Dat260 Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 Hi Guys, What determines the caliper location, eg: 12'o'clock, 2o'clock, 10 o'clock. I noticed it varies from car to car, the Z seems to be at 2 o'clock in the front & 10 o'clock in the back w/the bolt on set up from Modern. If I use the Maxima bracket, would it be safe to drill extra holes & rotate the bracket clock or counter clockwise to place the caliper at its best location? Thanks, Dat 260. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 The best fit (or least interference) with other suspension and steering components. I used to think it was the caliper itself which dictates position - until I found so many cars you have to take the caliper off and turn the bleeder "up" in order to bleed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 In my humble opinion, the location of the brake bleed is of primary importantance. And even then, you need to insure that the hole or port leaving the brake cylinder is at the 12 o'clock position even though the brake bleed fitting may not be. Removing the piston is the only sure way of seeing where this hole enters the cylinder. It can be estimated visually from outside, but the wall thickness can be misleading. Without doing this makes it a harder job at bleeding the brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarnut Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 There's seems to be a reason for everything... I asked a brake engineer about this and he made me a nice little drawing showing a reaction force (when you brake) that is ultimately applied to the hub spindle (through the caliper mount). If the caliper is in the "front" of the rotor (nine o'clock position when viewing a left side wheel) then this reaction force on the spindle is in the downward direction. This adds to the load already on the spindle (due to the weight of the car at that wheel location). If the caliper is at the "rear" of the rotor (three o'clock position when viewing a left side wheel) then the reaction force is in the upward direction. This subtracts from the spindle load. Hence most vehicles have the caliper mounted on the "rear" side position. I would assume that mounting the caliper in the 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock position would be OK, but caliper bleeding would be a concern. However, where you mount the caliper has no effect on the clamping force applied to the rotor so braking performance is not an issue. Some automotive manufacturer claim that mounting the caliper in the "front" position helps to provide better airflow over the caliper as the caliper is not shielded by the strut assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 I asked a brake engineer about this and he made me a nice little drawing showing a reaction force (when you brake) that is ultimately applied to the hub spindle (through the caliper mount). If the caliper is in the "front" of the rotor (nine o'clock position when viewing a left side wheel) then this reaction force on the spindle is in the downward direction. This adds to the load already on the spindle (due to the weight of the car at that wheel location). If the caliper is at the "rear" of the rotor (three o'clock position when viewing a left side wheel) then the reaction force is in the upward direction. This subtracts from the spindle load. Used to believe that too until I talked with an engineer at Brembo America. Seems that he figures the torque on the caliper is exactly countered by the torque from the tire contact patch traveling throught he driveline, hubs, etc. That whole "equal and opposite reaction" thing. But I've heard engineers make both arguments so I don't think anyone really knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigWhyteDude Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 ever notice how on most if not all front wheel drive cars the break calipers are in the 1-3 oclock position? Why is this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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