My experience digging around in an Aussie wrecking yard

[r4vi]

Hi all, first post...

I inherited a 1.5L SOHC 2001 Lanos with 98000km on the clock from a mate a week ago. The front discs have a 3mm lip and feel downright awful - I did a lot of reading here, then headed off to a local wrecker (Logan, QLD) to see what I could find.

Firstly, in my (limited) experience - trolling at wreckers shows most Lanos and Cielos came with the 1.5L motor so 236mm discs. Out of 8 Lanos hatches and sedans I found ZERO 1.6 DOHC so no 256mm brakes.

Out of 10 Cielos I found 1 X hatch and 1 X sedan with 1.6L DOHC. The front discs from one of these fit my 1.5 SOHC Lanos perfectly after attacking the discs with some emery paper and steel wool (bloody rust).

I measured every Opel-based car they had. I came up with the following:

Daewoo Espero - front discs and calipers seem compatible. Disc vents are slightly different but measurements were the same. Calipers are different looking to the Cielo/Lanos, but bolt compatible. As far as piston size goes I have no idea.
Daewoo Cielo 1.6l DOHC - perfect fit all round. Bolt to attach brake line is 11mm while Lanos is 12mm, otherwise no difference except the 1.6 is 256mm disc with 19mm caliper piston versus 236mm disc with 17mm caliper.
Daewoo Nubira - no chance - discs and calipers incompatible.
Holden Calibra 4cyl - Discs and calipers on ABS version will fit. 256mm disc, don't know what size caliper piston. Rear discs (ABS) no dice - bolt holes are different spacings.
Holden Vectra 4cyl - I only found one, it was 5 stud. Rear discs would fit with modifications for handbrake. I was going to grab these are have them redrilled, then changed my mind.
Holden Astra 1.8 (2000 model) - front discs are the same as a Nubira sadly. Rear disc hubs however are bolt-on compatible, a 4-stud one came into the yard while I was there so I grabbed the rear hubs and handbrake cables - fitting them in morning (hopefully) - as long as my measurements are correct and my rear track isn't increased (I'm running 17" alloys with 215/45 tyres - I have no room for an increased track). Don't know how I am going to go getting the handbrake cables to fit - we will soon find out! I didn't measure the size of the discs - if they are too big versus the front ones I'm going to have some fun trying to back off the bias to the rear (or get used to rear wheel lockup)

I fitted the Cielo discs tonight, flushed brake fluid, bled. NO BRAKES! Thankfully I had the forethought to grab a nubira sedan master cylinder (22mm) with proportioning valves. I'll swap this in the morning. NOTE TO SELF: Nubira master cylinder doesn't have the connector for the hydraulic clutch to share the brake fluid in the reservoir. I must remember to swap reservoirs!

This forum is incredible - thanks for the plethora of info, you have turned this little car into so much fun for me! It is so easy to work on, yes it's a bit basic but I love it!

P.S. I will make sure I use my camera and post photos of my rear disc conversion!

[MMamdouh]

i was reading the post and telling myself... pics are coming... pics are coming then i was disappointed

it is a very nice report man... and i am a fond of brakes upgrade and already did front and rear upgrades on my 1.5
SOHC lanos

for the front i used parts from Daewoo Espero (calipers and rotors) and for the master cylinder i used a nubira master (same as Espero)... the rotors are found on vectra A models and they are 100% compatable, the calipers are not the same as they are based on the TEVES system so they have different pads and different caliper bracket so it won't fit... i tried to outsmart daewoo and use the 17mm pistons on the bigger caliper bracket but the measurements are off by some 2mm or so

http://www.daewootech.com/forum/viewtop ... f=3&t=9527

for the rear... you can swap the rear disks from a 2 liter Vectra A... it is a direct swap provided you get the hand brake cables... can use the OEM cables but they will be a bit long

http://www.daewootech.com/forum/viewtop ... =3&t=11428

as for the master cylinder... this exact situation happened to a friend of mine trying to do the swap... the 20mm piston couldn't operate the 19mm calipers... no idea why does this happen to you guys as i drove the car for some 3 months with the 19mm calipers and the 20mm master and the brakes were working fine... OK pedal travel was a bit of an issue but it was working

since the master is from a nubira then you will have to swap the brake fluid reservoir anyways as the master on a lanos is a bit tilted backwards and you won't be able to level the fluid accurately if you used the nubira reservoir... and by all means keep the nubira proportional valves - marked 3/30 - to keep your brake bias correct

don't forget to post them pics man

MMamdouh

[ICEMAN_08]

very nice report. do you know if a mod plate is needed in queensland to swap the drums on the back of a lanos to discs?? i have a 1998 1.5 SOHC and i really wanna upgrade them for some 'spirited driving'
cheers bro

[benzino]

the rears won't help that much, it's more just for looks

also, safety is key! so yes, definitely get it inspected to make sure the mod is SAFE! could you imagine if one of the rear brakes locked up mid corner due to an installation error?

if you wan't to upgrade the brakes, I would suggest doing the fronts. If you have 236mm brakes, put 256mm brakes on. If you want more than that go for a k-sport set up (very reasonable for what you get, the 91-97 astra set up would fit)

[ICEMAN_08]

cool thanks for that benzino i will be doing the fronts in the next couple of weeks but i just needed to get some info on the rear

[benzino]

the TS astra rears will fit but the brake lines and handbrake cable will need fiddling (this is what I'm going to do when time permits)

[MMamdouh]

the rears won't help that much, it's more just for looks

it is not just for looks... it also eliminates the never ending need for calibrating the rear brakes whenever the wear out a bit to regain brake pedal sensitivity and response... actually this was my main target when i did the swap as i had the 14" steel rims back then and no one can see the difference in rear brakes setup due to those rims.

the swap is fairly easy... and with the nubira master cylinder you get 3/30 proportional valves which are safe... the perfect setup for hard driving would require 3/20 valves which i am having very hard time to find

MMamdouh

[benzino]

I swear the valves I got with my nubira cylinder were 3/40
or am i confused with the lanos ones?

(also, I've never had to adjust my rear drums...)

[MMamdouh]

all nubira master cylinders that i came cross were marked 22 and had 3/30 P valves... the 1.6 lanos should have the same setup

i used to adjust my rear shoes every couple of months or so

MMamdouh

[Daniel]

My 1.6 Nubira wagon has the 3/40 valves on 22mm master.
As for rear drums I let automatic adjusters doing the job.

[MMamdouh]

i have noticed that the nubi wagon got the 3/40 from what i have found in the parts manual... probably this is due to the fact that it has a heavier rear end than the nubira sedan so it would tolerate more rear brake force.

MMamdouh

[ICEMAN_08]

[quote="benzino"]the rears won't help that much, it's more just for looks

I know from experience that the drums suffer from brake fade when used a lot and when used to brake from high speeds repetitively because the don't cool as quick as discs

[MMamdouh]

that is correct

MMamdouh