Discs: to servo or not to servo...

[Oldmogman]

...that is the question I’ve been pondering!

I’ve had un-assisted Marina discs on my Mog for the last 25 years and they’ve been fine (I used to have Riley 1.5 drums, which were great but difficult to source spares for), but:

1. I’m conscious they need more of a shove than the brakes on my semi-modern, so am I compromising my safety in
today’s hyper-braked traffic?

2. I’ve heard that un-servo’d discs aren’t much aren’t that much better than standard Minor drums, although it’s not clear
if that means they still need a good shove or that they are not any more powerful.

3. On the other hand, is a servo really necessary? After all, the Midget has smaller discs and no servo.

4. A minor(!) point but I like hide my modern upgrades as far as possible to keep it looking as retro possible, but the only
obvious place to fit a servo is in the engine bay.

So I’d be very interested to hear from owners of disc-braked Minors with and without servos. Is a servo a worthwhile upgrade? Do you lose ‘feel’ in the brakes? (I really hate oversensitive brakes a la Citroen DS!). Do you think it improves safety? Or is just a question of leg muscle? And if a servo is a must, whose kit would you recommend?

[philthehill]

My minor has Marina disc brakes fitted and I have never seen or felt the need to fit or use a servo. Yes more leg pressure is required but not having the servo to me gives a much better feed back through the pedal as to what the actual brakes are doing.
I had the large Riley 1.5 drums on the front of Minor before the Marina discs and the Marina discs are a great improvement. over the Riley brakes.
To give a better balance to the brakes - I have fitted Wolseley 1500 rear brakes assys to the Minor.
Phil

[bmcecosse]

You may find that a change of pads will improve the braking and/or reduce the leg load. Worth a try! I had Wolseley front drums and found the braking with one set of shoes so powerful that the rear brakes were effectively doing nothing - and the fronts would lock up all too easily if the road was damp. A change of shoes (to slightly modified TR7 rear shoes) made a world of difference - nice steady powerful braking and acceptable leg load. So brake pad/shoe material change can make a big difference. If your discs have been there for quite some time - it's also possible the calipers are a bit 'sticky' now -and perhaps the disc surface is not what it was ?

[IslipMinor]

I did fit a servo when converting to Midget/Metro based discs 17 years ago, as I didn't want the 'surprise' when getting into the Minor after regular use of a well, but not over servo'd 'modern'. The servo works very well on the road and for track days - I don't think I would want to go back to no servo now.

[simmitc]

I fitted the standard accessory servo with my Marina disks 25 years ago and have used the same setup ever since. Gentle pressure, progressive braking, good feedback. It does both front and rear brakes, wouldn't change it at all. Nothing like a horrible modern where I get flung forwards as soon as I touch the brake pedal.

[dalebrignall]

ive got a servo on drum brakes works fine for me

[Oldmogman]

Thanks guys

The discs on my car are in good order with recent new calipers and pads, and discs in good condition. It's just that I was wondering if I was missing a trick by not fitting a servo!

Perhaps I need to find someone with a disc-and-servo set-up on their car who'd let me have a drive so I can experience the difference!

[IslipMinor]

If you coming anywhere near Oxford, you are very welcome to try ours.

[faversham999]

Now I have a 1275cc engine my upgraded drums from 7 to 8 inch stops the car much better can lock all the wheels up if I press hard enough

[panky]

You need fatter wheels and tyres