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| Brake job, need a few tools. |
Last summer I took brake class, and this week I've put that knowledge to good use! Following Sunday's autocross (regular street brakes on the car,) I prepped my car for a Track Night in America by removing the front pads, and putting on some newer Ferodo brand track pads. These were plenty thick, at 12mm before the event. One club that I drive with requires that before driving on a track event that you have a minimum of HALF the original pad thickness. It's a good idea to take safety serious like that.
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| Jack up the wheels, remove the wheels. Then get to work on those brake pads. |
After the event? They'd worn down to 10mm, so that's a pretty good amount of wear. Rear brakes? Oh yeah, they lit up my BRAKE SERVICE warning light during the track event, thanks to the sensors mounted on them. Once I took a look at them, yep, they were DONE. KAPUT! STICK A FORK IN THEM! FILE UNDER "USED UP!" They were down to say 3-4mm. Luckily I had a new set of replacement rear pads in my stock pile! So, in one session at home after the track night, I replaced the brake pads on all four wheels. Luckily on my generation of Cayman, just replacing pads is on the easy side, so we'll take a look at how this goes.
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The cotter pin is circled in orange, just pull it out with some pliers. Then knock the big pin out with a hammer. Then pull the clip out, then the brake pads slide right up and out. Each pad has 2 round vibration dampers on it.
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As a safety reminder, always use jack stands when working on your car. Keep in mind that tires and brake pads wear out, so take a look at them once in a while. Modern cars with tire pressure monitor sensors and brake wear sensors are great tools, but it never hurts to do it the old fashioned way and check these things visually yourself.
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| Goodbye Mr. Pin...Cotter Pin. |
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| Driving out the big pin. You're likely to get a little dirty working on brakes. |
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| The big pin is about half way out. Once it's gone, that will release the big clip underneath that just holds in the brake pads. |
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| Now just pull those two pads up and out. |
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| Here comes a pad. |
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| This is a thick Ferodo brand track pad. |
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| And this is a NOT THICK used pad with only about 4mm left. Say goodbye to this guy. |
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New pads for the rear.
Normal cars do most of their braking on the fronts, so these rear pads aren't full blown track pads. That might be a good idea though! These rear pads lasted several years of regular driving, lots of autocross runs, and multiple track days. |
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| New brake pad. |
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| I'm guessing that 10mm of new pad will stop even better than the 4mm old pad! |
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New vs. Old. I'm betting on New! Pad material thickness highlighted in red for comparison.
Assembly is the opposite of disassembly to put the pads back in. The only tricky part is that after removing old pads, I have to push the caliper pistons back in with a special brake tool, so that the much thicker new pads can fit in where the skinny worn out old pads were.
Pro tip final reminder: After working on your brakes, be sure to check that Brake Fluid level, and pump up the brake pedal before driving! |
