Zman

I purchased Hawk brake pads and new slotted rotors from Steven at

r1concepts. http://www.r1concepts.com/

I was very pleased with the transaction. Prices and shipping were great.

They made new rotors specially for me and they look very nice.

Here they are, zinc plated:








Will probably install them tomorrow.

I'll post a couple pics of them installed then.

ajcadoo

zman, let me know how you like them and how hard the install was. I have no idea how to install brake pads let alone new rotors, but i hate the stock rotors. id also like to change the brake calliper to maybe a different color. itll probably be a project to tackle later this year for me.

Zman

My rotors are rusting and look terrible. I recommend this site over Ebay or something for sure.

Caliper paint is widely available. I got some at Autozone. I got red even though yellow would make more sense with my theme. Red just looks the best.



Check out these Tech DIYs:

Brake Rotor install.

Brake painting.

ajcadoo

SWEET! Thanks for the DIYs!!!!! I will definitely add it to the to do list!

Mouse

Well if it's not actually time to change them, I'd recommend doing them when it's warmer. i.e. early to mid-summer.
I have a tC.... but the principles are the same when working on/ installing disc brakes. I'm actually a mechanic, and I've been building custom cars for many years. Tackling that sort of a project isn't too bad even for a relative noob. It's a pretty straight forward project. Just get the right direction before you start.
If you have questions, feel free to shoot me an email and I'll help guide ya through it.

burstaneurysm

Brake rotors on the xB are a piece of cake. The rotors literally fall off when you pull the caliper.

MadMike550

thats true...they practically uninstall themselfs when you remove the rotor.


what did those parts run you Zman?

Zman

It was $155, and Hawk pads are $70 alone on a lot of sites.

ajcadoo

sweet, i am loving all the positive ease of install...making me wanna do it more!

Zman

I got them installed. It started to rain on me so I couldn't add multiple coats of caliper paint or anything!


Since I have 94k miles, WD40 and the heat gun were needed to break the caliper bolts loose. That was not fun. It made it take a lot longer than it needed to. Since its wet out, I went to the church across the street and did a couple stops and they just stutter then lock up quickly. Maybe they grip too well, haha. They look a hell of a lot better of course. I'll see how the Hawk pads do on the dry road in a few days. It's supposed to keep raining.
I am so glad that they didn't end up rubbing the rotor or anything. The old pads were certainly a lot thinner than these.

MadMike550

I hope you used brake cleaner Zman...

wd40 will ruin your new pads and rotors

one of the most important things to know about brakes it do not use petrolium products on your rotors or brake pads..

grease, oil, wd40 and the like will cause hot spots on your rotors and they will glaze and ruin your pads

burstaneurysm

Yea, brake cleaner for sure and make sure you bed the pads in too.

engifineer

New rotors come with an oxidation-prevention coating on them. You always clean them very well with brake cleaner before installing or they brakes will not work the way they should.

As far as using WD40, he meant on the caliper bolts, not on the brakes themselves. That or some good penetrating oil will help break those bolts loose.

You need to bed in the pads. Stop-techs website has good info on doing this. Basically, you need to make 10 very hard braking maneuvers from 60 mph to 10mph back to back, then get the car up to speed for a while to cool the brakes down.. and repeat. Your brakes will work much better and more consistently after doing this.

Zman

Thanks! Will be doing both.

MadMike550

"As far as using WD40, he meant on the caliper bolts, not on the brakes themselves. That or some good penetrating oil will help break those bolts loose. "

I understood that...wd40 will overspray..if you use it anywhere near your brake pads or rotors...do yourself a favor and use brake cleaner..to eliminate any possibility of contamination of petrolium products

Zman

The bolts are behind the brake dust shield. I figured lubricant would be a bad thing for one of the few things you WANT friction for on a car. The WD40 all dripped away by the time I put the new rotors on anyway.

I took them back off and sprayed them with brake cleaner. A lot of stuff came off of them.

I did one set of stops for a bed in procedure. The brakes were radiating heat. I just read the whole Stop tech procedure, it is very helpful, thanks!

Should the color of the pads (black) rub off on the rotor at all?

WhoKilledTheJAMs

I replaced my pads and rotors about a year ago -- one of the easier brake jobs I've ever done.

Next time, however, I'll have to paint my calipers and drums -- that wasn't an issue when I was running Moon discs.

engifineer

Good luck getting brake cleaner to free up corroded bolts... cause it wont ;)

You just need to use a spout tube on the penetrating oil an use a bit of common sense and you wont get it near the rotor.

When you put it back together, use a bit of anti seize on the bolts to keep it from getting rusted/crudded up again.

Also, sand the hub surface with some 100 or so grit sand paper and apply a light film of anti seize there and on the studs before placing the rotor on. Then apply a light film of anti seize to the rotor hat surface that the wheel flange sits against. Just use care not to touch the braking surfaces with any anti-seize, grease, etc and dont leave any blobs of it anywhere. The anti-seize will prevent the wheel from getting galded and stuck to the rotor face and prevent the rotor from being hard to break loose next time you take it off.

Zman

I used anti-seize on the caliper bolts and for the wheel lugs. I didn't think about using it behind the rotor, it is pretty dirty behind there.

Some poor photos...

Before shot:




Greasy fingers!



Amazing OEM piece



After severe thunderstorms and hail



I can't wait to give her a bath...

MadMike550

\i{Good luck getting brake cleaner to free up corroded bolts... cause it wont ;) }

it wont..and usually it isnt neccessary...
I'm ASE certified in brakes
and no matter how you deal with bolts that do not fall off for you..my point is valid and should be taken seriously..
Re: the use of brake cleaner and NOT getting any petrolium products on or near your rotors or brake pads
is what to focus on


Zman..you have a pm