Upgraded Brakes V's Car Insurance ?

highvoltage · Jan 29, 2014

Just asking if anyone has upgraded there Freelander front brakes & informed there insurance under its modified?
As the standard non vented discs are some what rubbish has anyone upgraded them to heavy duty slot & holed discs and informed there insurance.
As you can say they are better brakes from standard however if you stopped quicker than normal & a car bashed you in the rear would they spit there dummy out

.
Thanks for your input everyone

teddywood1 · Jan 29, 2014

what model is your freelanders only both my td4 had vented discs

highvoltage · Jan 29, 2014

Hi Teddywood...Its a 1999 model 2.0di.....Old type, the reason i ask as there non vented disc's ive had had my pads overheat due to siezed piston & slider hense the pads started to smoke.
As i have changed the disc's & Pads to upgraded solid disc's and they are much better, should i inform my insurance as it's a modified even the brakes stop alot quicker and a huge difference its still modified all the same

Epicuser · Jan 29, 2014

Firstly, always tell your insurance company.

Secondly, stopping better is only good. If somebody is following too close and they hit you from behind, it isn't your problem.....other than being hit. The other party is liable, unless you were practicing doing emergency stops and didn't check it was safe to and other scenarios. Etc. (I'm an accident investigator)

Thirdly when I told my insurance company, they were happy as it made the car safer.

Fourthly, it gives you more confidence.

Fifthly, I have ventilated, drilled and slotted Terafirma discs on my TD4 and they are great, but they do make a noise when they are used.

teddywood1 · Jan 30, 2014

Epicuser said:
Firstly, always tell your insurance company.

Secondly, stopping better is only good. If somebody is following too close and they hit you from behind, it isn't your problem.....other than being hit. The other party is liable, unless you were practicing doing emergency stops and didn't check it was safe to and other scenarios. Etc. (I'm an accident investigator)

Thirdly when I told my insurance company, they were happy as it made the car safer.

Fourthly, it gives you more confidence.

Fifthly, I have ventilated, drilled and slotted Terafirma discs on my TD4 and they are great, but they do make a noise when they are used.

I agree always tell your insurer but I do not think it will make any difference but at least they know . I do not like those drilled ones ,my son in law had them and said he got through pads quicker

PlattyR56 · Jan 30, 2014

You'll not need drilled/grooved discs on a Freelander (unless you plan on high speed driving?). They would be just for show. Get OEM discs, uprated pads and new brake fluid, job done.

Cheap drilled/grooved discs should be avoided. The drilling/milling can weaken the disc if not done right.

The idea behind the holes is to let out the gasses released from the pad under high temperatures. The grooves remove glazing from the pad face, again, under high temperatures. Great for high speed, heavy braking situations, but almost useless on a road car as docile as a Freelander.

All you will achieve with drilled/grooved discs is wearing your pads quicker, especially so with grooved discs. The performance gain would be negligible, and could be argued, reduced as there is less surface area for the pad to apply pressure to.

Swapping solid for vented however is a good move. Solid discs have less surface area to dissipate heat and can warp relatively easily compared to a vented disc.

Nodge68 · Jan 30, 2014

PlattyR56 said:
You'll not need drilled/grooved discs on a Freelander (unless you plan on high speed driving?). They would be just for show. Get OEM discs, uprated pads and new brake fluid, job done.

Cheap drilled/grooved discs should be avoided. The drilling/milling can weaken the disc if not done right.

The idea behind the holes is to let out the gasses released from the pad under high temperatures. The grooves remove glazing from the pad face, again, under high temperatures. Great for high speed, heavy braking situations, but almost useless on a road car as docile as a Freelander.

All you will achieve with drilled/grooved discs is wearing your pads quicker, especially so with grooved discs. The performance gain would be negligible, and could be argued, reduced as there is less surface area for the pad to apply pressure to.

Swapping solid for vented however is a good move. Solid discs have less surface area to dissipate heat and can warp relatively easily compared to a vented disc.

This^^^^
This drilled/ grooved, verses standard vented debate goes on on lots of car forums.
On the Freelander, the standard OE rotors (discs) are absolutely fine. 11" odd vented rotors stopping a Freelander from 70mph would be unlikely to exceed 250 °C The standard pads will still perform well in excess of that temperature.

I tested this very thing some years back on my almost identically braked MG ZS180. On that, the 282mm front rotors heated to circa 180°C. This was after 2 hard stops from 100mph. (Private track).
The best mod for the Freelander braking system was when LR went from solid to vented discs. This would be the best move on solid disc models too.
Drilled and grooved rotors are of little use off road as rotor temperature doesn't warrant it. The drillings and grooves would more likely cause problems off road due to debris getting lodge in them, this would cause all manor of additional problems.

highvoltage · Jan 30, 2014

Thank you all for your techy input....Is changing from solid to vented a case of changing the calipers & disc's but still retain the standard hub?.
If so that will be on future plans.
As for the insurance its best to advise them of the changes as you have all stated.

Nodge68 · Jan 30, 2014

highvoltage said:
Thank you all for your techy input....Is changing from solid to vented a case of changing the calipers & disc's but still retain the standard hub?.
If so that will be on future plans.
As for the insurance its best to advise them of the changes as you have all stated.

The hub is common to solid and vented rotors. The caliper, its mount and pads are different. The wheels are different too as the larger caliper hits the early wheels. Some have spaced the wheels to accommodate this.

sijwhite · Jan 30, 2014

highvoltage said:
Thank you all for your techy input....Is changing from solid to vented a case of changing the calipers & disc's but still retain the standard hub?.
If so that will be on future plans.
As for the insurance its best to advise them of the changes as you have all stated.

You're welcome to pop over and have a look at mine so you can see the differences if you like.

Upgraded Brakes V's Car Insurance ?

highvoltage

Member

teddywood1

Well-Known Member

highvoltage

Member

Epicuser

Ex Freelander Owner

teddywood1

Well-Known Member

PlattyR56

New Member

Nodge68

Well-Known Member

highvoltage

Member

Nodge68

Well-Known Member

sijwhite

Active Member

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