Front Wheel Bearing Replacement MGTF

Thank you for your comment! You're right—upgrading pad material often provides significant improvements in stopping power without needing larger discs. To answer your questions:  

1. Yes, Mini 2-pot calipers can often fit under 15-inch rims, but it depends on the specific rim design and offset, so double-checking clearance is essential
2. Brackets for fitting Mini calipers are usually custom-made or sourced from specialized suppliers; some motorsport fabricators offer them, so it’s worth checking with racing or performance shops.  

Mini calipers with competition pads sound like a solid, cost-effective solution.

 

I urge caution on any brake modifications, your life and others are at risk if you get it wrong. Only do it if you understand the engineering aspects of the job, don’t get sucked in by “competition” pads, they often need warming up before they start to bite. Quality standard pads will be more than enough for everywhere except track days. We are very lucky in this country to be able to modify our cars, most owners in the EU and OZ are heavily restricted or need an engineer’s report. 

That is very good advice and needs to be noted.
Tried and tested bolt on upgrades are the way to go if mechanical and experience is limited.
Personally I am confident simply because every competition car I have built or helped build has had to have better brakes! 

 Not all bolt on goodies are equal. I have seen some examples which look like they have been designed & made by someone who has recently graduated from Airfix to Scalextric.
Conversely there are chaps like MGB281 who have produced systems which could easily be mistaken for a product from a competition specialist.
I can’t comment on soooper dooooper brake pads as I’ve never experienced the change from a respectable manufacturer, like Ferodo to some exotica.
A friend paid a fortune for some product made from materials from a distant galaxy & ran into a bus. Had he had bogo pads he would now have more hair & probably not the grey it is now.
I include a picture of my adapter plates; the unpainted one is for the rear callipers & still requires finessing, which in my workshop speak means another going over with a flat bastard file.
M
 

That's why I said"tried and tested" ..as recommended by this forum...ie. Mike Satur.
Those yellow callipers are quite fetching. You do good work even with a bastard file!

Thank you Airportable, my heads now too big to go through the doorway! Maths and Physics  (inherited from my mother) were my best subjects at school and I enjoy solving problems. I am always surprised to see five year old higher performance cars from the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes fitted with cheap Chinese tyres. If only they read how badly some of these tyres perform in the tyre tests conducted by Auto Express and ADAC they would spend a bit more on quality. The same with brake pads, ADAC tested ATE, VW, Brembo, Zimmerman and a cheap unbranded pad. The test include pad, wear, disc wear and repeated braking and a simulated mountain descent. What is surprising is that the two high performance brand’s failed to match the VW own brand pads or the ATE ones but the test equally revealed just how bad these particular unbranded ones were. 
One option for the rear on a TF would be MX5 NC calipers, same piston bore, the brake cable fits into the caliper bracket and only a small modification needs to be done to the actuation lever. They are designed for 276mm discs and have the bonus of being lighter weight. 
I know that this “upgrade “ isn’t needed but the challenge is there. I have an engine-less TF, I may yet experiment. 
It’s amazing how this thread has drifted from wheel bearings to brakes and now me adding tyres. 

 

The simple fact of us wandering around different aspects pertaining, all but loosely, to the route topic, is I think an indicator of our communities health.
Our cars are a long long way from any meaningful warranty & we can bugger about with them with impunity, within the constraints of safety fast, at least in the UK & for the time being.
When the your car was driven out of the showroom for the first, it was as compromised as the next of that model & it is only latterly have we had Kmaps & SAWs around to improve performance figures,
However it had been the misfortune of the earlier owners that has given the likes of us, the opportunity to curate a car to our liking.
I don’t know how many cars, both f & tf have given up, in death, the parts which now represent my ideal, (or at least by the time I roll
out next spring) & your car will be, in all probability, the same.
To take the front axle as an example; these items are not from the car I bought, they are off someone else’s.
One control arm, track rod, brakes, road wheels, shock absorbers, hydrogas spheres & clamps, ABS sensors.
The remaining parts apart from the castings have been replaced with new.
Hands up who recognises this scenario, probably more than the odd one.
M

Airportable post=209738 userid=5200The simple fact of us wandering around different aspects pertaining, all but loosely, to the route topic, is I think an indicator of our communities health.
Our cars are a long long way from any meaningful warranty & we can bugger about with them with impunity, within the constraints of safety fast, at least in the UK & for the time being.
When the your car was driven out of the showroom for the first, it was as compromised as the next of that model & it is only latterly have we had Kmaps & SAWs around to improve performance figures,
However it had been the misfortune of the earlier owners that has given the likes of us, the opportunity to curate a car to our liking.
I don’t know how many cars, both f & tf have given up, in death, the parts which now represent my ideal, (or at least by the time I roll
out next spring) & your car will be, in all probability, the same.
To take the front axle as an example; these items are not from the car I bought, they are off someone else’s.
One control arm, track rod, brakes, road wheels, shock absorbers, hydrogas spheres & clamps, ABS sensors.
The remaining parts apart from the castings have been replaced with new.
Hands up who recognises this scenario, probably more than the odd one.
M

This applies to most classics really, they all become frankens to a point, which amuses me when I go into buy parts and the 12 year old behind thecounter wamts to know the rego number to look up the parts......like after all these years it's going to be as factory! So what happens is they hand you stuff that might've fitted your car when it was new but now that it has the later engine, improved brakes, earlier gearbox (due to that's what you had in the shed), added accessories from higher spec models, and what ever hidden surprises the previous/devious owners have left for you to discover!

Thank you James, there are a couple of points that shine out there, the one that should chime with anyone doing there own servicing is “right tools & attention to detail”.
There are a number of reasons to work on your car, cost saving is most probably on top spot, using bargain basement “Ali Express” zero quality spanners will invariably cock the job up & you’ll have to go cap in hand to someone who can dig you out of the mire & charge accordingly.
Anyway welcome along, I suspect all the regular contributors will also endorse your comments.
M

Hi, Impressive DIY setup! Using ENB3 steel bars with stainless spacers is a smart, cost-effective solution. Great call on ATE ceramic pads—they really perform well on the road. Re-drilling hubs for 4x100 and switching to MX5 wheels for weight reduction shows attention to detail. Love how you optimized both handling and braking for Exmoor driving. Truly a well-thought-out build. 

G'day chili33 and welcome to The-T-Bar forum. Seeing as this is your 1st post, may I suggest you have a look at our checklist for new members & owners:  https://www.the-t-bar.com/forum/54-how-tos/99326-a-check-list-for-new-owners  

Another advantage of adjustable height dampers is servicing.   Wind them down to make hub removal /  spring changes etc etc simpler.