by 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.