Rear Disc Conversion

[2590402]

Would anybody happen to know where there might be a write up on how t do a rear brake conversion?

[Harv]

There are a few ways to go.

323i trailing arms modified to fit and use that disc set up.

Or.

Have your rear hubs turned down to fit VW Rabbit (old not new Rabbit) and get some adaptor brackets and calipers. These are available from many places. I think Lee on the board and Ireland engineering are good starts. Some calipers have an e-brake and some don't.

Personally I went with the Ireland conversion with the e-brake. Not the best in my opinion because my earlier kit requires the caliper to be removed for bleeding. I have heard that they have fixed this.

John

[2590402]

How far do the hubs need to be turned down to fit VW rotors?

[mikekoch]

Someone here might have the required finished diameter, but I had great luck ordering the rotors and dropping them off with the hubs at my machinist, requesting that he make the hubs fit inside them. I can measure my hubs relateively soon if you feel you need the diameter.

Mike

[2590402]

That would be awesome.....i have access to a milling machine so it would be no prolbem to do. Thanks.

[Harv]

A lathe is what you need for this. I mean, I guess you could do it on a mill but a lathe is the way to go. My friend Nick turned mine down for me. He said they are made out of very nice tool quality steel.

John

[mikeS]

I never finished this conversion, but I investigated it. I had some spare rotors from the back of an E30 318is (91), and tried them out on a set of spare 2002 trailing arms. They bolted up just fine, good clearance on everything. They aren't vented rotors, they are solid, and about the same thickness as non-vented 2002 front rotors. Then I started to mock up a brackets to see how front calipers from a 2002 or non-vented 320i would fit---and I found I could get them inside a stock steel wheel. The downside with this setup is that there is no E-brake, because the E-brake on the E30 was inside a 'drum' incorporated into the rotor.

Mike

[Harv]

Yea, that's why some kits use the VW Jetta caliper since it has a built in e-brake pull. The down side is that the fitment isn't that great. I did see that the Lotus Elese has a little brembo caliper with a hand brake pull on it.

John

[2590402]

I was thinking about useing a hydrulic hand brake.....what calipers would be best for such a set up?

[Harv]

Yea, Don't the rally cars use a little MC for the hand brake pull?

Hmmmmmm

I have ideas.........

I think the problem would still be a true lack of a parking brake that won't bleed down it's psi. I'm sure a hydraulic MC could make the psi, but I think it would have to be a separate system as in a separate caliper and everything. How would we prevent brake psi from the hand brake going to the main MC? I have seen one car with a little hydraulic lock after you press down on the brakes to hold the car. I didn't get the impression it worked very well. In some aircraft there is a similar set up and they also bleed psi off after time.

John

[SOUTHBAYeric]

Yea, that's why some kits use the VW Jetta caliper since it has a built in e-brake pull. The down side is that the fitment isn't that great. I did see that the Lotus Elese has a little brembo caliper with a hand brake pull on it.

John

I was thinking about an elise caliper too. It seems like it would fit the bill perfectly.

[Harv]

Here's my Ireland set up with my custom e-brake cable adaptor.

John

Kitty was not impressed

[2590402]

Harv that looks really good. I know after researching the board that people have done the conversion without buying a kit. The question i have is does anybody have a drawing of the adapter bracket for the calipers?

[albawhore]

John,

What happened to the rubber bush on your spring perch?

I would hate to see that beautiful work get all jacked up by the coil springs

JB

[Richard]

Actually I wanted to do it for years. I can only quote Ireland.Wont say which one. The cars don't need it.....Upgrade your fronts and save some money. The weight of the car and even extreme horsepower say the rears are fine. I did ask an Ireland if they dont need it why do they sell one.Response: You think anybody listens to me?????