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View Full Version : EVO brake conversion, front and rear.

Tinman
10-03-2008, 09:37 PM
The front EVO brake conversion is being done and documented by a few FC folks. Here I will cover both the front and rear conversion I am doing to one of my FCs.

Feel free to ask questions or offer criticism based on your own experiences.

We'll start with some pics and brief descriptions.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1692.jpg
Rotor comparison, stock on the left, EVO on the right. Front on the top, rear on the bottom.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1706.jpg
Rear on the left, front on the right.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1700.jpg
Calipers, EVO front and rear and factory 4 piston

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1704.jpg
Front EVO caliper and rotor mounted on FC spindle. The rotor has been turned down roughly 1/8" in diameter to just under 12 1/2" and the center bore has been enlarged to fit the FC hub. The calipers require swapping the bleeder screws and transfer tube from end to end. This is due to the EVO caliper's staggered piston diameters and their orientation on the EVO. They are mounted on the front side of the axle from Mitsubishi and get pushed to the back on the FC. The first thought is to just swap them from side to side in order to keep the bleeders on top, but because this places to pistons in the wrong order under rotation they must be keep on their correct sides. So the bleeders must be switched to the top and the transfer tube to the bottom.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1697.jpg
Modified front knuckles.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1699.jpg
Close up of mounting ears. The threads are drilled out with a 12mm bit so the bolt now passes through the knuckle and threads into the caliper. The mounting surface has been milled down .035" to properly center the caliper over the rotor.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1702.jpg
Rear rotor on FC hub. Because the EVO rotor's center bore is larger than the FC's I machined a spacer to take up the space, very similar to a hub centric spacer for aftermarket wheels. It was rough cut from a piece of 6061 1/4" thick aluminum plate with some hole saws and then finished on a lathe.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1707.jpg
The only machining required on the rear rotors is on the parking brake drum area. It protrudes from the hub a bit to far and interferes with the knuckle.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1695.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1696.jpg
Rear knuckles. Here is where many people will shy away from this project. The original caliper mounting ears are cut off and a new bracket cut from 1/2" thick 6061 aluminum is welded to the knuckle. The bracket rests very well on a flat surface on the backside of the knuckle and will require less than .040" of shim to locate the caliper correctly over the rotor. The two allen head bolts are only to hold the bracket in place during the welding, I just left them in place afterwards.
djmtsu
10-04-2008, 08:47 AM
That seems like a ton of work and custom fabrication for something that will not be of use to 95% of FC owners.

When all is said and done, how much is this going to cost to get done. I know the Evo parts can be sourced cheap, but the fabrication is where the serious $$$ are going to be spent, not to mention all the new bearings and seals which will need to be replaced due to the complete tear down of both front and rear spindles.

My .02.
Tinman
10-04-2008, 03:36 PM
That seems like a ton of work and custom fabrication for something that will not be of use to 95% of FC owners.

When all is said and done, how much is this going to cost to get done. I know the Evo parts can be sourced cheap, but the fabrication is where the serious $$$ are going to be spent, not to mention all the new bearings and seals which will need to be replaced due to the complete tear down of both front and rear spindles.

My .02.

I'm not trying to sell anything here. I only build/fabricate one off pieces and cars, then I'm off to the next project. I don't enjoy doing things twice no matter what the profit might be.

I'm posting this for the folks researching different options for improved braking. No one that I know of has tried using the rear brakes from the EVO for the reasons you posted. But some people may want to make it happen, this is only a guide of how I am doing things to help others in their quest for improved braking.
Phoenix7
10-04-2008, 03:44 PM
Crazy custom work! That's a lot of brake. What are you doing with the car, as a whole?
Tinman
10-04-2008, 03:56 PM
Crazy custom work! That's a lot of brake. What are you doing with the car, as a whole?

It's just a freak open lapping day track car that doesn't fit into any class. It has and will again see some street time too.
Phoenix7
10-04-2008, 03:57 PM
are you going to disable the ABS? I know some people with bigger brakes have front lock-up issues with the ABS.
Tinman
10-04-2008, 04:06 PM
are you going to disable the ABS? I know some people with bigger brakes have front lock-up issues with the ABS.

The car in question is an 88 SE, so no ABS. The hydraulic system and it's components will come at a later date, hopefully not too much later.
RotaryXperiment
10-05-2008, 08:19 AM
wow looks cool, not sure if i would go thru all the work like some guys said but none the less very nice.
maybe something for down the line...
FortyfiveD
10-05-2008, 05:00 PM
Do you have any pictures of this setup installed on your car? If so could you post them I'd like to see how this looks on car.
TehMonkay
10-05-2008, 08:27 PM
Are you keeping the stock proportioning valve or a manual one?
Kenny Senter
10-05-2008, 08:58 PM
also need to look into the Mazda 929 master cylinder due to the higher fluid capacity of the larger calipers.
Tinman
10-06-2008, 04:57 PM
I have looked at a few OEM master cylinders but will probably go with a tandem setup with an adjustable balance bar. I will cover the hydraulics here when I get to that point.
Tinman
11-05-2008, 07:57 PM
I've been too busy on other projects to get much done with the EVO brakes. But I did get a chance to fab the front brake cooling duct adapters.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1741s.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1738s.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1733s.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1728s.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/tinman_015/100_1725s.jpg

More to come as my schedule allows.
Fidelity101
11-06-2008, 10:35 AM
I've seen a similar setup on 240sx's, they only require a washer to bolt up evo rotors and sti calipers on the rear and the front needs a 3 inch shim with 2 holes in it to bolt up the sti front calipers on evo rotors.

that car must brake incredibly well.
SpooledupRacing
11-06-2008, 10:50 AM
and hell I removed my backing plates lol..
Miata_mx5
11-06-2008, 11:22 AM
If i had an FC i would def. do something like this.

Those brakes look so similar to my 4 pot Brembo R32 GTR brakes. I love the way these stock brembos stop this front heavy car.

Love the writeup. How much would everything cost to do it right?
SpooledupRacing
11-06-2008, 11:27 AM
Honestly as nice as it looks I think it is a bit much (both price and work) for an FC that really dont NEED that much brake.

The 4 pot calipers with some good rotors and great pads is plenty..
Phoenix7
11-06-2008, 11:32 AM
+1^^,

props for working on it and I want to see the new numbers and details on the benefits for knowledge purposes but I don't see myself doing this in the future.

Don't forget nice tires....you can have the best brakes in the world and you won't improve anything without good tires.
SpooledupRacing
11-06-2008, 11:38 AM
Don't forget nice tires....you can have the best brakes in the world and you won't improve anything without good tires.


+1

Dont matter how nice your brakes are if the tires wont stop the car.
I am sure I said it before but I wanted to make sure I did not come off negative..

GREAT JOB!!!!! they look AWSOME and I say to each their own, go for it and keep us updated
Phoenix7
11-06-2008, 11:47 AM
i'm sure he'll need it if he plans on making over 400hp.
Tinman
11-06-2008, 09:00 PM
i'm sure he'll need it if he plans on making over 400hp.


It currently makes 540rwhp and I hope to break into the 700s at some point. Sorry though, it's piston powered.


It will have enough tire under it to make use of the increased braking.

I don't have much money in the set up, just a lot of time.
Phoenix7
11-06-2008, 09:12 PM
but but but...........sigh.

Now I understand the need for bigger brakes...
Tinman
11-06-2008, 09:42 PM
but but but...........sigh.



Don't worry, I have a rotary powered FC as well.


And before anyone gets bent out of shape, let me explain a little. The FC that I am doing the EVO brake conversion on is my first of 5 FCs and was purchased solely in the intent of doing a V8 swap. But here is why, I wanted a good home for my SB2 small block chevy, it had to be lightweight, handle great, and look good. The FC proved to be the best choice so I started looking for a clean example and purchased an 88SE to make it happen. As soon as I started working on the car I fell in love with everything about the FC, and all RX7s for that matter, and continued to buy, modify, and drive them. So in short, my V8 conversion is not an insult to the rotary, it is a complement to the RX7 chassis.
Flooder
11-15-2008, 03:56 PM
The stock 4 piston calipers are really good brakes. I'm quite happy with mine and how they work. I would only do a swap like this if I was bored and i could find the parts for cheap.
Terrh
11-27-2008, 01:47 AM
that's probably the nicest homemade brake setup I've ever seen

awesome work with the brake cooling as well. I wish someone made those for the stock brakes. I think even just that would improve the stock braking setup a ton.


+1 on those looking somewhat similar to skyline GTR brakes - I think the evo ones are a tiny bit bigger though. Probably lighter too, modern technology FTW.