boxster 996 caliper conversion

[s3_kev]

im looking to upgrade my brakes to porsche 996 calipers and use some adapters to fit them but ive seen people say you can use the cupra carriers to fit the caliper, is this true and if so does that mean i need to use the 323mm discs??? and also will the cupra brake hoses fit???
or is there a cheap fitting kit which includes the brake hoses to fit the standard 312mm disc?? i no that awsome do this kit but you can get the carriers only on the bay for £100 so dont want to spend much more then £150 on a fitting kit,

cheers for any help

 

[Ess_Three]

im looking to upgrade my brakes to porsche 996 calipers and use some adapters to fit them

Which ones Boxster, or 996?
They have different sized pistons...and are also physically different sized from to rear, non-S and S!
Also, the callipers piston sizes will determine how good a match for the master cylinder they are...go too big and you'll have a crap pedal feel with a long push.

but ive seen people say you can use the cupra carriers to fit the caliper,

I expect so...
I had a couple of sets of 996 callipers sitting around, and they do bolt up to LCR carriers. The carriers do indeed bolt to the hub...but I'm unsure if the offset is correct for the disc.

I would *expect* a LCR carrier will bolt to a S3 hub, using a LCR disc and be OK.

is this true and if so does that mean i need to use the 323mm discs???

What else is the obvious disc to use?
You can't use the Porsche ones.

The 323mm discs should be fine - but again, it depends on the calliper as some are wider than others.

and also will the cupra brake hoses fit???

Probably - M10 x 1 thread, IIRC.

Best just get a set of LCR aftermarket braided hoses though...LCR hoses are complex and expensive.

or is there a cheap fitting kit which includes the brake hoses to fit the standard 312mm disc??

I doubt it...the 312mm disc will be a bit thin for most 996 callipers anyway.

i no that awsome do this kit but you can get the carriers only on the bay for £100 so dont want to spend much more then £150 on a fitting kit,

I'll be honest...I don't think you are going to get them mounted for £150.
If you do, it'll be on standard discs, with missmatched callipers which will give you no better braking - just more bling.

My advice is to wait and buy a proper matched kit...that way you know it will work.

 

[S3 Paul]

Hi..
Right i tried this conversion ... in short be careful, The boxter S ( i think thats which i had) front callipers obviously use the porker pad... the pads are too wide to fit on a 323mm disc. the contact area of the pad is about 10mm wider than that of the discs used on the leon cupra R. you need to use the S3 312mm disc but have the carrier milled down to allow the calliper to sit correctly over a smaller diameter disc. If im not making enough sence i do have some pictures somewhere.
In short i would think carefully about making your own kit... buy a complete kit with custom discs like an ECS kit.

 

[Ess_Three]

In short i would think carefully about making your own kit... buy a complete kit with custom discs like an ECS kit.

Good advice...

Do your homework on replacement discs when shopping for a kit.
Some - like the ECS kit - use bespoke parts...so check the costs!

The Brembo GT Jr kit is all anyone will ever need...and it works.
If in doubt, I'd suggest you opt for a proven kit.

 

[S3 Paul]

Ess Three,
Ive got the brembo GT jr kit on my car,
Im using 10 grove discs and EBC red stuff pads BUT i still only get about 3 realy good stops before they strugle to pull the car to a stop quickly. Im using ATE super blue brake fluid and have had the car correctly bled up by a trained mate of mine.

Any ideas? Or do i need to buy the mega expensive Brembo discs and pads again?
I was thinking maybe DS2500 pads up front next time?

 

[s3_kev]

ok cheers for the info guys think ill steer clear of this then, just looking to see what i could do if i could save myself a few £££'s and so when i need replcement discs and pads it wouldnt brake the bank like some kits might,
i was thinking about the r32 setup but the discs are £300 to sart with so would be better of with the brembo setup at that cost

 

[s3_kev]

would r32 calipers and carriers bolt straight onto the s3 hub or are they a diferent fit ment?? anyone no??

 

[1animal1]

Kev, yep they do, fella on here has done exactly that just changing the calipers i beleive, he doesnt come on much though so unable to ask....... he is attending the meet at the end of Feb though so can ask then...although id assume you'd have an answer by then

 

[S3Steve]

R32 brake setup fits straight on, disks, calipers and carriers obviously aslong as you get mk4 ones and not mk5

 

[<tuffty/>]

Out of interest... does anyone rate the K-Sport brake kits? They are 8 pots and not to badly priced.

Wondered how these would compare

<tuffty/>

 

[S3Steve]

Ess Three,
Ive got the brembo GT jr kit on my car,
Im using 10 grove discs and EBC red stuff pads BUT i still only get about 3 realy good stops before they strugle to pull the car to a stop quickly. Im using ATE super blue brake fluid and have had the car correctly bled up by a trained mate of mine.

Any ideas? Or do i need to buy the mega expensive Brembo discs and pads again?
I was thinking maybe DS2500 pads up front next time?

I would defo go for DS2500's over the EBC pads, the difference is night and day, also to stop fade ensure you use good quality discs (like the genuine brembo's) over cheap discs, the quality of metal used is completely different.

 

[1animal1]

Out of interest... does anyone rate the K-Sport brake kits? They are 8 pots and not to badly priced.

Wondered how these would compare

<tuffty/>

wont 8 pots require a bigger master cylinder? either that or feck up your pedal push

 

[Ess_Three]

Ess Three,
Ive got the brembo GT jr kit on my car,
Im using 10 grove discs and EBC red stuff pads BUT i still only get about 3 realy good stops before they strugle to pull the car to a stop quickly. Im using ATE super blue brake fluid and have had the car correctly bled up by a trained mate of mine.

Any ideas? Or do i need to buy the mega expensive Brembo discs and pads again?
I was thinking maybe DS2500 pads up front next time?

That's the anaswer!
Ditch those awful pads (I tried them on my GTI...awful!) and go for DS2500s.
The standard pads weren't bad I thought - it was all I ever used on my S3, but the DS2500s are much better.

 

[Ess_Three]

I've heard horror stories of many fancy multi-pot callipers...in my view, stick with a maker that makes callipers for road cars - cars that are designed to run all year round in all weathers, so have proper dirt shileds and corrosion resistance.

Brembo...they just work. Properly...and keep working.

And 8 pots on an S3?
Bling...

You will not need anything more than a Brembo GT Jr kit on any S3 that's road based...even track based with decent pads and ventilation.

 

[1animal1]

Glen.... was talking to my mechanic last week when the car was on the ramp, mentioned about the disc dust guard and removing it to get more air to the brakes....his answer was that salt on the roads used to sieze the same brakes on different models in the past so he wouldnt recommend

i know you live in the winter capital of the UK so wondered if you had issues - obviously concious that you mentioned it a while back

 

[Ess_Three]

Glen.... was talking to my mechanic last week when the car was on the ramp, mentioned about the disc dust guard and removing it to get more air to the brakes....his answer was that salt on the roads used to sieze the same brakes on different models in the past so he wouldnt recommend

i know you live in the winter capital of the UK so wondered if you had issues - obviously concious that you mentioned it a while back

My dirt shields were removed within a few days of the car being new.
They remained off all the time I had it, David R had it, and DJ had it, and still remian off to this day, with no issues at all...and the benefits of better cooling to the brakes.

 

[s3_kev]

cheers for all the response, just got to weigh up my options now,

 

[1animal1]

My dirt shields were removed within a few days of the car being new.
They remained off all the time I had it, David R had it, and DJ had it, and still remian off to this day, with no issues at all...and the benefits of better cooling to the brakes.

cheers Glen, thought as much...... probably referring to either a different caliper or diff instance - still going to wghip them off when i get time

 

[scoobyra]

Kev, I'll give you a bit more food for thought........

I am in the process of getting some adaptor brackets made up to allow the use of Evo calipers (5/6/7/8) on my S3. They will work with R32/3.2TT discs which I can get (non gen) for £160 a pair. One of the biggets issues other than getting the calipers to fit was the size of the discs. The Evo Brembos are designed to use 320mm discs, meanining that the pad didn't cover the entire disc face (leaving an area towards the center of the disc with no pad contact). I spoke to Ollie Clark (Roger Clark Motorsport) and he seemed to think this wasn't an issue. You also need to run spacers to get the correct offset as the R32 discs don't stick out as far from the hub, the calipers DO however fit under 17'' wheels!.

 

[s3_kev]

Kev, I'll give you a bit more food for thought........

I am in the process of getting some adaptor brackets made up to allow the use of Evo calipers (5/6/7/8) on my S3. They will work with R32/3.2TT discs which I can get (non gen) for £160 a pair. One of the biggets issues other than getting the calipers to fit was the size of the discs. The Evo Brembos are designed to use 320mm discs, meanining that the pad didn't cover the entire disc face (leaving an area towards the center of the disc with no pad contact). I spoke to Ollie Clark (Roger Clark Motorsport) and he seemed to think this wasn't an issue. You also need to run spacers to get the correct offset as the R32 discs don't stick out as far from the hub, the calipers DO however fit under 17'' wheels!.

so at what sort of cost is this set up looking to set you back???

 

[scoobyra]

Paid £100 for my Evo Brembos, if you look on fleabay you can pick them up quite cheaply as the paint fades badly and makes the calipers look ****! I've told you the price of the discs so all that's left is the brackets.....which is the expensive part (although there's a guy on here that can do CNC machining) I guess all in for under £350

 

[s3_kev]

so are you going to sell these brackets?? sounds like quite a cheap setup, how close are you having yours finnished?? be interesting to no how it all goes

 

[scoobyra]

I won't be selling the brackets Kev, I'd rather help people out and tell you how to make them, or if I could get some one to make them then share the cost. It's always nice for people to share their ideas cos I think that that's what these forums should be about.
I have the calipers and the discs, I've also nearly finished the template for the bracket. Unlike the Porsche radial mount calipers (bolts pass from top to bottom of caliper) the Evo caliper already has mounting lugs so you have to use these. The bracket makes up the difference between the original caliper carrier and the Evo caliper. It also positions the caliper in the correct position over the disc.

 

[s3_kev]

ok cool well be sure to post up pics once done :thumbsup:

 

[scoobyra]

LOL, No worries, I've been threatening to do it for over 6 months but never seem to get the time to finish the conversion off!!

I'll see what I can do.

 

[S3quatt]

Oh BTW the Brembo kit will fit with standard 17" rims too...

My view on making up a kit is go for something proven.

Brakes are not to be messed around with or skimped on in my opinion.
Same as tyres, after all they are the most important parts in stopping you & keeping you on the road, I'm sure you'll agree...

 

[s3_kev]

yes i agree with brakes being important, but these conversions all consist of uprated parts matched and made to work together, there all going to be improvements over the standard stuff,
im just seeing if there's a way of making a kit up that will be cheaper then the 1k brembo kit, looks like its not likely to happen though