Front brake discs

[Jon_G]

Even an "average" non-Toyota garage would be able to change the front discs and pads... get some recommendations from locals, friends, family, or neighbours then find out who'll do it the cheapest.

[Capvermell]

Which brakes and discs would anyone recommend for a change on all four wheels?

Camskill do a set of what are meant to be an equivalent spec to OEM for around £120 for all four discs and pads but then Mintex discs and pads are available for a very similar price from Ebay sellers.  But then I read elsewhere that Mintex pads don't fit properly and may stick on the disc.  This may of course be a caliper problem as these seem to be notorious on our favourite vehicle and I may need to put a refurbed caliper on one or both sides on the rear of mine.  As I couldn't possibly do that myself or have an accurate opinion on whether the current caliper is finished this is where finding a garage I can trust comes in.

[Bernie]

I went for the black finished grooved  MTec disks and have been pleased with how they perform and are holding up

[onion86]

I went for the black finished grooved  MTec disks and have been pleased with how they perform and are holding up

Just don't take them for a short drive (i.e. not long enough to wear all the coating off) and leave the handbrake on overnight when they're first fitted or they pads will stick to the black coating  s:? :? s:?  I'm sure I had an unusually bad experience with their warehouse staff, I must say their customer service was amazing but it took them 3 attempts to actually send the correct order out...  l viewtopic.php?f=11&t=35898&p=428468 l .

Once they were fitted and the coating removed it was great and prevented rust all over the coated surface, come in Silver or Black.

[Anonymous]

I am a perfect example...

I know nothing about cars, but i still managed to have a go at the front disks and brakes...

wasnt all that hard in the end... a few rusty bolts but nothing a hammer couldnt sort out!!!

Saved myself over £100 too + learnt something in the process...

Id reccommend giving it a go.  s:) s:)

[onion86]

a few rusty bolts but nothing a hammer couldnt sort out!!!

...learnt something in the process...

Did you learn not to use a hammer on your car?  s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

My neice did that for me lol

[Capvermell]

Working on stuff like changing the battery or the oxygen sensors that are not road safety related is all very well as an amateur (straight forward and not safety critical) but if you work on components that might be seen to be road safety related others might accuse you of not having done it properly if things go wrong.

Whilst I assume the vehicle in this tragic case was in a very bad state indeed I think a lot of it was probably down for the wish for some kind of judicial retribution due to the number of deaths involved even if the vehicle was in pretty poor condition.

See  w www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-112693 ... ldren.html w

Much the same thing happened to the guy who ran his car off the motorway down a railway embankment and in front of the express train (killing 11 people on the train) a few years back because he hadn't had enough sleep.  Strangely enough this also involved a Land Rover perhaps in part due to their unfortunate tendency to topple over quite easily.  Loads of people unfortunately do go to sleep on the road every week but most of them only damage themselves and/or their own vehicle.  The difference in the outcome seems to be purely down to luck.

See  w www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-94274/ ... years.html w

  If somebody works on their car without training and it then has a serious accident due to issues related to that work then issues such as how and by who the car was maintained are always going to arise.

[AmeR]

I'd say after all these posts, and the consistent reassurance that you don't wish to work on your own brakes (the idea makes me cautious too - I had mine changed by a much more experienced member of the forum who did a great job. Not his first time playing with brake discs  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  ), I'd say your down to google and / or recommendations from people that you know within your local area.

I like many do most of the work on my own car where I can as I enjoy that aspect just as much as driving it. However, should I not wish to do anything, nor allow an untrained "amateur" near it, I'm pretty sure that I could locate a wealth of garages near me willing to undertake the work. Which one to choose? Recommendations or personal experience. For instance, I have no problem having my daily driver MOT'd / minor jobs done by the Kwik Fit near me - they've been honest, efficient, offer excellent service, and the prices are good too! My MR2? It has recently been MOT'd by Toyota, purely as I decided myself that I'd rather it go to the manufacturer than the general grease monkeys at KF. Would it have actually made any difference? Probably only too my wallet!!  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

As for brakes, there's loads of info on the forum about people's experiences with them. I have Toyota discs and mintex all round - not bad really but my plan is refurbed Callipers, Mtec black discs and some 'stuff' pads of one colour or another. They all seem to be favourable with some members.

Hope that helps  s:) s:)

[Capvermell]

Its easy to get carried away with all these little modifications but unless you race your car how much difference does it actually make.  I have done it in the past on my X1/9 and MGF with K&N air filters and special performance exhausts etc.  The net result is usually your wallet is much lighter but performance is much the same as before.

When you look at how cheap Porsche Boxsters are now getting (mainly because there are so many of them and hence the market is saturated plus 10 year old car buyers are put off by the perceived much higher cost of maintenance of a prestige mark) I wonder if it wouldn't be a better bet to save up to buy and run one of those one day.  Way more power and a much higher specced braking system as standard.

Camskill brakes and pads look adequate and will also get the other stuff that has been neglected like changing the gearbox oil and fitting a new air filter done whilst it is in there (with my body repair guys who can also do these various minor maintenance tasks).  Having said that the engine idles perfectly and smoothly so I wonder if the new air filter is really necessary.  Gearbox must benefit from an oil change after 73,000 miles although as the flywheel still seems to have an issue (wasn't changed when the clutch was done so have to rev slightly setting off from stationary to avoid it slipping even though it otherwise seems fine) perhaps I should leave well alone.

[Anonymous]

As for brakes, there's loads of info on the forum about people's experiences with them. I have Toyota discs and mintex all round - not bad really but my plan is refurbed Callipers, Mtec black discs and some 'stuff' pads of one colour or another. They all seem to be favourable with some members.

Are you still going ahead with this plan given your recent announcement Paul?

[Capvermell]

The other point that would concern me with grooved and drilled discs is whether or not an insurance company might not choose to deem them as a "modification".

The Camskill discs and pads clearly won't be as they are the same size as the normal discs and plain faced and the pads are a conventional design.  Drilled and grooved discs and special compound racing pads (eg Yellow Stuff) might well be deemed a modification especially in the event of a bad and expensive accident the insurance company is trying to wriggle out of liability for.

As my insurers, quotemehappy.com. doesn't do modifications it isn't worth thinking about going down this road.

Safe areas of modification are things like gearbox and engine oil and spark plugs where even the most picky insurer isn't going to be able to complain about the fact that you have fitted a better quality consumable than the OEM spec.

[dj2k21]

Lol a Porsche boxster is not that fast and are widely regarded as the poor man's Porsche. If you are worried about the cost of discs and pads and a mechanic to work on your mr2 then I would love to be there when  you price up brakes for a boxster lol. No hard top for them and when I had nothing but some bracing mods and coilovers on my mr2 before I went turbo etc I was in the sports car category in a run what you brung day at Teesside auto drome and the only thing that really embarrassed me and made me look like a fool was a lotus exige.  There was a Porsche boxster there and it could not live with us on the bends. The straight he would catch up and then we were gone again.

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[Capvermell]

There was a Porsche boxster there and it could not live with us on the bends. The straight he would catch up and then we were gone again.

Presumably if a Boxster was uprated and modded the way your Roadster has been engine and suspension wise it would easily outrun you.  However it goes against the mentality of Boxster ownership to undertake kit car like modifications.

As one old enough to remember the Posche 924 and 944 era I have to say that as a poor man's Porsche goes the Boxster is way superior to those old models which were basically cars for the wife.  Also design wise our Roadster can't even begin to touch the Boxster in my opinion.

The main problem with Boxsters is that they are something of a maget for vandals and for Road Rage merchants who want to take offence at your driving.  Also the spares are generally pretty unreasonably expensive for the model specific items you can't get elsewhere.

[dj2k21]

Well my car engine was completely standard at the time I did this. It had coilovers and front and rear strut braces. Which are pretty cheap. So for very little money you have a car that's much more responsive and quicker than a boxster.  It sounds to me like your not the roadsters biggest fan. Might I suggest a Honda s2000.  Very reliable, great looking, cheaper to run and more practical than a boxster

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[Capvermell]

Might I suggest a Honda s2000.  Very reliable, great looking, cheaper to run and more practical than a boxster

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Yes I like them and have considered getting one several times.  Unfortunately due to their scarcity they are much more expensive than our Roadster for one of the same age and mileage.  Nine and ten year old ones go for particularly inflated prices.

[dj2k21]

That's because a lot of people have cottoned on to the f20 engine they use. They are good gorgeous over 700bhp on standard internals and gearbox and seem to be hugely in demand at present. My uncle has one and just completed and European tour in it. Beautiful car and lovely to drive albeit not quite as "hardcore" and a grass routes country lane car like the roadster.

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