Post-Brembo Swap Brake Drag

Hey everyone... just installed a set of STi Brembo calipers, front and rear, with Hawk HPS pads and DBA rotors (the adapter rotor in the rear).

 

I also installed techna-fit lines with the custom rear line for Brembo swaps. I flushed and bled the system with ATE super blue and everything looked good.

 

Pulling the car out of the garage, it took a lot of gas pedal to get the car to move. My driveway is a slight incline and the car normally rolls down in neutral... not so this time. I take the car around a cul-de-sac (couple hundred feet) and get out to check everything... front rotors are very hot, rears are ambient temp.

 

I figured that maybe during the bleeding process we just got everything very tight, so I take it around the block to see if things will settle in. The first time I need to rev it up to make the 1-2 shift without stalling. Clutch-in deceleration is noticeably different.

 

I don't think the caliper seals just went bad in between taking it off the previous owners car and putting it on mine. The pads never even came out of the calipers, we just unbolted the caliper, removed the rotor, and that was it.

 

Is this brake drag normal for the first few miles after a swap like this? I've never experienced this on my previous cars that just got a pad swap.

Nope. I've done pads and rotors twice with brembo's and never had an issue. Granted, this on my STi, but it shouldn't make a difference.

 

How much work did it require to get the pads in? Some pad/rotor combinations are a little tight, and you had to grind a little material off the pads to make them work properly.

None. The pads were already loaded in the caliper. I pushed the pistons in slightly by pushing directly on the pad surface, just enough so that the caliper would fit easily over the rotor while bolting in place.

 

The guy who had this setup before drove at least 2,000 miles on it.

I'd pull the pads out and see if it is grinding on both sides or just one side.

Backed out of the garage today and it felt a little better, but still dragging definitely.

 

I pulled the pads from driver-side front and they look like they are both touching fine. The caliper pistons moved easily. I was a little surprised at the shape of the shims on the back... they don't cover the whole pad?

 

The only thing I noticed was that the caliper seems a bit biased towards one side. I think maybe I put a washer where it isn't supposed to be, in between the caliper and the mount on the knuckle. See pics below.

 

 

Looks like the lower part of the outside pad isn't making full contact...

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5717/dscn8430p.jpg

 

Odd shims...

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/9243/dscn8433.jpg

 

Extra washer?

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/7623/dscn8431k.jpg

 

Notice how the caliper is shifted towards the outside of the car... removing the washer would fix that I think.

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/4611/dscn8435.jpg

 

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8058/dscn8432.jpg

I don't think that washer should be there...

Agreed. I removed it and it made a huge difference. Pics to come, adjusting parking brake now.

Ya. Extra washer made me go hmm. That shim is correct though. STi had two shim plates. That smaller one, and a larger, thicker one. That thicker one usually did not work with aftermarket pads. I always used that smaller one though.

I'm really glad I caught that before putting too many miles on the car. With that extra washer I was pushing the caliper outboard from the car. When I took the 4th pic (from post #5) I was pushing on the rotor just like the wheel would when installed and torqued. The rotor would just barely clear the inside of the caliper, if not actually touching it. I think I didn't notice this at first because when I installed the caliper, the rotor was floating on the lugs. Once I mounted the wheel I was actually bottoming out the rotor through the pad and caliper, not on the hub like it should. I think it actually threw off my lug torque too... very dangerous.

 

Anyways, with the washer removed I took the car out for a spin and it rode like a dream.

 

Here's the comparison pics:

 

With extra washer

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/4611/dscn8435.jpg

 

Washer removed

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/1528/dscn8436.jpg

Good work. Well really bad work, but at least you figured it out

The guy who sold me the brakes had a shop remove the parts. When I got them all the bolts were threaded into the calipers/adapters with the washers on them. I was when I saw the extra washer... should have asked first.

 

Brute force and ignorance will always overcome fear and common sense.

Nice, I like how my pads are a lot easier to install with the wilwoods. just slide them out and in.

Will be replacing both front wheel bearings in the near future and figured I would try and address this issue with my brakes while I'm in there...

 

With the Brembos I always get a click/squeak when I apply the brakes after changing direction. For example, back out of a parking spot and apply the breaks then go forward and apply the brakes... *click/squeak*. It only happens the one time after a direction change.

 

Another example is if I approach a stop on a hill. The weight of the car shifts back when I come to a complete stop. Then if I creep forward and apply the brakes... *click/squeak*.

 

The obvious culprits would be the pads and shims. I realize the pads need to float axially on the guide rods but it looks like they can also move rotationally. Is this common for Brembos?

Most cars have springs or shims to prevent motion & noise in the direction of the disc rotation. It can cause extra friction reducing the amount of clearance and cooling between the pads and the rotor when you release the pedal.

You can see the shims I have in this pic:

 

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/9243/dscn8433.jpg