Pumped

i heard its four piston ?? anyone know

maxcooper

The fronts are four-piston, the rears single-piston.

-Max

Ef-Dee

doesn't the one piston in the back conflict with the huge caliper in the front???

jspecracer7

...not really. Most of the braking of the car should be done with the front brakes, hence the bigger brakes up front. If not, you'll slide out(kind of like e-brake drifting)

neevosh

The fronts have the most impact on helping slow down the car and therefore do most of the work. Also bigger rear brakes would make the rear lock up easier. Damn, you beat me to it.

jspecracer7

...sorry dude...

maxcooper

A number of the FD track folks have been complaining about the brake bias being too forward. So perhaps some more rear bias is in order, but it would surely have too much rear bias if you left the front brakes as-is and put the same calipers in the back. The single piston in the rear is larger than any of the four in front, but of course the summed area of the four is larger than the area of the rear piston.

You definitely don't want the rear locking up before the front, but perhaps Mazda was too conservative in setting the bias. Unless you are on the track, it probably doesn't matter much.

-Max

Ef-Dee

so basically...the rear brakes serve no REAL purpose in city driving???

maxpesce

The rear brakes do provide 30-40% of the total braking - most racers would like to see more like 55/45% front/rear brake bias - especialy if the suspension has been upgraded to reduce dive and weight transfer under braking.
also the STOCK front calipers have MAZDA cast in large letters on them - there are some Big Brake Kits that also use 4 piston calipers.

maxcooper

It is a matter of degree, so don't think that because the rear brakes don't do *enough* that they don't do *anything*. The FD has great brakes -- it had some of the shortest stopping distances ever tested in the magazines. But, if you race and want to stop a little faster, some more rear bias might be in order. On the street, you are rarely threshold braking, so who cares? Adjusting the bias is unlikely to help you.

Also, the bias might actually be okay. I know that I swap race pads in the front and leave the street pads in the rear when I track my car. Perhaps those that complained had a similar setup and just faded the rears. It is doubtful that that was the problem, but possible.

-Max

the_glass_man

iTrader: (2)

Pistons? We don't need no stinkin pistons.

Ef-Dee

LOL We need ROTORS!!!!!!

ChilliVacilly

i was just wondering if it is at all possable to install the front caliapers in the rear for looks, i plan i gettin a brembo big brake kit for the front and would like the rear caliapers so somwhat match the ones on the front also the cast mazda on the side looks trick and i dont want to lose it.

maxcooper

Get a book on braking systems and do the math. I think that is your best bet for figuring out if it will work. Even if you do get feedback that says it will work, I would still do that math before I spent a bunch of time and money on it.

You'll almost certainly need a bigger master cylinder, like the one from the 929 or a custom setup, to be able to pump enough fluid without having the pedal go to the floor.

You can also install a brake bias adjuster to reduce the pressure to the rear brakes so they don't lock up before the fronts. You could also get a four wheel upgrade from Brembo or M2.

If you are looking for a performance-oriented upgrade without spending a ton of cash, you can install the larger RS brakes in the rear to complement the bigger Brembos in front. The calipers are very similar in design to the stock rear calipers, so they aren't so great in the looks department.

-Max

martini

front calipers in the back = no ebrake.

ArinX

Sorry to bring up an old post, but one question ive searched on net but i dont see brembo having a 4 axle brake upgrade kit? When you said this did u mean just rotors and pads or actual 4 piston calipers all the way around. I know that m2 has em.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Arin

2 hott

iTrader: (4)

Has anyone tried to put the 4 piston rear set from M2 and then go with the Willwood 6 piston up front? Would M2 even sell the rear set seperately?

the_glass_man

iTrader: (2)

I'm just going to go with the 99+ RS brakes when the time comes, there is a good thread on it in the suspension forum section.

Mr. Stock

This is just to inform you guys who may not know about basic vehicle dynamics.

When you apply the brakes, the weight of the car shifts to the front. Since most of the weight is over the front of the car, the front brakes do most of the work in slowing down the car.

This is the reason the front brakes are larger than the rears. This is also the reason why the front brakes usually wear out before the rears do.

SilverRX7

Yes, it has to do with weight shifting, but more specifically the control during breaking... like eluded to above... keep in mind, the bias may not be perfect in one condition, but is designed to meet several standards... one which is no power braking, FMVSS135, and other internal Mazda standards... so it will never be perfect in one condition, cause its designed to meet all requirements.