16v brakes

[Divaldo]

Ive just got some 2.0 16v brakes off a astra, will they go straight onto my nova 1.2? what can i do 2 uprate my rear drums??

[m.d.]

if you have big enough front wheels they just bolt right on, and as for the rear the drums will be fine but you can get vanted ones, or just do the rear disc conversion

[dan-hipgrave]

there is a guide on www.topbuzz.co.uk for doing the 16v brake conversion..

[Al Wilson]

I have rear disks on mine but it was a lot of hassle of welding and mucking about with the handbrake cable. I can't complain because they look a whole lot better with nice shiny grooved disks for shows etc but to be honest with the light weight of the car they can lock really easily under any strain. I haven;t done it yet but I understand a brake bias would sort this but that is further work required.

The brakes at the front do most of the work anyway. If you don't desperately want the brakes at the rear to look 'good' then just stick with your drums.

Al

[Divaldo]

i wanna put some on but ive only got the 14" gsi rims on will i have to get new alloys for them 2 fit?

[Al Wilson]

They should fit mate but don't 100% depend on it. I managed with 16V Astra disks all round to get away with 14in steels - they might have a slightly different inner wall though to the alloys????

[epo]

yes

but u cud grind the discs down a little or fit spacers

[Al Wilson]

yes

but u cud grind the discs down a little or fit spacers

The other option!

[Divaldo]

can i just take off the rear drums with out fuckin them up, i just mean the drum cover not the whole brake system? cuz i wanna paint the rear drums as they look shite at the moment!

[Al Wilson]

Er, that is the part that holds it togther.

[Divaldo]

sorry bout all the question but im a novice wen it comes to these things!

[Al Wilson]

No problems mate, if I can help i will. Remember we all had to start somewhere!

[Divaldo]

Im a bit pissed at the moment cuz the rear o/s bearing locked up so now its garaged im having a few bits all done at once! brakes, all rust, new doors, cuz some twat kicked one in, colour coding the bumpers, fitting gte skirts, just want it all done, any help on these would be grateful.

[Al Wilson]

Theres posts on most of these topics mate, futher down in the forum. Just have a brouse. :D

[-Bruce-]

yes

but u cud grind the discs down a little or fit spacers

lol i would not grind the disks mate, it wont do anyhting as its the caliper is the problem not the disks, and it could affect the balance of the disk.

bruce

[Divaldo]

o yea i no ive just been reading a few, im getting a mate to do all the bodywork, gonna have it sprayed vw orange, the one they use on camper vans.....

[nova_rally]

I think you can get away with 16v calipers under GSi rims, but with 8v ones you won't. I have 2.0 8v items heavily ground down and 5mm spacers to run behind my GSi 3-spokes.

The new car is having bigger wheels from the outset!

Alan

[Al Wilson]

I think I can get 330mm 6-pots behind mine if I chose/could afford to! :D

[epo]

yes

but u cud grind the discs down a little or fit spacers

lol i would not grind the disks mate, it wont do anyhting as its the caliper is the problem not the disks, and it could affect the balance of the disk.

bruce

agreed mate its a quick fix imo

[_JH_]

No, the 256x24 vented ATE setup won't fit under 14inch 3 spokes, no matter what car they came from.

ok, so worn discs and pads may fit, but your up shit creek when you need to change them. fitting spacers is just pants.

they will fit under 14inch steels, and astra gte 14 inch alloys, and probably a few other 14 inch vaux wheels. but NOT GSI ALLOYS

[MechaT]

can i just take off the rear drums with out f**k them up, i just mean the drum cover not the whole brake system? cuz i wanna paint the rear drums as they look s**t at the moment!

Yeah you can take the drums off easily. Follow what the Haynes manual says. One import thing I'll add to that is: push the handbrake cables in towards the drum to bring the brake shoes in away from the drum. The drum should come away very easily from the back plate. If it doesn't don't use force or you'll fuck up everything inside and seize the wheel. (been there, done that).


OR. You could just paint it on the car! much less hassle

[nova_rally]

You could use Corsa GSi discs - they're only 20mm wide as opposed to 24mm, might be just enough to clear. Means I can drop to 3mm spacers on my car, claw back some of the lost handling.

I have been told that using these discs 16v brakes will fit, but I've yet to see it. As far as I know I've got the only car running big brakes under GSi alloys!

Alan

[_JH_]

why don't you just use 14inch SR steels? you could then fit 256x24 ATE brakes without spacers or any grinding.

if its a question of unsprung weight, I doubt the 3 spokes are much lighter than the steels, plus you may find the calipers you use now are heavier than the ATE setup. worth looking into in my opinion