Baer asked us to remind everyone to use a torque wrench on their wheels. The bad guys here are overzealous air guns and their owners who crank down on one lug nut, then move to the next one. Baer says tightening one lug nut to its full torque, then moving to the one aside it can increase the torque on the first stud by 70 percent. That will warp the brake disc, and may even tweak the wheel-bearing bore. It's not good for the wheel either.
Such distortion is mainly an import-car problem, and it isn't prevalent with husky Mustang parts, but the danger is there. Use a torque wrench and a star pattern when tightening lug nuts. As for what torque to use, Baer prefers approximately 70 lb-ft, while Maximum Motorsports uses 90 lb-ft. All fine, says Baer, as long as the torque is evenly applied with a torque wrench in a star pattern.
PBR calipers have sort of...
PBR calipers have sort of annoying little wire whiskers at the center of the brake pads. They are designed to ride on the small metal tab that loosely fits in the caliper. The first time you try to put all these tabs and whiskers together, it'll be awkward. The way to handle it is to turn the caliper upside down and lay the pad in place, while making sure the whiskers fall onto the sheetmetal tab. Then you can push the pad into its registers on the caliper. It's easy once you get the hang of it.
Once the caliper and bridge...
Once the caliper and bridge are joined and the new pads are loaded in the caliper, the assembly can be reinstalled on the axle.
Because we had to open the...
Because we had to open the hydraulic lines to change the front calipers, a bit of bleeding was necessary. At Baer, a step-ladder is used to get an assistant into the driver seat (sort of fun with our deep Kirkey seats). With the technician working at chest height and all the wheels off, the bleeding goes quickly.
Our finished Track installation...
Our finished Track installation and two-piece rotors look like they're ready for Daytona. That feeling doesn't go away when you hit the brake pedal either.
Bondo Baers Baer Braking...
Bondo Baers
Baer Braking is a sponsoring supplier at the nearby Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. This gives Baer unparalleled experience with how its equipment stands up under the most grueling conditions-and it stands up very well, thanks. This is especially true of long-term durability, because the Bondurant cars rack up more mileage under the worst possible conditions-a rented race car, let's face it-than anything else we can conceive of.