rear brakes drum > disc conversion

[mrtn]

ladies and gentlemen,

who has done this? what can be used as donors and any other things to consider?

[Team GOOOSH]

Why bother? The HRV wont significantly benefit of the disc conversion. Its too light and under-powered to warrant the need of rear disks.

[mrtn]

the rear discs have no benefit whatsoever over rear drums. even being less versatile in wet weather and so on. my goal is just looks since i have just bought 5-spokes. okay, i might as well sandblast and paint the rusty drums.

[goraiko]

Mrtn, i'm guessing you'd probably have to use crv rears mate. But you'll need the handbrake set up too.

[mrphoo]

okay, i might as well sandblast and paint the rusty drums.

No need to sandblast them. Just use a wire brush and paint them with hammerite. I've done that on mine and I think the results are very good. I'll post some pics next time my wheels are clean and I have a digital camara handy.

Conversion to discs is pointless IMO, since you'll have to struggle with the handbrake. The small drum inside the CRV discs is a joke.

[mrtn]

Just use a wire brush and paint them with hammerite. I've done that on mine and I think the results are very good.

any particular hammerite product you can suggest? i am planning on matte black if possible.

[mrphoo]

any particular hammerite product you can suggest? i am planning on matte black if possible.

Not of the top of my head. I used the metal paint (not sure about the exact name) that can be applied directly to rusty surfaces. They are available in several colors and I used matte black which is close to the original color. I also thought about painting them in silver like nannis did, but I decided that that would look too girlishly :twisted:

Hammerite paints are rated for temperatures of up to 80 C and I wasn't sure if that is sufficient since the drums may become hotter during hard braking. Up until now I've seen no temperature related paint problems, however.

[PatrickDorrian]

Hammerite smooth enamel works best, best bit is it has a built in rust inhibitor so even if the surface is less than perfect it will get a good finish and last for ages :)

[freelance1000]

ladies and gentlemen,

who has done this? what can be used as donors and any other things to consider?
I've seen this done on one of the Japanese sites, unfortunately I don't remember which site. :roll:

[mrtn]

no worry, thanks. i think i'll go the easy way - wire brush and hammerite.

[mrphoo]

Okay, so for your convenience I'll describe how I did the paint job. It's easy, but for good results it's essential to pay attention to some details.

You'll need:
- a wire brush
- disposable soft cloth
- metal cleaner (I used the Hammerite product)
- Hammerite metal paint
- a fine brush
- paint thinner (Hammerite product)

The procedure takes ca. one and a half hour per side. Lift the car using the jack (as described in the owners manual) and remove the left rear wheel.

Remove the rust from the drum as thoroughly as possible using the wire brush - the better you do this the better will the finnish be. Pay special attention to the parts of the drum that face the ground - the rust is less visible there. A good sign that you can stop using the wire brush is when the rust dust gets significantly less.

Next, spray the metal cleaner on the drum and after a short while clean the surfaces up using the disposable soft cloth. Now you can apply the first thick layer of Hammerite metal paint. Make sure you apply an even layer to the drum surface. Do not paint the surface that is in contact with the rim. The paint takes two weeks to dry out completely and you don't want to wait that long before mounting the wheel. Do not spill paint inside the drum (there's a small gap). While you're at it, have a look at the rear axle/de Dion bar/Panhard rod. If you spot rust and if you're using the black metal paint, now is the time to give these spots a treatment (wire brush/metal cleaner/at least two layers of paint), too.

Get yourself a couple of beers/coffees and let the paint dry for an hour until it is dry to the touch. Apply the second layer of paint, and if you have enough beer left, even a third layer of paint. At least two. The second layer needs to be applied more carefully to make sure that the entire surface has two complete layers of paint.

If all looks good you can mount the wheel and proceed with the drum on the other side. Clean the brush using the paint thinner immediately after your done. Good luck and happy painting.

[mrtn]

w00h00! we have a new how-to!

do you have pictures to go with it? if not, i'll make them once i get to it. then i suggest submitting it in the article section.

thanks.

[nannis]

Come on mrtn, I did it myself,, you can do it.... :P

[mrphoo]

do you have pictures to go with it?

Unfortunately not.

The batteries of my digital camera were empty that day and by the time they were charged again the work was already completed.

[hondacbr]

when you have weight in the rear in HRV and braking hard you can feel de weakness of drum brakes, the braking distance is almost double than for a car with rear disks brakes, however when there is no weight in the back when braking all the weight goes to the front wheels and it stops like it should.