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Over the past few days, i spent a few hours each day working on the installing the brakes and the coilovers. Since i decided to do both at the same time, it took a little bit longer, especially since it's been a while since i've worked on either, so i needed some extra time to figure it out. Here's a picture of the old set up:



Before i took anything off the car, I started first by measuring the existing ride height so that i can gauge how much to lower the car after i finished installing the coilovers. After that, i began with removing the front brakes. Luckily, all the bolts came out fairly easy with a breaker bar and i didn't brake any bolts or strip any nuts. Here's a comparison between my old stock calipers versus the new Brembo calipers



And the rotors:


After removing all the brake components, i began removing the suspension. Since i had all four wheels off the ground, i decided to just remove everything first then go back and install the new coilovers. Here is the car with all the shocks and front brakes removed



I started with the fronts first then moved on to the rears. The rears were considerably easier to do since it only required removing 6 nuts/bolts to get the shock out.

Front:


Rear:


After i finished installing the coilovers, i readjusted the preload and the rebound according to Ohlins specifications which calls for 2mm of preload front and rear and 10 clicks of rebound. The rebound was easy to set, but when it came to the preload, i found out the previous owner had added nearly 16-18mm of preload on the rear coilovers and about 4mm on the front. The front was a piece of cake to readjust, but because there was so much preload added to the rears, it took a good amount of effort to remove all of that preload because of the compressed spring. It was definitely a workout for my arms. （x_x；）

The brakes were really easy to install. Everything lined up perfectly and didn't require any extra work to fit. The brake lines were a little long, but the bracket and hoses supplied with the lines allowed me to keep the lines from flapping around.

Finally installed!!!


The hardest part of the whole process was probably bleeding the brakes. I originally started out by using a manual vacuum hand pump, but after trying unsuccessfully for about an hour i gave up and started looking for other options. That's when i looked over to the corner of the garage and saw the electric vacuum pump i purchased earlier in the year to service my A/C system. I found some tubing, hooked up the vacuum cup from the MityVac, and connected one end of the hose to the electric pump and the other to my bleeder valve. First i started up the pump then i cracked the valve open and it worked like magic. After filling about 1/4 to 1/3 of the vacuum cup with brake fluid, i tightened the valve and turned off the pump. I redid all 4 corners twice starting with the passenger right side and working my way towards the driver front.



Once that was done, it was time to put the wheels back on the car and get it off the stands so i could remeasure the ride height to see how much it changed and how much adjustment i would need to make. I put tape on each corner so i could write down my measurements and keep track of my changes.



In the end, i lowered the car roughly 20mm. Last night, i took the car out for a test drive so i could make sure everything was in good working condition. I was really surprised to find that the Ohlins suspension was really comfortable but at the same time firm. It allowed you to feel the road and body roll was minimized, however, when i went over the bumps, it didn't feel stiff. The shocks really absorbed the bumps nicely. I still need to get an alignment done on the car, but i'm still trying to decide whether to buy the tools to learn to do it myself or if i should just take it to the local alignment shop. The brakes were equally impressive. I was able to engage the ABS fairly easily. In fact, before the tires warmed up, i even locked the wheels completely a couple of times. The only downside is that there's extra pedal travel compared to stock since the stock master cylinder can't push as much fluid as the Brembo big brake kit requires for a stiffer feel. But still, there was definitely great feel throughout the range of pedal travel and i was confident the brakes could stop the car whenever i needed it to on a dime. Needless to say, i am very happy with both upgrades. I forgot to mention, this was also my first time driving the car with the Bride bucket seat. I was pleasantly surprised to find it very comfortable to sit in. Granted, i could lose a few pounds which would make it even more comfortable, but it was still comfortable, even in comparison to the stock seat. It made you feel one with the car because you really moved together with the car. Now onto the pictures of the finished product!









I really enjoyed the past month or so as i worked on the brake project and also installing the new seat, coilovers, and brakes. It's really projects like these that really make owning an FD so much fun. But alas, i've already spent way over my budget, so it's going to be a long while perform i add anymore upgrades to the car. o(╥﹏╥)o At least i'll get to spend the rest of the year and probably next year to enjoy all the upgrades i've done since i got the car. プロジェクト雨宮FD Phase 2 完了!!!!

(And a random picture of Naomi-chan on her new bike)

I've finally completed the overhaul of the Brembo brake kit that i purchased off Yahoo Auctions. The kit came with

- 2x Brembo monobloc calipers
- 2x Brembo rotors
- 2x Brembo rotor hats
- 20x T-type bobbins
- 20x rotor hat nuts
- 2x stainless steel braided brake lines
- 2x caliper mounting brackets
- 4x caliper brake pads.

I ended up having to purchase 2x Racing Brake rotors, 4x EBC brake pads and 8x Brembo caliper pressure seals to do a full overhaul. I've also sanded down and painted the rotor hat and T-type bobbins so the rotors should look brand new now.





Here's a close up shot of the rotor put together with the freshly painted parts.



Here's a comparison photo showing the brake kit and how it looked when i first received it and a photo of the brake kit after a complete overhaul:

Before:


After:


Over the weekend, i spent some time cleaning the garage so i could reposition the car so that i could easily access all four corners of the car in order to install the coilovers and the brake kit.





Now the fun part begins...installing the parts! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

ooh, and i took another photo of my new Bride seat from the trunk of the car...いいいいね!!!

Last night i took a break from my ブレーキキャリパーのオーバーホールプロジェクト while i wait for the parts that i painted to dry. Luckily the UPS driver just happened to drop off the bracket for my Bride VIOS III バケットシート so i decided to go ahead and put the seat in the car. Having had the seat for over a month now, i was really eager to finally get it installed.





Surprisingly, it took a little longer than i expected to install the seat. I had to do a couple of test fits in the car before i bolted everything down. Luckily i did because the initial setting i used prevented the seat from sliding forward enough because the right side of the seat would rub against the transmission tunnel. Once i got the seat lined up, i bolted everything down and the seat fit perfectly! The right side didn't rub against the tunnel and the left side didn't rub against the door. I was very happy! ＼（＠￣∇￣＠）／

Here are some pictures of the seat installed:







Now i just need to save up some money so i can buy my Takata 4 point harness!

I made some more progress in my ブレーキキャリパーのオーバーホールプロジェクト. I received some of the parts that i ordered including new pressure seals, brake rotors, and paint.



I'm still waiting for brake pads and paint primer before i can finish the project, but i figured i made enough progress to start another post. First up are the brake rotors. The rotors are 330x28mm made by a US company called Racing Brake. These rotors cost $415 for two whereas Brembo rotors cost $450 each! ∑(O_O；)



Also, i don't plan on racing the car any time soon so i figured i'd get something a little cheaper to start out with so i can get the brakes on the car first. The only caveat was that the holes for the RB rotors were a little smaller than the Brembo T-type bobbins that i had so i had to grind less than a tenth of a millimeter off the RB rotors to get the Brembo bobbins to fit.



Next up were the pressure seals for the キャリパー. These also were not Brembo seals but they fit just like the originals. Since these are racing calipers, they don't come with any dust boots. Luckily replacing the seals ia quite a simple process.



I coated the seals in a little brake fluid and the seals slide right into the groove in the caliper. The seals are a little hard to see in the picture, but they're there.



Once the seals are in, putting the pistons back in is just a matter of pressing them in. Since the seal is air tight, it does take a little bit effort, but as long as you keep the piston straight it should pop in eventually.



Last up is just more cleaning in preparation for paint. I decided that i'm going to paint the rotor hats blue and the rotor fittings yellow. I'm not sure how it'll turn out, but anything will be better than what it looks like now.



I drilled out a wood block to hold the bolts so it would be easier to paint. I also cleaned the nuts even though you can't see them once the rotors are installed but i figured it's better to clean them while i can.



So that's about it for my brake project. I'm close to being ready to install them. All i need to do is paint the rotor hats and hardware and wait for my brake pads to come in. On a different note, i got a new set of 車高調! o((*^▽^*))o The car is currently lower than stock since it's on Koni shocks and Tein lowering springs, but i always felt the car didn't look quite right because it needed to be .5 to 1 inch lower. After i got the Brembo brakes, i knew i had to get Ohlins 車高調. In the motorcycle world, Brembo brakes and Ohlins suspension go together like 2 peas in a pod. I've been running the same combination on my Ducati for years and i love it. I originally wanted to get all Japanese parts for my car, but once i caved in and bought the Brembo brakes i had no choice but to get Ohlins 車高調. Unfortunately, i can't buy coilovers from Yahoo auctions because the proxy bidding company i use doesn't ship 車高調 overseas. It's too bad because there are so many options available on Yahoo auctions at amazing prices. Luckily, a forum member on RX7club.com had a set of Ohlins DFV coilovers for sale so i jumped on it. I just received the 車高調 last Friday and will probably install them around the same time i install my Brembo brakes.





After these past months and 3 major purchases, Bride VIOS III bucket seat, Brembo big brake kit, and now the Ohlins DFV coilovers, i'm going to have to put the brakes on my upgrades. I think i'm broke now...(´；д；`)

I picked up a Brembo front brake kit for my FD. I bought it off yahoo auctions. When i first saw the kit i was kind of wary of it since i had never seen a Brembo monobloc caliper kit for the FD before. So i did some research on the brakes and found out that the calipers in the kit were actually Brembo race calipers which are sold only to professional race teams and isn't available commercially for retail purchase. After doing a little more research, i took a chance and placed a bid. Unsurprisingly, i won the auction after 1 day and a half. What was surprising was that the kit had been sitting on the auction house for quite a few weeks with no interest. I admit, i was a little nervous about whether i made the right choice or not, especially since the quality of the pictures weren't great and the kit looked pretty worn out. I received the kit last week and immediately began to tear it down to what the exact condition of the kit was. This is basically what it came down to:

1. The calipers seemed to be in good condition (no cracks) but they were extremely dirty.
2. The brake rotors were completely shot and needed to be replaced.
3. The brake pads were also in need of replacement.

The first order of business was to clean up the calipers. Luckily, the dremel was able to remove most of the bakes on brake dust fairly easily. The brake calipers look almost new! ヽ(○´∀`)ﾉ♪





As i was disassembling the calipers, i found the pistons needed quite of bit of cleaning as well. I pulled out the pressure seals and found a few of the seals to be slightly warped so i decided to just order all new seals just to be safe.



With the calipers out of the way, i moved on to disassembling the rotors. I ordered new rotor rings since the ones that i got were completely used up.



The rotors were supposed to be slotted but one of the rotor face was so used that the slots were no longer visible! （／_＼）I decided that i need to repaint the rotors and also the bobbins that hold the rotor to the rotor hat. My plan is to paint the rotor hat yellow and the bobbins blue...i wonder how it'll turn out. While i wait to receive the new rotor rings, pressure seals, and paint, i'm just going to continue cleaning.



On a side note, i saw my first Mclaren MP4-12C down the street from my house on the way to work!