Consolidated Macan Brembo upgrade thread (READ FIRST POST)

[kmarriner]

This being said, I still plan on getting an actual set of track pads for those days I will need them. Now to start the search for a track pad. Besides the one suggested on the first post, what others have been tried and liked? My plan is to start attending some of the scca events, if my region even opens back up that is.

I've always been a fan of hawk on the track. Blue, black, DTC, etc.

 

[pseudorealityx]

I'll post pictures, probably tonight or tomorrow. My alignment shop doesn't have an opening until Tuesday, so no Road Atlanta for me tomorrow. Next one is AMP on the 12th.

Alright... generally I followed the RacingBrake instructions (https://racingbrake.com/caliper-rebuild-instructions/), but here's the story anyway.

Here's where we started:
IMG_20200721_205034 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr

This was my first attempt at putting some padding in the middle of the caliper for when you "eject" the pistons via compressed air. I'll say it was the first attempt... it was mostly the only attempt on the first caliper. If you've never done it before, the trick is that you want to loosen all the pistons simultaneously, because as soon as 1 is out, the pressure no longer helps. I didn't realize this at first, and the foam kneeling pad wasn't thick enough, so the first time I hit it with compressed air, one of the pistons popped out immediately, so I ended up having to get out the other 3 by hand.
IMG_20200721_205132 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr
Oops...
IMG_20200721_211029 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr

So... prying them out by hand... no fun, but doable.
IMG_20200721_220825 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr

Here's the effects of 3 "short" track events on the dust boots. I say short, because these are SCCA Track Night in America events, so (3) 20 min sessions each... so total of ~3 hours of track time, 2 hours at Atlanta Motorsports Park, and 1 hour at Road Atlanta.
IMG_20200721_211041 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr

So on the 2nd caliper, I went and found a couple of old strap pieces of 2x4. These were pretty well sized to block the pistons from coming all the way out with some use of several layers of cardboard. That worked much better. Of note, you will get brake fluid EVERYWHERE. It's a mess. Some of the dust boots got damaged more while I was removing them... the above picture is more representative of typical damage done via heat. The seals all seemed fine, fwiw. Everything pulled out:
IMG_20200721_220756 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr

The RacingBrake dust boots say all over their website, and their installation website that the boots CANNOT touch any brake fluid, or the seals will self destruct, so I did a thorough cleaning of the calipers, pistons, and my work surface as they are damn expensive for some little pieces of silicone. Cleaned and wiped everything down with BrakeKleen, and then left everything to dry overnight just to make sure. I reinstalled my LCA's (just added the SuperPro caster bushings, and Proflex adjustable camber front bushings), and then called it a night. Next night, got back out after dinner and added the new caliper seals. After that, added a layer of Permatex Ultimate Brake Caliper grease behind the seals, per RacingBrake's instructions. RacingBrake also makes clear to not get any grease on the dust boots (fragile things, eh?), so changed gloves to avoid any issue, and started adding the boots to the pistons. No issues here, just took my time, and they slipped on with some mild encouragement.
IMG_20200722_201337 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr

They actually all slid in with minimal effort. I was pleasantly surprised, but nothing binded and the boots fit great.
IMG_20200722_201746 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr

Last thing.... earlier in the thread, I and at least one other person mentioned getting what appears to be 'leakage' at the bleeder valves. After reinstalling and bleeding everything with the help of my son on the brake pedal, I went back through and blotted the interior of the bleeder valves, and you actually get a surprising amount of fluid, so I believe this was the main cause of the "leaking".
IMG_20200722_220956 by Jesse Naughton, on Flickr

Anyway, went out and drove around to test both the brakes and the aforementioned suspension upgrades and make sure everything worked. No issues so far, but between wet roads and crazy alignment post tear down, I didn't do anything remotely silly. I was hoping to get lucky with an alignment today, but the shop I use was booked up until Tuesday, so I'm missing Road Atlanta tomorrow (Friday).

 

[alper]

Wow, this thread has saved me at least 1000 EUR, probably 1500... These 4pots seem to offer the increase in stopping power I'm after but they defo don't break the bank.

Now just looking to finalize the setup with rotors and pads. Going with the Ferodo DS2500 as everyone I know swears by them and have been curious to try them for some time now, question is which rotors?

Looking for a quality set since I have saved a lot already from my initial budget, preferably grooved/hooked and floating/fully floating, ideally at least 345mm. I'm based in Europe though so maybe not full access to some of the US market options but shoot anyway.


PS1. My car is essentially a 50kg heavier Golf R wagon so quite heavier than the average GTI
PS2. By the way, I guess 350 is a no go on our cars as I haven't seen much discussion about that size right? (Fits fine in the Macan I believe)

 

[pseudorealityx]

Wow, this thread has saved me at least 1000 EUR, probably 1500... These 4pots seem to offer the increase in stopping power I'm after but they defo don't break the bank.

Now just looking to finalize the setup with rotors and pads. Going with the Ferodo DS2500 as everyone I know swears by them and have been curious to try them for some time now, question is which rotors?

Looking for a quality set since I have saved a lot already from my initial budget, preferably grooved/hooked and floating/fully floating, ideally at least 345mm. I'm based in Europe though so maybe not full access to some of the US market options but shoot anyway.


PS1. My car is essentially a 50kg heavier Golf R wagon so quite heavier than the average GTI
PS2. By the way, I guess 350 is a no go on our cars as I haven't seen much discussion about that size right? (Fits fine in the Macan I believe)

You can see in the bottom pic of my last post that there really isn't anymore room for a larger rotor. Those are 345mm rotors.

 

[nono0044]

So on the 2nd caliper, I went and found a couple of old strap pieces of 2x4. These were pretty well sized to block the pistons from coming all the way out with some use of several layers of cardboard. That worked much better. Of note, you will get brake fluid EVERYWHERE. It's a mess. Some of the dust boots got damaged more while I was removing them... the above picture is more representative of typical damage done via heat. The seals all seemed fine, fwiw.

Good to know the stock inner seals are still good. I can put off getting this kit as I don't foresee myself tracking again in the near future.

I'm surprised the dust boots are so delicate but are supposed to be resistant to high heat.

Edit: Also, do you have SS lines? How'd you keep them plugged while the calipers were off the car?

 

[pseudorealityx]

Good to know the stock inner seals are still good. I can put off getting this kit as I don't foresee myself tracking again in the near future.

I'm surprised the dust boots are so delicate but are supposed to be resistant to high heat.

Edit: Also, do you have SS lines? How'd you keep them plugged while the calipers were off the car?

I've got rubber lines for a Macan.

Order:
0) put funnel and/or small bucket under hard line connection to avoid making an even bigger mess
1) remove connection between rubber line and hard line
2) unscrew rubber line from caliper.
3) reconnect connection of rubber line and hard line
4) zip tie end of rubber line up towards the top of the spring assembly so it's high enough to not drip.

Re-Installation (after caliper is at least loosely on the spindle/upright)
1) remove connection at hard line
2) screw in rubber line into caliper
3) reconnect hard line connection

 

[emichel6888]

Edit: Also, do you have SS lines? How'd you keep them plugged while the calipers were off the car?

You don't have to plug them, just keep the brake pedal depressed and you won't have brake fluid pouring out while the lines are disconnected. This is the standard shop manual procedure, it works extremely well and you don't have to mess with trying to cap the lines and have fluid pouring out while you are trying to reconnect the lines.

Just hook up your bleeder hose and crack open the bleeders (doesn't matter which caliper). Then take something like a 2 foot long 2x4 slide it under the driver seat and you will feel it touch a bar along the back of the seat, then start moving the seat forward and position the other end of the 2x4 so as it is moving forward it depresses the brake pedal, and make sure it is wedged so it won't slip off the brake pedal. Don't go crazy, it does not need a lot of pressure, you just want the pedal depressed more or less to the floor, and wedge it in such a way so it won't slip off on you. There will be some fluid in the bleeder tube, you can now close the bleeder and disconnect the line and set it aside for later when you bleed the system.
With the brake pedal depressed like this it closes off the brake reservoir so now you can disconnect your brake lines and take your time because NO fluid will drain out of the system while the brake pedal is depressed like this. When you disconnect the line hardly any fluid at all will come out and you can work at your leisure with no concern of air getting into the system or creating a big mess with brake fluid everywhere.

It is the same as putting your finger over a straw top and lifting it out of a glass of water, the fluid does not come out until you remove your finger. Oh and if you are doing this much brake work, get yourself a pressure bleeder, they are relatively cheap and make the bleeding process so much easier, definitely worth the $50-$60.

 

[pseudorealityx]

Oh and if you are doing this much brake work, get yourself a pressure bleeder, they are relatively cheap and make the bleeding process so much easier, definitely worth the $50-$60.

The 12 year old needs to earn his keep. I've always used Speedbleeders before for 1 man bleeding. Haven't gotten around to see if they're available for these calipers yet.

 

[emichel6888]

The 12 year old needs to earn his keep. I've always used Speedbleeders before for 1 man bleeding. Haven't gotten around to see if they're available for these calipers yet.

They do, part# SB1010 I had them on the stock calipers from before I broke down and got the pressure bleeder. Got tired of hearing, "are we done yet, can I go?" BTW these Brembo calipers use the same size bleeder screw as the stock calipers, just a standard M10 x 1.0 Oh and one other thing I always liked about speed bleeders is the thread sealant they use on their screws, really helps if you are using a suction bleeder. Permatex High Performance thread Sealant, part number 56521 I use it on all my bleeder screws and highly recommend it.

 

[GTIfan99]

I wonder if I can just get the Racing Brake boots, minus the seals?

 

[nono0044]

I wonder if I can just get the Racing Brake boots, minus the seals?

Curious as well since the stock internal seals seem fine

 

[emichel6888]

I am sure I missed it, but where can you order this rebuild kit from?

 

[nono0044]

I am sure I missed it, but where can you order this rebuild kit from?

https://racingbrake.com/caliper-rebuild/purchase-components/oem-calipers/camaro/c7-41bs

 

[GTIfan99]

Daytona was canceled. Damn Florida men and women. We can't have any nice things. An hour before it was canceled, I'd just bought track insurance.

 

[alper]

Would it be possible to make custom brackets to push the calipers 20-30mm higher/more far out from wheel center in order to accomodate 20-30mm larger rotors? My trouble is I can't seem to find any floating and light-weight 340/345 rotors as I do for bigger sizes of 355-362-370mm, and I'd like to look of slightly larger rotors anyway.

From the looks of the calipers and the hub, this would be just a flat aluminium plate (thinking 10mm) with 4 holes drilled at its 4 corners, 5 min job in the CNC, the question is is there enough clearance for the caliper to be pushed 20-30mm higher?


Thoughts?