SSBC Brake Kit: Whoa to Go

Mark installs the SSBC front spindle to our existing control arm andfront strut using our trusty Craftsman cordless impact gun. If you don'thave one of these guns, you need to get one. This Craftsman unit fitsthe bill perfectly.

The SSBC spindles are SN-95 units, as are the sealed hubs, which are amuch better design than the Fox-style front bearings. Mark slips on thenew bearing and hub assembly, and torques it to 250 lb-ft. He doesn'thave to put much into it to torque it down. But wee little guys likeEditor Turner may have a hard time generating the force needed to torquedown the bearing nuts. Notice Mark has also attached our outer tie rodend to the new spindle using a new cotter pin.

With the spindle bolted in, the caliper bracket is mounted to thespindle. This bracket spaces out the caliper far enough to compensatefor our SSBC 13-inch rotor.

(above & right) Mark places the rotor onto the hub and gets the caliper ready formounting by fitting the brake hose to it.

In this kit, the brake pads come separate from the caliper. Here, Markgets the pads ready to go in the caliper prior to installing the caliperto its bracket on the spindle.

Mark installs the fully assembled caliper on the bracket. As a sidenote, all hardware is included with the SSBC kit, except for the cotterpins for the outer tie-rod ends where they're bolted to the new spindle.

The new front brakes solved two problems. The first is that the SN-95style front bearing and hub assembly means we no longer hear that funkysound made by bad wheel bearings. Second, and more readily apparent, thebrakes provide greatly improved stopping, even with only the frontsinstalled.

Yes, it's true. We were running traditional Weld Draglite big andlittles on our coupe prior to the brake and wheel upgrade. This photoshows we're halfway to making our coupe the star of the Best Buy parkinglot on cruise night.