Auric

- Does anyone have any experience with Tarret's brake caliper stud kit?
- Seems like a good idea for those going to the track and I still have nightmares of stripping out the threads in my STI front callipers that were secured with bolts
- Called my local Indie inquiring about an install and he advised against them... in fact he refused to install them; said he's had problems with them in the past.
- Any track day bros using them? Issues?

Scooby921

Yes. Put their kit on my 981. Easy to install. Be sure you wipe up all of the excess thread lock once you get the studs installed. I'd also give it a little time to dry and harden before reinstalling the calipers. Thread lock expands as it dries and it can push some residue out of the threads. I made that mistake and the caliper was incredibly hard to remove (required a lot of anger and a hammer) because that excess thread lock ended up locking the caliper to the stud. Once in and functioning properly it's really easy to remove the nuts, slide the calipers off, and do what needs to be done. Reinstall caliper, torque the nuts, and go drive. Done 7 or 8 track days with them now. Had the calipers on and off three times in the last two years. I don't swap street and track pads, so it's only been when I had to replace rotors and then while changing rotors realized I need to replace all of the piston dust boots that got fried. Will probably have them off and back on again later this summer when I install new pads.

I feel your pain on the STi too. Never had issues in my WRX, but I helped a friend with a brake change on his '06 STi and what should have been 2 or 3 hours ended up at 11 hours. Had to run to Home Depot to buy the little mini oxy-acetylene torch kit to heat the busted studs enough to back them out of the caliper.

Your local independent garage might be against the stud kit because it means they don't get to charge you for $100 in bolts every brake pad or rotor change.

steved0x

I've got the Tarett brake caliper stud kit on my track Boxster and used it for years, very convenient and saved a lot of hassle.

zoiks

I also have the Tarett brake caliper stud kit on my 991.1 S. No issues. I also have their brake line stud kit to which helps with the pad changes.

jscott82

I can't imagine what kind of issues.
IMHO if you are tracking the car and removing the calipers multiple times per year you must either use studs or timecert the uprights(preferably both).

Aluminum just can't handle that kind of wear.

iammacey

I have them on the GT4. I move between the Carbon Ceramics and GiroDiscs and it is considerably easier with the brake studs.

skru_fase

I have the Girodisc ones, same design I believe. I haven't had any issues.

Auric

- I agree. I had 3 brembo calliper bolts gall on me over 2 years on the STI and ruin them. This was when I started tracking and didn't know about timecerts and bought 3 replacement callipers.
- I thought it prudent to ask. I found it odd since the mechanic was so emphatic and purportedly does prep for cup cars and spec 944 cars. Was wondering if he knew something I didn't.

serickson

To be successful at this it is important to run a tap through the caliper threads to clean them prior to installing. Blow them out with compressed air. You can confirm they are clean by installing the studs by hand prior to final application of locktite. Otherwise you will risk them getting galled or stripped.

Good luck.

Steve

osbjmg

For the uninitiated, what's the problem with the existing studs? Is it a one-time use part or have there been some complications?

Thanks!

iammacey

OEM install is caliper bolts and you are correct, one-time use. Additionally some concerns with stripping them if you don't start them by hand.

I wasn't really concerned at first, as I swapped the rotors from ceramic to Girodisc irons. I replaced the caliper bolts and moved on. But then decided I wanted the ceramics back and would move between them for any track time. That's when I went with the Tarrett studs. Much easier process if you are going to remove the calipers with any frequency.

osbjmg

I appreciate the info. I haven't had my car that long and haven't needed to do any brake work, so admittedly I haven't looked at how-to guides or the shop manual for them -- crossing fingers that this is outlined there as I can see assuming they were able to be reused. My assumption would be more like wheel lug bolts vs. head bolts, and I would have been wrong

jscott82

The issue is the repetitive install of steel bolts in the aluminum upright. Eventually the aluminum threads will fail.

Its not really an issue on street cars where you only remove the caliper a dozen times over its lifetime.

Jet.Fuel.Only

Kethran

I recently installed front and rear caliper and bracket studs on my base 981 using this video, which was a great help!

The one strange issue I encountered is that when trying to torque the front caliper nuts after reinstalling the caliper, my 12 point 12 mm socket was not seating on the nut completely and would slip before I could exert enough force to torque it. Not sure if anyone else has had this problem, seems like the socket is bumping into the caliper before it can seat completely on the nut once it is mostly tightened down. Ordered a couple more sockets from different brands in hopes that one of them will work better.