First, a huge thanks to REDDOG for educating me and getting me an exceptional deal on my brakes. You're the man, Dave!!!
Several months ago I pulled the trigger on a proper set of brakes. While they're not inexpensive, they are critical if you like to road race or if you like to stop as quickly and safely as possible, especially if you've notched up the power on your ride with power mods. I did a lot of research and came back to a sweet StopTech floating rotor setup. I've got an R/T so I had a decision to make about upgrading my knuckles up front to SRT8's and going with the 6-piston kit or sticking with 4 pistons front and back. Have read a lot about front/rear braking bias and decided the best route for me was two 355x32mm 2-piece floating rotor big brake kits, with slotted rotors, along with the nice braided stainless lines that come with the kit and which I was already running. IMO cross drilled rotors not recommended if you seriously track the car since the rotors are far more likely to fail but you do want the slots to keep the pad surfaces clean/free from glazing. I don't recommend wasting your money on zinc plating which won't last. The floating rotors are a huge improvement over fixed and well worth the money.
So I've tracked the car now, both road racing and bringing it to a stop at over 170 mph several times at the Texas Mile, and I have to say these brakes are exceptional value for money! I'm not a hard core racer like some (Matt Robertson for one which has been a wealth of knowledge...thanks, Matt), but with the new found power these brakes pay for themselves most every day I drive the Challenger.
I took some pic's during the install process, some of which I'll post here for your reference. The StopTech instructions are exceptionally thorough so I won't go through all the details like on some of my mod threads. Here are a few observations I will offer up that may be of use to the next guy:
1) the instructions really should tell you to take a water hose to the bleeder screws after installation/bleeding since brake fluid is highly corrosive (it can put a hurt on those beautiful powder coated calipers and your wheels) and those things fling fluid for a couple of days after a bleed/install. You'll think the bleeders are leaking and then you want to crank them closed harder when in fact all you needed to do was hit them with a hose, drive around, and then hit them with a hose again and you're good. No need to over tighten them...I didn't strip them but they were way tighter than they needed to be! Also, use a good 12-pt socket on them (or at least a 6-pt socket) on the bleeder screws since you can round the edges (like I did on one :-/). Thanks for helping me out Dave!
2) go ahead and have the emergency brakes calibrated by a pro unless you really know what you're doing. It's not worth the headache and you may see a bit of smoke coming from the rears after install...this is likely what it is since they were set for your stocker brakes. The new rotors have a film and might cause some smoke for a short while, but if you smell something like burning odor and you're seeing a fair amount of smoke after a couple of drives, it's the e-brakes...get them adj'd.
3) take your time bleeding the brakes and don't be shy with using a rubber mallet to help the bubbles come up. You'd be surprised how long it takes air to make its way up. I suggest 10 minutes minimum a bleeder screw (two per caliper) so just have something to do while you're waiting or clean up. It's worth the wait. If you're tracking the car, you can do a quick track bleed (great how-to by Matt Robertson on the LX) so I'm talking about when you're doing a proper bleed. Also, I recommend getting a power bleeder with the right adapter for our cars. I used this one and it was well worth the money. I recommend HRP as the vendor...great service.
I recommend a good DOT 4 synthetic fluid to go with your brakes, upgraded or not, and I find this to be good value for money. They also have a gold product so when you're replacing fluid you know when you've got the old stuff out.
Amazon.com: ATE Super Blue Brake Fluid (1 Liter): Automotive Some of the hard core guys prefer to get a slightly higher boiling point and part with their first born child for the likes of half a liter of Motul RBF660. More power to them...I ain't Mario Andretti...
4) Dodge installed a nice adapter/sleeve for the front brake lines to keep them in place. The rears do not and when you've got the car jacked up you can't really tell if you've routed the lines well. On one of mine I kept hearing a rubbing sound that came with every rotation and it turned out to be the rubber boot from one of the rear axles against one of the braided SS lines. So check your lines once the car's back down on the ground and use zip ties. I've got some photos for reference. If you hear that sound, don't worry...likely just a line that needs to be pinned down properly but go ahead and do it soon so you don't rub the plastic cover over the braided SS.
5) finally...bed your brakes properly. It doesn't matter if you've got a big brake kit or your stockers...bed them and you'll get max effort from your pads and rotors. Here's a good how-to for reference. Be safe doing this and find a good quiet road... Instructions for bedding in your brakes
Well, here are a few pic's for reference. Can't say enough good things about the product and the service from REDDOG. Happy moddin'...
Break your lugs then get that puppy up on a good set of jacks...
Stockers (my R/T came with the "heavy duty" brake kit). You can see a few of the clips on the studs (flat washer type clip). Use eye protection when removing those and don't worry about saving them. Just yank them and then cut them with wire cutters or tin snips)
Front stocker removed
Rear stocker removed. Pretty small for a 4000+lb car that's fast IMO
You get to remove that dust / heat shield. Again...get some eye protection for this part...
this is the front wheel well. at the right you'll see the brake line and to the right of it the ABS setup which has a nice plastic clip. to the left of the photo where the red R is you'll see the nice metal adapter that holds the braided SS line in place and keeps it from rubbing against anything...it would be good if there were one for the rear.
Here's a shot of the rear with the rotor removed. You can see the e-brake setup where the spring is.
Here's another shot of the rear with my old braided lines and the zip ties removed. See how it can rub against the axle if you don't route and tie it properly...
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