Member Credit: MaximaDrvr aka Daryl Johnson
It was just under $1,800 shipped for the kit. Shipping was included at $125.
The options were:
- Slotted Rrotors
- Banjo Bolts
- Red Calipers
- Standard Ceramic Brake Pads
If you attempt this yourself, you assume that you have some mechanical aptitude, and already know how to bleed your brakes when you are done. Make sure you do not run out your brake fluid reservoir. Keep it topped off. Multiple fills per caliper.
Tools needed:
- Jack and jack stands
- Fluid Catch Tub
- Small funnel, mine came from the camping section at walmart
- 1/4″ hose, clear, 2 feet in length. Not an absolute, but will help when you bleed brakes.
- 10, 12, 14, 19 wrenches, and a 21mm if you have it
- 12, 14, 19, 21mm sockets.
- Flat head screw driver
- Impact driver: Not an absolute, but will make your life easier
- Rubber mallet
- Angle grinder with cut-off wheel.
- Paper towels
- Gloves, if you like your knuckles.
- 1L bottle of brake fluid.
- Safety glasses, or motorcycle helmet if you prefer.
I chose to complete one corner at a time, and bleed after each corner installed.
Step 1. Jack the front of the car up, place jack stands, and remove front wheels.
Step 2. Remove the front caliper bolts. Use the 14mm.
Step 3. Remove the front pads.
Step 4. Tuck the caliper out of the way, don’t leave it hanging.
Step 5. remove the carrier with the 21mm. I was not able to make mine move with the wrench and some effort, so I just used the impact gun. Mine were very, very tight after 115kmiles of not being touched.
Step 6. I opted to test fit everything and make sure I wouldn’t have problems before I went any farther. Spoke design can influence fit. That is the picture I posted previously with the single lug nut
Step 7. Place the new rotor on the hub, and use one or two lug nuts to hold it in place. Depending on your lug nuts, you may need some washers. You don’t have to do this but it makes life easier.
Step 8. Now you need to add brake pads to your new caliper. Squeal tab goes on the inside. Then you add the spring plate, followed by slide pins. Use the cotter pins to hold it together. The flat head screw driver will help you here.
Step 9. Now you want to bolt this to the knuckle. The new brakes are the caliper and carrier. YOU MAY RUN INTO AN ISSUE AT THIS POINT.
ONE OF MY CALIPERS NEEDED A SLIGHT TOUCH WITH A GRINDER. One of the gussets was slightly oversized during molding, and was hitting the knuckle. I had to remove about 1mm of material in a small section where it was hitting. It would not bolt flat otherwise. One of my calipers self corrected when I bolted it down, and was not a problem, the other needed my help. Make sure it is correct. You could also remove the material from the knuckle if you dont want to scratch your paint.
Step 10. Now we get to make more of a mess. Use the 10mm wrench to remove the bleeder screw from the outside, and open the screw on the inside.
Use the small funnel to fill the caliper. Place the catch tub under the brakes. It does not take much, so go slowly. Once full, replace and close the bleeders. Use the paper towels to wipe up spills.
Step 11. Now we need to swap the brake line. Get the new, shorter banjo bolt ready. Use the 12mm to remove the brake line. You will need the 14mm for the new one. Quickly remove old bolt, slide on new bolt, then screw it into the back of the new caliper. Remember, the order is: bolt, crush washer, brake line, crush washer, caliper.
Step 12. Bleed the brakes for that corner. It will take a bit of time and a few repetitions to get fluid in and air out. Watch the fluid level in your reservoir so you don’t run it out. Use the plastic tube now. Slide it over the bleeder, then you can guide the fluid to the catch pan, and also see if it is air or fluid being pushed out. I recommend outside, inside, then verify outside when bleeding.
Step 13. Complete the same steps on the other side to complete the front swap.
It is fairly simple, and took about 1 hour to complete. If you are inexperienced, plan for 3 hours.
Step 14. Put your front wheels back on, lower the front, raise the rear of the car, and remove the rear wheels.
Step 15. Now we will take care of the rear brakes. Remove the rear caliper and pads. Use the 14mm for the caliper bolts. Use the 19mm for the carrier bolts. The bottom bolts both require a wrench, not socket, because of the tight space. Again, tuck the caliper somewhere out of the way.
You may need the hammer or mallet to get the disks off. Tape around the hat, and on the face of the rotor.
Step 16. This is more involved than the fronts because of the dust shield. You will need your cutoff wheel now.
If you optioned for factory dust shields, you will need to do substantially more work, and I won’t describe the process of removing the parking brake shoes and hub to R&R the shield. You need to remove the protruding ring of the dust shield as well as make room for the new caliper.
It makes a lot of sparks. Wear safety glasses. I do not recommend wearing safety glasses and a hat, as it can direct sparks behind the glasses if they are not well fitting. If wearing a hat, turn it around. My friend was with me, and wore his motorcycle helmet while cutting the other side.
When I showered afterward, there was a substantial amount of metal in my limited amount of hair.
Comparison:
Step 17. Install the pads into the caliper. Again, squeal tab towards the inside. Then place the new rotor on, and bolt on the caliper.
Step 18. Follow the same procedure as the fronts to fill the calipers with fluid, swap the brake line, and bleed.
Step 19. Put the wheels back on, torque everything down, and test the brakes.
Make sure you don’t have any weird noises, vibrations, etc. Bedding, or seating the brakes will vary based on which pads you choose.
Impressions:
WOW, Wow, wow. The brakes bite earlier than before, with a more solid pedal feel. When you really give the brake pedal some pressure, it will quickly lock your seat belt and try to give passengers whip-lash. There is a slight decrease in acceleration. THESE BRAKES ARE 37 POUNDS HEAVIER THAN THE STOCK OPTION. That is ~12lbs each per front, and ~6lbs each in the rear more weight.
If you can afford it, or if you have had them long enough to need replacement, I HIGHLY recommend the light two-piece rotors. You will only add 2lbs to the front and 1lb to the rear with this $900 option.
On slotted rotors:
The direction does not matter for these disks. They are manufactured with straight veins on the inside, or omnidirectional. It is up to you if you want the veins to go forward or backward.
I have heard repeatedly that spinning opposite of wheel travel can cause more noise, so I opted for spinning with direction of travel.
When they are on the car, you really loose the sense of scale. This is what I show people to give them an idea of size:
Comments are closed.