3 Things everyone gets WRONG about Upgrading Brakes. How To do Big Brake Kits right 

Volvo’s official tool for pushing pistons back on s60/v70r models is a screwdriver between the pad and rotor. It’s in the service manual.

idk if it was intentional for rob to do a voiceover saying "EBAY MOTORS" but it was funny af 😂😂😂

I'm a track guy myself. typically the first upgrade to brakes, is high quality rotors, braided lines and better brake pads. the better rotors will be able to handle more heat. and upgrade brake pads will not fade with high heat. I wouldn't recommend track pads for something that you will drive on the street. they typically need quite a bit of heat before they start to work. if you're experiencing quite a bit of body roll in corners, try upgrading the sway bars. if you go to stiff on the springs to keep the body level, you will end up with a car that will get real loose real easy. especially turning or breaking over bumps.

You're always limited by tire grip, both for acceleration and deceleration. Too big and you lock up too fast, there is a sweet spot to be had with the tires taken in to account.

Alternate title: STOP doing these things when Upgrading Brakes

Rob, when ever doing a big brake upgrade with used calipers you should pull out each piston and mark it so you know what position is came out of. and replace the O-rings. They are very cheap and you won't have to worry about the old rings (who knows what shape they are in) leaking on the track when getting abused. Also make sure to use good synthetic hi-temp brake fluid and flush out all the old shit. Don't want the brake fluid boiling at the track and you can't brake and hit a barrier. Cheers.

Donut incidentally proved too much pad and caliper can be detrimental when they were installing e-brakes for their 'Hi-Car, Low-Car' series.

I love how rob just said ebay a bunch of times and we got to hear sassy rob say Ebay Motors a couple of times🤣

I love technical information that's well spoken and easy to understand.....thank you for always going the extra mile

Would love to see a series of these "3 things people get wrong" next one should be "3 things people get wrong about turbos"

A lot of "Yes, kind of but not actually" going on with this brakes discussion. To elaborate on Rob's explanations here. Benefits: -Larger brakes can help with braking force due to leverage (trying to stop a wheel by grabbing the hub is much more difficult than trying to grab closer to the outside) -Larger brakes can help with brake heat by having more thermal mass to absorb brake heating -Larger brakes can help with brake heat by having more surface area to dissipate heat -Larger brakes (more specifically higher pot calipers) can help with brake heat by increasing the braking surface area, requiring less force on a specific location and thus producing less heat. Drawbacks: -Braking ability is directly limited to the traction of the vehicle. If you are already at the edge of that tractive effort, more braking force will not help you stop faster. -Larger brakes weigh more, and higher rotating mass is harder to stop than higher static mass, counterintuitively somewhat decreasing your ability to brake. -Larger brakes weigh more, increasing your unsprung mass, which can have unintended detrimental effects on the handling of your vehicle.

I'm 5:22 in and I love the instructional aspect of the vid. Learning is a wonderful thing that most don't invest in. Thanks guys,great content!

9:57 agreed. IMO, the biggest gift one can make themselves on any day of the year is getting braided lines, fronts and rears. Improvement to braking, safety, upkeep, everything. So many times, i've recommended braided lines to friends and family and they'd always call the next day after saying something like "holly sh!t what the hell". My aunt said she thought i'd installed racing brakes, all i did was clean her rotors, painted them with some left over rando orange i had, brake pads aaand braided lines. Made a SpongeBob car into a F1. Edit: one sureway to sell people on the extra cost is to make them hold the line as you brake. :))

I agree with all your facts and you are right. However, large rotors and big fixed painted calipers look so good in big wheels.

For anyone interested in doing this swap, the front calipers are reversible by swapping the crossover tube and bleeder valve position. Sometimes you can find a good price on a remanufactured right side and can just buy two.

Just noticed this video shows the car with the single exhaust exit. It’s always weird to think the order in which channels upload content isn’t necessarily the chronological order of filming

I just started building my 4th gen Camaro and called Sam Strano for handling advice and everything in this video was literally spoken from the man himself.

Thanks Rob! Car manufacturers like Porsche spend large sums of money on RnD to develop things such as the brakes, ratios, heat dispersion, cooling, so on. Same goes for most high performance cars coming out from “basic brands”. People just make it complicated by reinventing the wheel so to say. You are low key the Einstein of Cartube right now! Absolute legend!

Thanks Rob! It's been a while since your videos popped up, but good to see. you are doing what you love, and these videos are educational, as usual.

I love how Rob made the normal stuff look simple. I installed BBK on my 228i and I fully agree with everything he said. BBK are beneficial for sure but it all depends on how you configure it. Overall, they increase the stopping performance.

Rob, you are using used calipers for race applications, rebuild them using new caliper boots. They have seen enough heat cycle and age. Rubber boots crack. Also clean up pistons using steel wool.

11:03 That's not how hydraulic brakes work, but you did excellent explaining energy and thermal mass!

Really good video. Bigger brakes are absolutely about stopping repeatedly and bigger just means more surface area to dissipate heat in between hard braking zones on a race track. If you want to stop faster you need bigger/better tires, good suspension and good brakes.

When Isaiah talked about brake fluid being corrosive, it reminded me of the time my uncle used it to wash his hands before eating a hot dog.

I'm 90% sure the retaining pins are removable while mounted to the car to preclude caliper removal for pad changes

absolutely outstanding video Rob, thank you for clearing up questions I hadn't even thought of yet!!

Simplified intelligence is paramount for explaining concepts to people who either have their mind set to a certain way of thinking or introducing an explanation to a beginner. Perfect video, like most of your content.

"THE LEAST SCIENTIFIC BRAKING SCIENCE VIDEO" should have been the title on this one Rob...

This video from was great!

Totally not expecting the Robert Frost reference. I grew up with that poem. 👍 Rob

I work at a gm dealership and its ultra risky to compress pistons with a bare tool contacting the piston face. They're composite and can be cracked. Its best to put a old brake pad or small block of wood as a medium to prevent damage. I think I saw one of the pistons with a crack on one already. But also, you do not have to pull the entire brake caliper off to do pads on those. Although they are individual brake pads, you're supposed to pull the pins out from the outside with a T40 torx and you just do them one at a time since the pistons will want to pop back out as you collapse one and try to collapse a second. They're also really easy to install upside down, I've seen it frequently where visually the brake pads look thick but since they're upside down the material overhangs past the rotor on the outside when in reality they've worn. Food for thought.

On the physics front, you're correct. Between engineering and physics, a certain size brake is necessary to stop a certain amount of weight, but if you want it reliable and safe, it needs to be xx dimension and materials. Combining the two with speed makes things a bit more interesting, to which you also enter the contact patch of your tire. More often than not, increasing your tire or moving to a sticker compound will make your brake system more effective. Reducing overall weight makes Everything better.

It's important to understand nothing is gained for free. Every improvement is always offset to an extent. A larger brake kit with a larger wheel and tyre is also (usually) an increase in unsprung weight that needs to be controlled and an increase in rotational inertia that needs to be stopped which will increase heat. Everything is part of system. When it comes to brakes the limiting factor is always the tyres relationship to the surface. ABS is completely governed by that.

I put the front C5 brakes on my C4 with Baer two piece rotors. Also installed a Doug Rippie Brake Bias Spring to direct more pressure to the rear brakes to compensate for the bigger fronts. Love the setup the difference is huge.

You have to consider hydraulic advantage as well. For the same size master cylinder and the same pedal pressure, large surface area caliper cylinders will apply more force. Installing WAY bigger calipers can actually be an issue because it makes the brake pedal extremely touchy. You can always compensate for that by installing a larger master cylinder matched to your larger caliper.

Take a shot every time Rob says "Ratio"! Such a great video on a popular upgrade, very interesting stuff and I love how contagious your excitement and enthusiasm are!

My boy held the torch like 1/2 an inch further away the second time lol.

The stainless steel braid is a thin outer layer that is designed to flex in all directions and cannot prevent the hose from expanding, its main function is to protect the teflon inner hose against abrasion with a secondary function of looking good;)

Rob I Do wheel alignments at work most days . it's no point setting up spring rates or ride height without weight in the car. we set cars up with 75kg in each seat to mimick 2 people in the car or a family car 40kg in the back each side ..please think about it

Those ebay motors voice edit is gold rob 😂

Rob Dahm Professor of physics reporting for duty!

As long as the brakes are strong enough to lock things up, or trigger the ABS. Biggest brakes will do the same, but heat up less, they aren't magic.

The sound cuts out in places.

I learnt way more than I signed up for... . . Absolutely love it. ❤

You should get some of those coilover knob extensions so that you can adjust your coilover without pulling carpet out of the way. I know they make some for Öhlins and MeisterR stuff, so it shouldn’t be hard to find something compatible with FortuneAuto coilovers

The breakdown of the break lines!.... Phenomenal.💯💯

different brake fluid brands have different compressibility specs. the difference is noticeable. i used castrol SRF for a long time because of the high wet boiling point. but then switched to Torque RT700 and notice a big difference in pedal feel.

I'm glad I watched this, I had done about 4-5 hard stops in my car once and had the pedal to the floor on the last one and barely stopped on time. Probably my brake lines/fluid got too hot with everything else

Best RU-vidr Ever!

Man what a detail explanation of every brake component. After your video I feel like I can do a BBK change for any car. You got my subscribed man. A very great video. Very honest telling. Great camera work. God blessed you.

The Man Rob !!!! What a team you have ! Solid content

Rob dahm vid or sleep? What a hard choice

THANK YOU!! I’m so surprised how many people don’t believe me when i explain that if you can lock up your tires, then tires are the limit for braking distance. Bigger brakes are not going to help then. Now I can use this video to explain it to people visually.

You should put in a damper adjustment extender onto those rear shocks. its basically a flexible shaft that extends the knob to where it's accessible.

I've learned so much from Dahm and these comments section.

Correct in how the OEM makes changes throughout the life cycle of the chassis, even with my truck, the 97-02 had single piston fronts and drum rears but for 2003 and 2004 the last two years of that same generation (97-04) they went to 2 piston front calipers and rear wheel disc, additional to the rear ABS; all Bosch, the vender Dodge had during that era. Now they run Brembo for the SRT lineup. Before that was the swap to do, now with Brembo, and other aftermarket kits, you don't have to dive through pick-aparts for "OEM plus" Youre also limited to what you have, hub/wheel stud spacing, unless you swap to a different pattern.

Lol, normally I learn from Dahm videos. Proud this was more of a reeducation.

I love how you explain the engineering behind things thats one of the reasons why i love your videos

You can go too big on breaks if you never get them hot enough. You'd be surprised how well good pads can do wonders over going to larger calipers and rotors for most applications. To save weight, two piece rotors go a very long way, but again, in most applications it's uncessary. I like the idea of seeing what OEM options are available. For example, 30MM on a 300ZX vs the 25MM

Never thought about big brakes = stopping power, rather big brakes = endurance against fading. My disk brakes on my downhill bicycle are a perfect example. I can stop on a hill, going 60kph, within give or take 10 meters. If i did that with my old brakes, i'd smell the roses, because the brakes would get hot and ineffective (they did, they were so hot, that on a rainy day steam was pouring out of them and it warped the rotor). Now i have 200 mm disks on both wheels and four acting pistons. Same stopping distance, but none of the effects i had before. I can actually touch the disk after, where as before, i'd get a burn. JM2C

Just a bit of info from the guy who made all these calipers at PBR in Melbourne Australia, The 6pot Z06 calipers used the same dia. pistons / bores. This allowed for easier manufacturing (machined in 2 setups on a 5 axis Chiron machining center) also the used of six individual pads eliminates tapered pad wear.

Not sure if anyone else experienced it, but audio went out several times and I feel I missed important information. Otherwise, love it!

As someone who's not a regular subscriber, I'm blown away by the knowledge on display and explained here! Jeez, I feel so much smarter after watching this video. Great job, Rob!

In rotation, its called a moment arm. Its the same concept as leverage but applied to a radial motion. The bigger the moment arm, the more torque generated at the axis.

Thank you for giving a Dahm, Rob. We appreciate it.

Rob boutta turn this into a science channel and I love it!

The steel braiding on braided lines is only there to protect the teflon inner hose not strengthen it. Modern Rubber brakes hose of proper OE quality are only very slightly more expansive than Braided teflon. All the other mechanical effects in the brake system, such as calliper strength , have a way bigger contribution to fluid absorbed under pressure and hence pedal feel.

Teacher Dahm in thr house. Really amazing informative video. Love it as always

Was just thinking about this. Thanks for the info!

Love watching these technical videos.

Today Rob teaches us how leverage and mass effect braking!

Are those directional rotors? It bugs me when they put two left rotors on cars because the vanes are backwards on one side. Audi does that and it pisses me off.

Another thing about the calipers having pistons each side is equal pad pressure on both side instantly and no chance of disc warping since the single side piston has to rely on the pressure of the 1st piston before it can pull the other side onto the disc from the housing moving.

Very educational and a great tribute to car community Rob, honestly pulling clutch for the newbies to learn about what is basic concepts to us

21:41 what you should do is attach a sock it to it so you can draw a hole directly above it and you can slide down a speed wrench and adjust it from the top side. Like they do in NASCAR

I love automotive science classes with Rob

I remember seeing that yellow Diablo around town when i lived in SE Mi. Super cool to see it made the move to Socal. I live out near Ventura now. Both of us got sick of that Michigan cold.

Fortune Auto has come a REALLY long way. I remember when they were effectively a garage operation supplying local drifters in VA Beach. Glad @FortuneAuto has increased their quality of product over the years.

This is a great video, if your brakes can lock up your tires then the limiting factor in slowing down is your tires. The bigger the size of the brakes doesn’t help so much with slowing down quicker, it instead helps with slowing down in the same or similar distance the next 10 or 20 times you hit them hard right after your first stop. Big brakes help by keeping your brakes from overheating and getting horrible brake fade. Carbon Ceramic brakes help by being able to handle heat much better then traditional metal rotors

My dad upgraded the brakes on our 2015 F-150 Lariat, and I'll say, it's way nicer being able to lightly press the pedal and stop like it's nothing. Drilled and slotted rotors with some high performance pads, works really well for around town and highway use

Once the brakes are large/strong enough to lock up the tires (or reach the ABS threshold), even on warm, dry, clean, smooth pavement with the stickiest tires you might use on the car...then the only benefit of going larger is heat management so that they will keep doing it repeatedly without degrading. Now there can be other benefits to making changes to your brake system (pedal feel, pedal travel, pad friction levels at various pressures and temperatures, other heat management techniques such as better fluid, front/rear bias balance, etc., but those things are dependent upon a lot of other design factors besides just "bigger."

Rob Dahm just made me consider buying 6 piston brembos for my stock 1989 nissan micra (basically a small first gen VW golf) with 55 hp stock engine…. I think we should appreciate that Rob is here teaching us instead of trying to sell us stuff 😂 i would buy 8 cars, 6 rotations around the earth worth of tefzel (or however you write it) wire, 19 haltech units along with about 6 mill worth of cool sh*t if he just explained why its good to me 😂

Did I miss a payment on sound for some parts of the video? I don’t see any other comments mentioning the sound cutting out randomly in the second half of the video

I just installed some drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads on my 370z

The c4 corvette generation folks that uses C5 brakes as upgrade have been know to lock the front brakes, unless you get the c6 set up and use the 340mm rotors front and rear then its just a big brake upgrade but you just don't shoot flames from your rotors as easily

I've never seen anybody care about piston area specifically, only about swept area, the area of the pads, since that's what makes contact with the rotor.

When I worked at PBR Australia I machined both types of calipers you are showing

I have swapped 2 piston calipers for 6 piston calipers front, and swapped 1 piston calipers for 4 piston rear. I have absolutely no regrets. Nobody I know ever said that their brakes are too big.

Professor Dahm!

EE, BAY, MOTORS, It's in the parts!

He looks so happy at 7:57 , like all of us when we finally get a nice upgrade to our ride esp when we got a good deal. HEHE, I especially liked the metal sheet and pinky with leverage example u gave. in one min you cover what other youtubers tried with a 15-20mins video LOL

I've bought most of the parts for My cars from eBay Motors or Rock Auto. The Most recent part's I purchased from eBay Motors were some R1 Concepts Cross Drilled and Slotted rotors and Ceramic pads. Which work Perfectly and I didn't have to spend an arm and leg to smoother and better braking.

Your rotor is a lever, you make them larger and they apply more leverage and thus it will apply more torque and lock up the wheel easier but that does not equate to braking distance shortening. Mostly larger rotors are just used for the thermal advantage like you say.

Reasons I completely replaced the brake system on my 1988 Mustang. I'll lead off with what I went to. 1995 brakes, completely. 1- gained rear disc brakes. 2- larger rotors for better thermal mass (like you stated) so they can handle higher speed stopping and repeated stopping for a longer time. 3- better design. The 1988 front rotors have the wheel bearings built into the rotor. Meaning to swap the rotor you have to pull everything apart. The later 1994 and up have the modern rotors that are separate from the hubs and wheel bearings (less chance of cooking the bearings too). The other design change which I've never seen anyone else do this (not saying it hasn't been done back then by someone else) is the calipers only need a single bolt removed to rotate the caliper up and away from the rotor to swap pads. Far easier than any other vehicle I've worked on including the rear brake caliper on my 1994 Honda VFR which is nearly identical except it's 2 bolts of the 3 that need removed to do the exact same thing. The downside, I needed to gut my proportioning valve and remove it's guts before re-installing. Then install a separate valve on the rear brake line between the prop valve and the split at the rear axle. (It's on the firewall). I also had to replace the master cylinder to a 1993 Cobra part (not a big deal since you can get them new like I did). And the minor downside, I can only run 5 lug wheels now because I literally swapped everything including the spindles and the complete rear axle from a 95. Note: Only people who know these cars will see something wrong with my car because I grabbed a set of new edge v6 wheels which are Tri Bar wheels and they have the mustang symbol on the center caps. If they realize what they are looking at they should know it's 5-lug wheels and the fox platform only had 4-lug wheels except for the 93 Cobra and Cobra R. Another interesting fact, the race only 93 Cobra R had factory Tri Bar wheels like the wheels I have right now, except they were painted all black with a machined lip. Same exact dimensions and offset.

Congratulations on the one mill btw rob

All these Big brake Upgrade Video's and your the first to mention the Master cylinder. I always thought you should use the Master Cylinder that matched the brakes you used because the oem one wasn not made to operate those larger calipers

One caliper piston equally opposes the force of the piston on the other side of the caliper. Like pinching a bathroom scale between thumb and forefinger. (reach assumed) The scale reads the force that your thumb exerts toward your forefinger. If the scale reads 5lbs....then you have 5lbs of force exerted by your thumb which can only exist if there is 5lbs resisting that force, which is provided by your forefinger. The total force does not double to become 10 lbs of force. I hope that makes sense. Also, my bathroom scale uses the floor (and the scale's spring) to provide a force to oppose my body weight, otherwise, my 180lbs acting on the scale would read as 360lbs if you added the "acting" force and "opposing" force together.

11:15 This is the second thing that gives you a good response: a single brake-pad for every piston. 18:24 The good ol' reliable optical system. I've learned on a system like this (in Germany you are a trainee for 3,5 years to become a "Geselle" [journeyman]). I think you learn more about chassis/steering geometry than with a computerized one.

Right rotor might be a left rotor? Love the upgrade tho, i want a couple of those for me too.

On my 2003 BMW E46 M3 - I upgraded the front brakes from OE single piston to i 335 BMW 6 piston brembos and bigger rotors and I did not notice any difference in stopping but I am betting that's only something you would notice on a track after putting a lot of heat into the brake system not on a weekend cruiser .