P3 Brake Job

[beastmode13]

I am looking forward to having this installed in ~10wks of time. It will be after Tesla Corsa 4, but better late than never.

 

[beastmode13]

To complete the brake job, these couple things that will be added to improve the overall brake system. Speedbleeder brake caliper valve. Speedbleeder makes the brake bleeding job an absolutely one person job with a wrench and catch can. Heatshield tape is a cheap preventive measure to insulate the ABS sensor wire from radiant heat coming from the hot rotor, since the stock dust/heat shield is removed for BBK.

 

[mcbarnet007]

where did you pick up the Heatshield tape?

 

[mcbarnet007]

also I thought you're supposed to hang the catch bottle higher so that air bubble does not travel back into the bleeder valve?

 

[beastmode13]

where did you pick up the Heatshield tape?

This is the link to the tape I bought, use the link to help raise $ for my kids’ school - https://smile.amazon.com/Design-Eng...0408&qid=1556983623&s=gateway&sr=8-2-fkmrnull

also I thought you're supposed to hang the catch bottle higher so that air bubble does not travel back into the bleeder valve?

Not necessary when you have positive pressure in the system, e.g. Power Bleeder. The small diameter of the hoses with the viscosity of the brake fluid pushes air bubble down into the bottle quite efficiently. I flushed my system completely twice already.

 

[stickman]

This is the link to the tape I bought, use the link to help raise $ for my kids’ school - https://smile.amazon.com/Design-Eng...0408&qid=1556983623&s=gateway&sr=8-2-fkmrnull



Not necessary when you have positive pressure in the system, e.g. Power Bleeder. The small diameter of the hoses with the viscosity of the brake fluid pushes air bubble down into the bottle quite efficiently. I flushed my system completely twice already.

I might have to invest in a pressure bleeder. I bought a vacuum bleeder but didn’t trust it because it pulls air around the seal apparently , which kind of defeats the purpose. Luckily I have a 14yr old at home to pump the pedal

 

[beastmode13]

I might have to invest in a pressure bleeder. I bought a vacuum bleeder but didn’t trust it because it pulls air around the seal apparently , which kind of defeats the purpose. Luckily I have a 14yr old at home to pump the pedal

Alternative is to get the Speedbleeder I posted in #22 for manual bleeding. With Speedbleeder, you don’t need to open and close the value between pump of brake peddle. It’s great for quick bleed at the track. Power Bleeder is great for complete flushing.

 

[EVTuning]

I have the 380mm kit on my car as well. Pedal feels great, braking is noticeably improved over even the RB Stock replacement sized rotors I had originally (The replacement size are awesome for weight savings and for someone that wants to stick with a 18" wheel and get some better efficiency). They fill out a 20" wheel really nicely and look more in line with what a performance car should have for brakes. Quality is really nice, and everything went together easily. I carry the Motive Pressure Bleeder and Bottles and the Stainless brake lines so you can get it all in one shot and save on shipping.

 

[beastmode13]

FYI, RB 380mm BBK came with a full set of front & rear SS brake lines. At least for mine when I purchased directly from RB.

 

[beastmode13]

Here are some better after BBK photos. MPP coilover will be installed in the coming weeks to lower the car just a bit.

 

[beastmode13]

P3 RB XT910 pads are here. It’s too damn hot this weekend to work on the car. I plan to install this on Thursday before I drive down to Salinas for Friday/Saturday Laguna Seca.

Instead of tension clip on the stock pad, this uses 3M high temp tape to secure the exterior pad to the caliper. I think the worst thing that could happen if the tape failed is some extra drag on the rotor.

@EVTuning have you guys run these on your P3 yet?

 

[dfwatt]

For the past few days, I've spent more time than I wish to upgrade the brakes on my P3. The biggest reason for the time suck is due to a lack of necessary information on how to service the car. For the benefit of the community and my ever forgetful memory, I will document my brake related journeys here.

The plan was to have a Mrs. approve or unnoticeable upgrades that increase the capability for HPDE events. The setup I decided to go with is the Racing Brake 380mm BBK with 4-pots caliper for the front, for the rear Racing Brake 2-piece rotor. I order these parts in January, finally got the parts in April. This first post will be on the front BBK install. The rear rotor RB sent me does not fit P3, so I am working with RB to resolve this soon.

The RB front BBK is a great kit. It comes with a complete set of front, and rear stainless line, which I'm 99% sure is by the same manufacturer for the SS line MPP offers. I didn't know RB would include the rear lines as well, so in advance, I purchase a set from MPP. MPP SS lines have a blue plastic/rubber coating, while RB has no coating, just raw SS. If anyone is interested in a set of SS line for their Model 3/P3 DM me for a deal.

Model 3/P3 front caliper is 4-pots, due to the shape the maximum rotor these can accommodate is 365mm. So new caliper is required when going to 380mm rotor. RB has an option for 6-pots caliper for P3 upgrade that is part of their X/S upgrade kit; for me, it will most likely violate the Mrs. rule.

The numbers:
RB caliper - 4.728kg (-0.664kg)
P3 caliper - 5.392kg
RB rotor - 380x32mm, 10.446kg (1.654kg)
P3 rotor - 355x25mm, 8.792kg
Net weight gain - 0.99kg, 2.178lb per side.

The preparation:
- Read through MPP BBK instruction multiple times, it is quite good - MPP Page Mill 365mm Big Brake Kit Instructions
- Have zip tie ready to hang up the stock caliper before complete removal
- Paper towel for wiping up brake fluid
- Remove the cap of the brake master cylinder reservoir to alleviates the pressure in the system for pushing piston/pads into the caliper.
- Loosely secure the SS brake line to the new caliper
- Get a 11/12mm brake line wrench, these will be used for the nut on the brake fluid hard line. You don't want to strip this with a regular open end wrench, brake fluid makes everything slippery.

The instruction: (all torque numbers are for your reference)
- Remove the stock caliper by removing the two bolts on the back side. I notice by feeling the torque of the stock bolts from the factory felt a lot less than the 77lb/ft called out in the MPP instruction
- Slide the caliper off and hang the lower control arm or where ever that will not cause a pull on the brake line
- Remove the rotor
- Remove the dust shield. Reinstall the three Torx bolts with some weak Loctite back onto the control arm. I tend to lose small things or forget what they were for, doing so help met avoid these two problems.
- Install the RB rotor onto the hub. Use the small stock bolt to hold the rotor in place
- Slide caliper onto the rotor, secure the caliper using the two stock bolts. Referencing Bentley service manual for other cars of similar brake bolt sizes I decided to reduce these bolts to 70lb/ft which is slightly lower than MPP spec but still feels tighter than stock. Will check on these bolts after some miles.
- Install the SS line bracket onto the suspension arm, do not tighten this now so the twist of the line could be adjusted once both ends of the line is connected
- Liberally spray the connector and perch where the stock rubber line is connected to the hard line. Make sure there is no sand and other object on the perch and connector.
- Use a pier to pull off the connector retaining clip
- This next few steps requires quickness to minimize amount of brake fluid mess. I like to place a box with peper towels underneath the car to catch dripping brake fluid
- Break the torque on the brake line connector, 1/2 turn is all you need to get the nut loose enough for finger turning the rest of the way
- Connect the new SS line to the hardline, hand tightening it until the two parts meet
- With both side of the new SS brake line still lose, adjust the twist of the line so it would allow movement without rubbing other parts for the entire suspension travel. Once the twist and position of the line is deemed acceptable, tighten both ends of the SS line. There is no torque spec on these, I go by feel, which end up roughly being 1/16 ~ 1/8 turn after the parts touch.
- Clean off the brake fluid
- Install the retaining clip
- Now repeat on the other side
- Bleed the system once booth side are installed

View attachment 399306

Hello big boys. The mounting bracket is preinstalled by RB.


View attachment 399305

Well worth the money.


View attachment 399307

Yep, that is a dust shield on a Tesla. Note the stock caliper hanging there with a ziptie.

View attachment 399311

Naked hub


View attachment 399309

380mm pizza pie

View attachment 399312
It is hard to see in this photo, but the rotor is dead center of the caliper.


View attachment 399313
Routing of the brake line. There is actually +2" of air between the brake line and the CV boot.


View attachment 399314

Hello, MPP blue SS lines.


View attachment 399315

One side is done.


View attachment 399316

Plenty of clearance between caliper and wheel barrel of 19x9" VS Forged VS16.

Looks fantastic. Couple of questions. I assume that the smaller piston is on the Leading Edge in terms of braking? This would make sense in terms of reducing uneven pad wear on the Leading Edge. Secondly do you notice any reduction in range due to subclinical friction over and above the stock set up. My understanding is that the stock brakes retract the pads off the disc very slightly to reduce rolling resistance of the car. Is that feature still maintained in the RB calipers?

 

[beastmode13]

Looks fantastic. Couple of questions. I assume that the smaller piston is on the Leading Edge in terms of braking? This would make sense in terms of reducing uneven pad wear on the Leading Edge. Secondly do you notice any reduction in range due to subclinical friction over and above the stock set up. My understanding is that the stock brakes retract the pads off the disc very slightly to reduce rolling resistance of the car. Is that feature still maintained in the RB calipers?

No noticeable reduction in range, consistent 320-350 range on my daily commute.

I have taken a real good look at the stock front and rear caliper, even rebuilt the rear. As far as I can tell the stock caliper design is the same as any other caliper I have worked on before it. Meaning there isn’t anything special or different that would make the piston retract. The only logical way to make the piston retract would be reduce the fluid pressure by master cylinder or some other method on the entire brake fluid system. If my theory is correct, then any caliper, stock or aftermarket would benefit from it. My range data point of one for two months with RB BBK would indicated my theory is true.

 

[beastmode13]

Another bit of good news. Racing Brake Performance 3 specific rear 2-piece rotor is in the final stage of production. ETA another two to three week for shipment. I'm planning a two day track weekend in October at Buttonwillow, plenty of time for me to get this installed plus the sway bar and MPP rear control arms.

 

[SD_Engnr]

Another bit of good news. Racing Brake Performance 3 specific rear 2-piece rotor is in the final stage of production. ETA another two to three week for shipment. I'm planning a two day track weekend in October at Buttonwillow, plenty of time for me to get this installed plus the sway bar and MPP rear control arms.

What and when is the event in October? I should have my setup more than dialed in by then.

 

[destructure00]

Another bit of good news. Racing Brake Performance 3 specific rear 2-piece rotor is in the final stage of production. ETA another two to three week for shipment. I'm planning a two day track weekend in October at Buttonwillow, plenty of time for me to get this installed plus the sway bar and MPP rear control arms.

Got my XT910 rear pads earlier this week, looking forward to the rear rotors coming as well. Front RB rotors with XT910 pads went on last week. Have my next track day coming in August, hoping to see a big improvement over the stock brakes from my first outing.

I'm sure I'll be referencing your pics in this thread when I do the rears.

 

[beastmode13]

What and when is the event in October? I should have my setup more than dialed in by then.

10/12-13 at Buttonwillow, Speed Ventures. It would be great to see other 3 there.

 

[beastmode13]

Got my XT910 rear pads earlier this week, looking forward to the rear rotors coming as well. Front RB rotors with XT910 pads went on last week. Have my next track day coming in August, hoping to see a big improvement over the stock brakes from my first outing.

I'm sure I'll be referencing your pics in this thread when I do the rears.

I just finish setup my car for Laguna Seca, including XT910 rear. Model 3 has a lot of idiosyncrasies. Will do a write up when I get to my hotel in Salinas later.

 

[jyalpert]

Where do you buy your super blue? I've mostly been buying Typ 200 for the past several years. In maybe 2015 a mechanic told me that any color for brake fluid besides gold was illegal and super blue was mostly pulled from the market, but I haven't actually tried to buy the blue stuff.

Those parking brake gearboxes also look strikingly similar to Power Wheels gearboxes!

 

[beastmode13]

Where do you buy your super blue? I've mostly been buying Typ 200 for the past several years. In maybe 2015 a mechanic told me that any color for brake fluid besides gold was illegal and super blue was mostly pulled from the market, but I haven't actually tried to buy the blue stuff.

Those parking brake gearboxes also look strikingly similar to Power Wheels gearboxes!

I had a stockpile of ATE Superblue from before they were banned.