Brake Pads on the Track

[nastang87xx]

No Dave ... We will have to remove the caliper to get the pads out. I think all Brembo calipers are like this. But if we can run the OEM brake pads this becomes less of a pain at the track.

Not necessarily. Brembo makes monoblock and two piece calipers. If they're monoblock, they'll be casted from one piece, not two pieces sandwiched together and they will often have an additional support bridge going over the housing for added rigidity/support. The calipers on the previous gen Mustangs with the Track/Brembo Brake pkg were not monoblock if I remember and you could remove pads without pulling the entire caliper.

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[10splaya22]

Not necessarily. Brembo makes monoblock and two piece calipers. If they're monoblock, they'll be casted from one piece, not two pieces sandwiched together and they will often have an additional support bridge going over the housing for added rigidity/support. The calipers on the previous gen Mustangs with the Track/Brembo Brake pkg were not monoblock if I remember and you could remove pads without pulling the entire caliper.

These are still fairly simple though. Take the caliper off (2 bolts) take the pins out and put the new pads in and bolt the caliper back on. Should be about 5 min process.

 

[mattlqx]

These are still fairly simple though. Take the caliper off (2 bolts) take the pins out and put the new pads in and bolt the caliper back on. Should be about 5 min process.

It's still definitely more annoying. I swapped pads on my Boss while the brakes were still hot at a track day once in 20 minutes with the help of some leather gloves and a screwdriver. If you have to fumble with the caliper, that's going to make that a significantly more difficult process. Plus having the caliper fixed helps give easy leverage to compress the piston so the new pads can fit in. I guess you'll need to compress the piston with something other than a used pad in this setup like a channel lock or purpose built tool.

 

[bpracer]

The cast in bridge is a feature, not a drawback. It makes for a better performing caliper, i.e. stiffer.

If the pad change is like my Ducati's monobloks (has the same type of fixed bridge). Two bolts (radial mount, so not on the back side of the spindle) to remove the caliper, the pads can be popped out, and new ones pushed in very quickly.

To spread the pistons apart on big calipers, I use the oval shaped handle of may 1/2 Craftsman ratchet. You have the ratchet with you anyway to remove the caliper bolts. You can stick the old pads in between the new one (as a shim and to not mar the new pad surface), twist the handle of the ratchet a half turn. Viola, pistons are pushed back!

Other than billet calipers which cost a fortune, you are really not going to get better than these.

 

[Stuntman]

It's still definitely more annoying. I swapped pads on my Boss while the brakes were still hot at a track day once in 20 minutes with the help of some leather gloves and a screwdriver. If you have to fumble with the caliper, that's going to make that a significantly more difficult process. Plus having the caliper fixed helps give easy leverage to compress the piston so the new pads can fit in. I guess you'll need to compress the piston with something other than a used pad in this setup like a channel lock or purpose built tool.

I just use a C-clamp and an old pad with the calipers removed. No problems.

 

[TraKWeapon]

The cast in bridge is a feature, not a drawback. It makes for a better performing caliper, i.e. stiffer.

If the pad change is like my Ducati's monobloks (has the same type of fixed bridge). Two bolts (radial mount, so not on the back side of the spindle) to remove the caliper, the pads can be popped out, and new ones pushed in very quickly.

This. The radial mount is superior to mounting the calipers to the spindle and is the way most race cars (and bikes) are mounted. I wish there were radial mounts on the rears too.

Scroll down for part FT9000. I'm hoping Bruce makes a slightly larger tool for the six piston calipers but this one works great on the four piston Brembos and Stoptech calipers.

http://fulltiltboogieracing.com/2015_S550_Brake_parts.htm

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