Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Brakes FSVT Swap

Has this full swap (rotors, calipers) been completed yet? I know it's been awhile since it was last posted, but if it's done, how's it working?

Bill J. has been out on a family emergency and hasn't sent chris the rest of the parts. Read the posts below for more info!

-Andy

Parts on the way...but there are two other people who may have the 'kit' installed before me. Stay tuned!

...can't wait till mine is all done

Ok i'll step forward.. I'm one of the 'other' two who is doing this FSVT swap.. I'm doing this because I wanted 'better' and bigger (12') brakes but didn't quite need the Baer or Wilwoods. I'm just a day driver who does the occasional 'spirted' driving. (not street racing) This is kinda long but i hope my rambling will help others who are atempting this.

I received the parts from Bill's associate middle of last week. ( hope Bill returns soon, hope it's nothing serious) I finally had a chance to test 'fit' them this weekend. I received a set of loaded RH and LH calipers, 2 rotors, and 4 new mounting bolts. Cost is $519 shipped with $140 core. So when the core is refunded, $379 for new larger brakes is a pretty good deal. (pics on the way!)

Upon inspection of the parts, the calipers are gold'ish' in color and the rotors silver.

Looking at rotors, they obvious larger.
The rotor's thickness (braking surface) is 0.945" (@24mm) The overall width is 1.780" with rotor 'hat' 1.780" (@45mm)

The big difference i noticed on the rotor is the vents are on the 'back' side of the rotor. (towards the steering knuckle) On mine and i believe on contiques/courgars the vents are facing the wheel. I remember Terry mentioning that the vents are on the 'wheel' side of the rotor to aid in ventilation on FWD cars. Due to the drive components blocking air flow? (correct me if i'm mistaken Terry) I hope this this doesn't effect braking... I wonder if the FSVT's steering knuckle is designed to vent better? But if the FSVT is FWD and has the vents on the inside i guess it's ok.

The loaded FSVT calipers kind of gold in color. (anodized?)
The bleeder screw is the same. M8x1.25 by 35mm.
The brake line attachment hole i didn't have time to check.
(i assume it's the same due to Ford sharing of parts. But i'll check this also.)
The caliper upon inspection looks to be the same as the caliper on the late model model SVT's, and Cougars. BUT the caliper bracket is 'taller' to a accomodate the larger rotor. I noticed on the caliper brackets, on CSVT's there is a stamping that says '15' and on the FSVT '24' (not sure what this means.
The brake pads are similar to the late model svt/courgars but there is more pad area at the bottom of the pad to cover the whole rotor surface. Kind of like the pads on the 98 E0 vs E1+ SVT's. (more pad area on the E0 vs the E1) I'll double check and compare the brake pad plates to see if the FSVT pads will fit on the CSVT calipers.

Slight problem....
After mounting the rotor with lug nuts and securing the caliper on the steering knuckle... The rotor was siezed!! Upon closer inspection the rotor was not centered between the caliper bracket. There is enough clearance, inside bracket is @1.185" (@30mm) and before i measured the rotor's braking surface at 0.945" (@24mm). So there 'should' be about @0.110" (@3mm) of space between the rotor and bracket. WELL.. on the 'wheel' side of the bracket there was 0.045" (lil over 1mm)and on the knuckle side there was 0.210" (@5.5mm) Also looking closely, the side with 0.045" clearance should allow the rotor to spin.. But at the bottom of the bracket there is a 'little' metal that protrudes and is contacting the rotor.. This is what is preventing the rotor from spining freely. I also noticed where brake bracket surface contacts the knuckle brake mounts, is machined down about 3mm. (space i'm looking for!) On the CSVT's bracket it isn't machine down 3mm. it's just machined flat.
(I only checked the driver's side. i'll check the passenger side tomorrow or when time permits)

Every thing else seems to line up except the caliper bracket centering 'thing' Chris did you run into this problem?? Or has the 'others' who are trying this run into this problem??

I have thought about grinding down the protruding 'lip' on the 'narrow' side of the bracket. But the centering issue still concerns me.
My 'other' solution to this situation is getting a set of 0.150" (@3mm) shims made. I've checked the clearance of the brake bracket moving towards the rotor and there isn't a problem. I have also mounted the wheel on with the rotor and calipers. (i have 17' Superior, SVT look-a-likes, Offset 39.5mm?) The caliper don't touch the spokes of the wheel. My only concern with using shim are they OK to use? are they 'SAFE'?? and do they effect the long term reliablity of the brakes? (warped rotors?)

Now if Terry, Todd @TCE), or the other brake experts can chime in and help me out... That would be great!! I'd realy like to use these brakes.. But don't want to end up wrecking or hurting others..

Well I'll get pics posted soon and i'll find out more about the shim thing. Thanks for reading..

Thanks for the info,keep me updated as I want these.

One of the folks here emailed me about some spacers to center the caliper. Yes, I have SS shims for caliper centering, they are .010" / .015" and .030" thick. You do the math. Be sure the bolts being used are long enough also once the shims are fit.

Since you brought me into this discussion, I've got to say that I'm puzzled as to why one would consider spending half or so the amount of money on this when for $925 you could get this much and more in terms of performance. Yes, I read the cost- so far. Add some good pads, some SS hoses, and the cost will go up. The weight is of course much more also.

As for the finish on the parts, it's yellow zinc or cad on the calipers, and clear zinc on the rotors. (vs. Black anodized calipers and optional finish on the rotors from me)

Anyhow, keep up the work. But then you could be driving on mine by now...;)

How much for the .15 Shims?

The FSVT bolts are longer than the SVT ones...apparently this is the reason. I've got them coming to me anyway.

Whhy am I doing this? Well...1) I DON'T have $925 2) I need new rotors now (scored bad) and I would like some better stopping power. 3) I have STOCK wheels...and these barely tuck in there. 4) I don't require $925 worth of stopping power. Only occsional spirited driving and I plan for a few track runs. That's it. It's hard to justify dropping another 500+ on something I really don't need...

I belive the shims are .85c each. Let me know how many you need. Send me $10 for example and I'lll mail some to you. Call me tomorrow with your needs, or email me today. Need an exact count for you and shipping plans. I don't see $25 worth of shipping overnight unless that's what you want. Paypal is fine too for payments.

Ok, so SF-SVT, we require 3mm spacers? I don't understand what .15" (@3mm) means lol! Doing some conversions, .15" = 3.81mm. Let me know for sure what size will be good, and then todd I'll take them off your hands! Thanks.