For the bolts that hold the caliper to the backing plate I just do it by hand. Just snug them up real good but don't get all gorilla on them. Like Houston says above, you end up doing this so often it is highly unlikely they are going to work loose.

 

Argonaut! I'm so embarrassed now...you really do all 4 brake/rotor swaps in 45 minutes!? That's just incredible.

I'm notoriously slow at wrenching...like reading, I just take forever to do everything (even when I'm familiar w/procedure). But I didn't think I was that slow! I have the specialty tools, and still it takes me this long just to do one brake/rotor swap (that's why I do it a day or two before my event). So I can count on a leisurely 4 hours for the full set, front and back (sometimes I do the front one day, then the rears the next day).

Ok, so here's my last ditch effort at saving face. Are you saying it's 45min to do all four pads only, or 45 min. for the pads AND the rotors? The pads are a breeze, but getting the rotors off requires that you remove the caliper as well as the caliper mounting bracket. Torque all that back down to spec (I always use a torque wrench, clean my bolts carefully, and re-apply Blue Loctite), and I'm looking at a solid 45 min. per wheel. If you do all that for all four corners, I'm setting up a small shrine in my house to you. I'll offer up a candle and gutted chicken to your altar on a regular basis.

Best,
-j

BTW, I think you'll like how clean my home-made brake ducts look. That was one of my highest priorities in doing the project (keep cost low & make it look stock).

 

Hey Texotic,

Ok, here's a quick teaser preview of the brake ducts. I use the OEM lower grill, modifying it to pass air. The rest of the work is behind the scenes, so this is all you see from the outside.

Best,
-j

 

Ooops, that's the ducting behind the grille. Here's the shot of the grill on the car.

Best,
-j

 

LOL....

I should have been more clear - 45 min to do just pads and squirt a few pumps of fluid out at each corner. Not the rotors, you are quite right, they take longer due to the backing plates. I have not been consistent with the tasks I do before a track day. I started out being really careful and doing everything - rotors, pads, bleed, bedding, etc. and yes it took a long time. But that quickly got to be a drag, by the end of the season I was pretty much just leaving the track pads in most of the time, only swapping out for autocross days (track pads dont get enough heat in them for autocross use) and leaving the same rotors in all the time and only doing very light bedding after swaps.

 

Well, I'm a little late since you already bought the HPS pads, but my experience with the HP+ is that they were inadequate for track use and ultra noisy/dusty for street use. I know others with the HPS pads that are extremely happy with them for street use (they don't dust or squeel) but who wore them from full thickness to dangerously thin in a single track event.

For my part, I quickly ditched the HP+ pads in favor the Hawk "Blues" (one temp. range down from the HT-10s mentioned previously) and added the Agent 47 brake ducts. I use the ATE blue/yellow as well. The combination of "real" track pads and brake ducts made a huge difference in braking confidence lap after lap (i.e. no fade). As always, it depends on a combination of the track, your experience and your driving style. Personally, I love threshold braking (such as it is with an ABS equipped car) and it is an important factor in fast lap times.

FWIW, I don't do enough track days to warrant owning two sets of rotors, so I just swap between OEM and track pads and re-bed the pads each time. My observation is that the track pads seem to wipe the rotor face fairly clean and I haven't noticed any vibration due to uneven pad material transfer.