Brembo Upgrade Brake Bleed

[Labradog]

I'm in the process of a brake upgrade. Going to new PP Brembo calipers up front, new pads and rotors in the rear. When bleeding do I need to do all 4 calipers or just the fronts?

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[Norm Peterson]

Do all four. Especially if you're upgrading the fluid, but even if you're only using OE fluid it's a good call to chase the fluid that's in and nearest all of the calipers out of the system even if/where you aren't replacing the calipers.

BTW, when you're compressing the caliper pistons, crack the bleed fitting on the caliper you're working with and run a clear line into a bottle. Don't be pushing the dirtiest fluid in the system back into the ABS HCU; treat the need to push the caliper pistons back as a partial brake fluid flush.


Incidentally, I've seen where bleeding the Brembo calipers should follow an "inside pistons", "outside pistons", "inside pistons again" sequence.


Norm

 

[Houston Kid]

I did mine with 50th anniversary NOS black calipers several thousand miles ago. I only bleed the front. Zero issues.

No air is going to get into the rear brake lines unless you leave the calipers off and let all of the brake fluid run out. If you remove the old calipers and immediately put the new ones on, no need to bleed the entire system.

I used the bottle method to do the bleed. Stupid simple time saving device. Cheap too.

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[Labradog]

Did all 4, went around the car twice. Pedal feels like shit; softer and less feedback than the stock 4 pistons. Z26 pads and Steeda 2 piece rotors all around. Plan is to bleed everything again tomorrow morning. Any ideas?

 

[sdiver68]

Did all 4, went around the car twice. Pedal feels like shit; softer and less feedback than the stock 4 pistons. Z26 pads and Steeda 2 piece rotors all around. Plan is to bleed everything again tomorrow morning. Any ideas?

A few ideas-

Did you throughly clean the rotors with brake cleaner?

Did you bed the pads?

Do you have access to a vacuum bleeder?

In my experience Z26 pads dont offer the same initial bite as OEM PP1 Brembos. I dont know about them vs your own pads.

Finally, I've bled dozens of systems and sometimes I just cant get that rock solid feel back. That's when I take it my friends shop and throw a few beers or bucks at him to use the power bleeder.

 

[Labradog]

Yeah I sprayed them down with brake cleaner. Pedal was soft right after I started the car, did the bedding sequence of stops and no change. I used a Motive Power Bleeder. There has to be more air in the system. I'll update later today.


Update: Didn't see any air in the lines, but it feels much better. We'll see how it is after I get some more miles on the pads and rotors.

 

[texasboy21]

Did all 4, went around the car twice. Pedal feels like shit; softer and less feedback than the stock 4 pistons. Z26 pads and Steeda 2 piece rotors all around. Plan is to bleed everything again tomorrow morning. Any ideas?

I dont mean to be harsh, but those are crap pads and likely are contributing to the soft pedal feel. Try an OEM set of pads.

 

[Labradog]

I was thinking about going that direction. It has improved over yesterday with just a little more driving but I would love that OEM bite I felt when I test drove a PP car 2 years ago. We’ll see in a few weeks; easy enough to change pads on these calipers.

 

[BmacIL]

Get the ABS activated several times, and re-bleed. Sometimes you can get air introduced into the system with the power bleeder. You may find it get better instantly after the ABS activation.

 

[texasboy21]

I was thinking about going that direction. It has improved over yesterday with just a little more driving but I would love that OEM bite I felt when I test drove a PP car 2 years ago. We’ll see in a few weeks; easy enough to change pads on these calipers.

I doubt you will have the same initial bite on the PowerStop pads.

PowerStop has a bad rep. I personally would NEVER trust their brake products on my car.

Brakes and tires are probably the two most important aspects of a car when it comes to safety.

 

[Labradog]

I doubt you will have the same initial bite on the PowerStop pads.

PowerStop has a bad rep. I personally would NEVER trust their brake products on my car.

I’ve seen some horror stories from people using their drilled rotors on track but the pads seem pretty well reviewed.

Get the ABS activated several times, and re-bleed. Sometimes you can get air introduced into the system with the power bleeder. You may find it get better instantly after the ABS activation.

ABS activation like a hard stop?

 

[Falk03]

ABS activation like a hard stop?

Better to use ForScan to start the ABS bleeding procedure, but you only need to do this, if you got air into the ABS module, e.g. if the reservoir was empty or so. Otherwise there is no need to do that.
If you did bleed the front calipers correctly (as mentioned above: first inside bleeding screw, then outside and then inside again), you should have a firm brake pedal.

Directly after a pad change the pistons need to be pushed out to their working position by pressing the pedal several times. And after the vacuum in the booster is gone (with engine off) you should definitely have a firm pedal feeling.
If the pedal is not firm and everything, something is still wrong.

 

[BmacIL]

Better to use ForScan to start the ABS bleeding procedure, but you only need to do this, if you got air into the ABS module, e.g. if the reservoir was empty or so. Otherwise there is no need to do that.
If you did bleed the front calipers correctly (as mentioned above: first inside bleeding screw, then outside and then inside again), you should have a firm brake pedal.

Directly after a pad change the pistons need to be pushed out to their working position by pressing the pedal several times. And after the vacuum in the booster is gone (with engine off) you should definitely have a firm pedal feeling.
If the pedal is not firm and everything, something is still wrong.

It can happen even if the reservoir was full when using a pressure bleed. It can cause cavitation in the fluid.

ABS activation like a hard stop?

Yes. A few, so that you can feel the ABS working.

 

[Falk03]

It can happen even if the reservoir was full when using a pressure bleed. It can cause cavitation in the fluid.

Ok, didn't know that and it never happened to me before. After pressure bleeding (with only 10psi) I always had a nice firm brake pedal.

Yes. A few, so that you can feel the ABS working.

I don't know. I think it is quite dangerous to make a hard stop with ABS when there might still be air in the system especially in the ABS module. I would recommend to activate the procedure using a tool like ForScan. It is really simple.

 

[Norm Peterson]

I don't know. I think it is quite dangerous to make a hard stop with ABS when there might still be air in the system especially in the ABS module. I would recommend to activate the procedure using a tool like ForScan. It is really simple.

Obviously if you're trying to chase air out of the ABS by making stops hard enough to activate it, you're going to do such hard stopping well away from other traffic and other hazards. Deserted parking lots come to mind.


Norm

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