drum brakes to disc brakes

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Sat 19 Jul 2003 15:40
drum brakes to disc brakes - RS2000
Hi all,

I have a vauxhall vectra hatchback. 97 (P) reg. As i am thinking of sticking a set of alloy wheels on the car, i would like to know if it's possible to change the drum brakes to disc brakes.

Is it just a matter of takeing of the old & putting on the new. Or does it have 2B a complete axle change?

If can just change from drum brakes to disc brakes, is it a very complicated job?

Many thanks

Paul @ Cheshunt
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 19 Jul 2003 16:01
drum brakes to disc brakes - Dynamic Dave
Changing from steel wheels to alloys doesn\'t mean you\'ll need better brakes to cope with the difference. The main braking is done by the front brakes anyway. Unless you\'re also planning on changing the engine or making performance modifications to it, to be perfectly honest with you I wouldn\'t bother. For starters the current layout of your rear brakes is that both the foot and hand braking system uses the shoes inside a brake drum. With rear discs though, the foot brake obviously operates a caliper and uses the discs, but the handbrake is still a brake shoe/drum configuration. Without looking I couldn\'t confirm if the rear axle has the mounting brackets for the disc calipers or not.
It seems a lot of effort to go to for a small improvement in brake efficiency.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 19 Jul 2003 16:08
drum brakes to disc brakes - RS2000
Cheers 4 that Dave. It's not really for the extra braking eficiency, it's more to do with the looks. When alloy wheels on the car you left with that horible looking clump of rusty metal in the wheel. At least with disc brakes it sorta looks half tidy.

It's only something i was thinking of doing if it doesn't involve to much messing about or cost.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 19 Jul 2003 16:43
drum brakes to disc brakes - Dynamic Dave
You don't have to put up with a horrible looking clump of rusty metal in the wheel. Wire brush off the loose stuff and give it a coating of Hammerite. In fact, thinking about it, there are dedicated brake paints around nowadays that the baseball cap brigade use to give their calipers and drums that "boy racer" look.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 19 Jul 2003 18:10
drum brakes to disc brakes - David Lacey
Plus you'd probably have to change the master cylinder....and if you have ABS.....that's bad news.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide