Brakes upgrade

Talk about the E-Type Series 1

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Cooperman
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#1 Brakes upgrade

Post by Cooperman » Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:53 pm

Hi all, I wonder if anyone has any advice regarding brake upgrades with such as Coopercraft and Zeuss? Are they worthwhile? Any advice much appreciated. My car is a series 12+2.

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Simonpfhc
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#2 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Simonpfhc » Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:25 pm

Hi, I fitted the full set of Zeus brakes - alloy 4-pots with vented discs up fromt with their alloy rears. They look stunning, fit beautifully and the braking is amazing. I am using the standard belows. Unfortunately, I never drove the car with standard brakes so can’t give you a comparison report. All I can say is that it requires hardly any pedal force to retard the car quickly. The braking is extremely progressive with fantastic feedback.

The only thing I might change is the pad material. I think the pads that come with the kit are Textar, which I’ve used before and are good quality, but throw off a load of brake dust!

All in all, over the moon with them :bigrin:

Cheers.
Simon
62 3.8 FHC
91 Porsche 928GT
Find me on Instagram and Facebook @oldcarfixer

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cactusman
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#3 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by cactusman » Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:16 pm

put Coopercraft on mine. Made a positive difference. Much more confidence inspiring.
Julian the E-type man
1962 FHC
1966 MGB....fab little car too

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paulsco
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#4 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by paulsco » Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:20 pm

Hi,

I have Alloy Coopercraft 4 pot calipers on my E, but unfortunately it is not on the road yet.

I do however also have cast iron? Coopercraft 4 pot calipers on my Jaguar 340 and they are like night and day compared to the originals.
I have used standard discs with Green Stuff pads and they seem to be more than adequate

Paul
65 Series 1 FHC, 68 Jaguar 340

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Heuer
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#5 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Heuer » Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:39 am

I have Zeus calipers front and rear and they have performed well for over 50,000 miles. Mine are the original style graphite iron versions which are not bling like the alloy versions. I like them because they look completely stock with no discernible logo.
David Jones
S1 OTS OSB; S1 FHC ODB
1997 Porsche 911 Guards Red

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Mich7920
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#6 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Mich7920 » Thu Jan 17, 2019 12:35 pm

Hi,
I have Coopercraft in front and rear and all is fine. Plus they are very pleasant in their communication and help.
Mich
Michel
1965 E Type FHC - On the road / 1963 E Type OTS - on the road after Angus Restoration

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Cooperman
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#7 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Cooperman » Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:21 pm

Thanks to everyone for their replies, much appreciated.

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Jeremy66
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#8 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Jeremy66 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 4:48 pm

Vented alloy Coopercraft on the front of mine and Coopercraft uprated cylinders on the rear. Nicely made and easy to fit.

Only bought the fronts as they were new secondhand and cheaper than buying new solid disk Coopercraft calipers which I have on another car and are more than enough for the road.

I also regularly drive a mk2 on standard callipers with an uprated servo and this also stops really well, I should think a series 1 e on standard callipers with a series 3 servo would be pretty good as well and save a lot of expense.

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Series1 Stu
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#9 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Series1 Stu » Fri Jan 18, 2019 6:30 pm

You can't improve the braking efficiency simply by changing the servo. You only change the effort required to apply the brakes.

The answer is larger pads and/or discs with multiple cylinder calipers, regardless of the source or manufacturer.

Regards
Stuart

If you can't make it work, make it complicated!

'62 FHC - Nearing completion
'69 Daimler 420 Sovereign
'78 Land Rover Series 3 109

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Robbiee
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#10 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Robbiee » Fri Jan 18, 2019 9:49 pm

Hi Chaps
I have alloy copper craft with vented discs on front but kept the rear original on my Coupe....stops beautifully
On my early RHD OTS I’m keeping everything as factory...seems the right thing to do.
I leave a good gap between me and the car in front!
Robbie
Robbie 1962 3.8 Coupe OSG 1962 OTS ODG

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Cooperman
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#11 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Cooperman » Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:35 pm

Thanks again to all of you for your advice. To start with I am going to fit Coopercraft or Zeus 4 pots with standard discs to the front only and see where that takes us. Cheers.

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bazjag
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#12 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by bazjag » Mon Jan 21, 2019 10:28 pm

I 'upgraded' the front calipers of our 1968 S1 to four pot and retained the standard rotors. There is a significant trap to be aware of. The original calipers used shims to provide for adjustment to centre the caliper over the rotor. The four pot calipers I bought sat too far inboard and could not be centred using shims. The manufacturer was quite unhelpful but I resolved the problem by installing 16 gauge spacers between the hub and rotor thus moving the rotors instead of the calipers. I know of others who have machined the calipers instead. I won't name the manufacturer but it pays to be aware and ask the question.

The same supplier promised a complete kit "designed to bolt straight on" but bolts were missing and brake pipes were straight lengths and too long.
Last edited by bazjag on Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
68 E-Type FHC; 2003 XK8; 2013 XF

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Philk
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#13 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Philk » Mon Jan 21, 2019 11:28 pm

Cooperman wrote:
Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:35 pm
Thanks again to all of you for your advice. To start with I am going to fit Coopercraft or Zeus 4 pots with standard discs to the front only and see where that takes us. Cheers.
We did exactly that last year.... Coopercraft at the front with standard rears. Having run all season with Coopercraft front only, we're now overhauling the rear of the car and are going to fit Coopercraft there too since I would just like a bit more braking force than we're currently getting all round.
Phil
1964 S1 3.8 OTS

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Elliot2202
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#14 Re: Brakes upgrade - S1

Post by Elliot2202 » Tue Jan 22, 2019 1:30 pm

I have used Coopercraft front callipers on standard unvented discs for the last 15 years with total satisfaction as to braking power and reliability. My car also uses XJ6 callipers overhauled by BIGG RED on the rear, again with standard discs.

Although never actually measured braking performance is totally adequate for modern road use .

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Sarthe72
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#15 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Sarthe72 » Wed Jan 23, 2019 8:24 pm

I spent some time discussing the the upgrade with Zeus (who were very receptive) and was strongly advised to upgrade the rears as well as the fronts since they had found that under severe braking the rear could overtake the front. I fitted both, as advised, and have since managed to lock all four wheels in a straight line. But never just the front or the rear. Just my take on things.

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Cooperman
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#16 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Cooperman » Wed Jan 23, 2019 8:37 pm

Thanks again for all your thoughts. Today I ordered Coopercraft four pot aluminium front calipers which I am going to try with standard discs. We'll see where that takes us. I will let you know in due course. Cheers.

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Sarthe72
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#17 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Sarthe72 » Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:15 am

Fine, but like I said above heavy braking can destabilize the car. I'd strongly advise fitting the rear ones too.

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Mich7920
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#18 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Mich7920 » Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:19 am

:yeahthat:
Michel
1965 E Type FHC - On the road / 1963 E Type OTS - on the road after Angus Restoration

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Jeremy
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#19 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Jeremy » Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:04 pm

:yeahthat:
I too went for the Zeus upgrade, front & rear, in Sarthe's photo. Very happy with it.
Jeremy
1967 S1 4.2 FHC

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Philk
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#20 Re: Brakes upgrade

Post by Philk » Fri Jan 25, 2019 4:42 pm

Coopercraft rears being fitted to my car as part of an IRS overhaul we're doing at the moment...


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Phil
1964 S1 3.8 OTS

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