It's not often we get excited about something that's designed to slow our cars down. But, no matter what you use your car for, there are tons of benefits to upgrading your brakes. If you're going to track your car, a good set of brakes is arguably the most essential upgrade of them all. After all, tons of power does you no good if you can't slow down for turn one. If you're not tracking your car, a big brake kit can add a great bit of aesthetics sitting behind those awesome new wheels you bought, which is why we've decided to ditch the puny stock front brakes on our PASMAG Scion iQ project in favor of a shiny new Wilwood Forged Narrow Superlite 6R big brake kit.
The install is straightforward if you have the right tools. Start by getting the front wheels off the ground by way of a hydraulic lift or a floor jack and proper jack stands. Once the front wheels are off the ground, remove them and set aside.
While the stock brakes are cooling down, remove the new Wilwood rotors, rotor hats and mounting hardware from the packaging. Assemble the new two-piece rotors as directed by Wilwood. Set aside for future use.
Next, we remove the factory brake calipers. The factory calipers are in two parts: the caliper itself and the caliper bracket. Locate and remove the two 14 mm bolts on the back side of the caliper. Pull the caliper off the bracket and secure in a place as to not put stress on the brake hose that is still connected.
With the caliper removed and secured out of the way, remove the brake pads from the caliper bracket. Next, locate the two 17 mm bolts that hold the caliper bracket in place. Remove those bolts and the caliper bracket and set aside. At this point, the brake rotor should also be free to remove. Remove the brake rotors and set aside.
Next, you will want to move on to disconnecting the factory brake hose. Locate the 14 mm bolt that secures the hose to a bracket on the shock body. Remove that screw and free the brake hose. Continue following the brake hose back to a point where it transitions into a hard metal brake line. That connection is made via a 10 mm fitting. Loosen that fitting with a 10 mm flare wrench until disconnected. Remove the factory caliper assembly and rubber brake hose and set aside.
Slide the new Wilwood brake rotor into place over the wheel studs taking note of the directional arrow to make sure you are using the right side. Use at least two of the lug nuts to hold the rotor in place for the next part of the installation.
Next, grab the new Wilwood brake caliper and appropriate shims provided with the kit. Loosely install the new caliper and ensure you have the correct shims that allow the caliper to be centered over the rotor. Once verified, tighten the mounting bolts and torque to the values specified by Wilwood. Slide the new brake pads in through the opening in the caliper and secure in place with the provided pin.
Next, install the new Wilwood stainless steel braided brake lines supplied in the kit. The kit comes with fittings that mate the caliper to the line. Be sure to attach the new line back to the bracket on the strut that is shared with the ABS sensor wire. Once the line is in place, tighten and torque all bolts to their appropriate specs.
The last step before you can enjoy your new Wilwood Forged Narrow Superlite 6R brakes is to bleed your brake system using Wilwood 570 brake fluid.
Sources:
Scion: www.scion.ca and in the U.S. www.scion.com
MT Motorsports: www.mtmotorsport.ca
Wilwood: www.wilwood.com
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