Daihatsu 2001 Cuore L701 building a better 'safer' car

Go towards full slow in the back and towards full fast in the front to dial in for least understeer. Yes this is dependant on spring rate too but their will be a sweet spot and doing the above goes towards keeping both front tires planted and getting weight off the inside rear wheel in a corner. Getting the weight off that rear corner moves weight to the front. More front grip means less understeer.

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Iā€™m interested to see a full photo shoot of your build one day.

For me it is just about making the car a safer and smoother to drive than what it currently is. A simple cost benefit analysis would show the performance racing suspension is going to work out cheaper than having the mechanic replace the struts and springs/coils with average gear, especially if I added in the labor.

Thanks all for the feedback and I might ask a lot of questions but ā€˜the only silly question is the one that was never askedā€™.

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if you donā€™t ask questions, you never learn. there are no silly questions only thoughtless answers.

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I am learning a lot and as can be seen I am doing my homework and finding a lot of technical sources to satisfy my questions as well as feedback from others. Like anything meaningful it is a ā€˜journeyā€™ we take as we start from a point of curiosity, interest and often admiration of others that have gone before and then we explore and search and try and resolve many questions (even if it is just within our own mind). This last part is important for me as technically I trained as a scientist (material (structural)) and want and need DATA or technical info to satisfy myself before I can move forward.

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I ordered some Dixcel EC brake pads this morning from rhdJapan.com and even with the (Shipping & Handling AU$38.24) and parts (AU$67.90) cost from Japan I will still save ~$30 compared to buying locally;
https://www.rhdjapan.com/
https://www.rhdjapan.com/search/?q=381068_Type_EC

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Nice - will be keen to see what theyā€™re like.
Iā€™ve had some Project Muā€™s on the factory GTVI calipered 234mm Discs.
Iā€™m moving to Copen Calipered 246mm Disc and look for brake pad options.
I will be tracking the car, so looking at Dixcelā€™s Z-Types.

Where in Aus are you (if i may ask)?
Nevermind - stalked you on this page and saw QLD :slight_smile:

If any are interested, I reviewed that website called sparespro.com.au and the community was very divided with around 50% of people stating they never received their orders nor a refund but Supercheap did price match today so I ordered a pair of DBA495S rotors (Sirion 2001) for $240.

So even if sparespro are dodgy if you can find a product of interest get Supercheap to price match;


That worked out cheaper than the sale they had recently.

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Have been getting a bit of a run around looking for calipers around the Brisbane region but I am committed with pads and rotors already ordered and paid for.

I did 7 online website part requests today and at least got a bite for a 1998 Sirion M100S for both calipers at $50each. It was a straight looking unit with no obvious damage and I had to inspect the car today and leave a deposit to collect the parts tomorrow. Not sure if it has ever been this difficult to get parts or whether there is a massive influx of clowns into the wrecking sector?

Anyway considering the Rotors and pads ā€˜vehicle selectorsā€™ both range the Sirion from 07/98 to 2005 for the parts it is assumed the calipers will all be the same?

I have been quoted a starting price of $150 for reconditioning each unit including Zinc plating, testing to 2000 psi and 2 years warranty and they were the only place that were ā€˜specificā€™ about what they were doing;
https://bhss.com.au/brakes/calipers/
Unless someone can suggest another place in the Brisbane region?

Cool thread!

I actually have a pair of calipers you can have or free, only problem is Iā€™d be sending them from Germany so maybe postage would too much but I could find out if you want them

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I was looking around at buying a new pair of Sirion calipers and could only find sources in the UK but the shipping was going to be at least Ā£100+;
https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/era-benelux/8142504

Who knows - I may have to get back to you - hopefully this set I pick up today will be OK and like new after a decent refurb.

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I picked up the calipers from the wreckers today but didnā€™t have a phone for a pic - the looked in good nick with hardly any gunk or muck build up and just some dust. I asked the place doing the refurb to take some pics for before and after so hopefully will be able to show them soon (before shots that is).

Will pick up tomorrow or Monday with a new Zinc plating and resealed. It looked like I took it to the right place as they had some decent cars getting brake works done in the yard including an emerald green XB GT in mint condition and what looked like 75 era Escort also in mint condition.

Hereā€™s the nerdy stuff if any are interested
I found the DATA on Cuore vs Sirion and a basis as to why the Sirion has bigger calipers, larger rotors and more pad/cm2 (greater surface area).

Here is a site for Cuore vs Sirion;
http://cararac.com/comparison/daihatsu-cuore-daihatsu-sirion.html
You can then assess the weight of the cars and note the Sirion (98-04) is 810KG vs the Cuore (97- 02) is 630KG, 180KG difference, therefore it is clear they needed larger calipers (and thus rotors) with greater stopping potential.
http://cararac.com/dimensions/daihatsu/sirion.html
http://cararac.com/dimensions/daihatsu/cuore.html
If you review any sites like Supercheap and do the vehicle lookup it can be noted that the;
Cuore rotor is 211mm vs Sirion 234mm so they have bigger discs.

When reviewing pads it is noted the Sirion are ~49x94mm vs Cuore ~44x92mm.

So from that it is noted the Sirion rotors are larger with more pad contacting the disc (pad/cm2) and yet they also have a 13" rim for their stock models;

Thus the Sirion calipers and rotors are designed with greater stopping potential but will readily fit a Cuore.

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I was considering Type Zā€™s for mine too, Iā€™ve ES Sports on my Copen brakes. Unless youā€™re driving hard on tracks like SMP you might be better off with ES Sports. Iā€™ve had Type Zā€™s on my Subaru and they were great. But they really needed heat to work well. And unless youā€™re doing lots of massive breaking I donā€™t think youā€™ll get them hot enough. Iā€™ve tracked my L7 a few times on the ESā€™s and I didnā€™t need more breaks.

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Sounds like a good plan and decent price for the rebuild. Mine cost 250 for the rebuild and the powerdercoat, however I supplied a seal kit for it. So that considering I think thatā€™s a decent price. 50 bucks for both is a good deal for the calipars. For future reference, YRV and Sirion use the same front calipars. Iā€™ve noticed here in NSW too there are far less Sirionā€™s at the wreckers now days, specially GTVIā€™s.

Mallala in SA is notorious for being hard on brakes; two ā€œhigh speedā€ braking zones down to hairpin-like corners. Now whether that holds true for small cars like these is another question.

Tailem Bend has a very long straight, that other cars would see 200+ but believe i was hitting 150-160km/h, the other braking zones arenā€™t donā€™t have this speed differential.

I also picked up a 2nd set of for lights and have ripped out the internals. Intent is to make them into brake ducts for the front brakes. Perhaps Iā€™m over thinking it.

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Fair enough, Zā€™s I think could be good for a Copen cause it has ABS, so you can really smash the pedal, I donā€™t have that luxtury in my Cuore. Honestly, when I ran on my factory 20 year old setup on the one trackday I did with shit tyres, even then brakes werenā€™t an issue. I just went all out cause I was doing it anyway.

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So RhpJapan.com Z Type pads are coming in at Sale Price: Ā„13,156 (You Save: Ā„4,444) with the current Promo offer;
Daihatsu Copen LA400K KF (06/2014~) DIXCEL Handling Brake pads - RHDJapan
Mine (Type EC) cost $106.43 = Ā„8,002.
Therefore it would cost you around $174AUD if you got the same delivery charge I got from RHDJapan when selecting Copen (L880K);
Daihatsu Copen DIXCEL Handling Brake pads - RHDJapan
From Dixcel Australia $322.20 for the same part number;
http://www.dixcelaustralia.com.au/partdetail/part-id/6011

I ordered my pads from RHDjapan on 28.01.20 and looks like theyā€™ll be here on the 03.02.20 (sadly I couldnā€™t find any near where our friend lives who is coming from Japan).

Just to be clear they were $50 each unit so $100 for the pair, hopefully only $150 for each caliper reco if no issues found, so ~$200 each for fully recoā€™d calipers?!?

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Thatā€™s crazy, I canā€™t remember the exact number but I paid very little from garage 88.

I have two hear identical cars. Both have the same Brembo calipers but one is abs and one is without. The non abs car will out brake the abs car. When my girlfriend drives she preffers the abs. I personally think that on every abs car Iā€™ve pushed hard on asphalt that the abs did not allow maximium braking and that it interferes. In panic situation where one is not prepared for having to stop in a hurry or for my girlfriend whom is not experienced in pushing the brakes as hard as possible, then abs is a good thing. Factory abs is a compromise. Bosch is one company that do a high performance abs that can be tuned and has fancy algorithims. Iā€™ve never seen a car with it fitted (that I was aware of) and the price of the system is probably more than all my cars value combined. ABS is only a modulator and can only attempt to make up for a driver over presurising the sysem with the right foot (or left foot for those of us that brake with the other hoof)

Thanks for all your tips - your thread was an inspiration and I have followed many parts of it (and MCM) and ordered my HEL brake lines on the 29.01.2020 just waiting for all the part to arrive now.

I had to do all the nerdy stuff above to make sure buying the Sirion calipers (and then rotors and pads) was going to work but also to provide performance improvements and the DATA I found certainly showed that (to me that is).

Yeah lol, 9K USD plus a MoTeC to run itā€¦

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