48 replies to this topic

[PoorManzImpreza]

OK fellow Subaru UberFreaks here is something I thought I should share...

Searching locally for a rebuild kit for my newly acquired rear disc brakes and striking out at the dealer cause 'we don't bring that in' I mumbled to myself in frustration until I recalled an interesting fact..we all know Nissan and Subaru share some parts..alternater here hitachi electrical dodad there, hitachi rear diff etc etc..and..brake suppliers..Nabco and Tokico..now from what I've seen all subaru front brakes are made by FHI but the rear brakes are made by Tokico..drum an disc..so armed with that knowledge I headed to my local Nissan dealer with the rear caliper piston and both seals and told them that it was made by Tokico..the guy looked at 'em and I swore he was surfing the net the comotose way he was staring at his PC as he researched..then he got up without a look or word to me for 15 minutes and I'm starting to think he ain't gonna find a thing..He returns with a lil baggy with way more parts than I need, circlips, lil springs etc etc but also with the correct and Identical seals for our ea82 rear calipers..then I ask him the price for the Kit and he says:
"$107.50"
er...y'know the old seals are still really good if ya ask me..
so after I lifted myself off the floor I thanked him, but too rich for my blood and then asked him what car they came from.."1995 and up Nissan Bluebird and Nissan 200SX" so I leave dissappointed but armed with info..

Couple days pass by and it's bothering me..what were all those extra parts in the kit for? hmmm...

So I locate the nearest Bluebird (Nissan Altima for you guys I think..) and take a look..caliper is frigging Identical! but wait what's this?? rear handbrake mechanism?? of course that's what the extra parts are for!!

So here's the facts those seeking to convert to rear handbrake only need to look for a rear caliper from a 200SX or Nissan Bluebird..it is a bolt in and uses the exact caliper except it has the e-brake stuff..so brake balance is the same, pads are the same and we can even upgrade to NISMO pads if we wanted..all you gotta do is figure out how to route the handbrake cables to the back..

[subawoohoo]

i hope your right because SWEEET! good research.

TJ

[Subi81]

Awsome job I new someone would figure this out, you will make all the ralliers happy!

[carfreak85]

YES!!!! Now I just gotta find some calipers!

[singletrack]

all you gotta do is figure out how to route the handbrake cables to the back..

As a bicycle mechanic, my first thought is to run all 4 off the handbrake. That'd be sweet for wheelin'. I've always wondered why people used hand throttles instead of making the handbrake more functional.

It'd be easy to do with Gyro [detangler] cables. Just a matter of finding good thick ones.

[bushbasher]

As a bicycle mechanic, my first thought is to run all 4 off the handbrake. That'd be sweet for wheelin'. I've always wondered why people used hand throttles instead of making the handbrake more functional.

the subaru is one of the only 4x4s I can think of with a hand ebrake, the samurai being the other one. Besides, when you are in locked 4wd, the front ebrake works on all 4 through the drivetrain.

[singletrack]

the subaru is one of the only 4x4s I can think of with a hand ebrake, the samurai being the other one. Besides, when you are in locked 4wd, the front ebrake works on all 4 through the drivetrain.

Oh right, the simple answer. Good point.

Still, I read about guys here with hand throttles, and it dosen't make any sense. I use my handbrake all the time in tricky spots.

Also, what manual tranny vehicles don't have a handbrake? I always thought was the point, ya know, to compensate for the inherent lack of a third foot. I'm not doubting you know what yer talkin about, but I'm gonna be going around looking at parking brakes in strangers trucks now....


Sorry to drift OT.

[rallyruss]

Oh right, the simple answer. Good point.

Still, I read about guys here with hand throttles, and it dosen't make any sense. I use my handbrake all the time in tricky spots.

Also, what manual tranny vehicles don't have a handbrake? I always thought was the point, ya know, to compensate for the inherent lack of a third foot. I'm not doubting you know what yer talkin about, but I'm gonna be going around looking at parking brakes in strangers trucks now....


Sorry to drift OT.

most are a bit awkward to use while wheeling. my toyota pick up has the pull and twits release. othors have the foot actuated kind. both are dificult to use off road.

good work with the research. is the rotor thickness the same? that will make a difference too.

I know on some cars(vw) that the calipers are the same but the pads and rotors differ.

I will go to the local parts store and look at both pads and rotors if they have em in stock.

my wife will hate this if you are correct. she feels uncomfortable travling down the road sideways for some reason.

[WJM]

YES!!!! Now I just gotta find some calipers!

Ha hahahhaahah....way ahead of all of you guys....

[Numbchux]

she feels uncomfortable travling down the road sideways for some reason.

as my friend always says, "understeer scares the driver, oversteer scares the passenger(s)!"

good work! this will also make parts slightly easier to find, well, I guess the hub/rotor/backing plate won't but, it still opens it up some.

[Dr. RX]

Awsome job I new someone would figure this out, you will make all the ralliers happy!

Actually there is someone even closer to completing this then PoorMan, but I am sworn to secrecy. I had this figured out, but never got around to installing it, I sold my EA82 so I didn't need the parts any more, I sold the parts and explained what needed to be done and soon it will be. Anyway, good find, I knew there was more then one way to do this.

[Subarutex]

I just happen to have a 200sx SER in my driveway. This morning before work I pulled the wheel off and slid the caliper out. I test fitted a rear caliper I had laying around off my RX. Fit fine.

The hardest part of this will be running the lines. Makes it even harder if you are trying to maintain a stock appearance and trying to use the stock ebrake handle and pulling system.
I bet the reason the guy corky knows hasn't talked about it yet is cause he can't figure how to rig the lines...

[subawoohoo]

unfortunately, using it to oversteer wont really be that much fun, in 4wd that is. unlike other cars, if you lock up our rear wheels you lock up all 4.
thats why im kinda cursed unless i get AWD. oh well. great find!

[archemitis]

bull****, you downshift and floor it. thats why you got power back there!

[subawoohoo]

Well i didnt mean oversteer with power, i meant with the e-brake. you know sliding your rump roast-end arround for fun? But yes using your power is fun too. But cmon i have like 63 horsepower. :-p

bull****, you downshift and floor it. thats why you got power back there!

[archemitis]

no i mean in general, i never understood the need for a rear ebrake, dudes in the ultimate drift competitions, and in off road rallies, you just floor it. the only reason i see to have one is if you are front wheel drive.

[rallyruss]

my wagon is only part time 4wd so its usually just a fwd car. a rear e brake for me would definately make the rears lock up without the front. right now I need to left foot brake to get it loose properly and grip aroud a loose corner.

[subawoohoo]

well i think ive seen an e-brake used like once on a "on cam" in a rally before. i think, he reached down and did a quick jab. and no it wasnt the shifter. it was a sharp turn at slow speed though. And drifters, they can do it on straights, not just on turns. they rev up, drop the clutch (or just floor it if they're gifted with the power) and use the rear wheel power to push. i believe.
But anyway, its still fun to use while climbing hills seeing what you can do in 2wd. for me at least. and when going arround a slow/long turn at speed, a quick jab to get the wheels loose can help. after all its hard to drift with a 4/AWD car unless you have lots o' power. and again a rear e brake is fun when goofin arround. like when doing a 180 in a confined area. (wash, side of road, etc)

no i mean in general, i never understood the need for a rear ebrake, dudes in the ultimate drift competitions, and in off road rallies, you just floor it. the only reason i see to have one is if you are front wheel drive.

[edrach]

Actually, the problem with the 4WD rally prepped cars (with LSD and power) is that when you step on it in a slight corner, the back end has more push than the front (since the front is open diff) and the car plows like a bugger--the more power you apply, the more the front end pushes. The only way to prevent that is to get the back end around far enough so that you're pointed in the right direction before you apply power. Unfortunately, I'm also inclined to believe that a rear e-brake will not do much for you in a 4WD car since it will slow down the front wheels also.

[bushbasher]

unless you have a ft4wd with the diff unlocked, and you push in the clutch when you hit the ebrake. If you dont use the clutch it will try to make the front wheels spin 2x as fast, but it wont happen and you'll just slow down.

[subawoohoo]

unfortunately, using it to oversteer wont really be that much fun, in 4wd that is. unlike other cars, if you lock up our rear wheels you lock up all 4.
thats why im kinda cursed unless i get AWD. oh well. great find!

yup bushbasher and edrach. thats been discussed a lot. but itll work great in 2wd. As well with a AWD/FT4wd. but still its a nice touch.

[THAWA]

why do i get the feeling AWD/FT4WD failures are going to be on the rise.

great info though, gotta make sure mike sees this.

So lemme be sure I got this info right though. You can use everything from a 200sx or altima(bluebird), calipers, pads, rotors, mounting brackets, backing plates, brake lines, etc?

[rallyruss]

why do i get the feeling AWD/FT4WD failures are going to be on the rise.

great info though, gotta make sure mike sees this.

So lemme be sure I got this info right though. You can use everything from a 200sx or altima(bluebird), calipers, pads, rotors, mounting brackets, backing plates, brake lines, etc?

I think its only the calipers and pads that will swap.

[Dr. RX]

I sit here shaking my head, if using the rear parking brake doesn't work in a rally, then I'd better get busy telling all the WRC drivers to stop using theirs. The idea of using the rear brake in a rally is to lock up the rear wheels to cause them to loose traction. This is done for only a split second, usually jusy a tap of the brake, once traction is lost, and power is applied the wheels will spin and the rear will slide, thus reducing the radius of the turn. Why this may not work in a rallyx is because the speed is not there, applying the rear brake will probably scub off too much speed and the rear will not slide around as hoped for.

[calebz]

I sit here shaking my head, if using the rear parking brake doesn't work in a rally, then I'd better get busy telling all the WRC drivers to stop using theirs. The idea of using the rear brake in a rally is to lock up the rear wheels to cause them to loose traction. This is done for only a split second, usually jusy a tap of the brake, once traction is lost, and power is applied the wheels will spin and the rear will slide, thus reducing the radius of the turn. Why this may not work in a rallyx is because the speed is not there, applying the rear brake will probably scub off too much speed and the rear will not slide around as hoped for.

.


Ding Ding Ding!!

Folks, we have a winner!!

I can't believe it took 2 pages for this to be said