MX5 Brake Options

the hall

the hall

Member
Hi Guys and Gals

i have see that these are on the up and up now so thought i would ask what you are all using as an upgrade to the Brakes on the car,

we have a Mk1 1.6 and the brakes are very bad. i know like on my s13 i have used s14 brakes and just wondered if there was the same kind of thing for the Mx.

Thanks
Gary :thumbs:
 
Carbotech AX6 I used to run on my old MX5 - FANTASTIC brakes (Had the slightly more "fast road/track" option on my old Evo too)

Carbotech Europe Ltd

I shall be getting some again when I get another MX5 :)
 
I think he's looking for an upgrade in calliper/disc size from a later model or another car, not uprated discs/pads?
 
Kit said:
I think he's looking for an upgrade in calliper/disc size from a later model or another car, not uprated discs/pads?
Click to expand...

Yeh I just read that, LMAO I'm having a blonde day

However hands down these pads are sooooooooooo good!!!
 
are you running standard power? if so then just keep um as they are.

you can get a brace for the brake pedel as it has a shit load of flex in the plate.

ive got a 1.6 eunos on low pads on the front and medium wear on the back and it stops fine and even my hydro locks the back.

try upgradind the disk and pads and bleed the system.


Other option is to upgrade the 1.8 braking system but the rears require new hubs , drive shafts, diff and prop
 
gazwhittle said:
are you running standard power? if so then just keep um as they are.

you can get a brace for the brake pedel as it has a shit load of flex in the plate.

ive got a 1.6 eunos on low pads on the front and medium wear on the back and it stops fine and even my hydro locks the back.

try upgradind the disk and pads and bleed the system.


Other option is to upgrade the 1.8 braking system but the rears require new hubs , drive shafts, diff and prop
Click to expand...

Where can you get the brace from?

Also interesting to know about the 1.8 brakes - are they that much bigger than the 1.6's?

(Sorry OP I've hijacked your thread!)
 
gazwhittle said:
are you running standard power? if so then just keep um as they are.

you can get a brace for the brake pedel as it has a shit load of flex in the plate.

ive got a 1.6 eunos on low pads on the front and medium wear on the back and it stops fine and even my hydro locks the back.

try upgradind the disk and pads and bleed the system.


Other option is to upgrade the 1.8 braking system but the rears require new hubs , drive shafts, diff and prop
Click to expand...


car i s pretty standard at the moment but will be looking to improve on that over time, has a cat back system and air filter, thats about it at the moment, just want to get it to stop for now :)

think it needs a bleed through but will get some disks and pads as a start.

thanks for the info :thumbs:
 
Upgrading to the 1.8 system is pretty common. However I wouldnt bother, the 1.8 brakes are shit aswell. When cash allows i'll be upgrading to 4 pot wilwoods. £450 roughly for the calipers, discs, pads, brackets and hoses from a vender on MX5nutz, The rears your looking between £7-800 for a wilwood setup.. OR the same person is currently making a bracket for the rear to move the caliper to allow for larger discs.
 
Didn't the mk2 1.8 have much better front brakes, no idea if they're compatible though if he's got a mk1.

2nd hand set of those wilwoods sounds like the best bang for your buck.

mint said:
OR the same person is currently making a bracket for the rear to move the caliper to allow for larger discs.
Click to expand...

Or you could buy a set of dumbells and work out your hydro arm?:wack:
 
AFAIK there's a fair few out there running 1.8 brakes with boosted setups, even on trackday cars where they're used a lot more than in drifting. Mint, if you don't think they're good, i'd say it's more an issue with the setup you're using, i've never had issues with fade on grip trackdays, where they're used a lot, and hard, so can't see how you're having issues just with drifting.
 
gazwhittle said:
Other option is to upgrade the 1.8 braking system but the rears require new hubs , drive shafts, diff and prop
Click to expand...

Utter bollocks, all you need is the caliper brackets from a 1.8 (not the calipers), and discs and pads.

Guide here:

How to Go Slow Fast

Just had this done myself, not exactly a gigantic size increase to be fair, though the brakes felt much better. Probably to do with the pads I put on than anything else.
 
titchster said:
AFAIK there's a fair few out there running 1.8 brakes with boosted setups, even on trackday cars where they're used a lot more than in drifting. Mint, if you don't think they're good, i'd say it's more an issue with the setup you're using, i've never had issues with fade on grip trackdays, where they're used a lot, and hard, so can't see how you're having issues just with drifting.
Click to expand...

oh yeah - I forgot, every car is the same ;)
IMO from other cars iv owned and driven, the MX5 brakes, both 1.6 and 1.8 are shite.
 
As everyone says, 1.8i brakes are the way to go. If you can get hold of them, get a set of Axxis pads front and rear, and they'll be good enough for just about anything you can throw at it.

Lots of people waste money on uprating the front brakes, and it's a total waste of time and money. The problem is not a lack of braking force (you can happily lock up the front wheels at any speed with 1.8i brakes and good pads) but a poor balance between front and rear brakes. You can brake to the limit of the front brakes and the rears are hardly working - try limit-braking until you're almost locking the fronts, then add some engine braking to see how much better it can slow down when the rear wheels are suitably brakes. You just need to add an adjustable biasing valve and shift the balance a little bit more rearwards, and that will have the car stopping perfectly.

Unless you're running mega power and doing lots of intensive track stuff, there's no need to upgrade beyond 1.8 stuff. Anything more and you're throwing your money away on bling.
 
Oh, one other thing to note, especially if you do get some fast-road or trackday pads, is that you will have quite a firm pedal. The MX-5 was designed to feel like a bit of an old-fashioned throwback, so the brakes require a fairly heavy foot, especially if you're used to the over-assisted brakes you get in cars these days. I like it, as it gives a lot more pedal feel, but it's easy to assume that because you aren't getting lots of braking force from a small amount of foot pressure, it means that the brakes are shit. They're not - just push the pedal a bit firmer.

My old 1.8 had nothing more than axxis pads and Toyo R888 tyres, and when they were all up to temperature the braking force was so extreme it could make you feel physically sick after a couple of hard braking moments. And so quick was the retardation that I always felt like the car was capable of braking later than I really dared to push it.
 
mazdachris said:
As everyone says, 1.8i brakes are the way to go. If you can get hold of them, get a set of Axxis pads front and rear, and they'll be good enough for just about anything you can throw at it.

Lots of people waste money on uprating the front brakes, and it's a total waste of time and money. The problem is not a lack of braking force (you can happily lock up the front wheels at any speed with 1.8i brakes and good pads) but a poor balance between front and rear brakes. You can brake to the limit of the front brakes and the rears are hardly working - try limit-braking until you're almost locking the fronts, then add some engine braking to see how much better it can slow down when the rear wheels are suitably brakes. You just need to add an adjustable biasing valve and shift the balance a little bit more rearwards, and that will have the car stopping perfectly.

Unless you're running mega power and doing lots of intensive track stuff, there's no need to upgrade beyond 1.8 stuff. Anything more and you're throwing your money away on bling.
Click to expand...

thanks for all that Chris i appreciate the info, i need to source some 1.8i bits and then can order the pads, the woman has just gone and bought cross drilled and vented disks for the standard calipers so i will tell her not to open until we can source the right bits.

thanks Again
Gary :thumbs:
 
MX-5 Mk1 1.8

If you can afford it I'd go for the remanufactured calipers front and rear, plus some braided hoses. You can buy the brackets for the calipers on there too, so you should be able to get everything you need. The remanufactured calipers are on an exchange basis or you can pay more, but if you give them a call I'm sure they'll sort something out, taking your 1.6 calipers in exchange.

You don't need anything fancy in terms of discs. Grooved perhaps, but cross drilled discs just have more spots for heat buildup and corrosion. I never had a problem with standard discs, personally.
 
Stewart at Freakyparts has built a pretty impressive brake kit for the MX5.

Alternativley I will be breaking my MX5 shortly and its got the 1.8 brake swap so will be parting that out. Stupid rotten car!
 
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