PORSCHE ADAPTER BRACKETS – INSTALLATION ADVICE

 

SAFETY

 

Brakes are a vital component of your car and incorrect function can lead to death or serious injury of you and others. Only proceed to work on vehicles braking systems if you a professional and/or competent person. No liability can be assumed by MiniBrakes or Mods4U, its owners, employees, or suppliers for any eventuality relating to loss or damage as a result (whether indirect or otherwise) of choosing to use our components for any use, or for following any guidance contained herein. If in doubt, consult with a professional.

 

REQUIRED PARTS

• Porsche(Brembo) brake calipers, Porsche part numbers 986351421 (left) and 986351422 (right)
• Suitable brake pads to fit the calipers (optionally with suitable pad wear sensors)
• Custom brake lines in the correct length, with the correct threaded fittings to suit Brembo and Mini. (available from HEL Performance or MiniBrakes.com)
• 316mm JCW Brake discs, BMW/MINI part number 34116855781 or 34116855782
• Brake fluid
• Wheel spacers (if required to provide clearance between the calipers and the inner spokes)

 

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ensure you have all the right tools, parts and consumables before starting. The vehicle will not be driveable during fitment! It’s advisable to fit the new brackets and calipers to the car before disconnecting your original brakes from the hydraulic system. This way, the original brakes may be reinstalled without needing to re-bleed the system if there are unforeseen fitment issues.

 

The original Mini rigid hydraulic lines and fittings (especially within the wheel arch) are prone to corrosion. These parts will need to be replaced before you begin if they are excessively corroded, or if they are damaged during the installation.

 

PREPARING THE PORSCHE CALIPERS

• This guide assumes that your calipers are new or have been reconditioned / inspected as being road-worthy and in a safe condition.
• On the Porsche Boxster, the brake calipers are positioned rearward of the suspension (the side nearest the door), but on the Mini they are positioned forward of the suspension (the side nearest the front bumper).
• The calipers are designed specifically to be either left or right handed, and have two sizes of pistons relative to the direction of travel. These have been designed to apply the brake pressure progressively and reduce brake noise and must not be fitted to the incorrect side.
• In order to keep the bleed nipples facing upright (required so that air isn’t trapped in the system), the bleed nipples need to be repositioned to the opposing side of the calipers and swapped with the solid crossover pipes.
• The crossover pipes will need to be swapped between left and right calipers in order to fit.

 

INSTALLATION

1. Prepare the Porsche calipers (as above)
2. Raise the car and secure on axle stands and remove the front wheels.
   1. Use the fitting template to check your wheels for clearance and that you have the required wheel spacers before proceeding.
3. Remove the old brakes:
   1. Disconnect the front brake pad wear sensor
   2. Remove the original calipers and carriers from the suspension upright, putting aside the M12x1.5x32mm collar screws, as these can be reused if not corroded or damaged. (MINI part 34116772428).
   3. Support the weight of the original calipers and move them to one side. Do not use the brake pedal while the calipers are removed!
   4. Remove the brake discs (the disc retaining screws may need to be reused or replaced)
4. Remove the brake ‘Protection Plate’ / backing plate
   1. The new calipers will not fit with these in place in standard form. These may be cut to provide extra clearance or removed entirely
   2. The fittings are often corroded, and may require cutting/grinding to remove the M6 torx screws.
5. Install the new adapter bracket
   1. Use the collar screws (removed or replaced in step 3b). to secure the bracket to the suspension upright. Tighten to 110 Nm (81 ft-lbs).
6. Install the new discs
   1. Secure to the hub with the retaining screws.
   2. Clean discs with brake cleaner solvent, to remove any protective oil and contaminants.
7. Install the new calipers
   1. Using the supplied M12x1.5 bolts, secure the new calipers to the adapter bracket (ensuring that the bleed nipples are on the top side, Brembo logo upside-down after they’ve been prepared in step 1).
   2. Torque the caliper retaining bolts to 85 Nm (63 ft-lbs)
8. Test fit wheels
   1. Use properly sized hub-centric spacers as necessary.
   2. Rotating the wheel slowly by hand, check for clearance between the calipers and the wheels – around the spokes and inner wheel drum. You should allow for at least 3mm space, also accounting for wheel balancer weights.
   3. Remove the wheels and proceed if you have adequate clearance.
9. Connect the new brake hoses to the calipers.
10. Disconnect the original flexible brake lines and remove the old calipers from the car
11. Connect the new brake hoses to the chassis hard lines
    1. Fit the hose locator grommet into the clip on the suspension upright, along the same route as standard
    2. (tip) use a cable tie on the hose behind the rubber grommet and secure in position so that the hose adequately clears the wheels to prevent damage.
12. Install new brake pads (re-clean the discs with brake cleaner if required at this point).
    1. Refit the brake pad wear sensors (if your pads are compatible).
    2. Alternatively, remove the pad wear sensor (may require modifying the wiring in order to prevent the pad warning light from being shown). Only do this on race vehicles where pads are regularly checked for wear!
13. Bleed the brakes according to normal procedures, alternating between each bleed nipple until all air has been removed from the system.
14. Refit the wheels and lower the car. Enjoy!

Tip: The good folks at Pelican parts have published a nice guide (with images) showing their Brembo installation. It may be helpful to refer to along with this guide, so check it out here.