10 x 45mm x4
stainless steel a2 washer 13mm (internal) x 2.3mm thickness x 4
 
getting quite a few pm's recently asking for parts; please see above. i dont stock parts, im not a business & im not out to make myself look like a brake god. if i have something made i post the details above for all to see and buy direct, at the same price i pay. there are some brake experts out there who wont tell you how much there parts cost them and (i know for a FACT; so this isnt slanderous) they make a profit.
the only parts i 'stock' are those i make myself. very rarely have any in stock as i dont have much spare time (usually figuring out / developing another idea or sourcing another part etc. these are usually made to order if i have spares they go on ebay to the highest bidder (its the only fair way as i have more people asking than i can supply....sorry)
i do try to keep a few bolt kits in stock as not many people are confident in the black art of bolt sizes or know where to find a good supplier at good rates (ebay is fine for odd bolts but bloody expensive overall)
will do my best to make more bits!!!!!! i am '2BCELLAR' on ebay......
 
running 18mm pads;

currently running 18mm ferrodo pads. to do this i machined up to 1.5mm off each piston to get them to sit completely flush in the caliper bores. there was JUST enough room to run the pads with shims (0.6mm 3M sticky back jobbies) but ideally there needs to be a 0.5mm washer / shim between the caliper and hub carrier to get the spacings perfect....

no issues other than 1 pad out of 4 was just dragging but disc could still be turned by hand, once the shims had compressed slightly all was fine....

other than some squeel!!!! running the hispec 2 piece discs iv never had brake squeel.....! think the shims may have compressed too much & now not doing a great deal.... will replace the shims (£3 off ebay!) after a month or so & see how it works....

running 18mm pads as they cost same as 15mm pads but obviously last a lot longer!

also; not sure about ferrodo pads for frp road use... seem to be a different compound this time & take a lot of warming up.....
 
just done another service / inspection on my powder coated set running all stainless parts and 18mm ferrodo parts....not a single issue!

forgot i wanted to replace the shims as theyv compressed too much & giving some squeel but its fine....will get round to it at some point...

remember to keep putting copper grease on everything metal! the stainless parts are starting to react with the ali over time, still a lot better than ordinary steel tho. going to have a try with titanium fittings soon.
 
update; had wheels off to do another job so took pads out, quick clean of pistons (try to do it twice a year) and not a single issue! swapped pads from outside to inside and vice versa as they do tend to wear at different rates naturally, added new shims.....sorted! who said alcons had to be hard work! sort them out & there fine.

new shims so now only have the faintest bit of squeel ie at traffic lights for last few feet of braking & still very quiet.
 
Do you think Peugeot 406 Coupe Brembo front discs will fit? They are 305mm x 28mm with the same 4 stud pattern as Ford. I'm guessing that if you can machine at least 5mm from the overall diameter they should fit!
 
its the offset thats the issue.

plus im not sure why everyone has a major thing for brembo....the frs discs are only £20 cheaper than buying the alcon discs at £420 a pair!!!! thats a lot of money for some iron!

seriously....just invest in some hispec 2 piece discs, there not cheap but once you wear out the outer disc thats all you replace...2 will cost you less than £150!

if your dead set on having one piece iron discs still talk to hispec as theyl re-drill a mitsubishi disc to 4 stud and its bang on the same as the alcons for about £100 each iirc altho dont quote me...give them a ring
 
Jacko,

just gotten round to reading the full thread. Great Effort.

Can't wait to get my calipers bolted up to my new toy (end of summer hopefully be driveable) with new AP 305 Comp Disc's.

Had a close look at my Alcons post reading the whole thread and they look like new! So well chuffed (but have this tread book marked if I need to work on them).

Jelly :lol: :lol: :lol:

PS - what pads do you use for road / tracking? Mine will be full race so presume I can get Ferrodo 3000 compound pad for the FRP Alcons.
 
I have fitted EBC green stuff following a full rebuild and not had a bit of squeel or noise from them, I did however cut the shim at 45 deg as per the OEM ones. They also give good bite and I havent had any fade from them

I would recommend them

Simon FRP 0027
 
cool, might give them a go...

currently using ferrodo, but going back to mintex next time again, just to experiment.
ferrodo are very good but its a fast road car, i very rarely warm them up. mintex were a bit too girly but giving them another go, if im still not impressed il try and find something inbetween, maybe the greenstuff...
 
update;
Just replaced discs and pads, about £260
put philidas stainless m6 locknuts x20 on the rotors
mintex pads came with a really odd shaped shims....squeal like a baby piggy!!!!
 
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