Rate my brake dust boots
 

After about 400 miles on track, my front dust boots are starting to look bad. Rears look fine. How urgent is replacing them? Any options that will handle heat better? Or do I have to go BBK/cooling ducts/etc.?

Stock non-PP calipers, G-Loc R10 pads, not using shims/backing plate from the street pads (i.e. just the R10 pads directly). Left and right sides look about the same. Stock drivetrain. Front R10 pads are about half-way worn (~5 mm left). Car is daily driven all year with some snow and salt in winter.

The AP racing bbk don't run dust boots so maybe they are not that important ha.

Yeah, I read that many BBKs don't use dust boots and are not recommended for street use, particularly in winter with salt present on the roads. I'm sure plenty of folks run them on the street, though, so I don't know how important it truly is...

So even though those outer rubber boots are cracking, there are o-rings underneath that also provide a seal.

I’d say you’re fine for another track day, but for the price of replacement calipers I’d say just replace them for the peace of mind.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12421678108...mis&media=COPY

Those look fine. Run them until they fall apart.

If you're not driving in salt, they'll last a long time if you clean the pistons off before compressing them.

Those are fine. When you have a chance physically feel them for hardness/brittleness.

What you don't want is a hardened seal getting caught.

You can slow the degradation down using pads that fundamentally run cooler.

Thanks for all the suggestions/comments everyone!

Any recommendations? I actually have another set of front R10 pads that I'd hate to waste, but I'm open to trying something else.

Use up what you have first unless you can sell the new set at little to no loss.

Try the CSG C21/C11 pairing. Ask for temperature paint on the pads when you order to verify for yourself.

From another post:

Seem fine. I like to rebuild after every 15-20 events. It's easy enough to do and Subaru/Toyota have kits with all the seals+goop you need; recommend buying another set of base calipers so you don't have any downtime between rebuilds


I would say, if they ever develop a hole, just cut the boot off until you have time to rebuild the calipers. A hole causes the boot to trap more debris than it keeps away

Could you share the part numbers please?

One kit services both calipers
Front: 26297CA001 / SU003-10427