LocostUSA.com

I'm getting the Locost I purchased ready for Autocross. It has Hi-Ace, or Toyota Van front spindles. Pickings are pretty slim for brake pads. What are my options for brakes with the van spindles?

I recommend that you use the smaller diameter DX Van front Calipers, [2" Dia. Vs 2 1/4" Dia.] unless the build is an all-out racing set-up with larger rear disc, is because they are better suited to the lower weight of a Seven and better brake balance using the stock 13/16” Diameter master cylinder. The larger Hi-Ace piston diameter caliper will require less pedal pressure if you are not use to manual brakes. But you will probably need a dual master cylinder set-up with a balance bar so you can adjust the front to rear braking bias to prevent early front wheel lock up under heavy braking.
Note the Celica caliper is the same as the van caliper when looking for pads. An aggressive brake pad with the large disc is too easily locked up. I originally had the larger calipers and ended up buying the smaller DX.
Brake spec and pads options: Rotex Silver P/N D263, using the master cylinder stock size with a 13/16” Diameter bore: a Beck/Arnley P/N 0728370. Front brake hoses American Street Rod P/N 63010114ERL 10mm x 1.0 to AN fitting adaptors Baker Precision P/N 5920323 AN, 90* Swivel fitting for the Toyota front calipers, use Baker Precision P/N 966303 or In-Line banjo fittings. I sourced my Rotex pads out of Canada. I would probably try what you have, depending on your brake lever ratio, it may be OK, then look at options.

Thanks for the advice. I'm setting the car up for street and autocross now, with tentative plans to track it in the next couple of years.

Right now I just have a single master cylinder. I haven't driven it hard enough yet to get a good feel for which axle is going to lock up first.

For the pads, I'm a little confused. The pad size and shape should be dictated by the bracket, which is from the van, right? So is the Celica bracket the same as the van? Do I need to put Celica calipers on to use Celica pads?

The Celica bracket will NOT fit the Van spindle. You must use the Van mounting bracket, but the Celica caliper will fit on the Van bracket. [the calipers are the same if you look at P/N's] It just might be easier looking for pad options for the Celica Vs Van or looking for a caliper at a pick and pull. If you have hanging brake Padel, Vs floor mount, it is easier to changing the lever ratio when playing with brake balance. I'm at 5.1 ratio with the smaller diameter caliper and the lever just over 12" long. I'm also using the master cylinder from the GTS.

I have Toyota Van front brakes on my Locost. The brakes seemed fine for driving on the street, but the first time I took it to the track, I realized that the front brakes were locking up, and no braking at the rear. I reached out to the expert, DaveW, and followed his advice to replace the calipers with 2 1/4" pistons with the earlier ones with a 2" piston. I'm just using generic ceramic pads on the front. For the rear, ( AE86 Corolla GTS discs) I upgraded the pads to Hawk HP, which add about 25% stopping power. Now, I can stop really well.

I got the calipers from RockAuto, and I just asked for ones for an 85 Toyota Van 2.0L.
Cheers
Doug

_________________
book 4AGE build, Supra W58 transmission, Corolla GTS live axle