This thread describes the steps to install low-dust Centric or StopTech brake pads in any SRT8 model with factory Brembo brakes. The parts required are:
Posi Quiet Ceramic
63-105-1149 Front pad set ($69)
63-105-1053 Rear pad set ($62)
or
Posi Quiet Semi-Metallic
63-104-1149 Front pad set ($78)
63-104-1053 Rear pad set ($69)
These pads are available from supporting vendor Zeckhausen Racing. To order, click here:
Order Centric Posi Quiet pads (Ceramic or Semi-Metallic) for any SRT8.
Only one box of front and rear pads is required.
Alternatively, StopTech Street Performance pads are available for the SRT8, offering significantly higher bite and friction than Posi Quiet pads, with slightly more brake dust. (Still far less dust than stock.) These pads have a high performance range and may be used on the race track, yet are nearly totally silent. These are Zeckhausen Racing's favorite street pads.
63-309-1149 Front pad set ($94)
63-309-1053 Rear pad set ($83)
To order, click here:
Order StopTech Street Performance pads for any SRT8.
Only one box of each part number is required.
Background
The stock brake pads on the SRT8 are unusually abrasive and will quickly score your rotors and produce more brake dust than any other car you’ve owned. They also tend to squeal under light braking. Your dealer will tell you this is the price you have to pay for performance brakes. Nonsense! With the right pads, correct installation, and proper bedding, your brakes can be virtually dust free and quiet and your expensive rotors can last much longer. These pads work well with either plain rotors or the new slotted rotors that come with 2007 models and are used as warranty replacements for 2005-2006 models.
These instructions for changing the brake pads on the 300C SRT8 also apply to the Magnum, Charger, and Jeep SRT8, which use the same calipers and pads. With a few basic tools, changing the brake pads on the SRT8 is a 10 minute job per corner.
Tools required:
1. Center punch – 3/16” suggested, but smaller is OK
2. Hammer
3. 21mm socket (I use this
fancy socket set from Griot's Garage to avoid scratching the wheels)
4. Torque wrench
5. Floor jack
Optional:
6. Pad/piston spreader tool (See:
Pad Spreader Tool for details)
7. Air impact wrench
8. Anti-squeal paste (CRC brand, Permatex brand, etc.)
Safety Warning
Working on your own car can be dangerous if you don't follow basic safety precautions. If your floor jack is not positioned properly, your car can shift and fall off the jack. Even if you do everything right, the seals in a floor jack can fail suddenly and without warning. Keep arms and legs out from under the car if you are only using a single floor jack to support it. You can be seriously injured or even killed if you do not follow proper safety procedures. Make sure the car is in PARK, the parking brake is applied, and that you've placed a wheel chock behind at least one of the wheels at the opposite corner to where you are working.
Zeckhausen Racing LLC assumes no liability expressed or implied for injury or death caused by the improper installation or use of these parts.
Front pad installation
For the 300C, Magnum, and Charger SRT8, the hardest part is jacking the car up. (The Jeep SRT8 is easy!) For some reason, Chrysler didn't install a jacking pad behind the front wheels to match the jacking pad just in front of the rear wheels. My jack is too tall to fit under the car, so I drive up on some pieces of wood to gain sufficient clearance.
Before jacking up the car, make sure the ignition is off, the car is in PARK, and the parking brake is applied. For added safety, you can chock one or both rear wheels with pieces of wood or purpose-built wheel chocks.
The jack can be rolled under the car from the front, or at an angle from behind the front wheels. The important part is to properly position the jack saddle squarely on the frame member below the front swaybar.
Proper placement of jack saddle
Once the car is up, remove the wheel nuts with a 21mm socket and set the wheel aside. An air impact wrench makes this easier.
Turn the steering wheel to the right (when working on driver's side caliper) so you can better see what you are doing.
Use a hammer and punch to drive out one of the caliper drift pins. Then remove the spring clip. Finally, drive out the second drift pin.
Once the pins and spring clip have been removed, you can use a pad spreader tool to loosen the pads and retract the pistons at the same time. Alternatively, the pads can be pulled apart with your bare hands or pried away from the rotor with a large screwdriver. For just a single brake pad change, the expensive pad spreader tool may be overkill.
Pad spreader tool being used to retract caliper pistons
Pull the pads out of the caliper. Here’s a shot of the empty caliper after the pads have been removed. Note how the caliper pistons are fully retracted and flush with the inside of the caliper.
Optional: To help avoid pad squeal at low speeds under light braking, apply a light coating of anti-squeal paste to the backs of the new pads and allow to dry for 15 minutes before installation.
Insert new pads and hold them in place by inserting one of the drift pins. Make sure the friction side of each pad is facing the rotor! It is possible to install pads backwards, if you’re not paying attention, and the results are not pretty.
Reinstall the spring clip and press it down while inserting the second drift pin. Be careful not to install the spring clip upside down or it will rub against the rotor.
Use the hammer to drive the second drift pin all the way into the caliper.
All done!
Reinstall the wheel and hand tighten the wheel nuts with a torque wrench to factory specs (100 lb-ft). Lower the car off the jack. Repeat the procedure for the passenger side front brakes.
Rear Pad Installation
Before jacking up the car, make sure the ignition is off, the car is in PARK, and the parking brake is applied. For added safety, chock one or both front wheels with pieces of wood or purpose-built wheel chocks.
Jack up the car, using the factory rubber jack pad located 12" forward of the rear wheel arch. This is a handy jacking point that Chrysler neglected to install for the front wheels.
After the car is in the air, remove the wheel nuts and set the wheel aside.
Just like the front brakes, the pads are held in place by a spring clip and a pair of drift pins. Use the hammer and punch to drive out one of the drift pins. (Order is not important.) Then remove the spring clip. Finally, drive out the second drift pin.
Remove drift pin with center punch
Top view while removing lower pin
Spring clip is easily removed, followed by 2nd drift pin
Once the pins and spring clip have been removed, you can use the pad spreader tool to loosen the pads and retract the pistons at the same time. Alternatively, the pads can be pulled apart with your bare hands or pried away from the rotor with a large screwdriver. The spreader tool is not mandatory.
As with the front pads, insert the blades of the spreader tool inside the caliper and hook them on the inner faces of the pad backing plates. Then squeeze the handles. In one stroke, the pads are pushed apart and all four pistons retracted. Then the pads simply pull right out. In the case of the SRT8 rear calipers, oriented the way they are, they literally fall out.
Caliper with both pads removed – pistons are visible and fully retracted
Optional: To help avoid pad squeal at low speeds under light braking, apply a light coating of anti-squeal paste to the backs of the new pads and allow to dry for 15 minutes before installation.
Insert the new pads into the caliper. Hold them in place with one of the drift pins. Tap the drift pin into place with a hammer, being careful not to chip the paint on the back of the caliper. Install the spring clip and insert the second drift pin, working it all the way through the caliper while keeping pressure on the clip. Use the hammer to drive the pin all the way.
Caliper with new pads installed
Reinstall wheel and tighten the wheel nuts to 100 lb-ft. Then lower the car to the ground.
Repeat the process for the other side.
Important Final Steps
Once the last corner is done, you should climb into the driver’s seat and pump the brake pedal several times. The pedal will sink to the floor as the pads are pushed toward the rotors. After several pumps, the brakes should become firm again. Don’t forget this important step, as you may otherwise be in for a nasty surprise if you simply jump into the car and take off!
Now it's time to go out and
bed in the brakes. This does not need to be done right away. Feel free to wait until traffic and weather conditions make this safe and convenient. At first, the brakes will feel weak and possibly slightly spongy. After a few braking events, they will feel much stronger. After you’ve bedded them properly and allowed them to cool, they will reach their full potential.
If you’re installing new pads on old rotors, especially if the rotors show significant wear, you should repeat the bedding process a second time after a week or two of driving. This will allow for a more complete bedding, since the new pads will have time to wear down to match the shape of the old rotors.
Linear Mode
