Ford Fiesta Zetec S

Mikey

Mikey

Mikey

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Looking at replacing my other halfs 1.4 Ghia Fiesta 1999 plate. Been looking at other fiestas and wondering whether they all come with drum brakes on the rear? I'm looking at the Zetec S at the mo..

I'm looking for a £5-6k spend and that includes the £1.5k part ex for her car. Basically the similar car MUST have discs all round. Was also thinking Seat Ibiza etc (I'm a Leon Cupra owner at the mo)
 
The Fiesta ST is the only Fez to have disc brakes at the back - quite simply because every other fiesta didn't need discs (and even the ST doesn't really!)

Out of interest, why are you so bothered by you wife having disc brakes on the rear of her car?
 
Because I took her car out last week and couldn't believe how poor the brakes are.. The car is regularly serviced etc.

I apply the brakes on mine and it stops with no fuss and without the doubt.

I get the train these days so my car has been in the drive for the last 2 weeks, so now when I do pop out I take her fiesta..

Long term plan after some things on the house have been done I'll be looking at MK4 R32 or 53 plate S4/S3
 
Rear discs won't really make that much difference. Brake bias is usally about 90/10 split front to rear. Also there's lots of other things that can affect braking, such as quality of the discs / pads, whether there's been a recent brake fluid change etc..

I wouldn't choose a car purely based on the rear brake setup!
 
Mikey said:
Because I took her car out last week and couldn't believe how poor the brakes are.. The car is regularly serviced etc.

I apply the brakes on mine and it stops with no fuss and without the doubt.

I get the train these days so my car has been in the drive for the last 2 weeks, so now when I do pop out I take her fiesta..

Long term plan after some things on the house have been done I'll be looking at MK4 R32 or 53 plate S4/S3
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That's because you have a Leon Cupra and you're comparing it to a 1999 1.4 Fiesta. The rear discs won't make much difference to braking at all as they only deal with around 10-20% of braking.

One thing that'd make a lot more difference would be to get some decent discs and pads for her Fez.

EDIT: dammit, beaten.
 
I know I wouldn't purely choose a car either, but it'll be on my wants list..

I'll have a chat with my garage at JKM, but I always remember her brakes being crap.
 
Gaygle said:
That's because you have a Leon Cupra and you're comparing it to a 1999 1.4 Fiesta. The rear discs won't make much difference to braking at all as they only deal with around 10-20% of braking.

One thing that'd make a lot more difference would be to get some decent discs and pads for her Fez.

EDIT: dammit, beaten.
Click to expand...

But then worth spending too much money on the motor, so I was thinking of replacing it. It's done 75k and never had any issues.
 
Mikey said:
But then worth spending too much money on the motor, so I was thinking of replacing it. It's done 75k and never had any issues.
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New brake discs and pads from ebay, fit them yourself, probably a spending of around £60 quid as opposed to buying a whole new car and spending thousands. It'd be a shame to get rid of it as you say its done 75k and never given you a problem.

Sounds like a decent car, i'd recommend fitting good quality discs and pads, and then go from there.
 
I've driven cars that have had drums on the rear and they've been terrible at stopping (notably my old 306 Dturbo). However, the 97 mondeo I'm trundling around in at the moment also has drums on the rear, yet the brakes are superb - I've never even come close to using their full stopping potential. Some manufacturers just seem to fit horiffic brakes to their lower end models, which I think is criminal :mad:
 
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