Another brake upgrade thread .. AU3 xr8

[BZINGA]

After reading nstg8a's thread i'm still not quite sure on the upgrade. My xr8 ute has standard brakes but i'd like to go Tickford premium all round .. how much bigger are they to standard and are they worth getting? .. Brembo's would be nice but not atm.

Also do the premium set just bolt on?

Does anyone have any they are selling? or while i'm looking for some, whats a reasonable price for a set worth if they come up?

Cheers Darren.

[raised by monkeys]

most people, inc myself, are looking at the BF brakes which bolt on but will require the BF longer brake lines from what ive read. This would be a cheaper alternative to a premium package and newer.

[JC]

Originally Posted by TRIK67

After reading nstg8a's thread i'm still not quite sure on the upgrade. My xr8 ute has standard brakes but i'd like to go Tickford premium all round .. how much bigger are they to standard and are they worth getting? .. Brembo's would be nice but not atm.

Also do the premium set just bolt on?

Does anyone have any they are selling? or while i'm looking for some, whats a reasonable price for a set worth if they come up?

Cheers Darren.

I have a set of the rear premium discs for sale ($200) - used but worked fine when removed. For AU2/3, they're a straight bolt up job and use your existing callipers and pads.

The fronts are a different story - you need the adapter bracket to fit them, and these are hard to get. Try Race Brakes in Sydney (site sponsor) - at one stage they were looking at getting some made up, but they also offer the PBR upgrade with roughly the same sized front disc and calliper as the premiums. BF fronts would be the go - rears need a spacer to fit, IIRC.

[MarkT83]

Im running BF 322mm setup on my series 1 was a great upgrade well worth the $$

[JC]

Originally Posted by MarkT83

Im running BF 322mm setup on my series 1 was a great upgrade well worth the $$

Is that fronts only? My understanding is the rears require a 3mm spacer, but otherwise bolt straight up to. How did you go with the brake lines (ie are you using AU ones, BF ones, or a hybrid?).

[BZINGA]

What about the brake set in this for sale add ?

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11352686

[MarkT83]

Originally Posted by JC

Is that fronts only? My understanding is the rears require a 3mm spacer, but otherwise bolt straight up to. How did you go with the brake lines (ie are you using AU ones, BF ones, or a hybrid?).

Hey JC I havnt touched the rears as yet will look into that down the track. Brake lines were upgraded to BF ones (had to go check my build thread on another forum lol)

heres a pic of the std 298MM AUII/III spec against BF XR8/6T


AUI standard


Upgraded

[BZINGA]

Just read FTG's brake upgrade thread .. mine being a ute is going to cost $750 for the fronts, $750 for the rears plus another $400 for brackets and crap ...
So $1900 for this brake upgrade? and that's when it was last updated ... I'm halfway to a Brembo set up lol ..

It's doing my head in

[MarkT83]

Are the brakets for the rear because the front doesnt need them?

Hightek brakes have kits you could make them a bit cheaper if they let you swap out the DBA rotors and pads for RDA items and i think you get a discount if you join their facebook page. Give them a call and ask to speak to Cam I deal with him all the time always go there for pads and rotors.

Front $950
Rear $895

http://www.hightekbrakes.com.au/brakeupgrades.html

Guess I was lucky back in the day scored the fronts for $500

[CFOUR]

I continue to nay say the tickfor premos, I have them they are not great, go bf or brembo front+terry pbr rear combo.

[BZINGA]

Originally Posted by MarkT83

Are the brakets for the rear because the front doesnt need them?

Hightek brakes have kits you could make them a bit cheaper if they let you swap out the DBA rotors and pads for RDA items and i think you get a discount if you join their facebook page. Give them a call and ask to speak to Cam I deal with him all the time always go there for pads and rotors.

Front $950
Rear $895

http://www.hightekbrakes.com.au/brakeupgrades.html

Guess I was lucky back in the day scored the fronts for $500

They want the extra $400 for the rears as it's a live axle rear end not IRS so you need this extra stuff to make them fit - ie .. brackets etc, apparently it relocates the handbrake or something .. i read all 10 pages and just watched the price go up every page lol ...

[BZINGA]

Originally Posted by CFOUR

I continue to nay say the tickfor premos, I have them they are not great, go bf or brembo front+terry pbr rear combo.

I think i might just wait til i need new brakes and then spend the money .. i might be able to find something while i'm waiting, who knows ...

[MarkT83]

Originally Posted by TRIK67

They want the extra $400 for the rears as it's a live axle rear end not IRS so you need this extra stuff to make them fit - ie .. brackets etc, apparently it relocates the handbrake or something .. i read all 10 pages and just watched the price go up every page lol ...

what are the ba/bf F6/XR6T/XR8/GT/GTP utes running look into them as they wouldnt have changed much at all from au

[BZINGA]

Originally Posted by MarkT83

what are the ba/bf F6/XR6T/XR8/GT/GTP utes running look into them as they wouldnt have changed much at all from au

I did a quick look at the FTG thread again and this is basically what your paying extra for with the live axle set up ....

"we supply rear mounting plates to suit solid axles , these are genuine ford ones of a f6 ute. this will allow the bigger calipers to clear the shockers
the rear kit is $650 and an extra $300 for the mounting plates"

But this was at page 5 and it finishes on page 10 at the kit being $400 & front & rear kits at $750 each and the thread hadn't been touched for awhile so who knows what prices they are now ..

[b2tf]

The FTG stuff is good but always a little on the pricey side, the ones I bought are an FTG kit but I bought them secondhand with minimal use.

I think you would find it difficult to find a set of Tickfords now and lots of people pay stupid amounts of money just for that logo to be on the calipers.

Brembos would be great but if you're like me its a lot of money that could be spent elsewhere.

[JC]

I'd be contacting RaceBrakes in Sydney. Matt will post to anywhere, and he always looks after forum members - I'd be surprised if you couldn't get a BF RDA setup to suit the AU front for cheaper than what's been quoted so far.

Then there's always the options of searching out wreckers for callipers, source new (RDA) discs, and have brake lines adjusted to suit.

Also, no real need to upgrade the rears - just throw a set of slotted or grooved (hint, hint) discs at the rear, and decent pads, and that's all you need. It's the front brakes that do 70% or so of the work, and that's where you need the improvement. ......Just sayin'.......

[brownieXR8]

I've posted over in the RBS section, so hopefully once Matt is back on board he'll get back to us with something

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread....15#post4062715

[rag top]

Originally Posted by JC

Also, no real need to upgrade the rears - just throw a set of slotted or grooved (hint, hint) discs at the rear, and decent pads, and that's all you need. It's the front brakes that do 70% or so of the work, and that's where you need the improvement. ......Just sayin'.......

That's what I'm running in my AU2 ute (upgraded to ticky premo's in the front and standard AU2 rears with slotted RDA's) - and very happy with the braking performance.

[JC]

Originally Posted by rag top

That's what I'm running in my AU2 ute (upgraded to ticky premo's in the front and standard AU2 rears with slotted RDA's) - and very happy with the braking performance.

After a good bleed - IIRC, they weren't great when first installed.

[rag top]

true JC; Now,with the ute fully loaded, (and she's been doing some work lately), the brakes still pull the ute up easily. With the old setup, it required a fair bit of effort and a lot bigger distance to pull up with a full load.

[BZINGA]

Thanks guys, guess i'll look into upgrading the fronts and just changing rotors on the rear ... didn't want to spend a fortune on it but this seems to be the best way of doing it i think, dollar wise anyway.

[BZINGA]

So if i just buy the FTG upgraded front kit for $750 or buy BF xr8 second hand calipers and new 322mm rotors ... that's all i need for the front?

Keeping the standard calipers on the rear, whats the largest size rotors i can put on to upgrade them?

[JC]

Originally Posted by TRIK67

So if i just buy the FTG upgraded front kit for $750 or buy BF xr8 second hand calipers and new 322mm rotors ... that's all i need for the front?

Keeping the standard calipers on the rear, whats the largest size rotors i can put on to upgrade them?

Yep, plus a modified brake line to suit the AU, if required.

The rears - you can only use standard size disc, but slotted or grooved or cross drilled will assist with braking.

[BZINGA]

Originally Posted by JC

Yep, plus a modified brake line to suit the AU, if required.

The rears - you can only use standard size disc, but slotted or grooved or cross drilled will assist with braking.

Cheers mate.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by JC

Yep, plus a modified brake line to suit the AU, if required.

has that been answered yet? noone seems to be able to say definitively if the bf lines a direct fit, or if they need to be modified with au ends or what...

[BZINGA]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

has that been answered yet? noone seems to be able to say definitively if the bf lines a direct fit, or if they need to be modified with au ends or what...

I'm still not sure on this either .. The FTG caliper seems to be ok with the standard AU line or line supplied as no one seems to have any problems with them.
The BF xr8 calipers i'm guessing will need new lines made up if you go with them but i'll find out next week.
Rears i'm only changing rotors so i don't know.

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

has that been answered yet? noone seems to be able to say definitively if the bf lines a direct fit, or if they need to be modified with au ends or what...

Mine is an FTG kit and came with the correct line fittings. I did buy it secondhand though so it may have been changed.

[raised by monkeys]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BA-BF-xr6...item3cc0814498

if anyones interested

[BZINGA]

Originally Posted by raised by monkeys

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BA-BF-xr6...item3cc0814498

if anyones interested

I've been watching this, it's been advertised a couple of times with each time the price getting lower ...

[brownieXR8]

If you look at the post I linked earlier, Matt from Race Brakes Sydney has put a couple of options upbthst he can do.