I posted the original query about the Midget MBG rotors/Spit calipers brake
mods but never posted a response summary. Since the question has been raised
again and it involves brakes (and people's safety), here is the summary:
============================ Start Summary ================================
Tim Dziechowski <timd@ptltd.com> (original post):
Now that I finally have my brakes dead nuts (after three rebuilds and
finally acquiring an EasyBleed)...
I read somewhere about using MGB calipers and Spitfire rotors (or was it
MGB rotors and Spitfire calipers?) on a Midget to provide vastly improved
brakes. Anyone out there been there, done that? Did it make a worthwhile
difference in braking?
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James Fuerstenberg <jfuerstenberg@dcmdc.dla.mil>:
Spitfire rotors and MGB calipers on a spridget are pretty common in
club racing and defnitely would improve the brakes. I have not
personally done this conversion so I cannot help with specifics.
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Darren Stone <dstone@sc9.intel.com>:
if you find out about the "B/Spit" front brakes, please
forward on to me, as I've thought of doing this the
next time around. FYI, winner's circle sells the
adapters apparently needed to fit the other rotors to the
spridget hubs, so that's a start.
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Mike Wilson <mwilson@max.arc.nasa.gov>:
I got a set of rebuilt calipers for my bugeye last year. I bolted them
on, went to buy some pads and made the discovery that they were MGB calipers!
So (1) MGB calipers bolt right on, (2) the rotor is centered in the
caliper, and (3) the mating surface between the pad and rotor is correct
(once you determine just which caliper you're buying the pads for).
I was told that the hot setup for spridgets is to run MGB calipers with
spitfire rotors. No one has been able to tell me why the spit rotors are
preferable (thicker? vented? just some oddball thing to do?). I was also
told that you need a spacer if you go to the spit rotors.
While I haven't driven this car a lot, the brakes have worked fine when I
did. I, too, would like to know why spit rotors instead of spridget rotors.
All I can say is that the MGB calipers + spridget rotors work for me. If
you find out any additional info, please pass it on...
============================ End Summary ==================================
I am planning to try this mod in three stages:
1/ Midget calipers and rotors (stock)
2/ MGB calipers with Midget rotors
3/ MGB calipers with Spitfire rotors
I would like to test this brake mod for each setup above someplace where
I can do quantitative tests (e.g., average of 10 runs, stopping distance
from 60MPH). Can anyone on the net suggest a place in New England
(preferably NH) where I could do this? The KMart parking lot just isn't
gonna cut it.
timd@ptltd.com (Tim Dziechowski - Phoenix Technologies - Cambridge, Mass)
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