Could I have the Monte converted to Rear Discs and is it as easy as that? for example ordering a set of Elegance or vrs discs and pads and having them fitted?

The rear drums spoil the look of the car imo and you see so much of them due to the style of the wheels.

Interesting in the sales brochure Skoda mention rear drum brakes as a feature which I find totally baffling!

You will be looking for a few more parts than those, there will be the Calipers & mounting for them,

before the pads can be put in them.

Best talk to who ever is going to be doing the conversion for you.

That will be setting up the Conversion to give you the Hand Brake & brakes.

george

You'll need handbrake cables hubs disc cal opera backing plates flex brake lines and a few clips and other bits

Does not sound cheap at all !!! Our other car is a Mk1 1.9TDI (2006)...... and this came with discs as standard.... why has Skoda gone backwards ?

It is not really backwards.

Other manufacturers are reverting to using drums.

Following a KISS priciple.

Nice and simple, drums and shoes, that work, in that the brakes work.

No disc rusting overnight, sticky calipers etc.

They are only there to slow down and stop a vehicle it, hold it on the hand brake.

if they do that job, then that seems enough really.

george

Picture stolen against Copyright from another member.

(The Disc Brakes on a vRS are not exactly hi-tech or impressive, they look weady actually through the wheels.,

they just work the same as those drums on a Monte or anything else really,& they work fine at the brake test come MOT time.)

If you do need to upgrade for Fast Road or Track use,

you could go better than a Standard vRS set up.

If for style only, then you could fit Fake Disc & Caliper things for lots less money.

It is easy (with the right tools and knowhow) to do the conversion....

You will need discs, pads, calipers, caliper mounting brackets.........might need hoses, cables.....then the associated bolts and clips

Not 100% certain.....but......

Look on the MKI Fabia section as there are plenty on threads on fitting bigger rear discs and calipers from the Octavia???..

You might find that the whole rear disc setup is the same as the one from MKI Fabia and MK4 Golf/Octavia!.......so get new pads and discs but get refurbed/secondhand calipers/mounting brackets!

And yes even in Car Mechanic Monthly they moan about why manufactures are still fitting drums........

Discs are easier to maintain and have fewer parts in the calipers...also easier to see if faulty!

If you are going to improve the rear braking ability,

then you might want to improve the fronts for the correct balance/bias between front and rear.

Easy enough to go changing rear brakes, But get someone that does know what they are at, to do it tho,

no point in locking rear wheels,

you want the car stopping safely and the Mk2 fabia is not the heaviest of cars when driving about unloaded,

the back end certainly is not heavy..

george

If you are going to improve the rear braking ability,

then you might want to improve the fronts for the correct balance/bias between front and rear.

Easy enough to go changing rear brakes, But get someone that does know what they are at, to do it tho,

no point in locking rear wheels,

you want the car stopping safely and the Mk2 fabia is not the heaviest of cars when driving about unloaded,

the back end certainly is not heavy..

george

The ABS takes care of the majority of the bias in a system .......and if you have ASR, ESP etc then you are ok!.......also some of the Fabias have rear discs as standard from the factory.......like my MKI Fabia.....also the Greenline MKII etc, etc.........so it is well within the OEM spec of the car/platform

This might help, & someone that can maybe talk you through it.

(see page 5)

http://www.briskoda....kii/page_st_120

This might help, & someone that can maybe talk you through it.

(see page 5)

http://www.briskoda....kii/page_st_120

Forgot that he had converted his "lowly" 1.4, 85BHP.........now 135bhp

direct linky to post..

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/223753-32kofdata-fabia-sport-mkii/page__st__120#entry3015604

Cheers guys, It would be for looks rather than improved braking that i would consider a rear disc brake conversion.

I guess drums are cheaper than a disc brake system and with the added extras already on the Monte as standard I guess Skoda have economised with a rear drum brake system to keep the overall cost of the car competitive.

I do think people who are into cars do notice things like this and the fact that the Monte Carlo is a quick car,it having rear drums brakes would suggest

its not a 'fast car', just something bog standard thats been dressed up, however a rear disc brake system has always been synonymous with a performace car.

Edited 6 December, 201213 yr by charles

however a rear disc brake system has always been synonymous with a performace car.

Youv'e just answered your own question. Fast cars need the greater surface area friction generated by a disc at the rear.

They also then need to expell the extra heat thats generated by the increased friction which is why most are drilled, grooved

and vented. You will notice that even the VRS rear discs are single unvented thats because they arn't that much more

efficient than drums at the back so don't generate the heat / fade. I can only assume that they can get your fabia to stop under the required distance by using drums. Contrary to what you might think drums are better in some instances. Rear Discs can be very grabby as aposed to a very linear transfer of braking efficiency given by shoes on a drum. No where near the stopping power but your car isn't heavy enough or powerfull enough to warrent it. I think rears only provide about 35% of the total braking performance anyway. And the last think you want is a lock up. Drums are sometimes much better at holding the handbrake. You may find on very steep hills that rear discs are quite poor at holding with the handbrake. I think if its purely for looks then i don't think brakes fall into this category they should only ever be seen as an essential safety equipment. Now if your having trouble stopping then thats different thing entirely and maybe you should be onto the dealers. Its not really a performance car in my opinion, its a nice car i considerd getting the wife one but i would say its more aesthetically impressive rather than impressive performance. Nothing wrong with drums at the back pal just enjoy your car the Monte is a great looking motor and i don't think drums detract from this.

I agree with above nothing really wrong with Drums i know many see this as "old tech" but it works and works well. Even some trucks still use Drums and shoes on rear or all axles .

I agree with above nothing really wrong with Drums i know many see this as "old tech" but it works and works well. Even some trucks still use Drums and shoes on rear or all axles .

The reason for that is that truck brakes are sprung loaded ON and only release when there is air in the system , its a fail safe nothing to do with performance

Cheers guys, It would be for looks rather than improved braking that i would consider a rear disc brake conversion.

I guess drums are cheaper than a disc brake system and with the added extras already on the Monte as standard I guess Skoda have economised with a rear drum brake system to keep the overall cost of the car competitive.

I do think people who are into cars do notice things like this and the fact that the Monte Carlo is a quick car,it having rear drums brakes would suggest

its not a 'fast car', just something bog standard thats been dressed up, however a rear disc brake system has always been synonymous with a performace car.

I wouldnt call the Monte a "quick" car, as you say it's a dressed up version of the standard car - no more performance than you can get with an SE or Elegance etc.

Would having some rear discs fool people into thinking its faster than it really is? I don't think so to be honest.

For all the time / money / hassle you would incur doing this conversion I'd think youd be better off getting the real McCoy and having a vRS. No worries then abit people looking down their nose at your drums hehe!

The reason for that is that truck brakes are sprung loaded ON and only release when there is air in the system , its a fail safe nothing to do with performance

Yes i get this and obviously this the same as per trucks with Discs too.

But if dics were considered to be a massive improvement they would done away with drums.

All i was getting at is drums are arent such a bad thing and not woth the hassle in converting to discs.