Club 80-90 Forums

I wondered if there was an alternative to the rear drum brakes and spotted this company the other day http://ultimate-engineering.co.uk/reardisckit.html.." onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Not cheap, but if it improves the braking and make them simpler to maintain might be a good solution.

Anyone had any experience of this kit?

Cheers,
Andrew

That’s Silverbullet on this forum.

Winchweight wrote:That’s Silverbullet on this forum.

Are you sure, different name, different county ?

Ultimate Engineering is a different company.

Info on the kits that Ian (silverbullet) makes can be found on the Holman Engineering website.

Not spotted Holman Engineering. Interesting that they say the conversion can be down done for less money than renewing the drums.

Seems like a no brainer if you've got a to do a lot of work on the rear brakes, but I'd interested to hear from anyone who's actually had the conversion.

Not had our van for long, but I feel like the brakes is definitely one area I want to improve.

937carrera wrote:

Winchweight wrote:That’s Silverbullet on this forum.

Are you sure, different name, different county ?

Ah you’re right, sorry. Ian’s Holman Engineering as Daniel has now said.

D34dR4bb17 wrote:
Not had our van for long, but I feel like the brakes is definitely one area I want to improve.

Nothing wrong with the original brakes if they are working correctly they will lock all four wheels, then it is all over for the brakes you are just relying on how good your tyres are.

bigherb wrote: Nothing wrong with the original brakes if they are working correctly they will lock all four wheels, then it is all over for the brakes you are just relying on how good your tyres are.

I completely agree - when I bought my van it had worn and poorly adjusted rear brakes, with a lot of pulsing under heavy braking, but some new drums, shoes and cylinders made them work very nicely. As you say - I can lock all four wheels, so better stopping power isn't needed. But I can still see the attraction of a disc conversion.

For one, the whole self-adjustment issue would go away. I'm convinced this must be a mis-translation from the original German - self-adjusting actually means you have to adjust them yourself . And as they gradually go out of adjustment, so the handbrake works less and less well. In fact, that's how I know it's time to adjust them again. Disc brakes seem attractive because they might solve both the adjustment issue and the handbrake efficiency.

And I wonder if discs on the rear might mean that the fronts would lock later under heavy breaking, leaving you with more control. I know all about load transfer etc, but there's quite a weight over the rear wheels so I wonder if the balance is different when discs are used on the back.

Don't forget there's a brake pressure limiting valve for the rear wheels and the main advantage for disc brakes compared to drums is reduced fade when under duress. I doubt many bin the pressure limiting valve and fit manual brake bias valves to compensate for changes in retardation efficiency.

As CJH has said the primary advantage is probably ease of maintenance

Sounds like probably not worth it then, unless doing a load of work to the rears.

I can definitely see how it makes servicing far easier. Maybe even cheaper in the long run?

Would they be more reliable, and maybe easier to fix if you were abroad?

Sent from my F5321 using Tapatalk

As it happens my rear brakes are fast approaching needing a rebuild... is the Holman conversion available as a kit or do they arrange fitting? It's not entirely clear to me from the website. Any idea of cost?

Obviously i'll drop them an email - just interested to know if anyone has had it done can shed some light.

Just a kit of the conversion parts, you will need caliper carriers, calipers, discs and pads.
Just about to install a kit on a 2.1 auto that’s also getting a 2.5 scoob in the back.