Hi guys, just been doing a search and found out that without ABS 380 brakes are probably not the best upgrade as the wheels tend to lock up a lot quicker.

So what I have is a TE Exec, I dont want to install ABS but I would like better braking performance, so basically Id like some suggestions of what would be the best way to go as my factory rotors need a machine but I dont want to machine them if im just going to upgrade them anyway. My rotors tend to warp quite a bit so I was thinking of getting some slotted rotors.

I was thinking

1) Machine Factory Rotors, better pads, use money saved on better front tyres.

2) Slotted Rotors, better pads, perhaps look into better tyres.

3) 380 Brake Upgrade with HPM pads, leave it at that.

Im trying to look at this realistically, if I bought and fitted 380 brakes, I probably wouldn't leave myself enough money to get much better tyres then I have now, and these are just 18" cheapies.

If I left my current rotors on there and machined them up, I could save more money and then put those funds into better tyres. Although I feel since my rotors are warping already putting some slotted rotors on there to help remove some heat would be a good idea, and its not the most expensive way of upgrading brakes.

What im not sure of though is how quickly with these combos the brakes will lock up, so not too sure whether tyres or brakes come first in my case. (obviously I need to have brakes performing properly first of course)

Just buy better tyrea first then make your decision

How about making option 1 read like this:

1) Machine Factory Rotors, better pads, use money saved on a torque wrench and do up the wheel nuts correctly so you don't risk warping the rotors again.

How about making option 1 read like this:

1) Machine Factory Rotors, better pads, use money saved on a torque wrench and do up the wheel nuts correctly so you don't risk warping the rotors again.

Heat from brakes will warp discs.

Whats your main beef with brakes? Stopping power or having them fade after a workout?

If it's the former, good tyres would make the world of difference, particularly in wet weather. If it's the latter, go for new pads and rotors, but if you have cheap tyres it'd be worth your while upgrading regardless.

Heat from brakes will warp discs.

Fact or opinion?
Let's not start a flame war here! lol

Let me put it this way - equal torque loading on the wheel studs (and hence the disc hat) will reduce the possibility of a disc warping when heat stressed.

(But that is just my opinion and it may be safely ignored)

OP => Just do the whole lot, tyres, discs, pads, torque wrench. Or do it one step at a time, in that order, if funds don't allow doing it in one hit.

How about making option 1 read like this:

1) Machine Factory Rotors, better pads, use money saved on a torque wrench and do up the wheel nuts correctly so you don't risk warping the rotors again.

Not sure if serious or trolling???

Fact of the matter is it is the heat from the brakes that have caused my discs to warp. Why am I so sure? Because I use a lovely 1/2" torque wrench every time I take my wheels off or refit them.

Whats your main beef with brakes? Stopping power or having them fade after a workout?

If it's the former, good tyres would make the world of difference, particularly in wet weather. If it's the latter, go for new pads and rotors, but if you have cheap tyres it'd be worth your while upgrading regardless.

With mine, one would be the pedal feel, I really dislike the solid feel of the pedal, it feels like I need to stomp on the pedal to get anything from them, I dont normally work them hard enough to have them fade out or glaze up.

Under braking me TE has seems to have a slight shudder, I was always trying to put it down to something else because it would still slightly be there after a machine, however as of late (just had a round drive to Dubbo and back) im pretty sure it is the rotors and it seems to be getting worse under braking.

with my car, TJ exec (with abs). to increase my braking ability on stock brakes, all I did was flushed the brake fluid, got a nice set of cross drilled and slotted rotors from ebay (they are actually dimpled but in my opinion they do the same) and used bendix ultimate. major difference in braking.

Not sure if serious or trolling???

Fact of the matter is it is the heat from the brakes that have caused my discs to warp. Why am I so sure? Because I use a lovely 1/2" torque wrench every time I take my wheels off or refit them.

I was serious (I never troll), but assumed you did the "lean on the toolkit wheel brace until it hurts" trick. My apologies.

With mine, one would be the pedal feel, I really dislike the solid feel of the pedal, it feels like I need to stomp on the pedal to get anything from them, I dont normally work them hard enough to have them fade out or glaze up.

Under braking me TE has seems to have a slight shudder, I was always trying to put it down to something else because it would still slightly be there after a machine, however as of late (just had a round drive to Dubbo and back) im pretty sure it is the rotors and it seems to be getting worse under braking.

Still worthwhile checking the pads for glazing though. A "dead" feeling brake pedal is a classic symptom.

I had a TS that seemed to have wobbly discs, but machining them made little difference. Replaced ball joints and the brakes were fine after that.

My TJs brakes were terrible before I installed the 380 calipers. There is a lot to be gained with 380 calipers/discs even in a non ABS car. Hard braking doesnt mean foot to the floor anyway (so you will be able to stop faster with the upgrade, assuming you can control your braking force in the situation). Tyres do make all the difference as well. So for wet safety, go tyres first and for more general stopping power, Id personally lean towards a brake upgrade first.

Both uneven wheel torque as well as heat can warp rotors.

OP, if you want better and more consistent stopping power either use AWD brakes (are a little cheaper) or 380 brakes. As you sound like you are due for brakes you may as well upgrade while you are at it. Tyres as well as suspension play a huge part as well so make sure that the rest of your car is up to spec.

Hard pedal can be many things like glazed rotors just for one, every Magna I drive has a different feeling pedal, booster makes a huge difference and for some reason one thing Mits never got consistent was booster adjustment. I have swapped out a booster from a car where you near had to floor the pedal into a car where the brakes were really good just to play around and see what was going on with a problem car and the other car immediately had really soft pedal. Same goes the other way as well.

Fitted 380 brakes up front, with slotted dimpled rotors, slapped some good tyres on there and never looked back. I've also never locked up, which some people claim is an issue, and I've had to get pretty heavy on the anchors, and that's without ABS.
I also don't get brake fade, which is nice on those winding roads like the G.O.R.

All this "who ha ..blahblah " about abs vs non-abs and "locking up the wheels " seriously must get down to the way you drive.

Sure ,we all know the benefits of ABS in an emergency and what its supposed to do and all that ,but ,seriously ,in day to day driving ,when was the last time you actually had to slam on your brakes and omg ,lock them up............???


cant remember ...exactly.

In my experience ,the std set up has a rather hard pedal and swapping to the 380 set up ,softened the pedal a bit ,but ...

Installing the 380 set up is one of the BEST mods you can do to your car.

As with all things, if you can go for a ride in a car that has done the conversion ,do it , it will change your mind.

For the $3-400 that it is going to cost to get the 380 stuff ,why would you not.

Now i do drive my car quite hard at times ,and there have been a few people that have come along for the ride ,and ,i very rarely reach the point where the ABS kicks in.

You seriously have to jump on the brakes so hard for the abs to kick in.

People say ...get better pads ,discs etc ,but ,nothing you do to a std set up is going to beat the improved braking and clamping effect of those two big pistons biting down on a larger disc..just do it..

and you can polish and shine those beautiful alloy calipers to a mirror finish and that looks so much better than painted calipers.

All this "who ha ..blahblah " about abs vs non-abs and "locking up the wheels " seriously must get down to the way you drive.

Sure ,we all know the benefits of ABS in an emergency and what its supposed to do and all that ,but ,seriously ,in day to day driving ,when was the last time you actually had to slam on your brakes and omg ,lock them up............???


cant remember ...exactly.

In my experience ,the std set up has a rather hard pedal and swapping to the 380 set up ,softened the pedal a bit ,but ...

Installing the 380 set up is one of the BEST mods you can do to your car.

As with all things, if you can go for a ride in a car that has done the conversion ,do it , it will change your mind.

For the $3-400 that it is going to cost to get the 380 stuff ,why would you not.

Now i do drive my car quite hard at times ,and there have been a few people that have come along for the ride ,and ,i very rarely reach the point where the ABS kicks in.

You seriously have to jump on the brakes so hard for the abs to kick in.

People say ...get better pads ,discs etc ,but ,nothing you do to a std set up is going to beat the improved braking and clamping effect of those two big pistons biting down on a larger disc..just do it..

and you can polish and shine those beautiful alloy calipers to a miiror finish and that looks so much better than painted calipers.

I love this..... so very much.

I'm with Michael.

I've had my 380 for nearly 5 years now and never once have I invoked ABS. I've tried to invoke it a few times by slamming the brake pedal as hard as I could at 80km/h, but still no ABS kicked in, the car just pulled up & almost stopped on a dime. Unlike a few Crummydores I have driven where the ABS kicked in fairly easily.

So go the 380 set up, best Magna braking upgrade bang for your buck and you won't look back.

That's unusual TreeAdeyMan, I managed to invoke ABS on my 380 a couple of weeks ago - trying to brake for a pothole on a very spirited mountain run isn't a winning combination. This is with some very good rubber too.

ABS or non ABS though, the 380 upgrade on a Magna is brilliant, especially if you match it with some good brake pads.

I'm sure it's been mentioned in detail on this forum many times, but is swapping to the 380 brake discs & callipers a straight bolt-on swap? I'm considering this option too, I have at least one warped rotor (spirited run through the Black Spur) and may as well go with 380 gear if it's a basic enough conversion.

Is direct bolt on, have to have at least 16 inch wheels

Not sure if serious or trolling???

Fact of the matter is it is the heat from the brakes that have caused my discs to warp. Why am I so sure? Because I use a lovely 1/2" torque wrench every time I take my wheels off or refit them.
Do you actually use a torque wrench to remove the wheelnuts?

No of course not, you use a torque wrench to put on the wheel nuts

Check your suspension componets az mentioned.in my old altera, one day the front shocks went and got extra bouncy and the car took longer to stop.also check your strut tops as this can cauze the wheel to move in an unwanted direction.

Either machine or get new rotors.i could also feel a clunking through the collum which stopped when bushes replaced and discs machined.im using bendix which is okay but they squeak.

.i could also feel a clunking through the collum which stopped when bushes replaced

Which bushes?

Is direct bolt on, have to have at least 16 inch wheels

Cheers Mal, thanks for the info.

No of course not, you use a torque wrench to put on the wheel nuts

Yeah I knew that. I was just thinking that undoing the nuts would throw the wrench out of calibration.

Which bushes?

swaybar d bushes and lower control arm bushes.these+ a machine fixed the problem