Why I needed a master brake cylinder brace...

[razorlab]

I can almost feel it through the brake pedal. BUT I will give my seat a look!!

There are a couple things that I have found that can create a clunk.

Aftermarket brake pads. Some of them have a bit more tolerance in the caliper side to side, in addition to that, the caliper pin slots could be a little larger so the pad can shift more under braking. This is one of the big reasons OEM pads are basically glued to the caliper pistons. I remember a couple years back I stated that and a bunch of internet boiz told me I was dumb. I then showed them the OEM pads with the 3M backing and they still doubled down. People are idiots.

Worn out caliper hardware. The caliper pad pins (the part that has the little metal bushings) can get worn out after time and slightly shift under braking. The tensioner (the metal thing that spans the pins and creates the tension to always push the pads away from the rotor) can start making a creaking noise when it wears out, gets bent, or just caked with crap.

I had a really loud creaking that sounded like a old wooden ship, and what I thought was the actual brake pedal for awhile. When I replaced all the caliper hardware and cleaned the caliper overall, the creak went away.

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[exe36m3]

There are a couple things that I have found that can create a clunk.

Aftermarket brake pads. Some of them have a bit more tolerance in the caliper side to side, in addition to that, the caliper pin slots could be a little larger so the pad can shift more under braking. This is one of the big reasons OEM pads are basically glued to the caliper pistons. I remember a couple years back I stated that and a bunch of internet boiz told me I was dumb. I then showed them the OEM pads with the 3M backing and they still doubled down. People are idiots.

Worn out caliper hardware. The caliper pad pins (the part that has the little metal bushings) can get worn out after time and slightly shift under braking. The tensioner (the metal thing that spans the pins and creates the tension to always push the pads away from the rotor) can start making a creaking noise when it wears out, gets bent, or just caked with crap.

I had a really loud creaking that sounded like a old wooden ship, and what I thought was the actual brake pedal for awhile. When I replaced all the caliper hardware and cleaned the caliper overall, the creak went away.

Agreed. Given the only thing I've changed were the "upgrade" to ceramic pads, I'm leaning toward that also. And agreed, the stock pads were in my caliper REALLY good. I think we ended up pulling the caliper off to get to the pads. Thanks for your input!

 

[tracer bullet]

Interesting, because my X3 pads are apparently too small and I only ever get a more of a "clink" noise form them. I hear it when I brake in reverse, the first time I brake going forward after that, the next time I brake in reverse again, and so on. You clunking noise is more pronounced and also happens with repetitive forward stops, no reversing in between? Doesn't mean it's not the pads of course but I'd think once they took a forward set they'd kind of stay there.

If you had the corner up and wheel off, it's a quick thing to see if the pads are loose. I suppose you know that since you've changed them. Knock out the pins and pop the springy metal thing and see if the pads are floppy. And if they are if that cast iron kind of sound seems familiar like it's the same as your clunk sound.

 

[rwense]

Speaking of master cylinder brace, someone reached out asking to develop a right hand drive version of the likes you see from Verus and so on. Are there any RHD A90 owners that can chime in on a need/want?

 

[tuskenraider]

I'll chime in after just installing the Torque Solutions brace. I went with it because it was about $20 cheaper than Verus' model. It was nice that it came pre-assembled and uses a single bolt vs. a 3-bolt setup that you have to self assemble the two pieces. My concern was once it was bolted in loosely, if I pushed the brace back fully against the strut tower, the angle of the brace was nowhere near pointed to the center of the master cylinder. I had to push it inward, therefor losing the outside support. I'm going to assume the deflection pressure from the master cylinder can't push the brace with two bolts torqued at the factory spec. Not sure if the Verus model has a similar issue, but I'd be curious if it is designed at a more appropriate angle.

 

[Akula075]

So this week I've installed the Verus brace. But doing so, it got me thinking.

Won't the brace be more detrimental than beneficial to the master cylinder? Let me elaborate.

The brace is mounted on the front strut supension, and the chassis has flex in it. So... As much as the brake master cylinder pushes to the brace, and the strut. The strut can also push back to the master cylinder....

Maybe with some kind of impact on the front wheel can the master cylinder crack or take damage?

 

[SJ-Ray]

If an impact has enough force to flex / deform your strut tower you have a lot of other problems...

 

[omfgzilla]

There are a couple things that I have found that can create a clunk.

Aftermarket brake pads. Some of them have a bit more tolerance in the caliper side to side, in addition to that, the caliper pin slots could be a little larger so the pad can shift more under braking. This is one of the big reasons OEM pads are basically glued to the caliper pistons. I remember a couple years back I stated that and a bunch of internet boiz told me I was dumb. I then showed them the OEM pads with the 3M backing and they still doubled down. People are idiots.

Worn out caliper hardware. The caliper pad pins (the part that has the little metal bushings) can get worn out after time and slightly shift under braking. The tensioner (the metal thing that spans the pins and creates the tension to always push the pads away from the rotor) can start making a creaking noise when it wears out, gets bent, or just caked with crap.

I had a really loud creaking that sounded like a old wooden ship, and what I thought was the actual brake pedal for awhile. When I replaced all the caliper hardware and cleaned the caliper overall, the creak went away.

 

[lucky phil]

So this week I've installed the Verus brace. But doing so, it got me thinking.

Won't the brace be more detrimental than beneficial to the master cylinder? Let me elaborate.

The brace is mounted on the front strut supension, and the chassis has flex in it. So... As much as the brake master cylinder pushes to the brace, and the strut. The strut can also push back to the master cylinder....

Maybe with some kind of impact on the front wheel can the master cylinder crack or take damage?

Personally I would't be worrying too much about that aspect of the brace. It looks impressive watching the dial gauge movement reduction with the brace but we also have no idea of whether or not the pedal pressure was the same in the before and after test. For a road car with road driving pedal pressures I doubt it's worth the effort of fitting. I don't think pedal pressure would be high enough to make firewall flex a feel issue.
Phil

 

[3TMagnetMan]

Installed the Verus brake master cylinder brace in early 2022. I got my car in 2021 lol

 

[Loco38SUP]

Installed the Verus brake master cylinder brace in early 2022. I got my car in 2021 lol

Were you able to tell the difference from street driving? The Verus video makes it seem like the firewall is as thin as a cheese slice.

-RJM

 

[3TMagnetMan]

Were you able to tell the difference from street driving? The Verus video makes it seem like the firewall is as thin as a cheese slice.

-RJM

Yes I felt a difference on the track and also on the street. Brake pedal feel is firmer especially during hard braking. It's such a simple functional mod and easy to install.

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