Evo brake swap checklist

[1slow2door]

I see that all you guys are able to use the stock rear lines. When I did my swap last year, I definitely HAD to use the Evo lines. The stock lines had a screw in end, not a banjo fitting. This is on a 97 GSX, single piston rears, with ABS. I also got the Evo lines with my set, so I compared them, the fronts are about an inch longer.

 

[Scrymerr]

Here are some pictures of how the tire fits on my factory 2g knuckle vs the JDM knuckle. Initially, it felt like the JDM one had a tiny bit more clearance, but after looking at the pictures they look about the same, maybe a mm or two difference. It is very hard to see. When I get the other side off the car I will get the two side by side and see if there is any difference.

First picture is factory 2g, second is JDM.

 

[Flash]

It's hard to tell in the pictures. I want to do an Evo brake swap, just bought the big brakes a couple minutes ago. I want to know if I can run the same wheels on my car if I get the JDM knuckles, will the knuckle change anything? For example, if I stuff a 255/35/18 tire on a 18x8.5 +40 wheel (like Wret did), would those wheels and tires still fit if I swapped to JDM knuckles or would the tires rub on the knuckle?

 

[TSiAWD666]

I might have missed this in the thread, but are bolts other than the stock 2g gsx rear caliper bolts required, or will those suffice?

 

[BoostFrenzy]

I may have to look into the compatability of swapping the 2G master cylinder with the Evo's.

Or maybe even some other cars that were produced durring that time period. Such as the 3s cars and other mitsu/chrysler twins. The hardest part if going to be finding the ratings on each one to see which is better.

Atuca, that squishy feeling may be the other problem that people are experiencing with a master cylinder that is too weak. But if you do find a way to bleed it and rid some of that squish feeling, do post it up. It may be that everyone is just not bleeding theirs the right way haha.

 

[Scrymerr]

I might have missed this in the thread, but are bolts other than the stock 2g gsx rear caliper bolts required, or will those suffice?

Yes, you missed it. The factory GSX caliper bolts are 1.25mm/thread, you need 1.50mm/thread. I listed all of the bolts you will need already. None of them are the same as what is already on your GSX.

 

[BoostFrenzy]

It's hard to tell in the pictures. I want to do an Evo brake swap, just bought the big brakes a couple minutes ago. I want to know if I can run the same wheels on my car if I get the JDM knuckles, will the knuckle change anything? For example, if I stuff a 255/35/18 tire on a 18x8.5 +40 wheel (like Wret did), would those wheels and tires still fit if I swapped to JDM knuckles or would the tires rub on the knuckle?

Yeah it is hard to tell from the pictures. But it looks like it actually adds a tiny bit of room over the stock knuckles. It'll have to come down to someone measuring.

 

[Scrymerr]

Yeah it is hard to tell from the pictures. But it looks like it actually adds a tiny bit of room over the stock knuckles. It'll have to come down to someone measuring.

I will try to do that in a bit, lunchtime first Then I have to run to the hardware store.

 

[Scrymerr]

OK, it has been confirmed: the JDM knuckles do not offer any more or less clearance than the factory piece. Since I couldn't get anything to fit between the knuckle and tire to measure with, I used my wrench set. I kept trying larger wrenches until I found one that wouldn't fit. Shown here is my 18mm wrench which just barely fits between the knuckle and tire on both. First pic is stock 2g DSM, second is JDM.

 

[Atuca]

I have a gsx so my master cylinder is bigger than the gst right? The squishy I have to assume is because I bled it in the wrong order, I did it Evo Style

RR
FL
RL
FR

I don't know why I did it that way because no matter waht kind of brakes are on the car, the brake lines are the same as DSM from the master cylinder. If the DSM is the same bleeding order, than the squishy must be that I am using stock lines, but I mean it is a huge difference in pedal feel. I wouldn't think the brakes would be worse because of the need of a larger cylinder, right? If DSM style is not what I listed above, than I need to rebleed and see if that fixes it. I bled properly with the straw in a cup of brake fluid and bled til no more bubbles came through the line or in the cup, and than did it 4 more times just to make sure. I'd like to think I did it right but I am a DSM n00b (I been saying that for 3 years now )

I would however expect similar braking power with the aftermarket and stock setup, with maybe not unleashing the power of the evos without a new cylinder if that is the case. I don't know, I havn't slammed on the brakes yet because I am still missing the smaller abs screw and I am letting my new rotors and pads break in still, I only drive 5 miles to work so it will take me a week to get the full 100 miles recomended break in period.

Still some stuff to get figured out before I do the write up.

BTW, make sure you are getting 10.9 grade screws, it seems most places don't have them and it took me a while to find some. Don't go cheap on your caliper bolts, they snap and you crash because you can't brake, you're gonna feel dumb.

 

[Flash]

I just ordered the knuckles and the big brake kit. Am I the first one to try an Evo big brake kit on my car? These aren't the OEM Evo Brembo's.
Fingers crossed.

 

[GPTourer]

I have a gsx so my master cylinder is bigger than the gst right? The squishy I have to assume is because I bled it in the wrong order, I did it Evo Style.

Are you sure you just don't have a small leak somewhere?

 

[Atuca]

All the fluid is still in my reservoir and hasn't leaked out, so I'd say no to a leak.

Flash, that is one of the beauties of doing this brake swap, is it opens the doors to all the aftermarket brakes for evos fitting on your dsm. The evo brake swap is just cheap if you are someone who comes accross the parts cheap, i.e. not in a rush and buying expensive just because you want them.

Having the knuckles with the 160mm caliper spacing means you can fit any of the big brakes from an evo. I don't know if you have looked for DSM brake setups, but the options are pretty limited. As long as you have the offset on your rims, you can fit any evo caliper now, so it is my unprofessional opinion you shouldn't have any problems!

 

[Flash]

I sure hope I don't have any issues, I ordered a Project Mu big brake kit. Should work nicely but I'm not sure if I can use the brake lines. Will they be too long or too short?

 

[Atuca]

It seems there are contradictory opinions on that question. It appears people with GSXs are using all their stock lines, while the GST guys are having to get new lines. SS lines would probably be good for you to buy anyways and since you are GST, will make down time a little less probable.

 

[Flash]

If you do the Evo brake swap, does this mean that you could run the Forge Motorsports Evo front brake cooling ducts?
Forge Motorsport | Alloy Fabrication

 

[Scrymerr]

If you do the Evo brake swap, does this mean that you could run the Forge Motorsports Evo front brake cooling ducts?
Forge Motorsport | Alloy Fabrication

Well, the brake duct will definitely bolt up. Let me check tomorrow morning and see if I can get an idea of whether there will be any clearance issues with the shock mount when the wheels are turned.

Dan

 

[Scrymerr]

My bolts finally came in! SS bolts, lock washers, and flat washers all around!

 

[Flash]

You ever check on the ducting? That would be nice if it worked. I guess my brakes and knuckles arrived. The dealership has my bolts in. My Motive power bleeder will be here tomorrow. Should be a fun weekend!

 

[Scrymerr]

You ever check on the ducting? That would be nice if it worked. I guess my brakes and knuckles arrived. The dealership has my bolts in. My Motive power bleeder will be here tomorrow. Should be a fun weekend!

Oh yea, I am going to have a hard time checking clearances and stuff since I since I sold my coilovers. Sorry!

 

[siceclipse]

I see that all you guys are able to use the stock rear lines. When I did my swap last year, I definitely HAD to use the Evo lines. The stock lines had a screw in end, not a banjo fitting. This is on a 97 GSX, single piston rears, with ABS. I also got the Evo lines with my set, so I compared them, the fronts are about an inch longer.

Luke, check the bottom/right picture.

He took the banjo out and just threaded the stock rear in.
Im gonna go out to the garage and test this out.

 

[UofACATS]

Luke, check the bottom/right picture.

He took the banjo out and just threaded the stock rear in.
Im gonna go out to the garage and test this out.

Not sure if you're referring to my pictures, but the rear caliper has no banjo bolt. It's setup the same as stock.

 

[DSMunknown]

If you do the Evo brake swap, does this mean that you could run the Forge Motorsports Evo front brake cooling ducts?
Forge Motorsport | Alloy Fabrication

Nice find.

EDIT: Nevermind. Chris posted that up back in '06.

 

[Flash]

Still amazing no one has tried it to see if it would fit the 2g with Evo brakes. Someone, anyone?

 

[Flash]

So Roast Beef and I decided we would have a crack at this Evo brake swap last night, along with the long-distance help from Scrymerr. I decided to go with the big brake kit from Project Mu for a couple of reasons. The rotors, if wore out can be replaced with discs from the Brembo Racing catalog (according to my rogue measurements and Brembos technical drawings). The discs are 355x32. The floating disc fittings appear to be the same that Brembo Racing offers. So the fact I can call up HRPWorld and order new discs and hardware without waiting a long time for parts from PMU is great!
We haven't finished the brake swap, it was discovered that a lower ball joint was falling apart. So I'm thankful it was discovered now instead of later.
The bolts came with the PMU big brake kit. You can not use the Evo brake lines that came with the kit. They just won't work. I ended up using the stock lines for now. Also, the rotor hat is thick and pushed the wheels out a bit more, so I need to order some longer wheel studs.

I do not recommend doing this evo aftermarket big brake swap. These calipers and rotors are huge. You need wheels that would clear this things. I have had many 18" wheels before, but I think my Volk RE30's are the only ones I have had that would clear these brakes. I never knew the brakes would be this big when I ordered them.

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