Fitting Outlaw 3000 Calipers

[260DET]

Seeing that the cost of airfreight on heavy items such as rotors from the US to here is a killer, I am in the process of adapting stock ventilated rotors and Outlaw calipers to my '77. Using 15" wheels, it looks like 292mm (about 11 1/2") diameter rotors will be max, with the calipers located on the stock lug hole centers.

 

The Outlaw mounting hole centers match but their holes are slightly smaller than the stock holes. Seems like I have a couple of options. One is to drill out the caliper holes to match, but this may weaken the calipers too much. Another option is to drill out the stock lug holes and use inserts to re-thread them to match the caliper holes.

 

Any comments or suggestions? If inserts are the go, what brand/type is most suitable?

[Guest Thurem]

There should be plenty off meat in the caliber holes to allow you to slightly enlarge them ( ie from 10 to 12 mm)

Thure

[74_5.0L_Z]

I am using the 2800 series calipers up front. I drilled the original holes on the strut and heli-coiled them for 5/16 x 20 bolts. I am using the stage II kit offered by Mike Gibson(scca) on the front of my car. The kit includes 11.5 x 0.81 vented rotors, 2800 series Outlaw calipers(1.75 in piston), and Hawk pads. If you go this route specify Hawk HP-Plus pads and not HPS. The HPS pads fade easily.

 

I have also put 2800 series caliper on the back of the car. On the back, I use 1.38 " pistons). I use a 1985 maxima front rotor on the back. It is 10.75 x 0.875 in(cut down to 0.81).

 

I remove the stock proportioning valve and use a wilwood adjustable unit.

[260DET]

My preferred option would be to get one of the kits on offer but the weight of the rotors puts the airfreight cost too high. Therefore I'm adapting locally available stock rotors.

 

A check of the Outlaw 3000 mounting holes shows that they are a bit over 11mm so maybe using a 12mm parallel reamer to open them out would be ok. Be better engineering practice to ream them rather than drill them out? Unless someone has tried this and had problems.

 

The calipers came with Carbon Metallic 7751.80.20.04 pads, marked 'race ready', whatever that means. Are these pads ok for road and track use?

[Guest scca]

there isnt much material around the caliper mounting holes to enlarge them even a little bit.. i would do the heli-coil as i tell everyone else to do...

 

outlaws are made for 7/16" bolts, nissan is 12mm and that extra 1mm takes away a lot of meat in the mounting area. i asked one of the engineers at outlaw once about drilling out and his recommendation to me was "dont do it" . they make the calipers as small and lite as possible, grinding on the outer edges of the housing to clear wheels it generally acceptable but the material around the bolt holes is very limited.

[260DET]

Thanks, Mike, as you say there is not a lot of meat around the Outlaw holes, I'll helicoil the strut holes.