Mazdaspeed3 Brake Conversion on Mazda 5 ?

Darn that dust shield. Bending it straight down will clear the rotor but now it interfes with the caliper!.. Need to bend the inner corner backwards and out the way or just cut out the bottom section.

Rustoleum Rust Stripper - applies like a gel, let sit for 10min, wipe, and reapply as needed. Melts the rust away.


Writing a how-to and pics to come soon. Busy lately and car is not near me...
 
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Just remove the dust shield. That's what I've done every time I've upgraded the size of my brakes on other cars.
 
Almost there.

Here's a sneak peak.
Before/After
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wow, those calipers are HUGE! very interested to hear your impressions on brake feel and power. i love driving the wife's 5, but the two things i dislike the most about it are the soft suspension feel, and the non-confidence inspiring brakes.
 
I can't comment on the brakes until I break them in for a few hundred miles. But I am not driving the car lately since gas price is ~$4/gallon :( and I commute ~50 miles a day. The Fit is top dog for now. Also, my feedback will not be accurate since I also changed/flushed the brake fluid (Castrol LMA) and changed to SS lines (Goodridge). Oh, and my last memories of the OE pads were bad b/c it was almost down to bear metal to metal. http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123819785-OEM-front-pads-after-46K-original-miles

I will say the improvement is not just pad to rotor surface area, though that is a large part. After taking it apart and having a good look at the design of the MS3 caliper body/bracket, I believe the overall mechanism and larger caliper body provides better force distribution too. They are huge and weight the part. Once you try holding the MS3 calipers with one hand and trying to mount the knuckle to bracket bolts with the other, you'll know what I mean.

How-to for the everyman.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...nes-and-speed-bleeders)&p=6027787#post6027787
 
Note: Stock Mz5 rim will NOT clear MS3 calipers! You need to use spacers.

Put stock rims on for a short road trip. The braking pressure feels good and consistent but I feel there's still some air in the line. The NAPA SB doesn't seem to fit the rear calipers too well, works great up front.
 
Update/Review:

Brakes feel GREAT! I’m not saying they’ll tear your face off but what I notice most is how consistent and linear the pedal pressure feels and how controlled the cars is even in a (simulate) panic stop – fantastic! The more you press on it, the more it stops. Abrupt stops will throw things around. I’m not sure if this is due to my unbalanced pad selection, new beefy pads, or all this + the additional front clamping forces but I need to re-learn tip in. It has since smoothed out and more enjoyable. Also, MAKE sure you break in any new pad/rotor setup for, at min, the first 500 or so miles with easy braking after bedding them in. They did not feel good until after about 700 miles and it gets better :). I sitll need to go back and bleed it again. On the plus side, bleeding the clutch resulted in a nice tight clutch pedal feel as well - polar opposite to the light as a feather feel on the Fit. I don’t have any means or intentions to measure 60-0 so my feedback is purely subjective. I can’t offer any objective numbers to compare, not that my prior brakes were any good to use as a bases to compare since it was so worn.

Regarding pad selection, I regret my choice. I choose a cheap but balanced alternative in the Centric semi-metallic without knowing I was getting the cyro rotors at the time. After about 4-5 aggressive stops, these pads are cooking already. They are only good for daily driving use. If I can do it again, I would have gone with Hawks all around. Oh well. There’s always next brake change.

Summary: For the little money and small effort it took to do this, I can't think of a reason why you won't do it, especailly if you need to replace rotors and pads anyway. I guess unless you have to pay someone for and to do everything.


Two occurrences that happened last week that I think is worth mentioning. Old lady driver in front does the ol’ indecisive stop-go-STOP on me. Granted we are at slow speeds but I slammed on the brakes and stopped on a dime. No plowing, no squealing (that would be tire), no drama, it just stopped. Same day, at hwy, traffic was getting heavy and everyone’s trying to exist and had to come to slight abrupt stop. Hard enough that I feel the nose dive (need that low) but pretty uneventful other than grasping the wheel to be ready for emergency maneuvers. Car behind me, unmarked white Crown Vic with a battling ram, comes screeching up behind me like he can’t stop. It was quick but I was bracing for impact. Luckily the drive managed to swerve to the shoulder as the car plowed up next to me. I literally saw him struggling (fighting the steering wheel and what appears to be pumping the brakes –not sure if it has ABS) to slow that thing down as he came to a stop beside me -his front bumper was up to my B pillar at this point!... I suspect he was probably distracted and I give him the disappointed look. He was not in uniform. Move on.


Note: My experience is not just rotor upgrade but the following were also changed in the process.
-Goodridge stainless steel brake lines
-Castrol LMA brake fluid
-Centric semi-metallic pads - front (DD use only)
-Centric ceramic pads - rear

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