Hoppers Stoppers Brake Kits

[Ol_Girl_58]

Hi all,

Does anyone have a Hopper's upgraded brake kit on their FC? I'm interested in hearing what the Hopper's Brakes are like, have much difference they make and any trouble they are, too.

I've been on the Hopper's site, and from memory, a break upgrade with a HR front end increases track width slightly. My concern is that if the track width increases, I won't be able to lower my car due to the tyres fouling on the guards.

I was going to lower the car first, but don't want to spend money on the suspension if I'm only going to have to increase suspension height again.

Cheers,

Ol_Girl_58

[mcl1959]

Just in case you didn't know - (it's not a secret on this forum)
I work at Hoppers Stoppers and designed most of the brake upgrade kits including the one for the HR front end.
The HR disc brake upgrade kit uses AU2 Falcon rotors & calipers - these brakes are equivalent to VT-VZ Commodore being 300 x 28 mm rotors with twin piston calipers designed for use with a 1 inch diameter master cylinder. The AU combination is superior to the Commodore set up in a few ways
a) it can be fitted to the stub axle without modifying any parts
b) It does not need the VT master cylinder with progressive bore to remove the spongy feel which VT brakes otherwise have.

I have fitted quite a few of these and they certainly do improve brake performance. Think about it - you now have the front brakes suitable for pulling up an SS Commodore or XR8 which is 50 % heavier than an FC.

Offset is indeed changed but only to the same amount that a Torana or HQ brake conversion would change the track to. What's more important is wheel selection.
Given that you must run a minimum of 15 inch wheels over these brakes, a limited selection exists in early Holden pattern, so a lot of people make the mistake of running HQ wheels which have an entirely different offset to early wheels and this interferes with the guards considerably unless kept narrow. Custom offset wheels in HQ pattern can be obtained so this can be an option.
We have had good results fitting either Commodore pattern wheels or EF wheels as well (the kit can be supplied in any stud pattern you like at no extra charge) Steel EF rims at I think 15 inch diameter were OK but Commodore wheels need to be 16 inch in order to clear the grease nipple on the top ball joint.
The kit is slightly different for Commodore / EF rims becuse the track is pushed out a bit to counter the narrow dish of the newer wheels.
We have fitted an EJ with 16 x 8 Commodore wheels on the front with no clearance problems although the car was not super low.
Generally for an engineers report you will need dual circuit master cylinder as well - You have a choice of running a mastervac (this is best) or a remote booster (good if you have disc front and drum rear) - If you intend to run a manual gearbox the mastervac is a bit troublesome to fit but I have done it.

More details can be supplied if you need them

Regards  Ken

[FC427]

Sorry for hijacking your post just want to ask Ken a couple of questions about VT  twin piston calipers if that is OK ?? FC427

[mcl1959]

Just a quick correction - the AU brakes are actually 290 x 28 and as such are just a little smaller than the VT-VZ brakes - the combination still stops very well though, both with a mastervac and with a remote booster.

Thought I had better give the right info

FC 427 - why not just start a new thread?

Ken

[Ol_Girl_58]

Thanks Ken. 

I'm running 3 piece ROH wheels - from memory the Hoppers Website said something about Simmons wheels being a problem with the brake kits - I'm assuming this is because they are three piece wheels...is this true?

I'm concerned that a track increase with 3 piece rims would cause the wheels to rub/foul on the already flared guards.

Kind regards,

Ol_Girl_58

[mcl1959]

Ol girl, the little nuts and bolts on the Simmons rims are the problem - the clearance around the caliper is not 15 inches - it is 14 and a half inches because the bolts and nuts are there.
Same problem is caused by some other makes of rims which have what is called a "soft lip" - that is the rim drops down to 14 inches on the inside where the caliper runs thus fouling it.
What offset and pattern are your rims? The only way to make sure things are not going to hit before buying the kit is to fit a Torana or HQ brake rotor and try the wheel in place.

Ken

[Ol_Girl_58]

Again, thanks for the info Ken.

Not sure of the offset, but I have a HR disc front end.

The wheels are 15x7 3 piece ROH Venturo's.

I guess an advantage of 3 piece wheels is that the face of the rim can be replaced with another that accommodates for another stud pattern.

Cheers,

Josh 

[Ol_Girl_58]

Ken,

Without knowledge of the offset, will these wheels foul the guards, do you think?

Would it prove beneficial to go with Commodore brakes all round, rather than Hoppers fronts? I'm hesitant in changing the pattern due to the outlay (too much  )of purchasing the wheels - and not wanting to spend money changing the offset/stud pattern of them.

Cheers,

Ol Girl.

[mcl1959]

No idea at all - you need to know what the offset of the wheel is. A wheel supplier will measure it for you if you cannot. Basically you need to measure from the flange position to the centre of the rim.

Commodore calipers will not bolt up to any of the disc brake stub axles without modifying (read cutting) the caliper bracket or stub axle.

Ken