BBK Owners: How do you swap pads?

[ZionsWrath]

I have Essex AP Racing Sprint kit. But I am posing these thoughts/questions in general to "BBK" owners as I'm sure it is not specific to the kit I own.

First I want to say I love my brake kit. My brakes don't fade and my pads last a long time. I just want to try and get some feedback if there are some tips and tricks that can make my pad swaps faster.

Okay, issue #1. The pads develop a ridge toward the hub and make removal of the pads a bit difficult. I have to pry them out. The outward facing pad I can generally use my fingers to start pushing it outof the caliper. The inside pad I have to use a small wrench to lever against the hub and start pushing it out.



The red area is where the ridge develops. The green area is where once I have started to move the pad out of the caliper I have to pry with the edge of a 12" pry bar.



Issue #2. The pistons are very difficult to depress.

Once I pry the pads out I have great difficulty depressing the piston, from brand new to today. OEM pistons I could even push in with my thumbs. I bought this tool to help. It works on OEM rear flwalessly but doesn't budge my AP racing pistons.



I have to take a worn out pad/backing plate and my pry bar and pry with all my strength to depress the pistons.



In the picture the black line is the brake rotor, the red line is the worn out pad/backing plate. I put my pry bar in between and pry with all my strength to get the piston to depress.



So there it is. I love my kit but there are some quirks to it. This is how I have been dealing with them. Would love to know your experiences and if I could do anything better.

[ls1ac]

the arch of the pad is a little different than that of the inside of the rotor. the ridge is a non contact area, grind away that area before installing the pads. I have done this with several race pads in the past. changing hot pads needs to be easy (ha) and fast.

[ls1ac]

ok, one other trick with racing calipers, they do not have a dust boot and the pistons are usually made of stainless, blow them off before pushing them back into the caliper.
also remember that they should be cleaned and the seal lubed based on track time (not often). this means disassembly, not fun.

[mav1178]

Just swapped pads on my Endless kit last night.

95% of big brake kits out there use a simple pad design with retaining brackets on top of the pads. In essence, the pads "sit" in the caliper on bottom brackets, the top bracket and clip ensures there's no excessive vibrations.

I think pads took me about 5 minutes tops once the wheels were off. You need to make sure the brake master cylinder reservoir cap is opened, so you can press the pistons back.

Brake caliper pistons should easily be pushed back in by hand. I always use the old pads as a lever to push the pistons back in, without removing the caliper.

On my setup, removal of the pads involves taking out the pad retaining bracket, that was the hardest part since it involves getting my hand dirty...

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by ls1ac

also remember that they should be cleaned and the seal lubed based on track time (not often). this means disassembly, not fun.

Disassembly is not difficult, just need access to compressed air and is best done in a slow, deliberate fashion.

-alex

[ls1ac]

alright, I keep thinking of things. a slow steady pressure on the backing plate works best as you are forcing the fluid all the way back up through the small lines to the reservoir. I put a spacer or a new pad in the first side to hold it open while spreading the second.
I really like the Wilwood calipers that use a "hair pin" to hold the pads in. nothing to unbolt. still hot as h___, I end up with no finger prints after every weekend trip.

[mkivsoopra]

OP, what pads are you using? I had the AP Sprint kit with Project Mu 999 pads and never had the issue of a ridge developing on the inside. As for pushing the pistons in, I have the same tool and it somewhat works. I also use an old pad and some tool to pry with.

[ZionsWrath]

XP10.

I definitely can not push the piston in with my hands even with the reservoir cap off. OEM calipers can easily push piston even with reservoir closed.

I guess I just have to deal with. its just it requires so much prying force to push the pistons in even when it was new I guess I will send for rebuild after this season, I was planning on that

[Cybmx]

Have you tried opening the bleeder screw while pressing the pads?