Hi everyone, this really isnt directed at a Ford application (although Im sure some of its applicable) but you may find it interesting nonetheless.

Some of the guys from here have seen my 1990 Volvo 240 which spends most of its life as a track car.

As you all may well know, Volvos are renowned for great brakes. 240s have a 4 spot caliper up front as standard, mated to a decent vented disc fed by two brake lines per caliper (rears are fed by one)

Here is a current pic of the front brake setup.
It runs rebuilt calipers with stainless steel lines (with kevlar cores), Slotted Brembo front rotors, EBC greentsuff pads and DVS (built in-house by us) ducted backing plates.



These are the original prototype ones we built.
In the picture you can see the adjustable swaybar link also.

Here's a pic of a production version, in our standard, non-attention seeking, color.
The mesh is stainless steel and is riveted in after powdercoating rather than being bronzed in like in the prototype version, which was powdercoated after the mesh was fitted. Not a big difference, but the production version is prettier.



We're currently in the middle of a series II mazda rx7 (5 stud) caliper conversion, which features an aluminium as opposed to cast iron caliper, is 9lbs lighter and has about 1/3 bigger pad surface area. Of course this will mean larger front discs and a new custom, one-off backing plate, but thats no problem.
We're also in the middle of changing how the swaybar link works, but if people are interested, I'll post progress pics of it. It's not far off being ready to test now.

Anyway, perhaps some of your might find it interesting - ignoring the fact that its a Volvo of course!

Well you can count me as an interested party!
Looks like you guys are doing some great work for the Volvo modding community.
A little bit different from 'who makes the best cam'

c ool

so whatexactly does this plate do?

allow better cooling of the disc and brake parts?

Yep, ducts passing air onto them.
You see track cars with ducting that reaches forward to just under the front bumper.
Seeing what ashvolvo and DVS have done has me contemplating something similar for the ED.
We need all the help we can get when it comes to brakes!

ive seen the V8 super cars style ducting and due to the difernet suspension setups they have it looks heaps different to the above setup

trust me guys ash's work looks far better in person
and im sure he will try and develop some for us falcon boys if you ask nicely

pity he aint in WA i would volenter the au

Very much so.
What you need to keep in mind that maximum steering lock is far less or a V8 supercar, or any 'real' racing car for that matter, than a typical road car, so significantly larger ducts arent possible unless you want to reduce steering lock dramatically.
You could always go for a backing plate with circular holes on the back of it and run heat proof flexible ducting to it, but again, tying it up out of the way and making sure contact with the tyre doesnt rip it out is going to cause problems - No one wants do a 9-point turn

Then theres the theory of no backing plate at all - Air would circulate around the wheel as it spins, but largely it would 'spill' out as it isnt being directed, and therefore would be wasted and not doing a great deal for cooling. Obviously there is greater potential for debris and road grime to come into contact with a disc here too.

So, ducts are ideal - the wheel spins moving air around, the car moving forward at speed forces air into the ducts, deliberately on different angles, which as a result keeps brakes cooler for longer.

They make an amazing different at tight places like Winton, but places with a long straight where you'd repeatedly slow down from 200kmh to 120kmh for turn 1, they're fantastic.

I'm positive that something similar could be done on an E series, If anyone wants to email me with questions or suggestions, we'd be happy to entertain them.

Brett can tell you himself that on the last track day he came out to watch, I think it was Calder early last year with the Ford Falcon/Fairlane club, there was not a single car that my 240 couldnt out-brake into turn 1.

Thanks!
Even to us the words 'Volvo', 'Modding' and 'Community' sometimes make us laugh.

The Volvo performance scene really is a niche market, we're lucky that availability of decent performance parts here is pretty thin, lots of the Australian Volvo clubs help us a lot with support, free advertising, positive reviews, etc
Overseas its very big, the US have a decent aftermarket performance Volvo scene and then theres obviously Sweden, Norway and the UK (The BTCC did great things for Volvos image over there)
But we're breaking into those markets too, with sales recently the the US, Germany, Sweden and Norway and if things go to plan there may be a car at SEMA this year running one of our strut braces.

Shipping is the biggest hurdle, but as people develop an appreciation for our product and we build our brand in those markets, people will happily purchase a product that they cant see in the flesh or touch before it arrives. It just takes time and extra-effort in looking after customers.

I may bring the 240 out the the all-ford day next weekend if anyones interested in seeing it before the front end comes out of it again.