Vented front discs

[Skanny]

Hi can anyone confirm if any disco series 1's ran vented fron discs?

I have never seen any on the cars i have dealt with.

is there an aftermarket kit available that allows you to split the calliper and fit a spacer to open it out so you can fit vented disks?

or do any other discs and callipers from other landys fit ?

Thanks

Colin

[thebiglad]

Hi can anyone confirm if any disco series 1's ran vented fron discs?

I have never seen any on the cars i have dealt with.

is there an aftermarket kit available that allows you to split the calliper and fit a spacer to open it out so you can fit vented disks?

or do any other discs and callipers from other landys fit ?

Thanks

Colin

Hi Colin, yes, there are some Disco I's tha had vented discs, I thinks these are the models with ABS.

If you want/need to change from non-vented to vented front brakes, then I believe you will need to change calipers as well as discs. They are available here, at reasonable money.

Just one question, why do you feel the need to change? My '98 Tdi 300 brakes like a good'un, with only normal discs. Perhaps there is something amiss with the current set-up that could be sorted with new pads and a good cleanup?

Here's the links:

http://www.paddockspares.com/pp/DISCOVERY_...nd_drilled.html

http://www.paddockspares.com/pp/DISCOVERY_...nted_discs.html

http://www.paddockspares.com/sp/abspage/3/...ory/Brakes.html

Hope that helps,

Cheers & good luck

Dave

Ps Remember Disco's weigh over 2100 kgs - not like the kit car at maybe 700kgs?

[JimAttrill]

Defender 110 calipers will fit. I know a guy with a 90 and a Disco I 300tdi, both with vented discs now.

[freeagent]

I don't realy see how vented discs will give you better breaking...

They will shed heat better, and avoid brake fade..... but wont give you any more leverage... you need larger diameter discs to do that....

[ThreeSheds]

I don't realy see how vented discs will give you better breaking...

They will shed heat better, and avoid brake fade..... but wont give you any more leverage... you need larger diameter discs to do that....

spot on - although if you intend descending an alpine pass loaded up and with an unbraked trailer you may well need vented discs...

[firemannotsam]

Hi guys I agree that to get more power in braking you need biggger discs to get more leverage, one thing I noticed when putting larger tyres on my Disco is that the braking was not as good due to the 3" larger Dia tyres.

To help combat this I fitted stanless steel brake hoses and EBC pads which are a grippier compound but wont last as long so all the force is going to the calipers rather than the rubber hoses ballooning, the gripper pads give a bit more bite for the same effort-

My brakes are back to as good as if not better than before - and IMHO this is better than buying vented kits unless as stated you intend to drive fully loaded over hilly country quickly.

Lindley

[Skanny]

Cheers guys, thats cleared it up.

Although not all ABS cars had vented as i have a few ABS axles here and none of them have vented disks on them.

[JimAttrill]

And don't expect vented discs to stop brake fade completely, especially if you are not going that fast. I faded my 110 brakes to nothing on the pass down from Pigg's Peak in Swaziland to Barberton in South Africa. 5 passengers and a bit of luggage. Luckily the road went straight down with no corners. I was applying the brakes until they went away and then lifting off. The passengers did notice a smell, luckily it wasn't my trousers I couldn't change down as I was in 4th doing 100kph and would have blown the engine in 3rd at that speed.

I went up the same pass later and couldn't get out of second gear. This means that coming down I was in far too high a gear, if using the old adage that you should come down a hill in the same gear you went up. I believe the pass is about 1:4.

[Rodewaryer]

I just need to add credibility to skanny's post, my Disco 1 has ABS (and it's horrible) and has solid rotors. They are pretty good considering this but I would have more confidence if they were ventilated (and if the ABS were to suddenly go missing).

What would be of value here would be the testimony of someone with experience using both types.......and possibly a kit by Paddock that's specifically for converting from solid to vented so all problems are dealt with in one kit. Buying the caliper and rotors/pads may well not be enough.

One added point, If the cross drilled units are the same diameter as the originals I would advise against them. Cross drilled only work well if they're a big brake kit so the original mass has been increased, hence increasing the ability to retain heat. Many have found cross drilling stock sized rotors decreases brake life (and effectiveness in certain situations) since the mass has been reduced to less than the original due to the drilling.

[streaky]

My 98' Disco has solid discs all round...I've never been impressed with the braking.

I've now purchased a pair of the EBC drilled and slotted solid front discs to see if they improve braking. I've also been told that the EBC pads are not all that impressive for the money. It would appear that standard Land Rover pads are by far the best for the EBC discs.

I can't wait to get them fitted to see what difference they actually make to the overall braking.

[sharkey964]

I've just changed the vented discs,for drilled/vented on my Td5,a definate improvment IMO.Sourced from Paddocks,160€ for a full set of 4 and pads.

[streamline]

And don't expect vented discs to stop brake fade completely, especially if you are not going that fast. I faded my 110 brakes to nothing on the pass down from Pigg's Peak in Swaziland to Barberton in South Africa. 5 passengers and a bit of luggage. Luckily the road went straight down with no corners. I was applying the brakes until they went away and then lifting off. The passengers did notice a smell, luckily it wasn't my trousers I couldn't change down as I was in 4th doing 100kph and would have blown the engine in 3rd at that speed.

I went up the same pass later and couldn't get out of second gear. This means that coming down I was in far too high a gear, if using the old adage that you should come down a hill in the same gear you went up. I believe the pass is about 1:4.

I pressed the wrong button here Streamline Oooops

[streamline]

And don't expect vented discs to stop brake fade completely, especially if you are not going that fast. I faded my 110 brakes to nothing on the pass down from Pigg's Peak in Swaziland to Barberton in South Africa. 5 passengers and a bit of luggage. Luckily the road went straight down with no corners. I was applying the brakes until they went away and then lifting off. The passengers did notice a smell, luckily it wasn't my trousers I couldn't change down as I was in 4th doing 100kph and would have blown the engine in 3rd at that speed.

I went up the same pass later and couldn't get out of second gear. This means that coming down I was in far too high a gear, if using the old adage that you should come down a hill in the same gear you went up. I believe the pass is about 1:4.

Good morning to all

I have been following the discussion on vented disks and as i intend to change mine i wonder if you could tell me, are the disks a straight change over ie it is not neccesary to modify the hub or reposition any thing. Obviously it requires new callpers, other than that straight swap.

Cheers Dave

[Henry Webster]

Depends what you are swapping from and to!

If both are metric then should be a straight swap, but if you are swapping from an imperial disc to a later metric one you may need to blow the holes out a little, but not necessarily. Either way should be a fairly straight forward swap.

Like some of the others on this thread I would question whether it is necessary to go to vented. I have drilled and slotted discs and EBC GreenStuff pads in the racer and we regularly have to brake from 100-0 mph and I've never experienced fade once the brakes are properly bedded-in.

For the record I have 110 calipers on the front and standard Discovery set up on the rear.

H

[teabag]

I just need to add credibility to skanny's post, my Disco 1 has ABS (and it's horrible) and has solid rotors.

Question: Why is your ABS horrible. Mine never activates unless there's snow and/or ice on the road so for me thats only once or twice a year, may be.

Cheers guys, thats cleared it up.

Although not all ABS cars had vented as i have a few ABS axles here and none of them have vented disks on them.

That's right mine doesn't have vented disks either and I have never felt the need for them, although I never tow anything.

Vented disks and their calipers are shown in the disco parts catalogue

[JimAttrill]

A word of advice re ABS: here in SA we get very little snow, not since 1981 where I live, and no rain for half of the year. This means that a Disco driver who does not go off-road or on dirt roads much does not activate the ABS at all for months at a time. And then it fails at great expense. (This is just my theory, by the way so you can ignore this if you like). I advise Disco owners to go down dirt roads occasionally and whack on the brakes which will give the ABS a workout.

It does seem that to keep the ABS in working order you have to use it.

[teabag]

A good tip JA.

'use it or loose it' as they say.

[pw8757]

I've just changed to EBC Discs and pads all round.

Didn't want to contribute until they had settled in.

I may not be making a truly fair comparison, because I was changing the discs as I had to, rather than for purely a desire to upgrade. I would respect anyone who suggested I was bound to see an improvement.

In addition, I changed the rear calipers, because they had seen just short of 100k miles and the pistons were sticky and the protruding ends had more rust on than I was prepared to polish out.

Patrick Maddison (maddison 4x4) supplied the kit and told me I didn't need to go for vented.

As the job required taking all the hubs off, I also serviced the bearings and repacked them with new grease.

I consider the brakes to be better than they have ever been since I first got the Disco 50k miles ago and they seem VFM for me.

Next job - probshaft uj's and oil seals - another excuse to avoid Tesco's!