Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

drtarkir wrote:Michael, which Powerlite caliper is used in the rear brakes. I ask because there are 3 different units with various piston sizes.

Dennis

Normal is 25 mm,
Suspension setup is also very important, because of the weight transfer.

Using Hawk Blue 9012 pads in standard LF14 calipers i get around 4 to 5 race weekends with practice and 3 sprint races races of around 15 minutes each for the weekend.

Front pad, caliper and disk temps all get close to their maximum limits when used on a extremely hard braking circuit like Sandown where you have two 200km/h to 60 km/h stops in a 1:30 lap. Rear brakes stay if anything too cool. I use lower coefficent Ferodo F6R rear pads to balance up the braking and rear pads last 3 or 4 times longer than the front

Using castellated pistons helps reduce the caliper temperature if your approaching this limit. Brake cooling ducts would also help if allowed in your racing class. Lotus 7 with similar front brakes run a lot cooler with their better air flow over the brakes.

The Hawk pads are not useable on the road as they work based on transferring a film from the pad material to the disk when hot, so on a track with continuous hot disks there is little disk wear as the film on the disk wears but not the disk itself. When cold they work well also but are extremely abrasive as no film transfer occurs and then you chew out the disks quickly if used on the road.

cheers
Rohan

I agree with Rohan,

Pads are your first choice for improving your brakes and doing so simply with very reasonable cost and effort.

Larger calipers and rotors add unsprung weight.

I used Porterfield R4 pads on my Zink Z10. They were effective even when cool. Very little rotor wear too. I raced on them hard for 3 seasons. They were very easy to modulate and had a very consistent feel from cool to hot. http://porterfield-brakes.com/manufacturers/Porterfield+Brakes/R-4.html

Porterfield has a street compound, R4S that are the best brakes I have ever had on my roadgoing Elan.

I have had the Hawk blue pads on my Crossle 25F and found them to be just fair. They need to be warm to start working. That makes turn one after the green flag very exciting if someone throws out the anchors in turn one.

I replaced the Hawk pads with KFP Magnum pads, 2005/orange compound. They seem to be comparable to the Porterfield R4 pads. Porterfield may have private labled these from KFP. They are available from Averill Racing Stuff. http://racing-stuff.com/kfp%20magnum.htm

I tried Portfield R4 on the Elan but found short pad and disk life and the pads were overheating and cracking on hard braking circuits. But they were good when cold !

The Hark Blue 9012 do need to be warmed to achieve their best but I can get them to good temperature on the warm up lap so the first corner is fine

cheers
Rohan

I used Porterfield R4 on my Datsun race car with good results. Rotor life was excellent however, I had the rotors cryogenically treated. The cryo treatment was definitely the answer.

Speaking of heat, I just picked up the header and entire exhaust system for the Plus2 Zetec conversion, which I had ceramic coated. Looks great, will have to see how it holds up.

seniorchristo wrote:Mio
I have Minilites on my S3 and would like to increase brake capability. Do I understand correctly there are (3) styles of caliper brackets depending on which brake disc you use? Besides the weight savings is there a performance (braking) gain using the Wilwood calipers with the standard elan discs. I have Minilites but I am leery of necessity and cost of +2 discs. I am planning on street use only with approximately 150 HP.
Thanks for your efforts!
Chris Herr

Sorry for the delayed answer I haven't been on elan net for a while.
Yes there are several caliper brackets depending on rim size and also disc size.
But I have only considered the use of +2 discs and real race rotors from willwood.
There has to be a certain mass of the disc to absorb the heat when racing or track days.
The original disc is on its limit to absorb the heat at normal temperatures.
And the race rotor from willwood I use in the 14" rim kit is very effective at dissipating heat.
Regards
Michael
www.mio-engineering.dk

Just came across this thread - I've been busy fiddling with other marques for a few years!

I upgraded my brakes in 2002/3. I used Wilwood Dynalite 4 pot x 44mm pistons (I think) on the front, with +2 discs, and 2 pot on the back, to replicate the factory 67%/33% F/R balance. I custom made the caliper brackets in 7075 T6 alloy. I needed a handbrake for scrutineering in tarmac rallying, and used mountain bike calipers (120g each!) fitted on custom alloy brackets. The pads are Ferodo DS 3000 - been using them ever since, and can outbrake ANYTHING on the road or track.

I initially wanted the same calipers F/R with a bias valve, but was talked out of it by my mechanic, which I regret - I think there's a little more rear bias to be had, especially in the wet. I was going to fabricate a bracket to mount a hand brake caliper to the diff with a disc on the prop shaft or one of the output shafts, but ran out of time at the time, and haven't bothered since. I might do it on the super-doper lightweight project, if I ever get around to starting it!

BTW, I was previously running +2 calipers and discs with a booster, which was still very competitive, but the new set up is way better.

Just tried to contact MiO and could not make a connection. Quite a few years now since the last forum entries. Very interested in the Willwood brake kit. Is the company still in existence?

Hi Eric
The company is still in existence, but not as active as previously.
I will give Mio a call, to let him know you are looking for him.
Which car is the brake kit interned for?
Jannik

Hi Jannik, glad to hear that the upgrade is still available. I have a '66 Elan S3 SE DHC which I am currently restoring and intend to use it primarily for auto slaloms plus some track days.

As I live in Canada, I can easily get the Wilwood Dynalite calipers at a good price so I would only need the adapters plus the bolting hardware.

I would be using the standard brake rotor and Panasport 5J x 13" alloy wheels for road use and the OEM steel wheels on old tires for winter inside storage.

Does anyone know if MIO engineering still exists? the website does not answer!
Any other brake upgrade for the plus 2 known, particularly the rear and handbrake?