E-Type Rear Brake Upgrade Kit

E-Type rear brake upgrade

The rear brakes on the Jaguar IRS unit are notorious for all the wrong reasons. They are reasonably effective at slowing the back of the car but the handbrake has always been a source of frustration and access to any part requires dexterity which most humans do not possess.

The brakes are largely the same on all models of Jaguar fitted with the iconic IRS axle. Two brake designs were employed, with either an early Dunlop or later Girling system fitted. However, when these brakes were used on the E-Type, Jaguar had to squeeze them into the smallest axle layout they produced and access reached a new level of ‘difficult’!

Another issue with the classic IRS layout is that the hot brake discs and pads are placed inboard, close to the differential. It is bit of an urban myth that this lead to oil seal failures (if things are that hot you have a serious problem) but it did limit the cooling of the rear brake discs and pads. Jaguar recognised this problem and even added cold air ducts to the underside of the Series 3 E-Type to help alleviate this.

E-Type Rear Brake Upgrade – Handbrake Calipers

Since all E-Types are now getting on for 50+ years old it is not surprising to find that the handbrake mechanism and compensator have become worn by continual use. This is made worse by the need to ‘yank’ on the handbrake lever when parking anywhere that isn’t billiard table smooth. Again, Jaguar realised this was a problem and extended the handbrake lever by about 100mm (4″) in the Series 3. This finally gave owners a fighting chance of parking safely on modest inclines.

There have been a number of efforts to improve the rear brakes and handbrake in the past but we think we have finally arrived a solution that addresses all of the shortcomings of the original design. Our E-Type rear brake upgrade kit is available for all models of E-Type from the earliest 3.8 Series 1 to the last of the V12 cars and is suitable for manual and automatic transmissions.

The E-Type rear brake upgrade kit from Fosseway Performance has been designed with performance and serviceability in mind. It incorporates a a modern, four pot hydraulic caliper which delivers just the right amount of braking, a totally new, remote handbrake caliper which has been positioned to ease pad changes and a cable operated handbrake compensator which is easy to adjust. Better still, The E-Type rear brake upgrade kit offers the option of vented rear brake discs to keep things cool. (Note – vented discs cannot be fitted to the 3.8 Series 1 cars due to lack of space)

The kit can be fitted to any model of E-Type and requires absolutely no modifications to the axle. In fact, it is easier to install then the original brakes. We have also been careful to ensure that the handbrake cable and hydraulic brake line for the original car will simply connect straight up to the brake kit once the axle is reinstalled.

We have been supplying this kit to the trade for around 3 years and have been delighted by the demand and the level of repeat orders. We think we have something here that all E-Type owners will love.

E-Type Rear Brake Upgrade Kit

Each kit features the following elements:

4 piston anodised alloy calipers
EBC Brake pads
Simplified brake pipe layout (stainless steel braided brake hoses)
New handbrake compensator and cables
Remote rear mounted handbrake calipers
Integrated remote bleed kit

The kit requires no permanent modifications to the rear axle and provides perfectly balanced braking at the rear, ideally complementing one of our front brake upgrades. (It should be noted that Series 1 cars will require a brake upgrade at the front to ensure brake balance is maintained)

Major benefits include:

Modern progressive feel to the brakes
Reliable caliper design
Easily adjusted handbrake
Simplified access to both the handbrake and main calipers for pad changes
Optional vented rear brake rotors to help reduce the heat build-up associated with hard braking or long descents – 4.2 and V12 cars only