Project Scion FR-S Wilwood Big Brake Install

Installs & Reviews Mike Bonanni |Photography by Giancarlo Pawelec

BRAKE-ing it down! Step by step

The Scion FR-S is undoubtedly one of the most popular tuner platforms out right now – and with that comes a flood of aftermarket goodies. While many of those aftermarket products aim to add horsepower or increase handling, few focus on the most important part of a car’s performance – braking. We hooked up with our friends at Wilwood Brakes to install the new Forged Narrow Superlite big brake kit on our PASMAG Project FR-S. The installation fairly straightforward, but proper care must be taken to ensure your brakes remain fully functional.

Start off by making sure you have all of the required pieces and tools to complete the job, then get the car off the ground. In a perfect world you’ll have access to a hydraulic lift, but if you don’t, a floor jack and jack stands will suffice. Once the car is up, remove the wheels and set them aside. Make sure the brakes are cool to the touch before working on them.

Start by un-bolting the brake line brackets which attach the brake lines to the suspension. Next, disconnect the brake line from the stock brake caliper. Be prepared to catch the dripping brake fluid from both the disconnected brake line and the caliper.

Now it’s time to remove the brake caliper and pads. To do this, remove the large bolts on the back side of the caliper that connect it to the hub assembly. Once it is un-bolted, the caliper assembly and brake pads can be removed.
Next, simply slide the brake rotors off of the wheel studs. Make sure your parking brake is not engaged before attempting to remove the rear rotors. Leaving your parking brake engaged will make removal of the rear rotors near impossible.
Repeat the above steps for each corner of the car. Once all of your stock brake rotors and calipers have been removed, we can begin cutting away the rear dust shields to accommodate the larger Wilwood brake rotors. Use a cutting wheel or sawzall to cut away as much of the stock dust shields as possible and discard.

Now it’s time to start assembling the new Wilwood brake kit! Start assembling the rotors by bolting the rotors to the rotor hats using the supplied bolts and some red Loctite. This ensures the bolts will not back out. Torque the bolts to 140 in-lbs in an alternating pattern. Repeat for all four rotors, making sure you match the rear rotor hats to the rear rotors, as well as the front rotor hats to the front rotors. The rear rotor hats will have a larger and deeper inner diameter to slide over the parking brake assembly.

Next, bolt the Wilwood caliper mounting brackets to the factory caliper mounting holes using the original factory bolts that were used to bolt the caliper to the hub assembly. Next, slide the supplied rotor registration adapters onto the axle registers on each corner. Finish by sliding the new Wilwood brake rotors onto the wheel studs.

Using the supplied shims, washers and lock nuts, install the Wilwood calipers onto the caliper mounting brackets. Use the shims to ensure the rotor is centered in the caliper. Use red Loctite on the lock nuts to ensure they stay put and torque them to 60 ft-lbs. Repeat for all four calipers.

Now, insert the supplied brake pads into the Wilwood calipers and slide into place. Once both brake pads are in place, secure them using the supplied center bridge tube, nut and bolt. Make sure the tops of the pads are even with the tops of the rotors. Adjust with supplied shims if necessary.

With the the brake kit is in place, it’s time to connect it to the brake lines. First we must remove the factory brake hoses by removing the c-clip attaching the factory rubber line to the metal hard line. Once removed, replace the factory line with the supplied Wilwood stainless steel brake lines, re-attach the c-clip and connect the new line to the back of the Wilwood caliper. Repeat for all four corners.

The installation of your new Wilwood brake system is complete! The last step before your FR-S is drivable is to bleed the brake system using new Wilwood brake fluid. We highly recommend this be done by a professional or someone with experience bleeding brakes, as your brake system WILL NOT WORK unless it’s done properly.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your new Wilwood big brake kit!

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