Q50 BBK Akebono Brake Upgrade | COMPLETE Installation Process! 

instaBlaster

I appreciate you following along! Good luck on your project!

Thank you!!

Yeah it would have been easy enough to do. I swear there are people that just jump on to leave the thumbs down and dont actually even watch the video. Is what it is I guess.

Coming soon!

I love it! Looks better than I could have hoped for

Hahaha

I appreciate the kind words!

Good idea! I’ll do that if I can remember downtown!

Thanks for watching!!

I’m glad too! It was the right choice, especially with the wheel color! Can’t wait for you guys to see it in the daylight!

Thank you! I hope it is helpful to everyone!

Heck yeah man!! Thanks! And looking forward to seeing that combo!

Thank you!!

Thank you, sir!

Nice! Yeah I’m not sure who could dislike it lol. It’s just a how to lol.

lol thanks for watching!

Air impact helps!

Basically if you have a full socket set and a couple sets of wrenches and an impact gun, you can almost do anything! Wire cutters and a pair of pliers is useful too and of course screw drivers. I have a few specialty tools, but you’d be amazed at what you can do with the basics!

They improve resistance the brake fade not really stopping distance. Improved stopping distance can be had with better tires, lighter wheels, lighter weight vehicle overall

Thanks!!

I’m sure

No I have not heard of that problem. It’s weird that they would be different. Definitely return/exchange them.

I’m having this issue right now with the akebono upgrade to my 2016 370. All 4 mounting bolts for rear calipers wouldn’t thread through completely so I used some wd-40 and forced them in the last bit and then cleaned out the shards lol. Putting them on soon and they should be good.

@@ReaperRamsy I hope you never have to take them off again.

@@SpeedCultureStudios Ha! I know right! Before mounting I’m threading the bolts in and out might even hit it with a chaser to be sure. Will install with anti-seize. Thanks for the video man

I believe I showed it in the video where I actually painted the calipers. It's something like Bahama Blue Metallic. Yes-confirmed. T401

Glad to hear that! Rotors are from r1 concepts

No. I put 3mm spacer in though just to make myself feel better

No. Shims usually come with pads not the calipers. Most good pads come with built/moulded in shims now anyway

Every step was in the video

@@SpeedCultureStudios something are missing on videos especially on brake system.

@@edgardoarroyo7418 but if anything was required with the master cylinder, it would have been included in the video.

Yes. Check out the link in the bio of my IG page

I think input 3 or 5mm spacers up front just to push the tire more flush.

You can. If you keep factory lines then you’ll need to order the shorter banjo bolts from z1

No, just rotors and you’ll need the sport banjo bolts but if you just get stainless lines for $100 while doing the conversion you’ll get the correct bolts

@@SpeedCultureStudios Schweet thanks man

Someone told me to get new ones so I did, but they were not actually needed

@@SpeedCultureStudios thank you man, I went ahead and ordered some as well, I’ve subbed since you had around 5k, congratulations on the 20k here soon!

You can, you just need the shorter banjo bolts.

I’ve never had any trouble with drilled rotors ever.

@SpeedCultureStudios Thank you. Also, I'm not sure if you purchased these on the Z1 Motorsports website. Are these rotors the Z1 Akebono brand or are these the BBK performance brand? And would you recommend the Z1 brand rotors?

You can just get the banjos

Thanks for checking it out! I can't recall the torque spec off the top of my head.

@@SpeedCultureStudios no worries I was able to find them . appreciate you Salute

Rotors are decent. Don’t recommend their pads

@@SpeedCultureStudios any other rotor suggestions? Did you get their e line or the more expensive one? Thanks

@@corycooper4955 e line is fine. geomet is just a different coating that you will not even notice a benefit from.

Maybe need to put more miles on them. Are they an aggressive pad or oem?

@@SpeedCultureStudios no, they’re similar to OEM. But they’re Ceramics. Seems like I’ve knocked out most of the noise, but like you’ve stated I seem to need more miles done. Squeaking noise only seems to come out when pressing down on the brake pedal slightly harder and at speeds slower than 20. It’s all a time game. Thankfully, I’m off today!

Not too hard if you’re used to doing some work like that

Not with the forgestars but I did put a 3mm spacer up front for perfect fitment

You could probably get away with doing just the rears, but might be a good idea to do them all. You’ll know when you test them out!

I explain it in the video. The metal shims help distribute the pressure on the back of the pad and help prevent flex which allows for more even braking, especially when the brakes get hot

You need sport rotors. They are much larger.

Yes you need the larger sport rotors

They are painted. Just check back to my previous videos. Whole prep and paint video

@@SpeedCultureStudios you're the man! Thanks

Because they aren’t for a premium. Amazon doesn’t consider them an upgrade.

Sorry I missed this. Yes you should be able to use them and you don't need new brake lines necessarily, but you will need new banjo bolts.

I think they do, but if not they might just take a little spacers which you should have room for

Hello, im also looking to do the bbk conversion on 2018 q50 luxe.. i have 18” x7.5 stock wheels. Would akebono caliper and 15mm spacer fit my wheels?

They’ve been quite good!

@@SpeedCultureStudios do they come with metal shims ?

Did you get the calipers from a G?

@Speed Culture Studios Hey brother, i figured it out. The calipers were from a q50 sport. It wasn't the calipers. Instead, it was the brand of brake line I've ordered. The Goodridge line only connects to the old system. I ordered the concept Z line just like yours, and that will solve the problem. Thanks for replying, brother. Stay safe

There are 18s that will clear the big brakes but I can’t say if the factory Q50 18s will. I suspect not.

They were not available at last check

No should be the same size. Make sure you’re installing the caliper correctly.

@@SpeedCultureStudios all the other calipers mounted just fine with the oem bolts with the exemption of one. The oem bolt seemed smaller on that one caliper. Hopefully it’s not defective

@@macturbo1z754 well ask the seller but that seems very strange

R1

Yes you need correct banjo bolts

Thanks mate

Esr RF2

I can’t speak for that specific wheel. Some 18s fit and some do not

Non sport wheels will not clear the brakes

@@SpeedCultureStudios thanks for the quick response! Have a good labor day brotha

Yes 18"

No they are not directional. First, the grooves should rotate like a fan blade-like I said in the video. But more importantly, it’s not about the grooves-it’s about the vents.

@@SpeedCultureStudios The rotor sucks air in from the center of the rotor, pumps it through the vanes, and out through the outside edge of the rotor. This “centrifugal pump” design helps the rotor dissipate heat. If you install a curved vane rotor backwards, it won't be able to pump air as effectively. Trust me, just search google for “are slotted rotors directions”

@@SpeedCultureStudios aaahhhh damn it, I have been looking into it and seeing as even the experts are about 50/50 whether one direction or the other. Shit, now I’m not sure myself!!!! I wonder if I have them wrong. I installed them according to the instructions they came with from Performance Rotors. I’ll send you a pic of the instructions.

@@fixtravels1744 They shouldn't be 50/50. It's a fact. Directional rotors will have slanted vanes. Non-direction rotors will have straight vanes.

Yes, but you’ll need wheels and rotors to fit

Sorry, I only briefly mentioned it in this video at 10:50, but they are R1 Concepts. I did not link them because they were out of stock at the time. Have a video from when they came in I believe with other brake upgrade components. They are linked in that video.

Hard to recall off the top of my head now, but no I do not think they are the same

@@SpeedCultureStudios okay thank you so much, because I was looking for a set of pads of an specific brand but I didn’t find for the front just for rear

Fronts are bigger and the rear hub sticks out much further

@@SpeedCultureStudios appreciate it brother, love the video ☝️❤️

Some pads can be noisy. I'd try different pads and/or update the shims before swaping calipers. If you go base model calipers you'll need all new rotors, so try the other things first.

@@SpeedCultureStudios Did you get any noise with the base model caliper & pads?

How's your set up holding up any noises?

@@thesonofalivinggod6782 no but I don’t have any noise with the akebonos either

They are painted. I believe they are linked in the description if still available. Check out my caliper prep and paint video

@@SpeedCultureStudios oh nice thank you 🙏🏼 awesome video by the way

Yes they did. I purchased new hardware because someone had mentioned the bolts didn't fit, so I used all new stuff. However, the factory bolts did fit for me.

@@SpeedCultureStudios what about the fronts, will I need any new hardware for mounting the calipers??

@@redgoyabean just check out the video. It’s all in there

@@SpeedCultureStudios ok

That’s what this car is. Just need all the right parts

Sport calipers require sport rotors. Can't mix and match.

We shall see

I think it’s in my changing brake pads video

@@SpeedCultureStudiosnaw bro in that video you only tagged the calipers itself I need the pads that match

@@derrickthomas4753 They are the stop tech street performance pad. I’ve talked about them a bunch and linked them in several videos-guess I just forgot which ones.

I have a complete price breakdown in a separate video

They were out of stock at the time. Check R1 Concepts

Yes they do.

@@SpeedCultureStudios swear they don't I just tried to put them on yesterday wouldn't lie to u maybe they gave me the wrong ones but I'll call them keep u posted u got them from Amazon right if u put in q50 2014 they say it will not fit

@@willb1305 that’s because they don’t see them as an upgrade. If you put 2014 q50 sport in they will fit. What didn’t fit? You need sport rotors too

@@SpeedCultureStudios I have them I'll hit u up on the size of rotors

@@willb1305 I don't need to know the size if you purchased sport rotors. You said the calipers didn't fit, so I'm just wondering in what way they didn't fit.

No you need shorter banjo bolts. I think I mentioned that. That’s why it just makes sense to do stainless lines at the same time

@@SpeedCultureStudios Thank you man

Yes. It’s necessary to do the conversion. Some people remove the entire shield. I would not donthat

No. There are no difference in the wheel studs, so there would be no reason to change them. The difference between the non-sport and sport braking setup is caliper and rotor only. Now, if your wheels do not clear the larger calipers and you need to run wheel spacers more than 10-12mm, you will need longer studs.

@@SpeedCultureStudios thank you for the feedback

Some drilled and slotted are noisy. These were not. But performance pads often cause the noise much more than the rotors. If a little noise from performance brakes bothers you, just keep your car stock. My c6 corvette came with drilled rotors from the factory. GM thought they were a good idea on a performance car. It’s also not only about heat dissipation. It’s about moving gases and brake dust away from the space between the rotor and pad which can severely hinder braking performance under strenuous driving scenarios. The factory sport rotors are known for poor quality and tendency to warp. These are a better option than the factory rotor. Whatever, to each their own, I guess.

You just use the sport rotors

@@SpeedCultureStudios Hey on the R1 website for the 2015 q50 it has two options for the sport rotor. 2 piston and 4. I called customer service and they told me the 4p/ sport would not fit my car.

@@MrStationb that’s not 2 sport options. It’s sport or ex sport (except sport) if you’re car isn’t a sport they will tell you they won’t fit. They don’t know they are an upgrade

Thanks. I ordered the carbon geomet 4 pistons front and rear. Thank you

It hasn't been made very clear. They are often said to be remanufactured Akebono with markings removed, so not aftermarket. Powerstop, for example, has not confirmed or denied whether or not they are reman Akebono, but the ones in this video are not Powerstop. Check out my prep and paint video for a closer look.

@@SpeedCultureStudios ok sounds good man. 👍🏼 Not sure what route I want to go with yet but the Q50 definitely needs a bbk upgrade

@@feta8939 whether they are reman akebonos or replicas, they have been a nice upgrade for me.

just google it bro

I’ll keep you posted

It depends on wheel design. Some +35s clear and some don’t. These are +29 and clear with no spacers

@@SpeedCultureStudios cool that answers my question. Thank you.

@@chrisshore9000 glad to hear it

Forgestar f14. Check out my wheel video

Sorry in what way?

No problems.