just had some allow wheels installed the other day, so now the brake disk is a bit exposed,
being quite small in this model, it doesnt look much.. then on the other hand, i have always had concerns about my brakes (no abs) being a bit weak.

now i got 235 wide tyres, that grip really good, the weakness of the brakes is more exposed.

today, i had to brake a bit hard while cornering, and right after that rear right brake started dragging..
the pad has about half thickness .. i dont know what caused this noise.. could it be related to the brake elements being painted when rims installed got something buggered?
thats one question i have..

the second one
is there a relatively easy and sensible upgrade to my PBR brakes and disks?
verada brakes? 380 brakes? (remember i have no ABS)
any suggestions and estimated cost of the work would be most appreciated.

380 Brakes and some HPX pads would work wonders. I think the kits are available from Madmagna for $300-$400 without new pads, and this is fronts only. As for not having abs thats no biggie just cut the wiring off of the pulse unit and use that to plug the hole.

This will be my next upgrade.

You have to be careful with the larger brakes and no abs. They lock up pretty quick as they grip faster. How I wrote off my first Magna

You have to be careful with the larger brakes and no abs. They lock up pretty quick as they grip faster. How I wrote off my first Magna

true...
with my current brakes when i am alone its good, but if there are few ppl in the car.. i doubt if they can lock at all even if i tried to, they just make hell of a metallic noise and i feel i am about to explode the pistons (well. i dont know what pads in it, i ordered some good ones from usa but they re wrong type.. with pbr type i am doomed to bendix with poffed up prices.. waiting for weeks now, bloody supacheap dont put them on special )
i was hoping with something slightly more reliable.. maybe a pad change will do that.. who knows

If youre driving just regularly around town they should be fine with some good pads. Front always being more important.

Metallic noise is probably worn out pads, metal on metal doesn't work well in brakes. Or they could just be glazed to buggery, same-same, reduced brake ability.
Get the standard brakes up to scratch before you plan any upgrades. New pads and proper bedding in. New discs if they are scored, or get them resurfaced.

380 brakes on a non ABS Magna are a bad idea. Locking up the wheels leaves you with no control and increases stopping distance. And you will lock them up, in a panic situation most of us hit the brakes as hard as we can. lol

Verada brakes are the same. The Ralliart and AWDs were the only 3rd gens with beefier brakes.

A good set of pads (ie QFM HPX) is a good idea. Up to you whether your driving style warrants the extra performance of the 380 brakes, and whether you can handle the lack of ABS with the beefier brakes.

HPX pads on some new or resurfaced rotors works quite well. Made a huge difference for me

Verada brakes are the same. The Ralliart and AWDs were the only 3rd gens with beefier brakes.

A good set of pads (ie QFM HPX) is a good idea. Up to you whether your driving style warrants the extra performance of the 380 brakes, and whether you can handle the lack of ABS with the beefier brakes.

Some 3rd gena only have single pot fronts. In that case sports/vrx twin pots are an upgrade

Some 3rd gena only have single pot fronts. In that case sports/vrx twin pots are an upgrade

by that you mean the single piston ones right?
mines are single piston PBR... the pads i bought wrong are double piston akebono type..

can i get the double piston type brakes on this car?
if doing that doesnt endanger the wheel insta lock, i would prefer akebono types.. as there are more pad options, and i can buy pads from USA.

also others mentioned the disks,
my disks are actually in excellent nick.. just like the rest of the car.. its just the pads on are horrible. they are good pads and have lots of component left on them, but i guess the glaze could have happened like madmax suggested.
i showed it to two mechanics coz it almost felt like metal touching the disks.. and insisted they check it throughly, both said pads are fine..

it only got quieter and more efficient after i pulled the wheels out and gave brakes a clean as good as i could.

Yea buy a set of twin piston brakes. Can get a used set for $50-$100. Very good value upgrade

Yea buy a set of twin piston brakes. Can get a used set for $50-$100. Very good value upgrade

so i just need the brakes , still use the same disk ?
these also available in rears? i wouldnt mind doing a full replacement

or thinking .. can i install abs in this car? grrr its really beyond me why the first owner idiot would buy this without cruise & abs package.. then go spend god knows how much and have an aftermarket cruise installed.. (thats how i got tricked thinking car has abs)

Ok I had a simular problem as you GRH, flush the brake fluid, rekit the front callipers, I replaced my front disks with slotted and cross drilled matched with bendix pads. solved all my issues

I installed 380 fronts on my TF non abs, magnificent results. Matched them with slotted & dimpled rotors and Bendix Ultimates pads. No issues with locking up at all, couldn't be happier.
Though, I had standard calipers on slotted and dimpled rotors that worked pretty well, after I reco'd them. They were just too small under the 17's and lacked the punch for all day mountain driving.

Pull off your front and rear discs. Get them machined. Get some good pads like RDA extreme or Bendix Ultimate. Flush your fluid completely with high quality fluid. Reassemble and bleed them correctly. Your brakes will be fine for 2 years. Don't get huge calipers. Its unnecessary. Without abs you will lock up and go flying.

i had the pads replaced with QFM HPX ones, and it seems like its good enough for me.
brakes went really quiet and reasonably efficient.

my old ones were glazed to a mirror like finish.. hence the inefficiency and noisy performance.

thanks for the suggestions guys.

Looking to upgrade the brakes on my KH as I only have single piston calipers.
Have a few questions.
The twin piston and 380 calipers, are they still single sided sliding?
Is there a cheap way to get bigger disks on there?

Looking to upgrade the brakes on my KH as I only have single piston calipers.
Have a few questions.
The twin piston and 380 calipers, are they still single sided sliding?
Is there a cheap way to get bigger disks on there?
the QFM HPX brake pads i mentioned above, proved to be excellent, they got heaps more efficient as they settled in a bit.

id say just put good pads on.

I am going to be buying parts for brakes anyway, so I want to figure out the best bang for my buck.
If I can get a reasonable performance increase for only a few hundred dollars, thats great!

The braking system strikes me as under-engineered and in need of an upgrade. Having them degrade badly after a couple of hard applications is not acceptable.