- My models of MX-5 are: _nb 2.5_and mk1 eunos
- I’m based near: ulster
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on:BRAKES
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SO its me, i don’t like the brakes they work they stop but i as yet have little confidence in the feel, now i’m no racing or doing any motorsport at present in this mk1eunos, the brakes are as std they had been replaced with new discs and pads before i took ownership all i did was remove all and clean ,paint and refit with new slides and aeroquip type hosing… i have a good friend who builds hi dollar Escorts 6 figs machinery and he says he has 2 pair and they won’t be expensive, another engineer friend says they’re ■■■■, anybody been there, i don’t want bigger diameter just more power and more feel , and i don’t mind changing the master cyclinder or servo… will
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Spend some time signung up for and searching Miataforum. Lots of advice there… I found 1.6 brakes, standard lines and ceramic pads to be perfectly fine at Kirkistown. A very useful addition is a master cylinfer stopper. Pop the bonnet, and smack on the brakes. You will see the brake master cylinder pulse in and out, as the bulkhead metal flexes. That’s lost braking effort. Mine came as part of a triangulated brace, but Jass does a solid little bracket. Unlike replacing the brake lines with parts of a dubious origin, this does not affect OE parts.
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… and I thought that the flexing bulkhead syndrome went out with the Triumph Herald! It always looked like a fail-dangerous feature to me.
David
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Check out THIS CALCULATOR
According to this upgrading front brakes only will make your stopping distance longer. This is because you’ve upset the balance front to rear
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Guys, hold hard… i’m not looking at track work where rotor temps are rarely reached on any road, nor do i want track orientated pads as they are ■■■■ on cold rotors… its the initial grap i seek… i think the rally guys call a confidence prod, where you would tip the brake before a corner knowing not which way the road turns to see if there was some retardation …and allied to better feel as while mine stops as yet with perhaps 2k miles on this yoke i just can’t tell where the locking point is…as an aside when i was driving company cars the engineers in several dealers couldn’t work out how i got pads and discs to last 60k to 90k when most of the others users had pads in at 30k and discs at 50k…will
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The original brakes, set up properly and in good condition should be more than fine for most road cars.
I have Wilwood brakes fitted to the front of mine and its improved braking massively. However its on a turbo charged Eunos. However you really need to then fit a brake bias valve as the braking will be even more biased towards the front.
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This is actually quite neat thanks
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Have someone check your master cylinder for total efficiency seals, new fluid etc then fit some soft pads.
If the master cylinder is doing what it should do, softer pads may then give you more grab/feel.
I say that because I use a particular pad on my NC. I drove another NC recently with softer pads in and the initial grab and effect was more pronounced in that.
I track my road car a dozen times a year so I’ll be sticking with the pads I chose because the softer more “grabby” pads probably wouldn’t last 5 mins with track use.
My two penneth worth…
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I don’t think you are going to be happy with an MX5 Will; perhaps you should buy a car whose main positive features are not a disappointment?
You were disappointed with the 5 speed gearbox on an MX5; probably one of its best features and in truth one of the best gearboxes out there.
Now we are talking brakes. MK1 1.6 brakes are the weakest but working with the lightest car, so perfectly adequate for most driving when set up and working properly. As mentioned the inherent inefficiency will be movement of the master cylinder, expansion on the rubber lines and choice of discs and pads where extra heat generated on the track. You move forward to MK1 1.8 front brakes, then to MK2.5 sport brakes and wilwood is, well over the top I would say unless you and the car usage are exceptional.
Do you think you or the car fit into that category?
Northern Irish slang for a lorry (usually a blinged Scania on Bulgarian plates), driven by a Tang who favours country western outfts, earning far more than their years suggest.
In the end, you are expecting new car performance out of a car nearly 30 years old. A lot of worn parts. Fit brand new Mazda hardware throughout. Not sure if Bill Reilly of Firstline in NI is still about; he could hook ypu up wiuth brand new Sumitomo calipers from Japan. Probably better than bodgery from some bloke at the pub who knows only 50 year old Fords. Get the car performing as Mazda intended, then you can go on about whether the brakes work or not.
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Yes, this 30y/o ‘‘yoke’’ has just undergone a thorough rebuild from a$$ to tits …only way to do it is once and right, so everything around the brakes was checked and rebuilt by myself , this isn’t my first rodeo…i don’t know why you mentioned bodgery in a pub setting obviously a hint a 6 fig Fords as thats getting imo personal , i just came on here to see if anyone knew or had tried Wilwoods, only to be treated like a newbie and told to stay with OE stuff… Thanks guys, i know that its a subject taken seriously and i have done all in my experience to cross the t’s and dot the i’s before i sought other experience from a community who have high regard of the marque…
You put bait on the hook…twice, you are going to get bites.
Do not forget that by questioning fundamentals, you are insulting the cars we love and drive.
The wilwoods are a viciously efficient brake that will be too uncontrollable for pleasurable braking in normal circumstances with a standard car. I suggest that the SVT sport brakes in pure form would be similar; simply over the top for power to weight ratio. The great thing about the MX5/ Eunos is there is no lowest denominator, everything works as it should in balance which is why they are so popular and why I question anyone who wishes to change this balance without a specific purpose in mind. Your car is standard, yes?, so I suggest wilwood brakes are a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
If it floats your boat, fit them and then I look forward to your coming back and telling me I was wrong, partcularly as you purport to ask for advice but clearly know better.
What have you done to get around that most unsatisfactory 5 speed MK1 gearbox by the way?
I replaced it with a better unit of the same ilk…it was just a bad example of the gearbox that I purchased… and I mentioned the refit in the forum back after it had been installed…to the best of my knowledge or my intention I never set out to sully mx5 vehicles ,I came to them and on here with the best intentions and asked for advice from those who had better knowledge and experience of the actual vehicles with the various issues that i have come upon… I note that on many forum there are those who actually have got down and dirty with their vehicles and those that wouldn’t know ackermann angle from an angle finder… yet spout from various well read sources about how good any vehicle is in standard trim…yes I have lots of hard earned experience and knowledge from countless builds, and I admit I haven’t always been spot on results wise and i would admit that freely, but on that road I also found how I liked the set up on mine, and thats what I’m about just now…
Ok, I missed where you saiud brand new, not rebuild Mazda calipers and master cylinder were fitted as part of your thorough rebuild. I thougt you just replaced the discs and pads, which is obviously just a service, not “rebuild”
6 figure Fords…there are also 6 figure Minis, Jaguars, etc etc. Doesn’t mean you apply life lessons from a Mini Cooper and its ilk to a MX5.
The suggestion was to acquaint yourself with Miataforum, which has been running in various forms, for almost 30 years, and represents the gold standard of collective experience. Its the largest repository of technical advice on the MX5 on the global internet.
There are many Wilwood and Brembo users there.
Scole Englineering in the UK (Suffolk?) were also back in the day were fitting VW Corrado discs with 1.6 front calipers.
Flyin Miata I’m sure you already know hoave 20+ years experience with Wilwoods on Miata. On Miataforum, seek out Keith Tanner.
I would still go back and take another look at whoever rebuilt your brakes, because something isn’t right, and you have a fault in the system that’s been overlooked. It might save you 6-figures of whatever from the services of a Ford Rally specialist attempting a road set up on a Japanese car.
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I Never said they 're brand new but they were rebuilt by me, and i have always had a high std… pistons cleaned, no rust,new seals new dust seals examined back front and upside down cleaned back to bare steel painted and new slides, aeroquip.s/s hosing to all the calipers, with new lines throughout…bled, no air, and they’re working well and would probably suit many on here, but there’s no feel… thank you for your advice…perhaps this Forum isn’t for me. I have offended no one yet i think i’ve been treated like a chump… then perhaps Jap cars of that era hadn’t the third world back roads where i drive…
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I just re-read the other post about the gearbox and see you have fitted another and seem happy with it. So despite your intimation that I may be spouting from forum/google source material; with a lack of experience, I was right, wasn’t I. You did kind of admit that but masked it with a lot of general stuff on that directional thread, hence my missing it. No gracious acceptance that the advice was good though and still the general criticism of a gearbox We All Know is generally excellent and robust.
Fit the Wilwoods and then confirm how you got on please, You have been advised but clearly know better, best of luck!
As for being on the wrong forum, I would have to agree. The problem will be finding the right forum for you
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I agree Rhino666. When I posted I got the same response. It seems that Wacee doesn’t like an answer that doesn’t agree with him or his “expert” even though we were both correct. Yes he did offend people with this attitude.
Why ask a question the try and put down people who give an honest answer?’
At the end of the day there is only so much that can be achieved with 14/15 inch wheels with standard tyres and road conditions without ABS before perfectly balanced brakes cause failure as the car slides. That is not a failure of the brakes, just the braking point. Pedal feel is psychological and finessing with braided hoses and a master cylinder brace will not change any of that. It will make it less progressive as will upgraded brakes.
With well balanced brakes, the lowest denominator is grip and that most certainly applies to a car without ABS. The SVT sport has ABS and I would argue, very little point in fitting Wilwoods without ABS.
Other issues on track where grip really needs to be better and serious questions asked of heat dissipation involving discs, pads and fluid. As mentioned with the right pads, discs and perhaps some super, duper fluid, standard brakes without ABS present are still just as good as any. As the braking is more progressive with limitations, expanding of hoses, master cylinder flexing, etc, less requirement for control finesse in application at the margins.
If anyone who knows better disagrees with me, please feel free to put me right.