Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I have a '72 federal Sprint which comes with dual system brakes (split front/back) & no servo.

The master cylinder (0.700" in diameter) was rebuilt in April, all caliper pistons are free & there is no air in the system.

The brake pedal effort required to stop the car is huge. The first time I drove the car I needed clean underwear the first time I needed to do a quick stop, I can only just lock the brakes up, I'd estimate that I'm using 250-300 Lbs force on the brake pedal when I do a quick stop. Unfortunately I do not have access to another Elan so have nothing to compare it against...

Given that everything seems to be in order with the rest of the brake system, I can only assume that the pads are too hard.

Anyone have recommendations on brake pads to use? I see older recommendations on EBC Greenstuff & Ferodo DS2000s, but not sure if this was for a Servo-less car.

Any advice appreciated. I'm coming to England in a couple of weeks & will be stopping by Mr. Matty or can source locally (USA.)

p.s. My hand brake works perfectly... go figure!

First, make sure your pads and rotors have not glazed over. Did you have different compound pads before?
If so, the rotors may need to be turned or at least sanded to remove the glaze.

The EBC greenstuff is recommended for brakes without servos. I drove a +2 a month ago with the greenstuff and the pedal effort was low with good modulation.

I have Porterfield R4-S on my Elan, no servos and original master cylinder size. They don't require much effort and wear well. Not too much dust. Absolutely no fade when driven hard.

I use the R4 on my Zink FF. No connection other than happy customer.

http://porterfield-brakes.com/manufacturers/shop/Hawk+Performance.html

I also use the Cryo treated rotors on all my cars now. The rotors last twice as long for an additional $40 each.

StressCraxx wrote:First, make sure your pads and rotors have not glazed over. Did you have different compound pads before?
If so, the rotors may need to be turned or at least sanded to remove the glaze.

Not sure if the Pads/Rotors are glazed, I bought the car with these pads & the brake effort has always been high.

I think I'll buy the EBC Greenstuff pads & sand the discs.

The green stuff pads I have waiting for my car have a special cleaning/bedding in surface on them. So you may not need to sand the disks.

mbell wrote:The green stuff pads I have waiting for my car have a special cleaning/bedding in surface on them. So you may not need to sand the disks.

That explains why the new pads I have a surface like course emery.



Jon the Chief

Just ordered EBC Green Stuffs, for reference:
Front Pads DP2114 $55 on the internets
Rear Pads DP2145 $45 on the Internets (both including shipping)

Thanks for the input guys, I will post back here after installation on whether the brakes feel any better.