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SVT brake swap

47K views 97 replies 29 participants last post by  SupraGuy 
#1 · (Edited)

stock front disc with 17" wheel



SVT front disc with same wheel



Rear with the stock set-up all removed



Rear arm dangling before we took it off to compare to SVT set-up... They are different on the wagon due to the shock mount... YOU DO NOT have to remove this to do the swap. You can just swap the spindles. Or on a zx3 zx5 you can change out the whole arm assembly. To Change the spindles it is 4 bolts and you have to grind the heads off of two rivets in the middle



The arm with the spindle just removed.




Here you can see where I ground off the rivets



This is where the front hook-up is for the ebrake cables...This is with the heat shields removed




New SVT stuff on! Sexxy



Stock front disc and SVT disc



Again!



Front SVT spindle and my awesome KW suspension ( really like it)



Stock junk!




Front spindle missing.




SVT set-up bolted on!


If pics don't show, just go here!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v87/zx3_chick/Bills brake swap/
 
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#86 ·
What Should I Get My Parts From?

I have a 2001 SE. I'm growing tired of changing the wheel cyclinders out. What car make, model, year and parts should I ask for. I can't afford the kit. So I hope to pick them up from a salv. yard.[loveff]
 
#88 ·
Make that 150K now on this set-up. 2 sets of discs and three sets of pads ( one used just to get thru winter).. Its been very good to me..

This is the way the focus SHOULD have come :)
 
#94 · (Edited)
Another thread resurrection. I've finally acquired all the parts to do this swap from several (4) SVT's in local yards.

One car yielded the complete brake package, but for some reason I neglected to get the e brake cables. $180 (knuckles, hubs, calipers, rotors) I removed the stuff with the least amount of wrenching I could get away with so the SVT axles (don't need) and trailing arms were included in that price. Didn't use the hoses, just cut them. They were old anyway.

Got the e brake cables, leather e brake handle and 3 5 spoke SVT wheels, even the SVT spare from another SVT in the same yard months later. Also got the hatch spoiler. $115.

Got 4th 5 spoke wheel from a different yard a month or so later. $45.

Grabbed SVT steering wheel and rear sway bar from the first yard a few weeks ago. $37.

I just need to get new brake hoses and probably pads to actually install it all. Rotors are surface rusted, but I'll prob replace to avoid warped stuff. Also thinking about replacing all the bearings, just to be safe. Gonna plan on a weekend to do it all since it's just me, and I'm 50. Should be fun.
 
#95 ·
Did this swap finally Apr 2019, been about 6 months now, no problems whatever. I did replace the all the hubs/bearings, hoses, pads and front rotors. Got one more cycle out of the rear rotors. Honestly, the most noticeable change is the SVT rear sway bar. There's a certain sweeper curve I can manage almost 10mph faster, prob more but I don't push too hard.
 
#96 ·
Thats great....I'd think you'd noticed the increased stopping power....11.8'' rotors vs the 10''er's & the bigger calipers. Hopefully you flushed out the old brake fluid.
 
#98 ·
If you are NOTICING a difference in stopping power without taking the car to a track, that's weird.

With the stok brakes, it's not hard to throw my brakes into anti-lock. At that point, it's tire traction that's limiting how fast the car is stopping. The brakes themselves are capable of much more than the tires are, and that's normal, unless you've got drums.

Where bigger brakes shine is during a lot of hard braking. Like on a track, where you are using the brakes long enough for them to get HOT, and you start to get brake fade. Before then, any improvement you feel before you get to the point where the brakes start to fade is pure placebo effect.

Well, I suppose that if you spend enough on tires so that you get ones that grip well enough that you cannot lock up the brakes, then you will feel a difference with better brakes.

If you can lock up the brakes, better brakes are not going to help for a panic stop.
 
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