i got tired of my heavily modded 2004 mini cooper s and traded for a 1975 austin mini with a vtec motor . since i had never driven a old school mini , i had no idea what to exect. first impression was , WOW the steering is hard .
arm strong steering , im use to it already. my biggest problem with the old school mini is the brakes. my god they suck , the car i got has front disc brakes and drum on the back and VERY worn out half shafts . i just ordered new cv joints for the inner honda and outer mini joints . i can not push the car at all yet , due to shafts being worn out . but i must say i think it will fly once i get the work done.
what do you vtec mini guys do for brakes ?

 

Pray it stops!

A local club member has a V-Tec pickup truck with 10" wheels, it's like pushing on a block of wood for all the braking action you get!

I think part of the problem is the limited amount of room inside the wheel for both the disc and caliper - I would look for a fairly soft metallic pad, if it was me I'd gladly trade short pad life for having some better reaction from the brakes.

Back in the day I had a '62 Cooper S with the 7" discs, they didn't stop very well either, and required massive amounts of leg!

You will never have the same kind of brakes you had on your '04, so adjust your driving accordingly......

 

This is frightening.

The brakes on the classic Mini were designed to handle a car with an 848cc motor that produced just under 50 hp.

With little improvement, we are now seeing conversions that are using these same brakes to stop cars with more than twice the displacement and 4 times the horsepower and unfortunately, about 50% more engine weight -- all of it in the front end, and with the same tire contact patch as the original.

RB, I'm not sure there is anything you can put inside a 10 inch wheel that will handle the VTEC power and weight. Please, go measure the tire footprint of a garden variety oem VTEC motored car and try to figure how you are going to get to anything close to that.

My friend, it is very likely that you are driving a very dangerous car. If it has not been equipped with 13-inch wheels at a minimum, you should begin there. Then look into after market front and rear disks with a larger master cylinder, stainless steel brake lines, and a strengthened brake pedal. I'd strongly encourage you to not drive it till you've made the required upgrades.

Post pictures of as much of the process as you can -- lots of us interested out here.

Please be careful.

 

my car has 13 inch rims that are 7 inches wide . i think it has 8 inch discs up front. i have a email off to mini tech asking them if going to the disc rear brakes helps much . why has no one come up with a power assist setup.
back in the late 80's i raced honda crx's for 12 years , they came with 13 inch rims stock . the brakes were just fine for the most part.

 

I think the reason there's no booster is there's just no place to put it....

That said, can you lock up the fronts with just leg pressure?

I wonder if it's just down to pads? If you could find a "grabbier", softer pad, that might be all you need.....

A booster would definitely help, but where the heck would you put it?

I don't think rear discs are the answer, since 90% of the braking is on the front.

 

i talked to the guys at mini tech , they have a big brake kit and i was told they work fantastic.
guess next spring i will have to buy a set .

 

I also seen some remote booster kit in some sixtes rally minis. they show up online from time to time.

I'm running modified Honda Civic vented disc brakes on the front of my mini.

 

You can probably find a place to put a booster in a non-VTEC Mini, but when you add the Honda motor, it gets a little crowded under the hood!

I'll be anxious to see how this works out for you, but I really don't think adding rear discs is the answer - I'm sure it will help, but if you can already lock the rear brakes, how will adding more stopping power back there help?

Bigger fronts might help, but the car only weighs a bit more than it did originally, so why would it need great big brakes for street use? I still think it's either down to a booster and/or different pads......

And if you run the 10" wheels like my buddy, your options are really limited!

Just my 2c.

 

Your recommendation for improvements are solid, but the rest of the statements are a bit excessive. If the car isn't being tracked or driven at excessive speeds, the car is no less safe than it was when it had an 850 in it for daily driving.

 

thanx for te comments .
it has come to that time of the year where i am pulling the new mini off the road for the winter. i have been short on cash since buying it , but i did throw 3 new cv joints into it along with 2 new tie rod ends. it still needs the 4th cv jont and a wheel alignment. i have gotten use to the brakes in it , but once i have the money ... i will be throwing a big brake kit on it from minitech . here is a fiew pic of my new toy .[ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

 

Need some ceramic rotors!

 

The 9.5" willwood 4 piston big brake kit should take care of it and adding the willwood racing pedal kit would be even better that replaces your master cylinders.

On the cheap side, there is a fiesta caliper conversion that can be done.

 

You've gone from German to Japanise.............you should of got a proper mini................

 

KAD Mini Rear Disc conversion:
http://www.kad-uk.com/rear_disc_conversion.htm

A cheap option for front disc upgrade in the UK if you fit 12 or 13" wheels are 4-pot caliper Austin/Rover Metro Turbo Vented discs which fit straight onto the Mini hubs.

 

i can not see throwing thousands at a mini engine to get 110 bhp and a car that would be not so reliable.
the honda b16a motor is reliable and bullit proof.

 

its got the willwood racing pedal kit and master cylinders .
once i get the cash i do want the 9.5" willwood 4 piston big brake kit front and rear.

 

not sure why people think minis are not reliable. Sure I had to put some effort into it but now it is very reliable. I drive mine when ever I want to and it keeps up fine.

 

Make sure to get an adjustable proportioning valve if the Front & Rear brake kit does not already come with one.

 

I have a 1380 that very reliable starts in any weather condition and goes like S**t off a shovel.................I been in and driven V-tecs and motor bike minis there not the same thrill..................My friend threw £15,000 to build a V-tec mini and its given him a huge head ache......

 

I have a 2000 classic mini and I wasn't too impressed with the stock brakes either. I ended up getting the Wilwood 8.4" discs in the front. When they bled the brakes they discovered that rear brakes weren't working. I had to take the car for a couple of days without the back brakes working and it still braked fine. They rebuilt the wheel cylinders and now they are working fine. On mini manias website they suggest changing the bore size of your rear wheel cylinders so you might want to check that out too.
Cheers

 

psssst

3 year old thread ....