are 1986/87 5ktq brakes really different from other years?

[auditude at cox.net]

Hi Martin and others,

I'm not getting less confused, yet.  If I read this correctly, this is opposite to what someone else posted.

First of all, when we speak of carriers, is that the same as what I refer to as the bracket?  I believe it is.  It's the part that must be removed (or maybe not) in order to remove the rotor?  The part that the two caliper guide pins go into?

Is there more than one type of G54 caliper, or more than one type of G54 caliper carrier/bracket, or more than one type of each?

Specific clarifications/questions inserted below:

"Martin Pajak" <Martin at quattro.ca> wrote:
>
> The difference between the G54 is the caliper carrier itself.

So, there is one type of G54 "caliper proper", which is used on both my Coupe GT and 5kt donor?  I should be able to swap G54's between the two cars, leaving the carrier/brackets on their respective strut/wheel bearing housings?

> When I installed the G54 on the back of my '83 I had few choices.
> G54 from 4kq, or G54 from old 5kt (half aluminium).
> They only differed in carrier mounting bolt spacing, i.e. either would bolt up to the other's carrier.  The carrier offset and mounting bolt
> spacing is different.  Hence the G54 on a 5k strut.

So, the caliper interface of the carrier/bracket is the same, but the strut/wheel bearing interface of the two types of brackets are different?

Something here isn't right, since Taka wrote that he swapped G54 calipers to G60's, and didn't have to swap carrier/brackets too.  Taka, did this swap require changing rotors to ones with a different offset perhaps?

If that's true, then why would someone need to get 80/90 strut/wheel bearing housings in order to bolt on G60's instead of the G54's?  (this is what I've always heard, consistently)  Is this because they don't already have a set of G60 caliper proper's, and they are converting the whole suspension over?  Or perhaps they have 5kt carrier/brackets/calipers, and can only bolt those onto 80/90 struts (as you suggest below, potentially sharing the same brackets)?

I have a set of G60 calipers.  I have G54's on my Coupe GT.  I guess I'm going to just have to dig all this crap out of the storage and see what fits.  If what both Martin and Taka say is correct, then I should be able to bolt them onto the Coupe GT strut/wheel bearing housing/carrier/brackets, without swapping struts out.

But if what someone else posted is correct, then there are two types of G54's, one of which shares the same carrier/bracket interface as the G60's do, and another that is only usable with the non-G60 carrier/bracket, which I apparently have on my Coupe GT.

Huw suggested that I didn't have G54's on my Coupe GT, or perhaps he was suggesting that I didn't have "the same" G54's as I have on my 5kt donor.

This is clear as mud to me at this point.  I'm probably just missing something that is right in front of me.  Do all these different posts "not" contradict each other, or do I just think they do?

Thanks for any info.

Ken

> I believe the 90q had the G54 with same carriers as 5k/t at some point in it's life, no BTDT there though.
>
> Hope this helps.
> Martin Pajak
> www.quattro.ca
>
> Huh?  Wow.  This is very interesting, as my MC-1 donor 5kt has G54's on it, which are the same as the o.g. brakes on my Type 85's.
>
> This makes me wonder about the 5kt caliper brackets.  Do the G54 and G60 interface the same with the
> caliper bracket?  That doesn't make sense, because ppl with Type 85's typically have to swap to 80/90
> style front strut housings to get the G60's on, I believe.
>
> Or, perhaps there's something special about the 5k brackets versus the 4k bracket, and it can accept
> either caliper.  What gives?