Retrofitting AP Racing CP5144-1002 caliper to Elise?

[biodan]

I realize this is a wild speculation; i've taken my AP Racing BBK kit off my E46 M3. Front caliper will definitely not fit the Elise, but the rear CP5144 4-pot caliper can fit under a 17" wheel and may fit the Elise with the right bracket or spacers, & right rotor and a 17" rim. I have yet to query after-market Lotus dealers on this issue, but it appears that they do sell individual rotors. As for rims, too bad i can't shrink my 18x9.5 RAC RS110s into the RAC Lotus rims

Oddly enough the AP Racing website lists no brake applications for Lotus- only clutches for the Elise. More likely, their search function is broken.

BTW, when i shopped for rear pads, a Cobalt Friction rep said these pads were usually in stock (vs my larger front pads) since this caliper has a longer history as front caliper for an open-wheel formula racing series (forgot the exact one).

[dma550]

A few years back I was playing with fitting Porsche 944S2 calipers on my 550 spyder project. I investigated using the smaller rears on the front so they could clear a 15" wheel. One thing that may be a barrier is that sometimes rear calipers use different size pistons, where the leading piston is smaller diameter than the trailing piston to give a more progressive breaking feel. You don’t want this on the front of your elise, check the calipers for this IMO before you proceed.

[biodan]

Originally Posted by dma550

A few years back I was playing with fitting Porsche 944S2 calipers on my 550 spyder project. I investigated using the smaller rears on the front so they could clear a 15" wheel. One thing that may be a barrier is that sometimes rear calipers use different size pistons, where the leading piston is smaller diameter than the trailing piston to give a more progressive breaking feel. You don’t want this on the front of your elise, check the calipers for this IMO before you proceed.

I just checked the calipers since the AP kit is off the M3. The rear CP5144 caliper has equal sized pistons (4). However, the front CP5575 caliper is a 6-pot with the leading cylinder smaller than the others.

While i have not yet dismounted the stock 16" LSS rim, i did place the 5144 caliper up against the wheel. This caliper may even fit inside a 16" rim. However, it seems thicker than the stock caliper. Likely a different offset or spacers or even custom bracket would be needed but i'd have to check clearance on both sides with a proper rotor installed.

This is just rambling thoughts now, i have the AP Racing kit for sale but a buyer may only want to buy the fronts - in which case i would have an opportunity to experiment.