Thread: 99 Defender 130 TD5 front brake conversion

Unless the TD5 130s went backwards it was my impression the front vented rotors large 4 pot caliper on 130s was about as good as LR make.
Certainly a better set up than the thinner disc non vented D1.

Check your brake booster, if there is a small crack near where the master cylinder bolts on, it may flex under load allowing vacuum to leak reducing assist.

But having said that if you had all 6 wheels a cooking then maybe a change in rotor & pad material may be in order.

Better still if I was regularly towing 2.5tonne plus I would fab up an exhaust brake.
I reckon on a 130 which travels loaded an exhaust brake would be a good addition after optimising rotors/pads before mucking around with different calipers and hydraulics.


Steve

I have been looking at the 6 pot calipers from TD5 Alive, and new rotors.

The back on a 130 is just as important as the front.

CC

As RR said, a Defender has better brakes than a Disco and the booster is a known (potential) problem.

FWIW Ferodo make TS2000 compound pads (the old DS2000 Touring car race pad compound from the late nineties/early noughties) in the Defender pad shape.

A potential modification is to duct air into the centre of the rotors.

Vented rotors act like a centrifugal pump, air enters at the eye and is 'pumped' out the periphery.

As with any race car you duct air from the front of the car to the eye of the rotor (not so easy on a 4WD) and the rotation of the rotor does the rest, this dramatically reduces pad/rotor temps.
There's also other little tricks that can improve a stock system but they can be technically tricky to execute.

An upgrade of rotor is DBA's 4000 series rotors that are available for Defenders.
Back in the day I fitted their slotted stock rotors and had an improvement in braking performance over the original (admittedly worn out) discs. The 4000 series discs weren't available then.
I would only use slotted discs, cross drilled have a propensity to crack in high load situations unless the holes are cast or cleverly drilled, and DBA also state this

Research has shown the overall stopping power provided by the DBA Slotted and DBA Gold rotors is remarkably similar. Because of their lighter weight and increased cooling, the DBA Gold rotors recover more quickly and have the edge in situations where there is hard braking in short bursts.

The major advantage of the DBA Slotted is an ability to absorb and dissipate heat more evenly and to sustain higher temperatures for longer. That makes them particularly good for continuous heavy braking situations, such as experienced when driving down a mountain or when towing.

4000 Series | www.dbadirect.com.au

Great info Rick,
BUT every time I drive a mates coaster bus (empty of school kids - 3250kg tare) I just LOVEEEEE flicking that airbrake on the steering colum when cruising a little hot towards a corner.

For a loaded 130 - 3500GVM give or take I think the feeling would be the same

Not sure of the best way to fab it but would be my first choice over stinking, boring, old pads and rotors.

Steve

Yeah, I've thought about an exhaust brake every time I've towed over the last eight years
Hell, I've even wanted it off road when low low wasn't low enough

Easiest thing would be to fossick one from a Japanese truck wrecker and plumb it in somehow.

How do they work?

Vlad, they effectively put a cork in the exhaust.

Usually an electro-mechanically operated flap after the dump. They will only operate when off throttle / trailing throttle (such that no excess fuel is being pumped) and only whilst in gear clutch engaged (so it doesnt low idle stall the engine).

Rick, crazy idea hat on. Could you have an overide linkage to a VNT that at your whim closed the snail? Not a 100% exhaust brake but would still retard the stroke I would guess. Probably not good for the turbo but?

I agree that pilfering a complete electromech from a truck wrecker would be the easiest/cheapest option...

S

Originally Posted by roverrescue

Vlad, they effectively put a cork in the exhaust.

Usually an electro-mechanically operated flap after the dump. They will only operate when off throttle / trailing throttle (such that no excess fuel is being pumped) and only whilst in gear clutch engaged (so it doesnt low idle stall the engine).

Rick, crazy idea hat on. Could you have an overide linkage to a VNT that at your whim closed the snail? Not a 100% exhaust brake but would still retard the stroke I would guess. Probably not good for the turbo but?

I agree that pilfering a complete electromech from a truck wrecker would be the easiest/cheapest option...

S

VNT vanes close everytime boost drops, but they don't close enough to help with engine breaking