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FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

So you want to try and tackle the front brakes on your own?

This is a good learning experience for the beginner to get their feet wet. Best of all it's usually not very difficult. Depending on your work environment, should only take you roughly 30-45 min a side and that is being extra cautious and checking everything a few time to make sure everything is correct.Take your time though if you’ve never done this before. Take frequent breaks, deep breaths, and get to it. If you have a basic understanding of hand tools and have a basic understanding of the safety steps you should take you will be ok. So go ahead, throw on those Sunday work clothes and tackle this job and save some cash while you’re at it!

Typically with brakes I would recommend getting a good brand.  This is something that you don’t want to skimp on. It’s yours and your passengers safety that you would be sacrificing if you choose inferior parts.  You do not have to run out and get Genuine parts.  Unless you feel the need to or if you have money to burn.  I myself would choose a good aftermarket company.  Some of these companies are actually the same ones who made it for your car originally so you are not skimping at all, just being frugal.  My suggestions would be either Brembo or Zimmerman for the disks.  Both of these companies are of great quality and have been around long enough to have a stand out name in the industry.

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As for pads, you do have your choice of brands and styles.  Depending on what you are looking for there are a few options.  If you want the initial bite like a factory pad on an older car, I would opt for a Semi-Metallic pad. The brands range from Textar to Pagid brake pads.  Again this is where you have to make a decision and weigh your options as in name/cost etc.  There are also Ceramic pads that most cars now use.  A great brand for the money is Akebono.  These pads give you a long service life. They give off little brake dust as compared to their semi-metallic counterparts(we’ve all seen those nice chrome rims that look black).  The only main downfall I have noticed with ceramics is they take a little bit to warm up.  Meaning that the initial bite is not as good as metallic.  Although you can weigh your options on those as well.  The Ceramic pads greatly overcome in the brake fade are in my opinion and tend to grip the rotor giving you longer/harder brake without the heat soak semi-metallic pads tend to get.  Next item is to get some brake fluid if you intend to bleed the system, or to keep on hand if your system is a little low.  Most new cars use DOT 4, or DOT 5.1.

What if I run into problems? Do you have any other advice that may help me?

You may run into problems.  Depending on the year and where it is located you may have rust/corrosion, and possibly broken bolts.  The best advice is to see if there is a precise write up on the forums for your particular application.  With this they usually give you the complete list of tools needed and the specific torque specs for each bolt.  Print them out and read through them a few times.  When you think you are ready re-read once more so you have a little more understanding what’s going on.  Make your plan of attack.  Spray down any bolts that are giving you a rough time with penetrating oil for a few moments to let them come out a little easier.

What types of brakes would you recommend when tackling this replacement?


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Written by :
Bill Petrey

Bill is an ASE certified technician and Senior Sales Associate at FCP Euro. He can be reached at billp@fcpeuro.com


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