The Basics: Maintaining and Upgrading Your Brakes

Photo Credit: Halfords

All things that go eventually must stop, whether by choice or by brick wall. When it comes to slowing down your vehicle, by choice is the much better option. That means you need to keep an eye on your braking system and repair it as needed.

With the right products, tools, and some patience, you can do your own brake work. Summit Racing has everything you need—pads, rotors, calipers, drums, shoes, hardware—to do the job. You supply the patience.

OEM Replacement Parts
Brakes are not the place to try and save nickels and dimes. Buy good brake components and you won’t go wrong. Here are some recommendations from several of the top names in brakes:

Bendix
CQ Ceramic disc brake pads have NAO ceramic fibers to reduce fade and generate less dust. They meet or exceed OEM specifications.

CT Ceramic pads have a special mechanical bond between the friction material and the steel backing to prevent them from separating under hard braking like a panic stop. The pads feature angled chamfers and slots for superior noise abatement.

The Premium Copper-Free line features copper-free disc brake pads and shoes that are environmentally friendly but have premium friction materials for excellent stopping power. Matched rotors are also available.

Raybestos
Service Grade semi-metallic brake pads are an affordable choice that provide good stopping power and acceptable noise levels.

R-Line rotors and calipers offer a perfect balance of performance and affordability. The rotors have an OE-matched vane configuration, weight, and design. The remanufactured calipers have zinc-plated housings to resist corrosion, and some come with pads.

The Element3 line features semi-metallic pads and drum brake shoes, rotors, and brand new calipers that provide excellent stopping power, low dust and noise levels, and coatings that resist corrosion. Brake hose and master cylinder kits are also part of the Element3 system.

Wagner
ThermoQuiet pads are a one-piece design with friction material, backing plate and insulator formed into a high-strength component that spreads vibration and heat for quieter performance, superior stopping power, and longer pad life. Matching drum brake shoes are available.

QuickStop pads and shoes have friction materials that are cured in a longer, more gradual process to restore your brakes to like-new.

Premium cast iron rotors and drums have smooth turned surfaces to reduce break-in time. The rotors have patented vane/rib design to reduce brake noise and an E-Shield rust-resistant coating to prevent corrosion.

Performance Disc Brake Pad and Rotor Kits
If you want to step up from OEM-spec to serious stopping power, pad and rotor kits are a great way to get matched components for your high performance car or a truck that sees a lot of towing duty.

PowerStop
The Evolution Geomet Coated Brake Kits have coated rotors for maximum protection against rust and corrosion. They’re available with your choice of Z17 Clean Ride low-dust ceramic brake pads or Z23 Sport pads with a carbon fiber-infused ceramic formula that resists fade at much higher temperatures than OEM-type pads, improving stopping power.

Evolution Sport Z23 Brake Upgrade Kits come with Z23 carbon fiber/ceramic pads and Power Stop’s Tru-Cast drilled and slotted rotors that are perfect for performance vehicles.

Z26 Street Warrior Performance Kits have PowerStop’s Z26 carbon fiber/ceramic pads that bite better and provide 20% more stopping power than OEM-type pads. You also get premium cross-drilled and slotted brake rotors, and kits are available with remanufactured calipers for a complete brake overhaul.

Centric
Select Axle Packs are direct-fit OEM replacement pad and rotor kits that take the guesswork out of matching components. The kits come with Centric’s Street brake pads. Upgrade to a Preferred Axle Pack and you’ll get Centric's Premium alloy rotors and low-dust, low-noise Posi-Quiet pads for superior stopping power.

StopTech
Street Axle Packs provide smooth braking and shorter stopping distances, even on wet roads. They have drilled and slotted-style rotors and low-dust, Para-aramid composite pads that provide linear response regardless of pad temperature.

Truck Axle Packs are for trucks and SUVs that do a lot of towing or hauling. They feature Sport Series slotted rotors and high thermal-capacity pads that can handle the high temperatures truck brakes endure.

Other Components
While you have your brake system apart, check and replace these components as needed:
• Disc brake calipers
• Individual brake hose and hose sets
• Individual brake line and line sets
• Brake fluid–Summit Racing carries DOT3, DOT4, DOT5, and DOT5.1 fluid for street and race vehicles

Tools
Working on brakes require a few specialized tools like these:
• Brake caliper service kit to safely retract caliper pistons
• Disc brake pad spreaders to remove pads without damaging the caliper pistons
• Caliper star bits to remove and reinstall caliper mounting bolts
• Brake fluid test strips show how much copper is in your brake fluid, an early sign of corrosion
• A brake bleeder like the Phoenix reverse clutch and brake bleeder let you do reverse, vacuum, bench, and pressure bleeding of calipers and master cylinders by yourself. It’s great for hydraulic clutch cylinders and line, too

Resources
Our OnAllCylinders blog is chock-full of articles and videos to help you with your brake job:
• How to Assemble Drum Brakes
• Inspecting Brake Calipers
• How to Choose Brake Rotors
• How to Choose Brake Pads
• Diagnosing Common Brake Issues
• Three Common Brake System Myths