AP Racing brake upgrade, Earl braided hoses, Ferodo DS2500 pads
On 23 February 2010 the Corsa was booked into Thorney Motorsport for the fitting of AP Racing 4 pot disc brakes to the front, Earl braided hoses front and rear and Ferodo pads (as recommended by Thorney Motorsport) to the front. The rear discs, pads and calipers remain as standard fit since nearly 90% of braking is done by the front brakes.
Details of this brake system upgrade are given below.
23 February 2010 - AP Racing brake upgrade, Earl braided hoses, Ferodo pads
Developed in conjunction with Vauxhall themselves the AP Racing kit represents the ultimate in braking upgrades for the VXR Corsa. This four pot caliper kit comprises of a pair of separate aluminium bells, grooved 343mm disks complete with AP racing 5.1 fluid and braided hoses.
The Corsa VXR comes as standard with rubber brake lines, these deform and flex when in use which causes the brake fluid inside to heat up and reduce braking performance immediately. You hear of people saying they "boiled the brake fluid". Well this, in part, is due to brake lines flexing and heating up the fluid. Thorney Motorsport have developed special braided brake lines for the Corsa VXR. Braided lines are hoses wrapped in a metal sheath that resists flex and thus reduces the heat build up for the fluid, it means braking consistency is maintained and full power braking for is maintained longer, especially in repeated braking.
For the Corsa VXR Racing Thorney Motorsport recommend fitting the Ferodo DS2500 as a good fast road pad whch can still perform well on track. These pads were developed with characteristics that make them perfect for track days, including a consistent coefficient of friction (0.50) at any temperature combined with low wheel dusting and good noise characteristics, providing very predictable braking and great pedal modulation.
The main characteristics of Ferodo DS2500 Pad are:
- Race developed
- Performs equally well on heavy and light cars
- 20% less pad wear than competitive products
- Minimal bedding-in. Supplied ready to use
- Disc friendly
- Consistent friction level with changing temperatures and speeds to give optimal pedal modulation
- High friction level at low temperature (good cold braking)
- High friction level at very high temperatures
- 35% less compressibility than competitive products (racing pedal feel)
- Less noise for increased driving comfort
