4722 replies to this topic

[Ormes]

Yes, I have the 12v vacuum pump in still, but it is getting tired now and only make 650 mBar of vacuum. I have a pressure guage plummed into the vac pipe just before the servo so know that the one way valve near the TB is working, as the vacuum is nicely sustained after switching the engine off. I wonder is my servo itself is not working 100%. It has to be that or the master cylinder. Or maybe I am just expected too much retardation, but seeing as I can't lock the wheels up or even trigger the ABS after about 60 MPH this is unlikely.

 

Hi Nev, one thing to note, if you want a quieter pump... the Fiat 500 seems to be able to provide assisted braking when start/stop is enabled and rolling down hills etc., with the engine off.  I have no idea how they solved this but it certainly doesn't make a sound whatever it is!

 

[Nev]

oem Porsche pads are shite

  Aren't they made by Pagid? DS2500's are available for the Z17's so might be available for these.

  I run these on my gt3 and they are a big step up from oem,

I am getting quotes for RC6 and RC8 pads at the moment. Apparently the Rc8 pads have lead time as they are out of stock, I am tempted by the RC6 simply as I am familiar with them. I wonder what the DS2500's are like in comparison, I am finding I need more initial bite - will the DS2500s be better at this than RC6 ?

Edited by Nev, 20 June 2015 - 04:01 PM.

[Nev]

Yes, I have the 12v vacuum pump in still, but it is getting tired now and only make 650 mBar of vacuum. I have a pressure guage plummed into the vac pipe just before the servo so know that the one way valve near the TB is working, as the vacuum is nicely sustained after switching the engine off. I wonder is my servo itself is not working 100%. It has to be that or the master cylinder. Or maybe I am just expected too much retardation, but seeing as I can't lock the wheels up or even trigger the ABS after about 60 MPH this is unlikely.

  Hi Nev, one thing to note, if you want a quieter pump... the Fiat 500 seems to be able to provide assisted braking when start/stop is enabled and rolling down hills etc., with the engine off.  I have no idea how they solved this but it certainly doesn't make a sound whatever it is!  

Thanks Alex. Probably a vacuum reservoir coupled to a 12v vac pump that is controlled/trigger by a vac switch. This is how many OEM manufacturers deal with the issue now. If the reservoir is large enough the pump hardly needs to come on. Hella make a series of pumps, UP28, UP30 and UP32 as well as AC Delco. I am tempted to buy one as they are quieter than a diaphram pump and the UP30 & UP32 have better duty cycles and are designed to couple directly to a servo for all electric cars etc.

Edited by Nev, 20 June 2015 - 03:49 PM.

[Nev]

For Fathers day I took my Dad off to the jamboree at Castle Coombe today and he enjoyed himself, quite a tame track day with only a couple of fast cars. Plenty to look at though, as he was an old school automobile engineer he had fun looking round the old school cars. In his day GM were just bringing out the "new" V8s that evolved into the standard "all American" base 350ci that 10000001 other V8s derived from. I also had a chat with a man with a distinctive TVR that I happened to overtake last night by chance - he remembered Nipper for the brief 5 seconds I was near him, apparently both the noise and the flame out were memorable he he

Edited by Nev, 20 June 2015 - 04:02 PM.

[joshua]

Big thanks to Nev for letting me loose in Nipper the other weekend - he wasn't too bad a passenger, I've had worse!

 

IMO Nipper is a fantastic road car - huge sense of occasion for occupants and onlookers, savage performance from the rev ravenous engine, loads of grip from those oversize tyres.

 

Less to be expected was the fine sense of right foot control from the aftermarket ecu and the remarkably smooth, tractable power delivery. This plus Nev's got it nice and neutral gives confidence and pleasure straight away. Nipper's a bit of a pussycat really, even at full chat with the tyres squirreling it's all pretty polite. Feels like the LSD doing it's job. 

 

With the dampers wound up it should be a great track car also.

 

I have nothing like the (well at times almost none) part throttle control on my st4+ Vxt and just one drive in Nev's car has convinced me I need his ecu.

 

The only letdown is still Nipper's brakes, even with the oversize Brembos it takes a seriously hefty shove on the pedal to pull the car up at all let alone lock any wheels... The fact the rears lock up so easily with the DRP disconnected yet there was so little retardation from the front even with the same RC6s fitted indicates a problem with the master cylinder perhaps?

On my Vx after I'd fitted the oversize Porsche brakes but still had the original master cylinder a small frog jumping on the brake pedal would lock the wheels.

 

 

[Duncan VXR]

If you wanted the standalone adaptronic conversion give us a shout. Dbw option well tested now if this I preference and what's on nev's Yet to drive any stg4 that's not pants part throttle on oem and needs a change of style to drive around it. Hence why I did the standalone conversion Nev lost track of the brake updates but are the lotus updrated 4 pots with slightly bigger discs not upto the job? Found it took a lot to overcome oem ones with aggressive pads and decent fluid with some cooling mods DG

[Nev]

Thanks for the kind word Josh This week so far I have spent £800 on Nipper(!): 1. New RC6 pads for the Brembo callipers. 2. A second hand Hella UP32 vacuum pump off some Porsche Cayenne. This thing should be able to produce about 800 mBar of vacuum for the servo, perhaps more if I can fit the exhaust of the pump to the existing vac pipe from the inlet mani. This is because I suspect it partly works as differential pump (a bit like a turbo), and the max vac pressure it can make is partly determined by the ambient (exhaust) pressure. 3. A new set of Federal 595 RSR rear tyres, last pair did very well and lasted about 6000 miles, most impressive, or perhaps a sign that the ECU is controlling torque well. 4. EP anti bump steer arms, this should help alleviate the minor bump steer. I had always intended to ream out the existing arms and install non tapered ball joints, but as I don't seem to have got round to it for 4 years it was time to bite the bullet and buy the expensive kit instead. All this and I have to pay for his MOT and insurance on Friday too. Well as someone French and frisky once said "you can't run a VX on a £5er" !

Edited by Nev, 22 June 2015 - 04:38 PM.

[Nev]

Phew, MOT passed yesterday, T&T'ed, new tyres, new pads, insured for another year, the bloody thing has paupered me again

I have put the RC6 pads into the front, they are binding a bit on the right side , but I think with a bit of slow driving the rubbing will decrease pretty quickly. Within 5 meters I could feel their improved stopping power, but the dreadful squeeking won't be easy to live with, even with ear plugs in all the time.

Someone was wanting a pic/size of the pads difference between OEM and the Brembos (top=OEM, bottom left=Porche organic, bottom right=RC6). Id estimate the Brembo pads are +80% larger than OEM:

Edited by Nev, 27 June 2015 - 08:01 AM.

[Nev]

Oh boy, I've just been for a late evening 70 miler to bed the new front RC6 pads in; the front brakes are now really quite awesome. So much so that the whole car is diving down at the front in a somewhat excessive manner due to over-strong front bias. I managed to trigger the ABS a few times accidentally with not too much foot pedal pressure, the first time for ages. The braking force is certainly more than the old OEM calipers with RC6 pads. I have to say I was becoming a bit disheartened with the lack of ability of the new brakes after all our planning, hard work and expense but these new pads have transformed the situation. This makes me much more positive about the tackling the rears now, which previously I had reservations even bothering with. The squealing is rather severe though.

Edited by Nev, 27 June 2015 - 09:16 PM.

[Mopeytitan]

I get quite a bit of squeezing with my 5+ pads but only does it under light braking. I'm hoping will be down to the new discs etc bedding in?...

[Ormes]

Oh boy, I've just been for a late evening 70 miler to bed the new front RC6 pads in; the front brakes are now really quite awesome. So much so that the whole car is diving down at the front in a somewhat excessive manner due to over-strong front bias. I managed to trigger the ABS a few times accidentally with not too much foot pedal pressure, the first time for ages. The braking force is certainly more than the old OEM calipers with RC6 pads. I have to say I was becoming a bit disheartened with the lack of ability of the new brakes after all our planning, hard work and expense but these new pads have transformed the situation. This makes me much more positive about the tackling the rears now, which previously I had reservations even bothering with. The squealing is rather severe though.

Great stuff Nev

 

I get quite a bit of squeezing with my 5+ pads but only does it under light braking. I'm hoping will be down to the new discs etc bedding in?...

I'd hope they would be fine after bedding in (getting some abuse).  Otherwise... there has to be an answer to this?... My 5+ pads are virtually silent!  I have jhook type disks which I doubt influence the noise?... but have used lots of copper slip on the pad rears and added the anti rattle buffers in the sides of each caliper. 

[Nev]

Yes it's strange, my old RC6 pads for the OEM calipers were silent as well (though they had the rubber backing pads). I have had to remove the anti rattle pads from the Brembos due to space restrictions, however would guess that re-installing them would not make the squeal reduce. Once I've shaved 1 or 2mm off the pads and discs I'll try re-inserting them and see if it helps as pedestrians think the car is broken. I was driving though Bath last night with the top off and coasted past some blokes by a pub with the pads mildly rubbing and I heard one of the chaps say to his friends that he though one of my bearings had gone !

[Claws]

I thought you wear ear plugs?

[Claws]

I thought you wear ear plugs?

[Claws]

Eh? What?

[Bargi]

are your discs drilled and grooved or solid? I ran 3 sets of RC6 on solid discs with little to no squeal. The one time I used drilled and grooved it sounded like someone was killing a pig every time I pulled up to stop. I spent days trying to fix it and no amount of buffer pads or anti squeal would fix the problem.

[Nev]

are your discs drilled and grooved or solid? I ran 3 sets of RC6 on solid discs with little to no squeal. The one time I used drilled and grooved it sounded like someone was killing a pig every time I pulled up to stop. I spent days trying to fix it and no amount of buffer pads or anti squeal would fix the problem.

Hi Ray, both my old and new discs are solid, so it can't be that I think.

[Nev]

are your discs drilled and grooved or solid? I ran 3 sets of RC6 on solid discs with little to no squeal. The one time I used drilled and grooved it sounded like someone was killing a pig every time I pulled up to stop. I spent days trying to fix it and no amount of buffer pads or anti squeal would fix the problem.

Hi Ray, both my old and new discs are solid, so it can't be that I think. Mayeb adding a rubberised Brembo piston pads will help neutralise the resonance once the pads wear a bit and I can actually get some space to fit them. We shall see, until then the improved braking far outweighs the noise issue.

[Nev]

Took a long term fellow VXer out last night to show him how the car felt on the low power map, as he is thinking of doing something similar to his car. When we finished, he said he wanted more than 460 BHP - first time I've heard that. I think I must have been driving like a sissy.  

Edited by Nev, 30 June 2015 - 04:31 PM.

[Kieran McC]

Nev have you ever thought about compoud charging Nipper ?