Split Master Cylinders

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Split Master Cylinders

Postby manifold » Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:04 pm

I wanted to be able to adjust the front to rear brake bias of the convertible so I bought a Twin Master Cylinder kit and converted it suit the Midas bulkhead plate.

Quite an easy conversion and when used in conjunction with mini 4 pot calipers makes bleeding brakes A LOT easier as you have separated the brake lines front to rear AND reduced front lines to a single hose per caliper. Some might argue that this makes for a less safe hydraulic system, but when you consider that nearly all cars that I am aware of have single flexi hoses to calipers I think differently. Less reliance on what I consider to be soon to be obsoleted parts too which is a concern to me as I want to use these cars daily.

Notice the flexi-hoses attached to the horizontally mounted master cylinders. This is so when I need to remove the engine I can just unscrew them and pop them to one side whilst I pull the engine out.

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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby Rich » Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:02 pm

Interesting!

Has your battery moved to the boot?
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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby manifold » Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:51 pm

Hi, Yes it is. I got a couple of those odyssey drycell aircraft type batteries and stacked them in the boot. They dont take up a lot of room, plus they redistribute some of the weight to the back wheels where its needed, especially in the wet. a lot lighter than a standard battery, even x 2.
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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby Rich » Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:13 am

I think mine will be going in the boot too, I've been finding it hard o find a small enough one to fit in the original holder and I'd rather have it out of the engine bay and move the weight back.

Rich
;)
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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby manifold » Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:51 am

Varley sell the red top and Powervamp racing both do the small drycell batteries. Not cheap mind you, but should be good for 10 years, so thats when you should get payback.
Something over 26ah if your on regular compression.

A side effect of moving the battery is the easy at which it is to change the clutch too. Quicker access!

Cheers,

David
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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby Stuart » Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:48 am

How is the normal upward movement of the pedal altered to suit the required forward motion?
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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby manifold » Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:43 am

The upward motion from pedal is converted to forward motion by a large pivot
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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby manifold » Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:02 am

Image
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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby manifold » Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:20 am

Just fitted the split system on the Coupe too.

I'm very pleased with it and the brakes have never worked as well...even without the servo.

It works great and a lot less clutter under the bonnet (in conjunction with moving the battery in the boot).

A side effect I have noticed is that I don't need to shorten the pedals anymore (2inches was a fix on the Midas Mk3's to allow full brake travel). The longer pedal is actually preferable to allow more leverage pressure on the pedal now that the servo is gone.

When I compare the shorter pedals on the Convertible to the longer ones on the Coupe, the brakes feel slightly better on the Coupe.
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Midas Gold Convertible: 1380 steel 16v KAD & 5 sp dog box, Titanium mania, KAD fr/rear callipers, CF Steering

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Re: Split Master Cylinders

Postby manifold » Thu Oct 08, 2009 1:49 pm

Coupe when through the MOT test last week and flew through. No problems, albeit one advisary due to a slight buckled rear wheel which I have no idea how I did it.

Anyway, main thing to interest me was how the new braking system was working, given the fact I now dont have a servo.

Tester was very impressed and said he'd never seen a metro perform anywhere near as well as the brakes worked, plus the were pulling up correctly balanced, front to rear, very equal side to side (taking ito account the front bias) and very well. Not bad for a 24 year old car.

Current set up is KAD front 4 pot callipers to suit vented disks (8.4"). Single front lines and metro rear brake hubs. Working from a KAD balanced brake bias system. As a point of interest, the brakes took me 5 minutes to bleed. Theres no slop in the brake pedal and starts to work almost as soon as you touch the pedal. In fact when I initially installed the master cylinders I had to back the rods off slightly as they started to bind up a few miles down the road. Last 6 months they have been fine! Rich can confirm the level of travel.

Benefits of this system are:

1. It works out of the box.
2. Easy bleeding. Dual lines can be a pain sometimes due to airlocks.
3. Easy to replace and source master cylinders.
4. No need for metro brake bias cylinder.
5. Easy to adjust brake pedal height with a full length brake pedal.

Cons

1. Slightly expensive
2. Not original fitment in Mk3
3. Need to move battery into boot as cylinders occupy space where battery fits (not such a bad deal as bonnet vent over the battery can cause starting issues with water damage on terminals anyway....unless you block it off which means less heat leaving the bonnet area....plus better front to rear weight distribution).

Happy for anyone to come and have a look and compare.

Cheers,

David
Midas Cars Forum & Facebook Page Founder

Midas Gold Convertible: 1380 steel 16v KAD & 5 sp dog box, Titanium mania, KAD fr/rear callipers, CF Steering

Midas Gold Coupe: 1380 7 port xflow, SC/CR gearbox, Titanium mania, CF Steering & seats.
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