I wonder...(Possible path to rear discs)

[7speed]

Check out this link:

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/1...pec-v

It's some release info about the Sentra SE-R and Spec-V, but I wonder if the wheels and brakes from that car would bolt up to the Versa?

I don't really care about the engine (though the power would be nice), but better rear brakes are on my wishlist in the 'you are the designer' thread.

I know no one would know, since the car hasn't been released yet, but do those that work with Nissan's on a regular basis have an idea if Nissan's platform sharing exists enough for this to work?

[Oz_Tiida]

Hey I don't think the rear drums alone are the problem, it's the whole brake system. When you brake your car nose dives and the rear brakes are hardly in effect anyways. I'm going to just get some better pads and change the brake fluid, maybe braided lines and go from there.

Having said that, check out this Wilwood brake conversion into a Tiida.

Brake Conversion

[Clipsed]

I gotta get that translated and find out where some of those parts were bought so that when my dad goes to Japan he can get em for me!

[proxim2020]

Didn't look like there was much converting going on. It looked like they were upgrading the front bakes.

Anywho, I do agree that the problem isn't the back brakes alone. It is with the design of the car itself rather than the brake. The brakes in cars with ABS work just fine and there aren't many complaints. In cars that do not have ABS equipped, despite the complaints, the brakes have done all they could. Locks up the tires. Slamming on the brakes tends to lift the back end up why the front goes down. That slight lifting in the back tends to make the V fishtail. The lifting can easily be controlled in the ABS equipped cars by way of the brake distribution, but this feature isn't available without ABS. So you're left to skate and slide wherever. Stiffening the front end or adding weight to the back could prevent the nose dive, which would help the back stay down. Adding disc to back really won't give you a benefit if you can get the back wheels to pressed firmly against the ground when stopping hard.

[Oz_Tiida]

I gotta get that translated and find out where some of those parts were bought so that when my dad goes to Japan he can get em for me!

I wish I knew what it all said as well, keen to hear his opinion / review on all the stuff.

[achr]

I for one said a silent prayer of thanks when I discovered that I could actually get a loaded Versa WITHOUT having to take rear disc brakes. While I can appreciate their effectiveness in a moderate climate, they're an absolute pain in the butt in areas where road salt is widely used. I've never had a set of rear discs make it through 3 years because everything's out in the open. All the salt just sprays up under the car the rear discs corrode like crazy. It is not uncommon to have rear drums and shoes last 6 or 7 years before needing replacement in this climate.

I'm aware of the Versa's less than stellar braking performance but I drive defensively and avoid tailgating anyway so I'm not particularly concerned. Several years of motorcycle riding train one to be extra vigilent while driving.

[motoguy128]

Look at it this way. It doesn't stop any worse than the average SUV, full size pick-up and probably not much worse than most other economy cars. Smaller cars tend to have a greater percentage of weight over the front wheels.

[7speed]

Anywho, I do agree that the problem isn't the back brakes alone. It is with the design of the car itself rather than the brake... Stiffening the front end or adding weight to the back could prevent the nose dive, which would help the back stay down. Adding disc to back really won't give you a benefit if you can get the back wheels to pressed firmly against the ground when stopping hard.

I agree with you 100% on this. The brake dive is really excessive, and I would be interested to see instrumented braking tests before and after someone installs stiffer suspension. And I can't ignore the tires. They are the limiting factor in braking traction.

I was thinking that if someone wanted to race their V competitively, this might be an option to improve braking performance (assuming that this person has already upgraded suspension and tires).