Performance

08 TECHNICAL ADVICE www.moss-europe.co.uk London 020 8867 2020 Bradford 01274 539 999
Brakes
Over the 41 years of the Mini production life there have many upgrades to the braking systems. A
summary of standard Mini brake fitment throughout its production life.
Drum Brakes
1959-1964 Front drum brakes with single leading shoes. Rear drum brakes. This system had
only one hydraulic wheel cylinder fitted in each drum. This system was hardly
adequate then and should only be kept if car is trying to retain OE specification.
1964-1985 Front drum brakes with twin leading shoes. Rear drum brakes. This system
although an improvement on the single leading shoe setup is only just adequate
for standard performance cars and again retaining OE specification.
Improving Your Mini’s Brakes
Any Mini can have its brake improved by moving to the next standard upgrade, i.e: Single leading
shoe to Twin leading shoe etc... But most of you will be more interested in converting either from
drums to discs or from small discs to large discs or maybe even four pot calipers. First of all you
should be honest with yourself with what you want from your braking system.
All of us would like to believe that we are overlooked, Eddie Irvine’s (guess where I’m from) but
the truth is usually that we are just spirited drivers who probably have to use our Saturday Mini
race car as weekday commuter. Big discs and hard pads are great for the race track but in real
life they can be noisy and juddery, and in the worst cases give poorer performance if the pads do
not reach their working temperature.
The cheapest brake performance upgrade for all of the disc type systems is an upgraded pad
swap. There are lots of manufactures out there producing upgraded material pads.
Pads
Discs
Caliper
Drums Hoses Kits
Disc Brakes
1961-1964 7 inch disc brakes at the front, two pot calipers. Rear drum brakes. Fitted to the
Mini Cooper 997cc. This system although discs still had a very small pad surface
to disc area and because of this these where not all that good. Parts for this
system are virtually impossible to find therefore making it hard to maintain.
1964-1969 7 inch disc brakes at the front, two pot calipers. Rear drum brakes. Fitted to the
Mini Cooper 998cc. This system had redesigned callipers and larger pad to discs
surface area. This system was better than the 997 system but for today’s
standards it is still a little poor. Good for standard 10 wheel applications.
1963-1974 7.5 inch disc brakes at the front, two pot calipers. Rear drum brakes. Fitted to the
Mini Cooper S and Mini Clubman GT. Much larger pad to disc surface area and
improved cooling efficiency. This along with a remote servo makes a very
effective braking system for those who wish to keep their 10” wheels.
1974-1979 8.4 inch disc brakes at the front, two pot calipers. Rear drum brakes. Fitted to the
Mini Clubman GT. The larger discs really help with the pad to disc surface area
and the cooling. These systems where non served and still gave very good
stopping power.
Performance Brake Pads
GBP102G EBC Green Pad Set 998 Cooper.
GBP102KV EBC Kevlar Pad Set 998 Cooper.
GBP103G EBC Green Pad Set Cooper S.
GBP103KV EBC Kevlar Pad Set Cooper S.
8G8996 MINTEX M1144 Pad Set Cooper S.
STR505G EBC Green Pad Set GT & 1984-On.
STR505KV EBC Kevlar Pad Set GT & 1984-On.
STR5051 MINTEX M1144 Pad Set GT & 1984-On.
STR5052 MINTEX M1155 Pad Set GT & 1984-On.
GBP258 MINTEX 4 Pot Metro And Alloy Calipers.
TMG309474 MINTEX M1144 4 Pot Metro And Alloy Calipers.
Something usually overlooked when looking at braking systems is replacement over braided brake
hoses these give you a firmer feel at the pedal as these hoses do not expand when pressurised as
rubber hoses do.
If you wish to fit the ultimate in braking systems we have several 4 pot calipers and even 6 pots.
This kit is for 13 inch wheels only:
1985-2000 8.4 inch disc brakes at the front, two pot calipers. Rear drum brakes. Fitted
to the Mini as standard.
1989 8.4 inch vented disc brakes at the front, four pot calipers. Rear drum brakes.
Fitted to the ERA Turbo Mini.
MT5411
6 Pot Vented Big Brake Kit. For 13” wheels where a no compromise front brake
setup is required our big disc conversion can be used. This combines a one piece
6 pot caliper with a 265x18mm vented disc with separate alloy mounting bell.
Supplied with fast road pads and front braided brake lines. This is a competition
oriented brake upgrade as the calipers are not fitted with dust seals.