fiestaturbo.com

[F1XTA]

as some of u know, i have a H reg fiesta 1.0L.
i am looking to upgrade the brakes soon with xr2 brakes, cheaper than brand name like brembo. can i just change the front disks or do i have to change the calipers as well. has anyone ever tried . advice would bne greatly appreciated

[heeman10]

You need the XR2i (not XR2) discs and callipers together. They bolt straight on, and it's a VERY worthwhile upgrade. It was the first braking upgrade I did on mine:



Much much MUCH better than standard, and I had 8 groove Tar.Ox discs with Ferodo pads to help things. Whole lot cost about 110 quid, but you can probably get the standard stuff for 40 squid or something from scrappy.

[F1XTA]

thanks for the reply. even though it is only 1 litre i feel it is better to have good brakes. not too expensive but a worthwhile modification i suppose.

[heeman10]

Very true. I would advise you to look for some XR2i 13" alloys too. You should be able to pick up a set of four with ok tyres for no more than 100 quid, try eBay etc. They're another 3cm wider than yours, and have a lower profile, so you'll be able to corner better (more grip and less tyre flex) and the extra grip will let you brake with more force. The 155 tyres you have now will lock up if you try to brake properly with your improved brakes....bit of a danger point in my opinion, particularly in the wet, those damn 155s! I understand money isn't being thrown at the car, hence the bargain basement suggestion of the 13" "Fireblade" 1.6 8v XR2i alloys

[F1XTA]

yeah, i have some allooys on the car that r 14". they were given to me with the car. they are wider than standard. would these have the same affect as xr2i alloys?

[heeman10]

The tyres are the important thing, width and profile. Just so you know, the tyres will have something like 185/55/14 written on that. 185 is the tyre width in millimetres, 14 is the wheel radius in inches. The 55 is the "profile" of the tyre, ie the height from the edge of the wheel to the outer edge of the tyre, or the "height/depth" of the tyre. The profile is given as a percentage of the width. So the profile height is 185mm x 55%. The lower the profile, the stiffer the tyre will be in cornering, generally speaking.

[F1XTA]

i didnt know that, mine are 185/60/r14. is a profile of 60 good or bad, what is lowest u can get on 14's

[heeman10]

I don't know, but 60 profile isn't bad. Mine are 45, and with 16s you'd need to drop to a 40 profile.

[F1XTA]

i would like 16" wheels but i heard the tyres are really expensive low profile. can u give me a rough price for a tyre?

[James2k]

http://www.camskill.co.uk/brand.php?bid=107

the site above ive seen is very cheap compared to high street prices Kumho is a good brand unless you wanna go premium makes. but my kumho serve well except for the emense wheel spins whoops i dropped the clutch and hit the throttle

James

[F1XTA]

cheers for the link, prices are very reasnable

[Liebo]

You might as well upgrade the rear drums to the larger ones too.

Go to the scrappers and they should remove them for you at no extra charge. I paid £15 for a pair of 1.6 Si rear drums complete.

The larger ones are fitted to XR2i, 1.6Si, 1.6 16v Mk3.5 Ghia, RS1800, 1.6S ( basically the cars with 1.6 engines in) if I remember correctly.

In the matter of safety. The parts you only really need is the backing plate and you should fit new pistons and shoes. If the drums are ok, use them, if not get new drums (perfect time to paint them whilst they are off and not rusty). Pistons and shoes are not that expensive from my local motor factors.

I had these and XR2i calipers and vented discs on my 1.3 and noticed the improvement.