ZR Brake Upgrade
 

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ZR160/ZS180 Brake Upgrade

This is well worth doing in my opinion, well its not my opinion its been proven many times over by people that have done it. The standard brakes are just NOT up to the job.

Rover fitted the same brakes to the 1.6 / 2.0 / 2.0 Turbo models. That's a range from about 117Bhp to 200Bhp...!!! When driven hard the Turbos (and my old 2.0L) get massive brake fade. No matter what "fancy up rated same size" disks you buy, (see the first two pictures) it wont really improve the braking, just improve the fade slightly.

The ONLY way to get better braking is to get bigger disks. There's more clamping force and more disk area the dissipate the heat better = less fade.

My braking is much improved I have only managed to get brake fade (although slight) once or twice. I can out brake most of my mates.. :)

If your finding it hard to find ZR/ZS Callipers, then I have heard that the callipers from a 600Ti will fit with the ZS/ZR disks. As the disks are wider on the ZS/ZR, the calliper carrier has to be grinded out the allow more clearance.

 

Rover 1.6/2.0/2.0 Turbo Standard setup

This is the standard setup i had on my car. At this point i had Red-dot grooved pads and green stuff pads.

Close-up

Also i had already painted the disks and the calipers with halfords caliper paint, to try and stop that nasty rust under the wheels.

Standard rear disk

To try and improve the brakes more i replaced the fluid with Dot 5.1.

Close-up

As you can see the rear disk is pretty pathetic.

Front caliper closeup

Rear caliper & disk

So, we are all in agreement that the brakes are well past there sell by date.

Old Front disk + New ZR pad.

So....

Old Front pad + New ZR pad.

Time for a upgrade.....

Rear pad + New ZR Pad

What i decided on was a ZR160/ZS180 brake upgrade.

Old rear caliper (left) + new ZR Caliper (right)

I found all the parts i needed via http://www.findapart.co.uk

Old rear caliper (left) + new ZR rear (right)

A breakers phoned me the next morning, they had front and rears in stock off a 2002 ZR160. The only thing they didnt have was the front disks, which i purchased new.

ZR Rear disks

I used the old rear disks and pads because they were in great condition and just needed cleaning.

ZR rear disk (left) Old disk (right)

As you can see by this picture you can really see the size difference.

Standard front caliper (left) ZR Caliper (right)

You can just see in this picture the size difference between the new and the old caliper.

Old and new caliper carrier

The longer caliper carrier allows the bigger disks and pads the fit in the hub.

Front calipers cleaned and ready for painting

It took a while to clean the calipers ready for painting

Front calipers cleaned and ready for painting 2

but it was well worth it...

Front calipers cleaned and ready for painting3

As you will see

Painted

Looking good.

Painted 2

They are gonna look great under my wheels.

Front Offside

See....

Front Nearside

Rear Nearside

Rear Offside

Front Caliper

Finished and ready to go.

Rear Caliper

Near Side finished

Rear Caliper

Offside finished

Rear Braided hose

Rear Caliper

Here you can just see the handbrake cable support. This bolts onto the caliper, The new ZR caliper has different spacing, so only one bolt will fit.

Rear caliper

As you can see the dust shield has to be removed, as the new disk has a deeper offset.

Front Shot

Front Caliper

The 2mm Washer

This is where you need to put the 2mm washer on the front caliper.