Installing Rear Brake Rotors - Halt!

Next, he reinstalled the caliper bracket with a 19mm wrench. The final torque using a torque wrench was 63 ft-lb.

Pete then installed the spring-loaded Hawk HPS pads with Hawks high-temperature brake parts lubricant.

He then mounted the calipers onto the brackets and torqued the bolts to 47 ft-lb.

Pete used a 10mm line wrench to remove and replace the inboard brake lines with the Russell stainless lines.

We completely flushed out the brake system and refilled it by way of the master cylinder with this AmsOil Series 600 High Performance DOT4 brake fluid. Its extremely high boiling point of 580 degrees F should provide a positive pedal feel during high-thermal loads. We bled our brakes in a traditional manner and there weren't any special procedures for the GTO. Then we bedded them in before testing. (See sidebar.)

Upon the first touch of the brake pedal, we knew that the upgrade had made a big difference. The response is noticeably more reassuring than the stock "mushy" pedal. The bite from the aggressive rotor and pad combination has us stopping smoothly and noticeably shorter. The Russell stainless lines and AmsOil 600 series fluid will also ensure that this pedal feel and performance are maintained across an aggressive thermal range.