I only joined today but am a long time follower.

I am just wondering about getting stock ventilated for all wheels cause i have had problems in the past with them over heating, its a tf wagon.

any help would be great.

Out of interest, when was your brake fluid last changed and what pads are you using? And when is the brake overheating occuring?

All my fluids are great and my pads are fairly new. It is only over heating in situations where im pulling a caravan. but by the time i get to the bottom of the hill i can have my foot flat on the floor and its just not stopping. and they are bendix im sure?

Maybe a 380 upgrade or AWD? :)

380 rotor and caliper on the front is a good upgrade.
Rears for a wagon is a problem as the usual AWD option doesn't fit straight on.


You can consider drilled and slotted rotors for better heat dissipation which will help a little and will be a bit cheaper.


If you are interested in option 2, I may have a full set of brakes off my TH wagon up for sale soon (DBA drilled and slotted rotors, good calipers and decent pads, selling front ones for sure and probably rears as well- fronts are vented, rears aren't)

All my fluids are great and my pads are fairly new. It is only over heating in situations where im pulling a caravan. but by the time i get to the bottom of the hill i can have my foot flat on the floor and its just not stopping. and they are bendix im sure?

Well if you are towing i would maybe look into doing a AWD brake upgrade. Thats would be the best Value for money..

Whats the price on a 380 upgrade minus the labour cause im a apprentice mech and will do it myself?

All my fluids are great and my pads are fairly new. It is only over heating in situations where im pulling a caravan. but by the time i get to the bottom of the hill i can have my foot flat on the floor and its just not stopping. and they are bendix im sure?
What Bendix ones are they? I have a set of the General CTs, and while they're great for daily driving, they wouldn't be up to something like towing. I've lost them on a few spirited drives before.

I think a new set of pads could help, but if you tow often, the 380 upgrade would be worthwhile. Compared to a regular Magna, they have twin piston calipers (vs single on a regular Magna), larger rotors, and bigger brake pads.

Forum sponsor Mits-fix sell the 380 upgrade, with second-hand calipers and new RDA rotors + QFM HPX pads for about $550. The HPX are marketed as a 'performance' pad so I imagine they would be well suited to towing. You can pay extra for a set of slotted rotors, but the jury seems to be out on how effective they actually are.

What Bendix ones are they? I have a set of the General CTs, and while they're great for daily driving, they wouldn't be up to something like towing. I've lost them on a few spirited drives before.

I think a new set of pads could help, but if you tow often, the 380 upgrade would be worthwhile. Compared to a regular Magna, they have twin piston calipers (vs single on a regular Magna), larger rotors, and bigger brake pads.

Forum sponsor Mits-fix sell the 380 upgrade, with second-hand calipers and new RDA rotors + QFM HPX pads for about $550. The HPX are marketed as a 'performance' pad so I imagine they would be well suited to towing. You can pay extra for a set of slotted rotors, but the jury seems to be out on how effective they actually are.
Do i get the front and rear for the 550?

Do i get the front and rear for the 550?

Just the fronts, they are a direct bolt on, no one has yet found a way to adapt the 380 rear calipers to the magna hub (AFAIK)

Do i get the front and rear for the 550?
Like Timmy said, the 380 upgrade is only for the front. The fronts do the majority of your braking so the back end isn't quite as important. If you are concerned about your rear brakes, I would grab a set of HPX pads for the rear too while you're at it.

lol Doesn't matter what brakes you have on a car towing a caravan, if you don't use the right technique they will overheat and fade.

You aren't slowing down on the down grade with the gearbox, and using your brakes in an on/off fashion, like truckies do? Or are you just going normal speed in top gear and riding the brakes continuously?

There's a reason why trucks go in the slow lane when they go down hill. lol They drop down a few gears, let it roll downhill with engine braking, hit 80 kph and use the brakes to bring it down to 60, then brake off. Doing it slow with brake on/off lets the brakes cool between applications.

Not to say a change of pad and fluid may help (the pads on there now are probably glazed horribly from overheating), but I'd look at getting a caravan with brakes first if modifying your downhill driving style doesn't work.

ill agree with mad max here, ive towed my boat before, and never had a problem. before you start spending money on modding the car use a different approach, if the hill is steep and long enough, you can cook them without towing.
but hey if you think the 500 is worh it then get it, just got to be sure they will fit inside your wheels.

You are most likely doing a combination of boiling your brake fluid and getting glaze between the pad and disc due to heat.

1) As stated above in MadMax's excellent post, learn to brake properly when towing heavy loads.

2) Look at a higher DOT fluid. DOT5.1 can safely be used in Magnas. This raises the boiling point of brake fluid substantially.
3) Get some heavy duty pads. These can be had from Bendix, and are designed to offer higher friction rates at higher temperatures
4) Braided brake lines will improve pedal feel and more importantly won't deform when worked hard

Brembos. lol

You can ask around at your local wreckers to see if they have any 380s and may get the front brake setup for only a few hundred dollars. Then it just directly swaps over.

The 380 conversion is well worthwhile, regardless of the use of proper braking technique; fitted one to my 2002 KJ & it's a dramatic improvement over the standard brakes. As has been said though, you'll need to check wheel clearance - I have only just enough space inside my factory 17's (clearance on the spokes in my case, not on the rim).

Worthwhile, but overkill in this case.

Make sure you get the 380 brake lines with the calipers if you go to a wreckers, or ask mal (madmagna), he usually has a set for sale when he gets a 380 to wreck.

Is an engineer certificate required when putting 380 brakes on 3rd gen?

Depends on state, but would be required in NSW. Ralliart magna brakes you can get away with as they came stock on this make and model

Strictly speaking, I think you would need an engineer's certificate - like Dave said, the general position seems to be that a certification is needed if it wasn't available on the current make/model (Magna).

If you keep it standard (eg no slotted rotors or painted calipers) I reckon the chance of getting done for it is nil. Remember, it's the exact same brake setup as a base model passenger car (380), no-one's going to notice the difference until it comes time to replace the pads or rotors lol

ive had my 380 brakes on for awhile ill look into getting it engineered if it needs it but a worthwhile upgrade even for a standard car

How much is a engineering cert?

unsure i havent looked into it too be honest

probably expensive but not so much as the theoretical fine. then again it's the same company who supplied brakes for both models? so chances of this mod being spotted unlikely in my opinion. In the end just do waht you think is right in getting engineered and be prepared to wear whatever consequences it may bring.

(though an improved standard brake i cant imagine being a significant issue for some people unless brake failure is the cause of an accident)

Honestly, i very much doubt you will get in trouble for having bigger brakes without a certificate. The cops aren't going to stop you and tell you off because you upgraded the 1 thing most people overlook when modifying cars. I've seen so many people add big turbos to Supras and Skylines and such, while still running standard brakes and the cheapest pads they could find that day.

If you're badly stressed about it, you might as well get it engineered, but i'd do anything else you want to do at the same time to make it actually worth your while.

AWD/Ralliart/380 brakes on the front, high performance brake fluid and a good set of pads and you should be fine, even if the van you're towing is much too big for a magna and you ride the brakes all the way down a hill, i can't see you running out of them completely at the bottom.
My Ralliart brakes are excellent, pulling mine up from 200kph down to 50 and then going down a hill, at the bottom of it they were still fine.

I can only see them being picked up if they measure for the minimum rotor thickness and it comes in at 12mm over or something.

Honestly, i very much doubt you will get in trouble for having bigger brakes without a certificate. The cops aren't going to stop you and tell you off because you upgraded the 1 thing most people overlook when modifying cars. I've seen so many people add big turbos to Supras and Skylines and such, while still running standard brakes and the cheapest pads they could find that day.

If you're badly stressed about it, you might as well get it engineered, but i'd do anything else you want to do at the same time to make it actually worth your while.

AWD/Ralliart/380 brakes on the front, high performance brake fluid and a good set of pads and you should be fine, even if the van you're towing is much too big for a magna and you ride the brakes all the way down a hill, i can't see you running out of them completely at the bottom.
My Ralliart brakes are excellent, pulling mine up from 200kph down to 50 and then going down a hill, at the bottom of it they were still fine.

I had ralliart brakes on my magna, and cooked them down Macquarie pass. HPX pads and DBA 4000 rotors. Any brakes will slow you down if you need to jump on them, but it's when you are constantly leaning on them like towing is when you get into trouble.

+1 to 380 upgrade....

Spirited mountain runs got me into trouble occasionally with single piston calipers and slotted rotors. (and I was using bendix ultimate pads) And I also downshift to let the engine break with tapped breaking.... still overheated here and there.

With the new 380 breaks at the front, didn't notice any fade at all...

So yeah, definitely worth the upgrade mate.
I wouldn't worry so much about rears. If you are, just get some decent pads and that should be fine.

Make it look pretty with a set of Slotted Rotors if you want.. but so far so good

+1 for the 380 setup!

Definitely noticeable.. There's more stopping available to you with the 380 brakes

SuFz :ninja:

Is an engineer certificate required when putting 380 brakes on 3rd gen?

According to NSW guidelines if it was a brake 'package' available as optional equipment for the vehicle, it is classified as "owner certified". As Ralliart and AWD were brake packages that came from the factory on 3rd Gen Magna's I think you'd be ok.
380 brakes obviously weren't an option on Magna so you'd need an engineering certificate attesting to "Hydraulic fluid sufficiency, balanced braking on all wheels, brake pedal pressure limitations and braking performance."

Being a bolt on fit from the same manufacturer, and so close to the AWD/Ralliart stuff, you wouldn't imagine any problems, however for 100% legality you'd have to pay for the certificate. How much I don't know though.

Just a quick question;

-Can I get hold of some 380 Calipers, standard 380 rotors + some new pads and it all bolts up? Or do I NEED the 380 brakelines as well? Do I need custom brakets as the rotors are much larger then the OEM nuggets on the TJ Series 1 VR-X? Im due for new pads soon, and possibily new rotors, so if its not much more, I might just swap over the whole shebang while Im at it. It shouldnt cost too much more anyways..

you need to get the whole lot....calipers,discs and MOST IMPORTANTLY....the brake lines as they are different to the Magna ones ,and its all just a straight swap over.

..easiest ,best thing you can do to your magna,and the discs arent that much larger,slightly bigger in diameter and in thickness,but this is all accommodated with by the caliper.