Blacksheepdj

iTrader: (88)

If we tell every Noobie to search, then all they'll find is a bunch of closed threads that say "we've already talked about this!"

It's better to give the person the answer. Forums are about information transfer, not what YOU've seen already.

ambystom01

iTrader: (7)

I would if I could but I think I'd have to commit a large number of crimes to do that.

Anyways, to answer the new question, there are two answers, the simple, or the complicated. The simple answer is it's not worth doing as it costs a lot for very little gain (mainly a visual gain). The complicated answer is RPW makes a conversion kit that from what I can tell is basically just a custom kit put together by a shop. I think it is made up of parts from other cars. This means you can buy their kit or just make your own. I have yet to see either done.

Lil red '03

Well put sheep. I see your point.

CRSmoak

I think that if you want to put rear disks on you should probably do a little more research because if you think it will make you stop quicker then your wrong. However, whether its worth it or not is really up to you. Rear disks would give your car a more rear biased system. This means that during braking even in a straight line, your rear would start to loss traction which on the streets can be pretty dangerous.

If you like to go autoxing or do some type of road racing then it actually would help a lot for two reasons. 1. disk brakes disapate heat a lot more efficiently and 2. It would make trail braking that much more easy which is something our cars don't do to good stock.

If you want it more set up for racing then it would probably be a good idea to do some things to the front to.
If you do get rear disks then its probably not a good idea to get something like willwoods big brake kit for the front because your braking bias would then be set even more towards the front. Instead you should focus more on cooling the front brakes. I would recommend you get brake ducts fabrecated for the front with some hawk pads and stainless steel brake lines this along with the rear disk brakes would probably be a good set up for racing.

For a street car set up I would get both willwoods kit and the rear disks. This will be safer then the setup above because your brake system will be more front biased. Again rear disks will not make you stop quicker! If you simply want to stop quicker then the best thing for you is to just get some wider rims with some sticky tires.

didn't mean to write an essay but I thought I should just clear a few things up about whether its worth it or not. In the end its really just a matter of what you plan on doing with the car.

ambystom01

iTrader: (7)

Well since no one has done this we don't actually know if it's a worthwhile mod, it could help with braking (not much under full braking but it might help in the more subtle applications of the brakes) or it could mess the car up.
I don't see why you say not to upgrade the front brakes if you convert the rears to discs. I would suggest the exact opposite, if you make the rears discs, change the fronts to a more capable system like that offered by RPW. A big brake kit is useless for anything but racing, it won't make you stop any faster, in actual reality it will increase your braking distance. The reason why people buy them is because they cool more efficiently which is important when you are literally going from full brake to no brakes to full brakes again like you would in a racing situation. For the street I would recommend getting a nice set of pads (I liked the Axxis Ultimates), maybe new rotors for that bling factor and maybe stainless steel lines if you must. The pads are the most important part, you won't (or rather shouldn't) be braking so hard on the street to need slotted rotors or anything like that.

lancer421

thank you for the info crsmoak. the info helped alot. i am looking to make the car look better for shows but it also my main car for driving to work and such. i am also building a 97 240sx for drift racing. thanks again for the info.

jwick76

iTrader: (1)

I'm mainly looking to do the conversion to stop messing around with wheel cylinders, adjustment bones, and the stupid spring setup...there's nothing worse than drums, nevermind foreign manufactured drums. My chevy wasn't this much of a !@# to work on....

All I've been able to find on it is this:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...19#post5692719


I don't know if an EVO setup would work, as I don't know of 2002-2004 stock lancers in the 4-bolt pattern having rear disks...

Kurt

iTrader: (1)

The evo setup won't work. Well it might, but the EVO has a 5 bolt pattern. You got to ask yourself if it is worth spending money that could be better used elsewhere on the car. Invest in the cars suspension first.

jwick76

iTrader: (1)

That's on the way, too... Didn't realize the kits were this expensive, I was hoping around the 6-700 range. heh. http://www.rpw.com.au/shop/index.php...hk=1&Itemid=31

Anyone have any luck with the RPW conversion? Be nice if someone had some results to share to see if the braking power is worth the price, or if the kit is too much of a PITA to work with...

Kurt

iTrader: (1)

Trust me. After owning a Lancer for 5 years before trading her in, spend the money on the suspension first. You are wanting to spend $600 to $700, just add a few hundred more dollars to that, and you have yourself a quality coilover setup. If you want to upgrade your brakes, either get yourself the Brembo slotted rotors or the rotors from RRM and add in some really go brake pads, you will have a good brake setup.

Edit:

I never once had to work on the rear drums of my 02 Lancer.

jwick76

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I've already got cross-drilled and slotted rotors in the front, with some nice Axxis pads from RoadRace, definitely noticed an improvement there....and once I adjusted the rear drum shoes to work correctly, I've noticed some improvement in overall braking.

This is more of a mod for "when I have the extra dough and feel like it", which will probably be right around the time it comes to change the shoes out again...

I'd love to talk about suspension, but I don't want to go off topic

Body roll is my number one concern, but braking is number 2...especially with the idiot drivers I deal with every day on the state turnpike out here in MA. They don't call them M*******s for nothing. Hard braking is key, and a self-adjusting caliper system definitely outweighs the constantly having to be aware of your rear shoes and wondering if they're gripping as hard as they should.

I road on the stocks for 5 years before I replaced them, and they had stopped doing much of anything about 10k into the life of the car. The whole system is antiquated, and the adjustment "bone" doesn't make me feel very safe about the drum brake unit. It really is just a "how much is your piece of mind worth" kind of argument.

The goal with the lancer, for me, is solidarity...minor engine upgrades (nothing fancy), stereo, gauge units (NEVER been a fan of idiot lights)... with the main money being invested in suspension, braking, and road noise.


Thanks for the input!!

Lumpy

iTrader: (1)

+1

ambystom01

iTrader: (7)

As said an evo setup won't work without a lot of modification and even then it'd be a hell of a project. A ralliart system would but you'd have to replace all the brakes, front and rear and the hubs and all that jazz. A mirage setup is a good idea so I suggest you check the mirage forum for info on that. If you're looking for better hard braking, a rear disc upgrade isn't for you. The rear brakes do a very small amount of the braking compared to the fronts simply because of the nature of braking. I doubt you're even stressing the stock system let along overwhelming it. If you want better brakes, upgrade the stock pads, rotors and lines and invest in a good set of tires. That's about as good as it's going to get without a lot of money.

jwick76

iTrader: (1)

Lumpy, that's pretty much what I was dealing with when I was checking mine...I just assumed that the stock pads were rocks....but that little adjustment bone behind the hub will adjust your shoes so they grip more.

As much as the better front brake assembly and tires do help, I noticed a significant difference in braking comfort once I adjusted the rear shoes to grip more. I don't feel the whole car concentrating the force to the front of the car, it's now a more even braking feel. Of course, everyone who's into hard cornering might notice some difference in the way the car handles with more grip on the rear brakes.

I do mostly highway driving, and have noticed that when most of your braking is done on the front tires, it's not a very stable experience. I'm not saying I lose control, or that the car is dangerous...but I don't like it. I'm sure stiffening up the suspension would make a world of difference, and sway bars/strut bars/shocks&struts are on the horizon. My main goal in finding more info out on the rear brake drum-to-disk conversion was to perform a cost-to-benefit analysis, which takes into consideration the benefits gained from such a conversion (braking power, ease of maintenance, etc.) to the cost of parts and labor involved.

Lots of great information on the forums, guys I promise if I ever perform the conversion, I'll take play-by-play picks and post it up for sticky consideration to keep all of us newbs at peace

mstove

iTrader: (3)

Hello all. I actually started this thread last summer and am finally getting around to some mods and a little research . One thing I overlooked initially was lug pattern. I realized the lug pattern on a Mirage is 4X100...which is compatible with the ES, but OZ and LS guys are out of luck with our 4X114.3 unless we do a full swap of all four corners...or get different rims for front and back...which would make rotating tires a lot more of a hassle. Don't get me wrong, I really don't like drum brakes, but I'm starting to see even more-so why no one else has done this. Pretty sure this is a mod I will end up passing on. Too much other stuff to do to put the time money and effort into this when really it's not for better braking or for shows...it's really just cause I don't like drum brakes. Good luck to anyone else that gives it a shot.

Edit: Actually I guess there's a decent selection of rims out there that have both 4 lug patterns on each rim, so maybe that wouldn't be as big a deal. But still, something else to consider.