Budget big brake upgrade for early cars aka my Boxster caliper upgrade

[admiralkhole]

List of items:
986 Boxster Calipers (I purchased used for $80)
1984-89 Carrera rotors (Purchased new for $90)
Axxis ceramic pads (purchased close out price $25)
Xschop m030 Caliper adapters

The caliper adapters were made to put m030 calipers on an NA spindle, the Caliper mounts are the same distance but the widths and heights are different. I inverter the adapter and added spacers to center it on the caliper. The boxster caliper sits a little high (3-4mm) but it still grabs great. I reported back to xschop and we'll go from there...this could be a great solution for early cars to have an awesome, budget friendly front brake setup.

Original brakes...





Swap parts...



Caliper and hub cap come off



spindle, hub, and rotor removed by loosening and removing spindle nut, washer, and bearings...



New rotors installed on hub



caliper adapter,





Everything bolted up and spaced



Money shot



Impressions...

These things bite!!! I still have manual brakes due to my v8 swap, but these really stop well. MUCH better than the OE (mine even had a fresh rebuild) calipers and rotors. I am very happy with the upgrade, it'll only get better after hydroboost or whatever method I find to boost my brakes. I'll modify or get a different adapter to seat the calipers lower, later down the line, but this is a very worth while upgrade especially if you can find the parts as cheap as I did. Thanks XSCHOP for helping make this happen!!! It's awesome the m030 are close in dimension, this is going to open the doors to wonderful things.

I also have S2 front calipers for my rear brakes, and an S2 master cylinder.

[admiralkhole]

And for all those wondering, these should fit under 16" phonies. If I get together with one of my buddies, I'll try to check if it fits under 951 fuchs.

[flash968]

i'm glad you're doing something in the rear. many people don't, and it's a huge mistake. brake upgrades have to be balanced front to rear. otherwise, what you get is a deceiving sense of improved braking, when in reality all you are getting is nosedive, and your braking distances actually increase, and you lose the balanced braking in a turn that is so important.

FWIW i think hydroboost sucks. i drove a V8 powered 968 with it installed, done by one of the few guys who are supposed to be experts at it, and it didn't stop worth a darned. very scary.

[admiralkhole]

I agree about the balance, it's a must to maintain it.

I've never driven a hydroboost car, let alone a hb swapped 944/968.
I've heard mixed reviews though, most supporting. I've also been looking at electrical assist using and electric pump for the brakes. There's a couple aftermarket units, and one made by Peugeot. I really wish I could retain vacuum assist but it's not a possibility. Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

[flash968]

if it's any help, the poor performance of the hydroboost is one of the reasons the guy switched back to a supercharged 968 engine and pulled out the high output all aluminum V8. it just wasn't safe. the rest of the swap was also horrible as a driver (way too much torque for the rest of the car - you could feel things flex and getting ready to break - nasty vibrations - horrible clutch, yada yada) but the lack of brakes just made it a death trap. in the end he spent nearly $40k for nothing ($30k in and $9k out)

i'm sure there are some electric systems out there that would work, and every year we see more and more drive by wire stuff coming up. i just don't have any recommendations at this time.

i would do a LOT of homework before getting into such a swap. definitely drive other's cars until you find one you like and can pattern yours after. lol - heck - there are a few of them for sale (which might be an indicator of the wisdom and success of such a project)

good luck

[Rasta Monsta]

Not crazy about that fitment on the fronts. . .

[Dean924s]

Question: Does the pad extend further out than the outside edge of the rotor? This can result in chunking of the pad once they start to ware. I would bevel the pad material to keep it in the same plain as the out side edge of the rotor if this is the case. An easy thing to do with a bench grinder but ware a respirator as brake pad material can contain some nasty stuff that you don't want in your lungs..