Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) My23 brakes

What brake fluid is in it now. A change usually means new seals and new hoses.

DOT 4 as standard, easy to upgrade to 5.1 with just the usual flush through and bleed (which should be done every 2 yrs or so with DOT 4) compatible with existing seals & hoses etc

5.1 is not to be confused with 5 which is silicone based and should not be mixed

CooperMan, when I called Lichfield and spoke to Tom the other day, he gave two choices, the best being CASTROL SRF. I can’t remember the other. So Silicone based.
He did say that the improvement from the brake fluid was less than the pads. Given we have all had new fluid this summer, perhaps test to make sure it has not absorbed too much moisture. Assuming fluid within limits, just change pads.
Cheers
Ian

Are you sure ? In my opinion Castrol Racing SRF is a DOT 4 brake fluid.

Castrol SRF racing brake fluid conforms to DOT3 and DOT4 specification. But unless you want to operate your car under racing conditions why would you need such

ABS on my Plus 6 kicks in regularly, as I live up a very steep gravel track on side of the hills. The ice hung around before Christmas, but main roads all clear, so going down track, ABS was kicking in , I could feel it through pedal, and it wasn’t skidding down track with wheels locked. It was still an arse clenched moment though.

CLPlus4 and RichardV6, thanks for clarifying. That will teach me to quickly check on Google 😀
RichardV6, agreed you don’t need it

Based on the comments above?

If the CX brake system was weak and unable to create strong pressure then the wheels would not be able to lock up and so the ABS would never kick in. Given the comments from several people saying the system felt soft on the pedal and reports of pressure fail it would make sense.

Do we know if it is fair to say they underspec'd it or was the volume of components that arrived following the prototype being below spec? I figure they gave the prototype a good hard run a few times before they said yes. It's not like the factory team don't enjoy a good drive?

I follow a Mini forum and find the discussion around the installation of "track" discs & pads humorous. They spend ages discussing which uprated road/track pads to fit then, once fitted, moan about the fact that they are dead, noisy and numb. Before they had them fitted did they ever find the pedal hit the bulkhead? Do they really brake that late and hard?

I have fitted uprated discs and brakes to the ML63 as it weighs 2+ tonnes and I have felt fade a couple of times when in a rush. EBC are among several good vendors making aftermarket upgrades for the MB. Given the standard brakes are Brembo it's quite a step to improve things. So it has EBC uprated front discs and Yellow Stuff road/track pads plus uprated Brembo discs and Yellow Stuff pads on the back. When they are cold they take longer/harder to stop the car from any given speed. So the uprated bit is not really an improvement for the daily traffic. If I am pushing the lorry around Basingrad roundabouts on a clear day they are brilliant once warmed through. I am only surprised that the front spoiler does not have scrape marks on the bottom given how well they work when up to temp. So the benefit is only really seen in extremis. You just have to be aware of what you are looking for.

I remember doing an emergency stop from 70+ mph in a Plus Four at Bicester Heritage on the Morgan Experience session in August. Assume that had standard brakes. Could feel the ABS kicking in and stopped quite quickly and kept pretty straight with a little input. Haven’t noticed any ABS yet in normal winter breaking on my car, but still limited miles and not pushing it for obvious reasons.

So easy to become confused with all this chat...

Best not to think of alternative brake fluids, stick to manufacturers specifications.

The days of owners modifying modern Morgans is fast disappearing along with the generation of baby boomers who thought modifying their Morgans to "improve" them was very much a part of the Morganeers culture.

Part of the modification culture seemed to be based upon bragging rights as opposed to actual driver demands on the vehicle... Racing spec anything incorporated into a road car can create a pig of a machine to spend time in when in traffic.

Morgans are light vehicles and unless driven hard will take a while to get race spec pads up to their best operating temperature on the road..if ever..?

I have no idea as to which type of ABS system might be fitted to any Morgan.

Either long travel or soft pedal would seem to go against normal driver expectations. If a soft pedal is combined with poor retardation performance on the road, I would have to understand why this could occur and exactly what caused it, also what repair techniques were involved to resolve the issue...

With brakes being the primary safety system on any car my expectation would be that even in a situation of total electrical or ECU failure that the hydraulic aspects of the system would provide "reasonable" retardation effect. Though logic determines that on an electrical system failure, an electrically operated handbrake activation may be lost..! Worth looking into the design of that..?

I suspect that any MOT equipped garage could take no more than 15 minutes to check the efficiency of braking on each wheel for you, including handbrake performance, for a reasonable cost. No need to wait till an MOT is due.