Alright - My car will run soon, but it won't be an N/A . What are the real advantages of running the 5 Lug setup? Are there that many more options? I know it's not an expensive thing to do, but I'm still not sure if I really should.

 

People won't make fun of you for being different.

Cant think of anything else.

 

ummm from what i understand is there's no 4 lug with LSD. GXL and TII both have LSD and are both 5 lug

 

5 lug cars get to use the bigger, better looking 5 lug factory wheels

 

So, Nothing, then, really. No brake-related issues or suspension moddability or anything? I thought there was something that caused everybody to do it.

 

Brakes! The 5-lug brakes are much bigger and have far better 4-pot front calipers. If you're turbocharging a base NA, this should be considered a compulsary safety upgrade, not a cosmetic one. Turbo power levels and base model brakes is a dangerous combination.

 

o-contrare...

4 lug wheels provide more than enough braking power.

Mine with Hawk HP pads and some sticky 215 tires has enough braking power to pop your eyeballs out of their sockets

But the point is, 4 lug brakes are fine. Just make sur they get adequate cooling and a good set of pads. Going to the 5-lug is a waste of time unless you plan to do some heavy autocross.

 

Yeah, weenie front calipers and solid rear discs are fine for a turbocharged FC.... NOT!

$150FC, I have everything for the swap up front, but all I have for the rear are rotors, 1 caliper, and one hub (my TII needed those parts). I have some 88 TII rims, and some black 86 bologna slicer rims.

 

Why does bieng turbocharged matter? Its still the same car with only about what.. 50lbs more?

Last I checked the turbocharger didnt affect the cars ability to stop?

Brake size isnt EVERYTHING. A big factor is getting some good pads that dont fade.

A set of "weenie single piston calipers" with some real good pads will do you better than the 4 pistons with stock pads.

Use the money for that. Maybe some cross drilleds on the front since the back brakes dont get as much work as the front.

 

I have to explain this?

It's not hard to understand that a car with 25% more power (or much more) is going to get up to speed a lot quicker. If you can accelerate faster, you need to be able to stop quicker. I know most of us here will drive enthusiastically on the street, so given the same length of road, a turbo car will get to a higher speed in the same distance as an NA, so it needs to be able to stop from that speed in the same distance. Common sense really... Yeah, but those real good pads on the 4-pot brakes is even better...

There are other considerations besides outright braking ability. Most people forget that the ability of the disc to absorb (and reject) heat is absolutely critical to braking performance, because all brakes do is convert kinetic energy into heat energy. The more heat a disc can absorb, and the faster it can reject it, the better it'll brake, and the longer it will resist fade. Do a fast trip down a long windy mountain road, and (assuming similar pad material) the bigger brakes will last longer. That's a fact.

As an example, my 84 Cosmo had brakes of very similar size and spec to the 4-lug ones. My FC brakes noticeably better (and for longer) despite weighing some 350lb more!

A pad upgrade is a good budget upgrade for any car, but if you're going to all the trouble to turbocharge your car, and you can easily swap better brakes from another model, your nuts not to consider it.

 

Hm. It seems to me that I could do great with the four lugs, but I could do better with the five lugs. It's also such an easy thing to do. Thanks for the info.

Also: bump.

 

If you have the 4 lugs are always going to be a limitation. The conversion is cheap and worth it. While you are at it change the brake lines with SS ($100), add speedbleeders ($30), some aggressive pads (?), and have the stock rotors turned ($20). If you are feeling ambitious, you can rebuild the calipers. You will never really have to think about your brakes again.


KneeDragonR1

 

I had to post my .02 on this...

4 Piston calipers are great... Better surface area-- distributed clamping force, etc... But the single pot calipers can do the job. Both of these brake systems have the ability to lock up all 4 wheels at any time. The clamping force is sufficient in both systems. The key to a good breaking system after clamping force is modulation. To have good control over your brakes, you want a system that does not fade and modulates really well. My stock 4 lug, single-piston brakes modulate better than any other car I have driven, and every guy who rides in my car can't believe how well it stops. The only mod I did was install Hawk HP+ pads all the way around. I probably paid more for the pads than I would have for a complete 4 pot conversion, but I already had aftermarket wheels, and honestly, the car is race ready. The car is light, so stopping does not produce incredible amounts of heat. I have never had any brake fade with my setup, and my rotors are not suffering the way everybody assumes they would with the HP+ pads.

Bottom line, 4 pots are cool, but more of a luxury than a practical upgrade. The key to good brakes on the FC? Good pads, good rotors, and sticky tires. Period.

PJ

 

That was exactly what I was thinking earlier today, before I read your post. If I've got enough footpower and brakepower to lock all four up, then more stopping power isn't going to do anything.

Plus I already bought some 4 lug Konig Villains. Ehehe.
(wheels/tires before engine, that's the way to do it, I'm telling you.)

 

did you buy the wheels already?

 

Heh. Yeah.
It's a long story. Got them for pretty cheap, though. Going up to Auburn next weekend to pick them up - I'm looking at two more paychecks before I get all the money and parts rounded up, then I'll talk to Bryan about the J-Spec.

 

This is just my 2 cents. I have a n/a with the 4 lug (small brakes) and i want big ones. and hey, think about it this way. You made your car go fast with a turbo, good its a sports car, make it stop fast to! haha thats the whole point in my veiw, unless its a dragster? my 2 cents

 

The advantage of the 4 pistons is it is easier to modulate with the bigger brakes. The physics does not change. Your tires are still the weak link, but you can stop at 99% vs. 94%. If you have the wheels, no worries, just get some pads and lines.


KneeDragonR1

 

Well, I still might ebay the wheels, but then I'm left with phone dialer 14"s, so... Heh.

94% versus 99% is fine with me. I'll test the brakes when I drive the thing from shop to shop.

 

You bought Justin's old rims?

 

Yeah, I did. What would you have given for them? I hope I wasn't screwed, although he seems like a nice guy.

 

Black Bologna Slicers? I'm interested... got any pics? Changing the color of 'Tornado Grey' into a black. Only used to the GXL rims in the alloy. Black on Black rims... wouldn't be to Batmanish, would it?

 

I have the four lug and single piston brakes myself. They seem to stop great, better than pretty much any car i have driven, but not quite as much as my old 88GTU which would make your dick go through the hood if you stoped too fast. So i will be converting myself, as i also want the LSD which is KILLING me not to have.

I have a question, i was looking at the brake booster on my 86Base and the brake booster on my old 88GTU my freind now has, and mine seems to be noticably smaller. Should i change this out when doing the conversion along with the master cyl? or is that just to make the pedal a little bit softer when stoping? Thanks.

 

I have a 5-lug conversion for sale if anyone is interested. I can send pics if you'd like. Give me a reasonable offer and it's yours. I also have 91 coupe wheels for cheap too. -Craig

 

brake upgrades when adding a lot of power are loads of fun and as someone had mentioned, cars that speed up with much more authority needs brakes to match or you won't be able to use that power as effectively bc you'll need more time to slow your car for tough corners. as far as upgrading from the 4 lug to the 5 lug brakes...i know the 5 lugs have bigger rotors and calipers but they are still stock brakes...I'd stick with the 4 lugs and make sure your rotors are healthy, use high quality (I.E. new) fluid, stainless lines and some nice pads (the hawk street compounds are GREAT). I believe AP has a kit that will fit the front of the 4 lug cars (13 inch rotors, 6 pot calipers I think) but the kit is about 2500 and not needed unless you're a 400 hp killer!!!