heinzboehmer's 2002 Topaz 6MT Coupe

[heinzboehmer]

Yeah I'll definitely report back with how the seals hold up. Have a long track day on Sep 18 (7, 30 min sessions), so will update with how they did.

[Obioban]

I meant titanium heat shields between pad and caliper.

If you run black seals and titanium shields, and my friend runs blue silicon seals, and no shields, we'll really have some good info on what's needed!

[heinzboehmer]

Are you planning to run heat shields?

You're talking about heat shields between pad and caliper or between rotor and chassis?

Either way, I'll be running both. Still need to run the experiment to decide between titanium shims or stock porsche noise isolators.

[Obioban]

Are you planning to run heat shields?

[heinzboehmer]

Started on the brake work.

Quick pic of everything before starting:



Rebuilding the calipers. Decided to use girodisc seals and brembo dust boots after hearing of a friend's experiences on track with the girodisc boots:



And fully dressed:



Unfortunately this is where I realized something went very wrong during the rebuild. Pressure tested the calipers with air and found this:




I thought the seals felt too tight when installing the pistons...

This is the only seal that was obviously bad when pressure tested, but now I don't trust any of the others. I really don't want to find out that another seal is ripped while on track, so I've decided to rebuild all of the calipers again. New seals are on their way.

The more I think about this, the more I lean towards this being an installation issue. I decided to lubricate everything during the install with just brake fluid, but I really should have used assembly fluid. Oh well, at least it was a good learning experience.

Have ordered some assembly fluid for next round. Hopefully that solves all my issues.

[heinzboehmer]

What do you think of a version of that bulkhead panel with a ski-pass through? Would the rigidity be compromised?

It likely would.

[nyc951]

This is when I have to ask, is this actually worth it lol

I like having a pass through, makes the car useable since the backseats at least for me are useless now because of my Recaros.

What do you think of a version of that bulkhead panel with a ski-pass through? Would the rigidity be compromised?

[heinzboehmer]

I like the look - all business.

Thanks! That was the intention

Brake dust colored too, so I don't have to worry about keeping them super clean

[D-O]

I like the look - all business.

[heinzboehmer]

Picked up something yesterday:






Finish is Cerakote Arctic Black P-202. Supposedly designed to help dissipate heat. https://www.cerakote.com/shop/cerako...lack-oven-cure

Now just need to find some time to rebuild them and get them on the car.

[heinzboehmer]

What glue do you use?

Used 3M Super 77 for this. Super 90 should work fine as well. Spray it on the pillar cover first, wait for it to get tacky and then press the fabric onto it. If it's too wet when you put the fabric on, it'll bleed through.

[Ubaderb]

More low stakes stuff:

Reglued the fabric on the other c pillar that I hadn't done before:




Then disassembled 996 calipers for cerakoting. Was annoying because brake fluid gets eeeverywhere, but pretty simple in the end. Winning formula ended up being pumping air into the caliper and blocking the pistons from fully extending with some wood and cardboard and then prying them out the last couple mm:




Toothpick worked well to get the piston seals out. Went for this over a regular metal pick to not scratch the bores:



And finally, replaced the alarm siren with the new one. Car beeps again

What glue do you use?

[heinzboehmer]

More low stakes stuff:

Reglued the fabric on the other c pillar that I hadn't done before:




Then disassembled 996 calipers for cerakoting. Was annoying because brake fluid gets eeeverywhere, but pretty simple in the end. Winning formula ended up being pumping air into the caliper and blocking the pistons from fully extending with some wood and cardboard and then prying them out the last couple mm:




Toothpick worked well to get the piston seals out. Went for this over a regular metal pick to not scratch the bores:



And finally, replaced the alarm siren with the new one. Car beeps again

[heinzboehmer]

What is that component, part of the siren?
Did you buy a new siren, or just the component? I think I might have similar problem with the lock/unlock beep.

Thanks for sharing your findings in this journal, I love following along seeing your work and learning along the way.

I should have given more context on this. The siren has a battery inside of it so that it can go off even if the main battery is disconnected. The component in the picture above is that battery.

I ended up just buying a complete siren. I didn't find a battery that seemed trustworthy and the failed battery caused corrosion to some other components inside the siren. I did think about buying a used siren (since they're much cheaper), but all the ones I could find had build dates of 04-05 and would likely suffer a similar fate soon.

[Will]

What is that component, part of the siren?
Did you buy a new siren, or just the component? I think I might have similar problem with the lock/unlock beep.

Thanks for sharing your findings in this journal, I love following along seeing your work and learning along the way.