Lola 200 series brake disc, top hats........

[Allan31]

I had found a thread started eons ago about this topic but the thread seems to have just petered out...
I am looking to find a spare set of discs for my T202 as they seem slim and fragile to begin with.
Any thoughts?

[bob darcey]

The problem is that no one can replicate the ~3" deep "hat" in a one-piece rotor. Nothing has changed since that 2006 thread, so the solution is still to find a shop that can build a two-piece replacement. I've raced my T-200 for 27 years and have had one rotor failure, so I don't agree that the originals are fragile. Run your thickest discs on the front, thin ones on the rear. The one I had trouble with had been whittled down to .215" and it cracked radially; originals are ~.375" thick.

Neil Fowler in the UK runs a fleet of T-200's; perhaps he has a solution. https://www.neilfowlermotorsport.co.uk/

[SEComposites]

Neil Fowler in the UK runs a fleet of T-200's; perhaps he has a solution. https://www.neilfowlermotorsport.co.uk/

Yes, I would definitely direct your searching to the UK. The Historic FF series is very well supported and there are a handful of T200/02’s running.

[Steve Demeter]

I bet that Richard at ICP can build it in a superb 2 piece design.. Remember that you get what you pay for. He isn't cheap, but quality has always been top shelf.

[R. Pare]

A 3" deep solid hat rotor is no big deal to make, but will not be inexpensive - the blank slug that thick will run somewhere around $130 all by itself. The machining time is not all that much, but once the lathe work is done, it takes a few hours to thoroughly clean the lathe of all of the CI chips and dust so that they do not contaminate the next job or turn to lumps of solid rust that will f'k the machine up over time.

As to cracking the old disks - they were most likely production car items cast from a grey cast iron, when is prone to develop thermal stress cracks, but are fine for normal road car usage. For racing use, the much better material is a ductile cast iron as it is much stronger and way less prone to develop thermal stress cracks.

[Steve Demeter]

Richard,

What about duplicating the "envelope' and filling it with your normal floating rotor design with a separate top hat?

[R. Pare]

Yes, can be done, but surprisingly doesn't save you all that much money.

[bob darcey]

Attached is a sketch I made from a virgin rotor a few (maybe 20 or 25) years ago. If someone gets a quote, please share the info.

LolaBrakeRotor[4719].pdf

[R. Pare]

You can expect that the slug cost in 80-55-06 ( Ductile 80) will run somewhere between $1.45 to $1.70 a pound from most suppliers, so the blank would cost between $110 to maybe $130, depending on how many slugs you buy.

[Allan31]

27 years and only one failure is very reassuring !!
I'm wondering, without the car in-front of me, (the best way of pointlessly wondering...) could some other offset be used and space out the caliper. A 2.5 inch offset might be more easily obtainable then move the caliper out. Or that a really stupid idea to even consider?....
I am enjoying the hell out of my Lola T202 now. The weekend at Thompson went along way to building trust in the car !!! Huge fun!!!

[bob darcey]

Turns out that Neil Fowler Motorsports is having a batch of T-200 series rotors cast right now. They don't have pricing available yet.

[Allan31]

Thanks for the heads-up, seems they are doing other bits as well.