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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - which brake discs?

looking at replacment upgraded discs (rotors)

any recomendations?

EBC seem over priced, as do drilled brembo from that place in Bath...

danny
danny

what symptom are you trying to cure? what's wrong with standard ones?
David Smith

no symptoms, I just want to have the best performance possible as I cant get close to locking up
danny cusworth

standard brakes will lock up fairly easily if in good condition and assuming you are on conventional road tyres. change all 3 flexi hoses and change the fluid completely to a dot 5 one. If they still won't lock up then I'd rebuild the master cylinder. Also run with the rear brakes adjusted up 'just touching' this removes some of the free play and gives a shorter pedal. Drilled / dimpled / slotted discs only improve brake performance in repeated applications from high speed thru' better gas and heat dissipation.
David Smith

David, I'm talking about big stops on track with 1b tyres. i whole heartedly agree about rear brakes! At anglsey whilst rolling to the start, i give the hand brake a couple of clicks ( i'm getting lazy!)
danny cusworth

ah now you tell us! if you want to hear about locking up with 048Rs you'll have to wait until after this weekend as I've only done 1 sprint with them and that was in snow and hail - and I use a CCC pedalbox + Wilwood cylinders anyway. I think you might need to go bigger discs, presume you are using 1155 pads already?
David Smith

I can't remember! I have either ferodo (isn't he a hobbit?) and mintex competition pads

If you haven't many miles on the yokos, go find your nearest roundabout, mine were terrible from new, until scrubbed in well, a cold hillclimb made no difference.

good luck
danny cusworth

I can lock my fronts using 175/60 032Rs using the FL vented disk. I still have the top-rail mark on my forehead to prove it.

Never had any issues with these brakes over ~10 years. In fact, they've saved my life a couple of times on motorways, when the outside lane has come to a very sudden halt (and everyone else has ABS, stability control etc). (Mind you, my wife may consider this a poor substitute to claiming on the life insurance.)

A
Anthony

Anthony,

which FL discs are you talking about?

what pads?

thanks
danny

Take some stock rotors to a good machine shop and have them slotted. When rotors are drilled, after repeated high speed stops and heating, they can develop cracks around the holes. Slotting the rotors is a very effective way of dissapating the heat and gasses and you will also end up with more rotor contact area. We've done this on a vintage racer and it works quite well.
Tim Michnay

Danny

I bought them from FL ~nearly 10 years ago. IIRC they use MGB callipers. The disks are vented. I have greenstuff pads, but would consider 1144s possibly better still.

A
Anthony

(Kim Dear did a good price on Greenstuff - probably still does....)

A
Anthony

Danny I get round having to scrub in new tyres by buying secondhand ones, in the true spirit of tight-ar5e racing.
If you bought the pads that long ago you can't remember what they are, and it's a hillclimb car so they never get hot, then maybe they are glazed over. I buy my 1155s from Kim at Magicmidget too.
David Smith

David, they do get hot at Anglesey!

I also am waiting for decals from my main sponsors - EBAY & PAYPAL!

btw, on the lookout for a decent head with some life left in it....
danny cusworth

IIRC the Frontline brakes are MGB calipers with machined GT6 disks but I could be wrong.
G Lazarus

My first (post-rebuild) Greenstuffs will need replacement next year.

Is it true that if I decide to try something different - say 1144s / 1155s - I need to replace the discs?

If so, why?

And which ARE the best for spirited road (but not track) use? (warm 1293)
Steve Clark

Steve

If your disks are in good condition, fit a set of 1144s. Once slightly warm, they are great!

A
Anthony

Steve. green stuff seem to do something nasty to the surface of the discs and as such shouldn't be used with anything other than Green stuff (which I must add, I NEVER use!). Try the 1144s with new discs, you won't regret it....

(Oh, bed 'em in by 'the book')

Mark.
Mark T. Boldry

The discs for the Frontline conversion are Triumph Spitfire, (probably the same as GT6) the machining required to fit them to the Frontline adaptors is minimal, but you do need access to a lathe. Machining your own saves quite a bit of cash, and you can get away with removing less metal than Frontline do, since you can measure and fit with closer clearances to the calliper (MGB on mine)
PaulMkIMkIV

Paul

Can you detail the machining needed?

Carl
C Bintcliffe

1144's are good but they don't work too well from cold. Not good for commuting or cruising therefore (i've found) as if there are long breaks between using the brakes, they cool down and aren't so good when you come to need them again.

Re greenstuff, surely thousands of people can't be wrong?

Matt
Tarquin

do mgb calipers go straight on?
danny cusworth

Carl,
A small amount of material has to come off the boss of the new disc or they rub on the bigger brake calliper, I just measured the old discs then took even less material off because I had the car there to check clearance as I went along. also chamfered the discs inner edge as that just clipped the track rod ball joint and was just off the area of pad contact. Wrote nothing down in the way of measurements I'm afraid. Ten minutes work, even for an incompetent such as myself.

Danny,
MGB callipers go straight on but Spitfire discs to go with them don't, an aluminium adaptor is used and the top trunion has to move up with a spacer and the steering arm has to shift a bit to clear things, if my memory is correct.

I like the big brakes on the MkIV but it's probably overkill being only a road car, the Frog is on standard brakes and absolutely fine - lighter car of course.
PaulMkIMkIV

This thread was discussed between 09/06/2008 and 17/06/2008

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.