Will front rotors/calipers fit the rear?

[tbone28]

*Mods: not sure if this thread belongs here or in the Modifications group. Please move accordingly.*

I will be installing the S-Mann BBK shortly. Now wondering if I could remove the rear drums and replace them with the front brake set-up.

Would this be an easy swap? Thanks for any help

[Smart09]

Would be nice to know

[jetfuel]

...you will have to fabricate /find brackets that will allow you to mount the calipers.
...easy with the right parts...hard without them

jetfuel

[mdfortwoguy]

And then factor in issues with ESP/EBD/BAS...

Swapping discs on the rear doesn't look to be easy on this car.

[SmartTech]

dont know yet but i have a customer working on it. He is a custom motorcycle builder (for a living) and he has some oe rotors and is going to fit them and make brackets if he can. how ever you might not want oe smart calipers as they do not have any e-brake provisions. Now stock subaru front calipers would work well..

he is also working on making hears using the oe cat and flange. this way would be street legal. when all is said and done he is going to spend some dyno time and nest a number other things (oe filter, kn filter, stock in in let tude, smooth tube, exhausts with and with muffler, header and both combos. ect) i am hoping it gets done sooner rather then later but never know...

[smartune]

No e-brake on the calipers, but the disk will bolt right on. You'd be on your own to fab brackets for the conversion... I played around with it for a little while but came to the conclusion that it isn't a worthwhile endeavor.


And to top it off I have a perfectly good S-Mann conversion sitting here for you... Its a direct bolt-on and the disks/hats match the fronts.

Best,

-Dan

[tbone28]

Originally Posted by smartune

No e-brake on the calipers, but the disk will bolt right on. You'd be on your own to fab brackets for the conversion... I played around with it for a little while but came to the conclusion that it isn't a worthwhile endeavor.


And to top it off I have a perfectly good S-Mann conversion sitting here for you... Its a direct bolt-on and the disks/hats match the fronts.

Best,

-Dan

LOL, Dan. I know it's still waiting for me. I just thought I could save some money, but it doesn't look to be worth the time or effort. I'll be in touch when i get the new rims on.

[chasingrabbits]

I for one will have to disagree with the assessment that this project will be too costly and not worth the effort. My experience with this type of mod has been with a old Mini Cooper where I removed the front drum brakes and installed VW Golf GTI front discs. The most complicated design hurdle was determining the offset for the caliper mounting plate. Once that was fine tuned fabrication was straight forward and simple. In the end they worked perfect.

For mod the Smart rears I see the steps in the projects as 1. locate a donor car that uses rear discs and has 15' wheels. after purchasing that item 2.redrill the discs to match the Smart lug locations and put into place 3.determine mounting bracket offset,hole locations and correct height for the calipers. 4. fabricate the mounting bracket.. 5. mount all new parts. 6. fab e brake cable connection. and brake lines. This all sounds more complicated than it will be in actual practice. Finally share what you learn with everyone else!

[mdfortwoguy]

Looking at it from a mechanical perspective it is not hard.

Like I said above, what could be done about the electronics as a form of compensating control?

[tbone28]

Just realized I posted this thread in the wrong forum (original smart fortwo). Sorry. Can it be moved?