Honda S2000 RacingBrake Front Big Brake Kit Installation

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Time 3-4 hours
Level Moderate
Steps 12
Done by
In progress You stopped at step of 12.
Caution
  • Using an open-ended wrench on the brake line fitting will very likely round it; use a 10mm flare-nut wrench.
  • Do not let a caliper hang on its hose.
  • Bleed thoroughly and test the pedal before driving. A spongy or sinking pedal means air or a leak.
  • Brake fluid damages paint; cover painted surfaces and wipe spills immediately.

Introduction

RacingBrake's front kit for the S2000 swaps the factory single-piston caliper for a radial-mount four-piston caliper on an aluminium adapter, with a larger two-piece floating rotor and stainless lines. It is a bolt-on job, but check wheel clearance first: the vendor provides a fitment template, and the author of the source writeup needed spacers on 17in wheels. Most of the risk is in the brake lines: use a flare-nut wrench on the hard-line fitting and bleed the calipers properly. Adapted from a community writeup by Rob Robinette on robrobinette.com (https://robrobinette.com/S2000RB_BBK.htm).

Procedure

12 steps

  1. Step 1: Check wheel clearance

    Print RacingBrake's wheel fitment template for the kit and check it against your wheels before you start. In the source writeup the caliper touched the spokes of 17x9 +63 wheels with 3mm spacers, and 5mm spacers with extended studs were recommended.

  2. Step 2: Lift and remove wheels

    Loosen lugs, lift the front, support on jack stands and remove the front wheels.

  3. Step 3: Remove the factory caliper and bracket

    Unbolt the factory caliper and caliper bracket. Leave the old caliper attached to its hose for now so the system does not drain, and hang it so it does not pull on the hose.

  4. Step 4: Remove the factory rotor

    Remove the rotor retaining screws (an impact screwdriver helps) and pull the rotor off the hub.

  5. Step 5: Fit the caliper adapter

    Bolt the aluminium adapter to the knuckle with the marked side (stamped 'AD133' in the writeup's kit) facing outward. The writeup uses blue thread locker and gives 45-50 lb-ft for the 17mm adapter-to-knuckle bolts (the author used 47 lb-ft). Follow the torque sheet supplied with your kit if it differs.

  6. Step 6: Fit the two-piece rotor

    Slide the assembled hat and ring onto the hub and confirm it sits flat.

  7. Step 7: Mount the new caliper

    Place the radial-mount caliper on the adapter and fit the 10mm-hex caliper bolts with blue thread locker. The writeup's torque table says 35-40 lb-ft, but its installation photo says the author torqued them to 48 lb-ft. Because of this conflict, use the figure in the RacingBrake instructions supplied with your kit. The adapter and caliper threads are aluminium and strip more easily than iron.

  8. Step 8: Install pads and pad pins

    Slide the pads into the caliper and install the pad pins, 10 lb-ft.

  9. Step 9: Swap the brake lines

    Using a 10mm flare-nut wrench, undo the hard line from the old hose and fit the new stainless line, following the factory routing and refitting the line clips in their original positions. Attach the banjo end to the caliper with new copper washers and torque the banjo bolt to 15 lb-ft. Repeat on the other side.

  10. Step 10: Bleed the new calipers

    Fill the reservoir and bleed all four corners in the order the writeup gives for the S2000: left front, right front, left rear, right rear. On each four-piston front caliper bleed the outer bleeder first, then the inner. Expect to use about one quart of fluid for the initial fill and bleed. The writeup tightens the bleeders to 10 lb-ft. Keep the reservoir topped up throughout so no air is drawn in.

  11. Step 11: Check for leaks and pedal

    Pump the pedal until it is firm, check every fitting for leaks, then refit the wheels and torque the lug nuts to the factory figure. Before driving on the road, test the brakes at walking pace in a safe area. A pedal that is spongy, sinks or pulls to one side means the system needs more bleeding or has a leak.

  12. Step 12: Bed in the pads

    Follow the bedding procedure for the pads you are using. The writeup's procedure is RacingBrake's method for race-compound pads and needs a track: 6-8 moderate stops from 60-80 mph to about 30 mph, then 6-8 stops from racing speed, without coming to a full stop and avoiding ABS. Do not copy it on public roads. Afterwards do not set the parking brake on hot brakes.

Tips
  • The kit in the writeup came with front and rear stainless lines; RacingBrake currently sells front-only, rear-only and complete-car configurations, so check what yours includes.
  • Vendor's current S2000 kit listing gives 328x28mm front rotors; the 2146-K kit in the source writeup was described as 324x28mm (12.8in). Check the rotor size for the kit you actually receive.
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