Guide MS3 front brake conversion

Don't buy from junk yard. They charge too much and who knows the condition.
You can get already remanufactured units for $60-$100 from rock auto.
Whats really interesting is same caliper part also fits
VOLVO C70 (2007 - 2013)
VOLVO S40 2005
VOLVO V50 (2010 - 2011)

Wonder if after all you go used, junk yards would ask less for those as they are con considered specialty cars :)
 
Been real busy but wanted to throw up a quick update. Installed the braided lines on the front (rear was a FAIL) and flushed the fluid. Drove her about 2 miles to bed the brakes a bit then a jingly rattle sound started up front in the suspension i just installed. Turned right around and i'm jacking her up again tonight to figure out WTF is going on. Couldn't really judge the brakes from such a short drive but I'll throw up a more thorough update (hopefully) this weekend.
So you only swapped the front lines but not the rears?? Are you having trouble loosening the hard line to rubber hose nut? I also run into this problem with rear lines on others cars too. For some reason they are more stubborn than fronts and the low grade nut does not help either. Anyhow, even with Kroil penetrating oil for a good 10 mins and using flair a nut wrench, one of the rear nuts was very stubborn and the head started to get rounded and would not come loose. Luckily I found a solution that works wonders for me- YMMY. May I suggest a LONG handle (for leverage) Tongue and groove plier along with a firm grip. It "may" round the nut a little but I can break that sucker easily every time.
 
Nice job!

So just to confirm that the ms3 calipers are a direct bolt on the the mz5?

For anyone who wants to find a set of calipers,or any other part for that mater, I wanted to share this awesome resource if you haven't already got it book marked.

http://www.car-part.com/

I've got a set of 2012 calipers with 2k on them heading my way...(cabpatch)


I can only confirm that a gen 1 MS3 front brake setup is a direct bolt on to a gen 1 Mz5. And thanks for the link!

So you only swapped the front lines but not the rears?? Are you having trouble loosening the hard line to rubber hose nut? I also run into this problem with rear lines on others cars too. For some reason they are more stubborn than fronts and the low grade nut does not help either. Anyhow, even with Kroil penetrating oil for a good 10 mins and using flair a nut wrench, one of the rear nuts was very stubborn and the head started to get rounded and would not come loose. Luckily I found a solution that works wonders –for me- YMMY. May I suggest a LONG handle (for leverage) Tongue and groove plier along with a firm grip. It "may" round the nut a little but I can break that sucker easily every time.

So you've been there before...It rounded off with almost no effort. Unreal what a s*** nut Mazda used. I tried every type of plier i own. Wish i had a flare nut wrench GRRRR. Anywho, TONS of PB Blaster left to soak and soak. That lil bastard was fused good! I rounded it off beyond recognition. i eventually just threw in the towel and grabbed a vice grip. I know, i know, don't use vice grips but i tried EVERYTHING else and it was a last ditch effort. I looked at replacing the hard line but it would require dropping the the tank so i put the stock rubber back onto the driver side and moved onto bleeding it. I don't dare fuss with it again. Dam shame as it's a real nice kit. :(

Maybe i'll do the hard line in the summer....of 2016? ;) I commuted with her this morning, FINALLY. Mini write up to follow this weekend...
 
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I can only confirm that a gen 1 MS3 front brake setup is a direct bolt on to a gen 1 Mz5. And thanks for the link!



So you've been there before...It rounded off with almost no effort. Unreal what a s*** nut Mazda used. I tried every type of plier i own. Wish i had a flare nut wrench GRRRR. Anywho, TONS of PB Blaster left to soak and soak. That lil bastard was fused good! I rounded it off beyond recognition. i eventually just threw in the towel and grabbed a vice grip. I know, i know, don't use vice grips but i tried EVERYTHING else and it was a last ditch effort. I looked at replacing the hard line but it would require dropping the the tank so i put the stock rubber back onto the driver side and moved onto bleeding it. I don't dare fuss with it again. Dam shame as it's a real nice kit. :(

Maybe i'll do the hard line in the summer....of 2016? ;) I commuted with her this morning, FINALLY. Mini write up to follow this weekend...
Sounds too familiar. In fact, in my fist run in on another car, the exact same thing happened and I just did the fronts on and never bothered to change out the rears for about 3 years and moved on to another car.

If you think about it, the challenge is finding a tool that gives you max grip b/c the nut is low grade/malleable considering how tight it is. That nut is quite small (low torque) and assuming you have a good grip, you can likely he-man it till the point it breaks. On the stubborn ones, even a flare nut wrench is not enough b/c the head may still deform on you and again leaving you with no grip. A locking vice won’t work b/c as you turn and the heads deform, even the slights bit, you loose your max grip. Once you start slipping, you do more damage to the nut.

A tongue and groove plier can grip the nut as strong as you can gorilla grip it. This will actually leave the teeth (?) marks on the nut (goes to show how soft it is) but it gives you the steady grip you need and a long handled will provide the leverage, not that you need much. My first go at it with a tongue and groove plier didn’t work either (chimpanzee grip?) and I was about to give up but I figure why not really give it a good firm grip since the nut was deformed anyway. It broke loose easily and came right off. Even if the nut is deformed, you can continue to use the tongue and groove plier to take it on/off. Give it a try (don’t forget penetrating oil for added measure). I just hope you don’t end up NOT finishing the job since you've invested so much into this. Git'er done!
 
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I'm now futzing with the coilover height and weird noises i'm getting while driving her the past 2 days. Thanks for the encouragement, but I really don't wanna mess with the one part of this massive surgery that has actually turned out well - the brakes. The pads are bedding so well and are really starting to come into their own. i envision the hard line pinching under the pressure and my heart sinking to the ground. If i end up having to replace a hard line in this weather i'll shoot myself. ... In the end, i'm just all "wrenched out", ya know. And i still have to do the brakes on the speed. :( maybe i'll put the rear SS lines on the MS3 instead (whistle)
 
quick post for TonyC. The carriers are identical from gen 1 to 2. in fact, damn near all of the front and rear suspension bits and subframe was identical between my MS3 and Mz5.

Gen 2 carrier compared to Gen 1 trace:
m7TXTBF.jpg
 
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quick post for TonyC. The carriers are identical from gen 1 to 2. in fact, damn near all of the front and rear suspension bits and subframe was identical between my MS3 and Mz5.
thank you sir. gonna go pick them up next week! I love ninja mods that the chickie won't notice.

what's the Hawk Mazdaspeed3 pad part no.? I think it's HB549F.702 ? I'm going to go with OEM rotors as to be completely ninja.
 
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Lol ninja!
Just checked my order. It is HB549F.702. Mazdaspeedstore.com were the cheapest i could find. Jim ellis mazda has been really competitive too. Lmk if you have any questions. Good luck!
 
So when are we going to get the official verdict on how they feel/function compared to the stock brakes? :p
 
quick post for TonyC. The carriers are identical from gen 1 to 2. in fact, damn near all of the front and rear suspension bits and subframe was identical between my MS3 and Mz5.

Gen 2 carrier compared to Gen 1 trace:

Nice! Love the pic!
 
(wiggle) Playing hooky today so...

A quick & dirty on the remaining and usually easiest part of a brake install, the SS lines.

Front first...btw, top notch kit. I mean, just screams quality.

First thing with any SS kit is to test fit it. It's kinda like going to that awesome mall all the kids are talking about and laying that new Gucci shirt over yours to see if it fits. But unlike the mall, you get to keep the lines instead of walking out with that same busted t-shirt you got for free at the last car show. So just lay the new SS line along the path of the OEM rubber to be sure your kit is really YOUR kit. Wouldn't want to find out after you've already taken the OEM off and exposed the system to air.

A couple of things to note about this Goodridge G-Stop kit before we move on.

The caliper side of the line will rotate freely until torqued down. That is so the the line can be installed without the entire body of it rotating as you tighten. The instructions want us to start with the caliper connectors but if you tighten those then the line won't move as freely as you work it up the path. So i started on the hard line side of it, making it easier to maneuver the line for the rest of the install.

Note the strut bracket mount in the picture. This can slide along the length of the line, allowing you to align it perfectly with the brake line bracket that's on the strut body. Where you position this will determine the bend/curve of the line. I tried a few different locations until i felt the line was not under any undue stress.

mO0bYnB.jpg


Locate where the hard line meets the rubber. The pic below should make for a decent reference. I like to remove the clip before unscrewing the nut. The clip can get in the way, messing with how well the wrench is seated on the nut. While incredibly important, these nuts happen to also be the biggest pieces of s**** on cars. So get a flathead screw driver in there and just twist & pull at the clip.
yQSUljS.jpg


With the clip out, the line is free to move about the cabin. Give it squirt of your favorite penetrating spray (WD sucks) and make sure the line is in its bracket before trying to undo the nut. Notice the two opposing notches on the bracket. These prevent the line from twisting while you work the nut off. Before beginning, get a rag under the area to catch any brake fluid & have the new line out of its packaging and ready.

R3PKDzr.jpg


The Goodridge kit came with two brake line clips. The OEM ones won't work. Just slide the clip in the exact location you pulled the OEM one from, making sure it slides into the groove of the strut bracket mount. Here are the Goodridge clips vs. the stock ones.

AxV3Ajj.jpg


And the front line in its new home augmenting the stupendous, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious powah of pink MS3 calipers!

JAANXlb.jpg


Another angle to show the bend radius

bu9RPOK.jpg


Onto the rear. As you know by now, i didn't get the passenger side hard line off so i reverted the rears back to OEM. But i did pics of the side i completed. Just rinse and repeat.

Again, try that shirt on first!

sexy ass lines (boom03)
fsPTM9I.jpg


Removing the rear OEM clips happens much the same way as the front. Same exact rules apply so reread that if you still have doubts. A quick side note...notice the wheel laying on the floor under the van. I ALWAYS through my wheels under the vehicle. Should a jack stand fail, that 7.5" could mean the difference between life and death.

K8xrQ9S.jpg


It makes even more sense in the rear to start with the hard line connection.

bORk92N.jpg


For some stoooopit reason they didn't include clips for the rear...but they were needed. The OEM could not provide enough pressure against the line and the bracket so the line wiggled. I bent it all kinds of ways but it never held tight enough for me. Luckily i've done enough of these to know to always order spare clips from RockAuto. ALWAYS (Dorman HW1457 Hydraulic Hose Clip). I was able to use two of them, facing in opposite directions, to secure the line rock solid. As a side note, the caliper guide pins i got from RockAuto were the wrong ones. You may get something totally different from the clips i received. Buyer beware.

ujzy5XA.jpg


No review yet though! We're getting hit hard in NJ so i haven't taken her out much. All dressed up and no where to go :( She's only gone 152 miles since i put her back down so I wanna wait until about 300 before i pass final judgement. I will say they are coming on strong. I'm excited (boobs)
 
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And there she is, unwashed and on her maiden voyage to BJs

fZsbiuo.jpg


The pink is growing on me :p Also, stray shopping cart attacked my fender. Ebay no help :(
wvTtpAZ.jpg


mWhB6PV.jpg
 
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Nah. No insults to anyone but I hate how painted, anorexic sliding calipers look. The only thing slightly worse are painted drums. The only reason i painted the speed caliper is because it has a big brake look to it since the sliding portion of the caliper body is one continuous piece and HUGE.
 
So the time has finally come. The brakes have a little under 600 miles on them. I had the same exact pad compound on the stock brakes as i have on the MS3's. I drove her with stock brakes and the coilovers so i can negate the difference the coilovers make in this comparison. And the difference in braking power is VERY noticeable. Initial bite is often all i need to come to stop. I find myself going shallow on the brakes because i just don't need all of the power all of the time. The response is SO instantaneous and the bite, while very forceful, is easy to modulate. I had an emergency stop today (why i'm finally posting) and these brakes didn't even flinch. no ABS. no screech. just STOP. LIKE NOW! I haven't had to brace myself so hard during a stop since...well, since i converted my old '01 Jetta to Porsche 4 piston beasties. The confidence this setup inspires is right up there. I rest easy knowing that my wife and kiddies are in a vehicle that can avoid harm (coilovers) or come to a dead stop in a hurry when needed. I can't really express how ecstatic i am with how well it all turned out!
 
So the time has finally come. The brakes have a little under 600 miles on them. I had the same exact pad compound on the stock brakes as i have on the MS3's. I drove her with stock brakes and the coilovers so i can negate the difference the coilovers make in this comparison. And the difference in braking power is VERY noticeable. Initial bite is often all i need to come to stop. I find myself going shallow on the brakes because i just don't need all of the power all of the time. The response is SO instantaneous and the bite, while very forceful, is easy to modulate. I had an emergency stop today (why i'm finally posting) and these brakes didn't even flinch. no ABS. no screech. just STOP. LIKE NOW! I haven't had to brace myself so hard during a stop since...well, since i converted my old '01 Jetta to Porsche 4 piston beasties. The confidence this setup inspires is right up there. I rest easy knowing that my wife and kiddies are in a vehicle that can avoid harm (coilovers) or come to a dead stop in a hurry when needed. I can't really express how ecstatic i am with how well it all turned out!
Yay! MR6 approved!

I'll say it again, if anyone needs to do rotors AND pads, there is NO reason not to upgrade.
 
... And the difference in braking power is VERY noticeable. Initial bite is often all i need to come to stop. I find myself going shallow on the brakes because i just don't need all of the power all of the time. The response is SO instantaneous and the bite, while very forceful, is easy to modulate.

That's great to hear.
How is the pedal feel? (I can't remember and I'm too lazy to search - is the MS3 piston larger? If so the pedal should be softer, but by how much... ?(shrug))

Yay! MR6 approved!

I'll say it again, if anyone needs to do rotors AND pads, there is NO reason not to upgrade.

You know, except for cost. :p

just bustin balls, I know what you mean.
 
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