Restoration of 2358R

[BDA]

Great job! 

[jbcollier]

Looks great.

No need for high heat paint on brake calipers.  We use plain old industrial paint with no issues.

[Certified Lotus]

Looks great.

No need for high heat paint on brake calipers.  We use plain old industrial paint with no issues.

Your probably right JB, but I’m one of those “do it right the first time” kind of guys on my rebuilds.

Brake rotors and pads in street use typically won't see temperatures exceeding about 400 degrees,  however on track days where the brakes are continuously burdened, temperatures can exceed about a 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, pretty easily. As the caliper is a heat sink in this application, the temperatures will be less for the caliper.

I had a conversation with my friend Drew about this before I painted the calipers and he strongly recommended hi-temp paint as it is more durable for this application. As he restores very expensive sports cars for a living I generally go with what ever he recommends as I rarely find Drew to be incorrect on the subject matter of restorations.

All that being said, I do appreciate all the input others provide. I’m a data junkie and like three or more data points before coming to an absolute conclusion.

[buzzer]

Another way to look at it is DOT 4 brake fluid boils at 440F.. 230c  or us over here (racing fluid will be a bit higher). so if you hammer your brakes to the point of brake fade then they may get hotter than 400F. so if you are going track the car then a paint that can cope with 500 or 600F+ would seem sensible.

[Certified Lotus]

As I want the front suspension parts that I am painting silver to match, the hi-temp paint is being used on a number of parts. A bit of over-kill but they will have the same finish.

[jbcollier]

No quibbles with your paint choice.  Just didn't want people to think they had to use high heat paint.  We have been using Rust-Oleum industrial paints on street calipers and have never had any issue in 30 years.

Brake fade is not caused by brake fluid boiling.  If your brake fluid boils, your brakes don't fade, they disappear completely and the pedal goes straight to the floor.  It doesn't come back until you bleed the air out of the system.  Brake fade is when the brake system components are no longer able to maintain the same stopping power/pedal force ratio due to heat. An explanation can be found here:

https://ebcbrakes.com/articles/what-is-brake-fade/

[buzzer]

Yes you are correct bad choice of term.
If there is water in your brake fluid the boiling point drops significantly. From what I can remember they will come back when the fluid cools tho.. anyhow boiling the fluid using means there is water in the system so you should change it anyhow...

[EuropaTC]

On the topic of caliper temperatures, one thing that does strike me is that should you use "normal" paint then hitting 200C is likely to show indication of overheating, maybe tinting the colour slightly.

The reason I mention it is because the rubber piton seals will have a limited temperature range and are more likely to harden when operating at elevated temperatures. I've no idea on the temperature limits of the rubbers used these days but I'd guess that if you expect to see >200C then you're going to be changing seals on a regular basis.

So John's use of conventional paint might actually be a better system in that when the paint looks heated it's time to change seals ! 

[4129R]

Talking of overheating brakes, on the 1986 Manx International Rally, there was a 12 mile stage with lots of braking. I was driving a near standard Toyota Corolla AE86. After 10 miles, the brakes were useless, and I could not brake in time to go 60' right at a grass large triangle roundabout on to a main road to the finish, so I had to drive over the grass on to the main road. Then after a 2 mile blast down the main road, the brakes had cooled enough to stop at the finish to get your time.

I think we did that stage 3 or 4 times, and that brake fade happened every time at the same place. Those were vented discs with high temp brake pads (DS11s).

[jbcollier]

Had a friend who went racing with his Sunbeam Tiger (great big heavy lump of a V8 up front).  First lap he was the fastest thing out there.  Second lap his brake pedal hit the floor approaching a hairpin after a long straight.  He upgraded his brakes considerably but he was never as fast again.

[Certified Lotus]

Brakes are more important than anything else on a track car. I upgraded my Exige S brakes to AP Racing big brake kit and hi temp brake fluid. Reduced my lap times significantly......

Even my go kart had brakes that would stop you on a dime.

[BDA]

You can't go fast if you're worried about stopping!


Nice picture!

[GavinT]

I’ve experienced the same as John’s friend with the Sunbeam Tiger.
At Calder Raceway in Melbourne, all was fine for the first lap but the brakes faded nearly completely after that.

I found the need to adjust the rear brakes up after every race.
At home I had those rear brakes apart many times, checking operation, hydraulics, changing brake shoe material and never did solve the issue.

At Sandown track the brakes performed better; not perfect, but better.
I remember a friends wife in an Elan easily out-braked me at the end of the back straight. She’s a decent steerer and just sailed past.

All this is to say that for track days I reckon one could spend far less on brakes than a power upgrade and get a better overall result.

[Certified Lotus]

Back to work on Europa parts. Cleaned all the grease off the u-joints on my half shafts in my parts cleaner, carefully wrapped the ends of the half shafts and media blasted the surface rust off the shaft. Wiped everything clean with lacquer thinner and spray painted with Eastwood black chassis paint (See before and after photo).

[Certified Lotus]

Got back from my West Coast trip late last night to find my transaxle bearing from 123bearing arrived from France. The bearing I’m replacing is an SNF bearing but 123Bearing told me the Timken bearing with same model number is correct. The main concern was the race depth which is important to the entire transaxle fit. No room for error.

Degreased the left half shaft, media blasted the surface rust, wiped clean with Lacquer thinner and painted with Eastwood Chassis black. Will do three coats.