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I have found 2 ways of installing Plate/Bracket.
So...What is the proper way of installing it?
Figure B.
From Forums. As you can see it looks the like Plate/Bracket is inverse from figure A. And the hooks are facing downwards
So What is the proper installation?
I just installed an Akebono's kit last week on my '03 Touring Z and they are installed like this picture shows as well. It was the only way I could get them to fit. Damn pins on the front were a major pain but the rears slid in like hot butter.
What is the purpose of this plate / bracket? Is it to stop the brakes from squealing by holding them firm? More importantly is the photo above correct?
Also... should I have shims in between the pistons and the pad themselves?
My kit didn't come with any and my previous factory brakes lacked shims as well.
Overall installation wasn't too bad, took me and my brother about 6 hours. Could have done it in 4 but cutting the rear dust shields with a Dremel requires several cut-off discs and doesn't go very fast. A grinder would rule here and tin snips help clip off in the tighter spots. Just make sure you have a dust mask (and safety glasses of course) its a very messy job with brake dust going everywhere!
Another odd thing - I didn't notice any difference between the banjo bolts supplied in the kit (stainless line upgrade) and my previous stock ones. I was under the impression the rear banjo bolt was a different size / thread pitch.
FYI - it took 2.5 bottles (500 ml size I think) of Motul 600 RBF fluid to fully flush the system and get all the air out. During the original instal I went thru 1.5 bottles, saw no more air bubbles using Motive bleeder, but the brakes were still a touch soft. I drove around for a week and things firmed up a bit, but to be safe I put another bottle thru the system and only then did they get super firm. Just tapping on them now provides an instant response.
The Akebonos brakes with Project Mu HC+ pads performed AWESOME during some limited track time (2 sessions, about 15 laps total) before a previous problem with my hubs came back (completely unrelated to Akebono upgrade). Overall the brakes seemed to require less pressure to get the car down to correct apex speed. And yes these things are HUGE and heavy, they fit with about the height of two brake weights to spare between the calipers and factory 18" Touring rims. As far as the weight goes I only really noticed that suspension rebound feels different, like going over rail road tracks seems harsher.
just picked up used Front/Rear Akebono set from a friend (calipers, pads, pins, rotors, adapter, no SS lines but banjo bolt was screwed into caliper). Currently I have an 03 enthusiast with Non-Brembo set up. I do however have the non-brembo Z1 motorsport SS lines installed.
question is: for the rear i've read that the length of the banjo bolt is different. however could not dig deep enough to figure out if my non-brembo SS lines's banjo bolt will fit with the akebonos. (my friend sold me the calipers with the banjo bolt in them still). I'm hoping those banjo bolts are the right ones. Does anyone know the measured length banjo bolt I need to seat properly?
Question 2: Why are there 2 bleeder valves per caliper. this is new to me.
In case anyone is reading this and bought the Z1 BBK, the instructions aren't the greatest. They refer to re-using the washers on the OEM 22mm bolts and placing them on the new bolts from the kit according to pictures but there aren't any pictures in the instructions
I was confused because the hardware kit from Z1 comes with washers, so I figured this was a typo. However, you do need to reuse the washers.
Below is a picture of where the washers need to be placed on the new bolts from Z1 between the split washer and the mounting bracket. Otherwise, after you torque down the bolts, they contact the new rotors an prevent them from spinning freely.
This is a great write up. I hope you don't mind I added this thread to the video I just made on this. I don't show the bleeding process (making that a video on it's own). I go over challenges I experienced with the dust shields and a clearance issue I encountered with the valve stems.
I know this is an old thread, but is there any damage that can come from fully bleeding the brake system dry? Every video I've watched says not to let the brake system get dry, so just want to make sure it won't harm anything if I do completely bleed it out.
04-06-2015, 09:33 AM
Akebono BBK Installation video
