ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: JARYsidekick on May 06, 2008, 06:25:21 AM
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So, I've spent long ours searching this an other forums looking for info on this conversion. I wish to do this in my RWD 98 Kick. I decided to go with the Spidertrax kit as it just looks so awesome but I still do have a couple of ??? Here it goes:
1. I wish to use all Suzuki parts just for the convenience but I understand the E-brake problem. Spidertrax has the shaft mounted E-brake system but I'm not sure it will fit my Kick as they advertise it for Sammys. What do you think?
2. I read about Subaru and Nissan Maxima calipers that supposedly have an integrated EB sys on them. What year and model car for the Subaru and year for the Maxima? Will it be a direct bolt-on to the Spydertrax adapters? If not, what must be modified?
3. Brake lines... I guess the Sammy brake line kits wont work as their diff housing is "side-shifted". Ar there any BL kits available for the Kick? If not, I'll be making my own. I have acces to a brake shop that make custom BL and stainless braided hoses though a kit will be less expensive.
I guess that's it. I will really apreciate any help on the matter. Thanks all!!!
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I think some Zukis in that range had factory rear disc brakes,but don't hold me to it.If so,I would look into using the factory stuff,possibly parts from a salvage yard,to make sure everything is cool.You will most likely have to change the proportioning valve,and on some cars the master cylinder.
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Thanks for the reply.
Yeah, I know I'll have to change a couple of things here and there but I wanted to be sure of:
- what calipers are preffered
- if e-brake kit from Spidertrax fits the Kick
- if linelock would be a worthy option over e-brake kit
- if proportioning valve works on Kick's OEM Master cyl.
Been doing some more research so I changed my concerns. I do too want to keep it all Suzuki for the convenience.
Thanks
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Somebody once posted 84-86 Nissan 300ZX rear calipers (have EB)
Linelocks utilize existing brake system and often do not pass inspection because they are not redundant (i.e. if you rip off a brake line you have now lost service and emergency brake systems in one fell swoop)
proportioning valves simply reduce pressure and will work with any master cylinder. The issue with master cylinders is that they may not move enough volume of fluid for the travel and piston size of your new and likely bigger slave cylinders.
Sorry, no idea about Spidertrax as there is no chance in hell I will pay for bolt on when I can build it myself. I usually get the mount brackets with the donor calipers and weld either them or a mount for them to the axle. I use dimes between the caliper and the disc and tack in place before final welding but I am no rocket scientist.
Good luck,
Aaron
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Thanks a bunch Aaron...
So what master cyl have you heard/seen swapped in place of the OEM?
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Over here (UK) Rover (Lucas) and Subaru calipers have been used. I believe that Mike Hagen used Saturn (whatever one of those is!) calipers.
Subaru master cylinders fit Jap built Track/Kicks
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Thanks Rhino for the reply and for the email!!!
Man, I had a Subaru Impreza that I totalled a couple of years back. Wish I knew about this then.
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Thanks Rhino for the reply and for the email!!!
Man, I had a Subaru Impreza that I totalled a couple of years back. Wish I knew about this then.
BTW, I'm jaryphotography (Jose Rosa)...
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Hi again,
You probably don't have to worry too much about the volume that the master cylinder puts out unless you go with some really oversized rear calipers. For example, the last set of rear discs I did were on a full size chev and I even used 1 ton ford dual piston calipers and there was not a problem. As long as you don't use anything exotic with huge calipers, you should be fine. You are trying to get calipers that have an EB setup, come off a disc the same diameter (or nearly) and width (so the piston does not attempt to travel beyond its cylinder.) That sounds complicated but its not. I am going to start by measuring my front rotors (that is the easiest disc to put on the back) and then find a car with rear discs (and EB) that are close enough to fab a mount. Some people go the other way though and take a complete disc and rotor set from a car and have it redrilled to the bolt pattern they want. I stick to the things I know (welder vs lathe, etc.)
Sorry about the long answer again - I plan to use the existing master cylinder as I will choose a caliper with low volume pistons. This is less difficult than you might think because discs designed for rear axles don't need huge pistons anyway. It's when you put front calipers (that need a lot of stopping power) on the front that you tend to run into volume problems. If anything, you will need a proportioning valve to dial it down.
Neither have really been major problems in my experience - I have put fronts on the rear (driveline EB setup) and have only needed proportioning valves a couple of times. I recommend testing on a gravel road to see if your rear tires are locking up before you invest in a proportioning valve.
Aaron
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Thanks again Aaron!!! I like long answers as long as they're informative.
Well, I knew about the less need of stopping power in the rear that in the front. That's why I was planning on using Sammy calipers and rotors in the back on my Kick as the front OEM calipers and rotors??? are bigger than the Sammys. The proportioning valve is mandatory as I want to be as safe as possible when braking hard as my Kick will be going fast (street use - whole 'nother story).
You talk about redrilling for a different bolt pattern, so I understand that you mean adapting the mounting plates to the bolt pattern of whatever other caliper aside from Suzuki ones. Are my correct on this? If so, you have answered another question I had. But this makes me wonder, is there any Suzuki model vehicle that has EB on the rear calipers? GV's, Swift's, Forenzas, Aerio's...??? Maybe even the master cylinder could be exchanged.
I'll be checking this myself with a local Suzuki only salvage yard. If you know something, let us know.I will post when I get the info (probably this weekend).
Thanks.
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why are you going threw all this whats the benifits??? more stoping power for bigger tires???
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Well, actually it's more stopping power for a faster vehicle. You see, my Kick is a RWD only vehicle and is mainly for street use. Since I'm in the middle of a 2.0L conversion, and boosting it as well, it will be a very fast little Kick, so stopping power will be a must. I'm still gathering turbo related parts so I do have some time left in my hand to make the rear disc conversion. And since I'll be buying new rotors and caliper kits for the front, why not do the rear also ::)
Have you done this conversion?
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well if it works for you it make sense to me !!!!!!!!!
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Hiya Jary,
You only need to redrill the rotor if you don't use one that has the right pattern in the first place. This happens when guys want to use a matched rotor/caliper set that doesn't have the right wheel bolt pattern but has room to drill the pattern you want.
For Sami front calipers on the rear check this site but remember they can only get away with this because there is an e-brake on the t-case (or, alternatively, because you don't give a damn!):
http://www.bc4x4.com/tech/2000/zukdiscs/zukdiscs.cfm
I never really noticed a big gain in stopping power - unless I had to go backwards - backing down a hill with rear discs is way better than drums, especially when wet. I like discs because nothing is hidden, rear pads last forever, and wheeling performance (I don't know about you but I back off of things a lot when the hard line just isn't gonna go!) All I can add to that is that I find the e-brake to be absolutely necessary too and wouldn't drive long before repairing it if it broke.
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I am going to start by measuring my front rotors (that is the easiest disc to put on the back) and then find a car with rear discs (and EB) that are close enough to fab a mount.
Its been a few years since I did my original conversion and I can't remember exactly why but the Sammy front discs were a better fit than the Track/Kick discs.
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hmm... maybe they are thinner at the wheel bolts and you don't need extra long wheel studs. The front studs are usually longer than the rears but that doesn't always mean there is enough to get through the turned down drum, the disc, and, say, aluminum rims. It kind of depends on the disc design. If the Kick disc is a bigger diameter, you will have to turn the drums down less but if the Sami disc is offset more, it is easier to fab a caliper mount and clearance rims.
Did you use a Sami t-case or calipers with rear e-brake, Rhinoman?
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hmm... maybe they are thinner at the wheel bolts and you don't need extra long wheel studs. The front studs are usually longer than the rears but that doesn't always mean there is enough to get through the turned down drum, the disc, and, say, aluminum rims. It kind of depends on the disc design. If the Kick disc is a bigger diameter, you will have to turn the drums down less but if the Sami disc is offset more, it is easier to fab a caliper mount and clearance rims.
Did you use a Sami t-case or calipers with rear e-brake, Rhinoman?
I used Ford calipers with ebrake. The ebrake ratio wasn't very well matched to the Zuk handbrake mechanism so i had lots of travel. With the stock m/c I had loads of pedal travel too. Someday I'll have another go at it but I lost patience with it and went to LWB brakes front and back.
I used turned down drums for the adapters, there are two different designs of drums, one has large internal webs and isn't as suitable. Longer wheel studs are a must, the front studs are too short to work. Like you said the stud has to be long enough to take the adapter and the thickness of the wheel. It also has to have a shoulder that is long enough for the discs to locate properly on.
The Zuk studs and drums are like cheese, once the original studs had been knocked out the splines were too loose to take a stud with the same size spline so we reamed out the hole and fitted a stud with a larger diameter spline. The studs were an imperial stud IIRC so the front and rear wheel nuts were different, that bugged me too, but at the time we couldn't locate a metric stud with a better fit.
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Yep, I have tired out a few parts guys over the wheel stud hardware - they should just give me the book ;)
Sounds like the ford calipers are a scratch.
As far as the wheel studs go, another option is to put the front Kick studs into the disc only and drill another five holes to hold the turned drum to the disc. Use your turned drums as drill guides for offset holes and then bolt them to the discs and use them as guides on your discs. You will need spacers between the disc and the turned drum to clearance the stud heads but other than that, your 'cheesy' hardware and different sized lug problem should be solved.
Aaron
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There's gotta be some way to make use of some wood in this.
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Thanks for all that info guys!!! I'm still looking into the Swift GTi calipers. The guys over at www.twmswift.com aren't giving me any help so I'll go to my local Suzuki dealer and ask some. I'll post what ever info I get.
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Guys, I'm sorry. Someone did help me over at teamswift.com forums but I just didn't noticed. So it's my bad. They said that the Swift GTi has ebrake built in the caliper. I will look further into this to get measurements on caliper mounts and disc brake clearance.
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Swift GTI calipers have been used over here but they are generally considered as not powerful enough for a Track/Kick.
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Oh, bummer!!! Well, off to another search!!!
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Q: For the 2dr guys running bigger tires, can you swap to the 4dr brakes for a little extra stopping power???
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Q: For the 2dr guys running bigger tires, can you swap to the 4dr brakes for a little extra stopping power???
Yeah thats what I run now.