caliper upgrade

evil-silas · Post by **evil-silas** » Sun Oct 06, 2002 1:09 pm

apart from the bmw 320i caliper upgrade, are there any other ways to get better calipers on 4 stud. I heard that you can use ferrari calipers....anyone have any info???

Dave_Darling · Post by **Dave_Darling** » Sun Oct 06, 2002 3:03 pm

Uhhh, ever try to find 308 calipers? The 308 guys were buying up 914-6 rear calipers as cheap replacements for theirs...

The 308 rear calipers work on 914 rears (I forget if that's vented or solid rotors with the 308 rears though) but you hve to swap the fluid inlet line and bleeder valve.

I hear that some old 2002 brakes sort-of fit on 914 struts. Ditto some Volvo four-pot calipers.

Why do you need even bigger calipers than the 320 ones?

--DD

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1974 VW-Porsche 914 2.0 (Type IV powered!)

Pelican Parts' 914 Tech Geek http://www.pelicanparts.com

knabini · Post by **knabini** » Sun Oct 06, 2002 9:08 pm

Hi, fellas. There was a good article about the relationship between the caliper's pistons and the master cylinder. If I remember correct, it's on Pelican's site. Yep http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticle ... _calc2.htm . Trust me, the 914 brakes are not that bad - I've been driven some american power assisted brakes, which actually req'd a great amount of force to work "well". Thus I got used to press hard. It will probably work, if one can install the bigger master cylinder (more that 19mm diam).
Cheers...

evil-silas · Post by **evil-silas** » Mon Oct 07, 2002 11:00 am

i dont need bigger than 320's, just wondered if there was a caliper with which the pad fitted properly.........the 320 pads dont.

just want to get it right first time and explore all avenues.

Bleyseng · Post by **Bleyseng** » Mon Oct 07, 2002 11:37 am

It's a very close fit but some does hang out beyond the disc. I just ground that extra material off so it wouldn't hang up. The 320 brakes work great and improve the braking quite abit. My stock brakes worked fine but these are nice.
Geoff

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76 914 2.0L

Dyno Soar · Post by **Dyno Soar** » Mon Oct 14, 2002 1:19 pm

new to all this 914 stuff but wouldn't it be better to go for 911 front discs and calipers on the front and also 944 rear brakes on the back?

I have been told that the 944 conversion works as a bolt on affair. However it may need you to use 16 wheels.

Can you use 911 rear brakes??

But if you want to keep the stock bug pattern i guess the previous suggestions are the way to go.

Do the BMW calipers bolt right on without a problem?

[This message has been edited by Dyno Soar (edited 10-14-2002).]

Dave_Darling · Post by **Dave_Darling** » Mon Oct 14, 2002 6:41 pm

AFAIK the 944 brakes don't bolt on. I'm not sure what other "stuff" needs to be done, but at a minimum you have to replace the hub and rotor. Possibly have to do some mucking about with bracketry.

Same issues on the 911 rears.

The 911 front suspension bolts up, but then you have five-lug fronts and four-lug rears.

The 320 stuff is "almost" a bolt-on. Click the link and read the article to find out.

--DD

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1974 VW-Porsche 914 2.0 (Type IV powered!)

Pelican Parts' 914 Tech Geek http://www.pelicanparts.com

Porsches4me · Post by **Porsches4me** » Tue Nov 05, 2002 10:51 am

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by evil-silas:
apart from the bmw 320i caliper upgrade, are there any other ways to get better calipers on 4 stud. I heard that you can use ferrari calipers....anyone have any info???<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> ferarri calipers will cost you more than your car cost.

There are so many 911 front suspensions out there just get one the whole front suspension bolts right in any 914 and will be better than any 320I set up.

just my opion.

Chris

vw505 · Post by **vw505** » Wed Nov 20, 2002 1:47 pm

who makes good pads for a stock 914 system ? to be used on the street .

Dave_Darling · Post by **Dave_Darling** » Wed Nov 20, 2002 2:47 pm

Mintex and Ferodo street pads are good, as are Textar and even Jurid. Those are all stock-type pads.

Metal Masters (Axxis now makes these I think?) are pretty good but make a good bit of dust.

There are "cold race" pads that don't have to heat up above temps street brakes usually see to work (all-out race pads don't work on the first few corners!) but they tend to eat the rotors, squeal like crazy, and create tons of dust.

--DD

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1974 VW-Porsche 914 2.0 (Type IV powered!)

Pelican Parts' 914 Tech Geek http://www.pelicanparts.com

Mueller · Post by **Mueller** » Wed Nov 20, 2002 3:50 pm

I still think the BMW caliper upgrade is over rated....

We put 300 miles on "Julius" at Thunderhill Racetrack in one day...stock calipers but "aggressive" pads...I never once ran out of brakes.......

Bleyseng · Post by **Bleyseng** » Wed Nov 20, 2002 5:20 pm

Yeah, the 320i brakes don't make that much of a difference, some but not earthshaking. The price of only $50 each for a rebuilt caliper was the best part ( from FLAPS). The stock brakes are fine if they are is good condition.
Geoff

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76 914 2.0L

vw505 · Post by **vw505** » Wed Nov 20, 2002 7:21 pm

do i have to go to the dealer to get the pads ? whats the going price ? is there a big rotor up grade?

porsche_914_freak · Post by **porsche_914_freak** » Wed Nov 20, 2002 7:37 pm

the 320i does improve your braking a good margin.

dont believe me? take off one and run 1 320i and one stock caliper and feel your wteering wheel pull hard to one side when braking quickly. thats what i did and i was impressed. i cant argue with those results. you non believers should try it for yourself. also take into account if you do this, that the 320 pads wont be seated fully yet so your braking would improve even more!

btw, you can buy 320i calipers out of junkyards for $5 each and rebuild them yourself, all you need is 1 socket 1 punch (or nail) and some fine sandpaper unless you have a brake honer which is better but fine metal sandpaper works good too.
a rebuilt kit costs $10

for $30-40 you can do the upgrade, and in alot of cases reuse the old brake bads off the 320i, i did because mine were in like new condition, they didnt even have brake dust yet!

you can also put your old front calipers on the rear of the car for even better performance. you lose your parking brake, but who cares, just leave your car in 1st gear when not in use or buy some wheel chocks if you live in a hilly area.
i havent had a working parking brake in over a year now and i dont even care.

btw upgrade to SS lines, 30 year old stock rubbers are often not very good anymore, and SS's cost $2 more so their better.

Dave_Darling · Post by **Dave_Darling** » Wed Nov 20, 2002 9:24 pm

dont believe me? take off one and run 1 320i and one stock caliper and feel your wteering wheel pull hard to one side when braking quickly.

I wouldn't try that myself... But it doesn't prove anything other than that the 320 calipers have larger pistons than the stock calipers. In effect, the 320 was "stealing" some of the braking from the stocker.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you can lock up your brakes during a given stop, your brakes cannot do anything more for you during that stop. Upgrade the tires for shorter stopping distances. If you cannot lock up your brakes, then something is wrong with them--stock 914 brakes should be able to lock up even 205-width tires.

As for SS lines "obviously being better", that's another subject that's open to debate...

Stock parts, in good working order, are more than good enough for a stock-ish street car.

--DD

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1974 VW-Porsche 914 2.0 (Type IV powered!)

Pelican Parts' 914 Tech Geek http://www.pelicanparts.com