EVO Brembos on a MS6

[MATT DAMOND]

Going from this:




To this:






Even before I bought my MS6, I was kinda distraught that Mazda was not going to be using 4 piston front calipers on the MS6. Evos, STis, even the Volvo S60Rs all had Brembo brakes from the factory. It seems that the factory Ford brakes for the MS6 were a bit of an afterthought. Don't get me wrong, the stock MS6 are fantastic, though for track duty, I want something more that isn't going to break the bank. I'm just picking up, where Mazda left off.

As a few of you may know, I'm working on a DIY BBK using Mitsubishi Evolution Brembo 4 piston front calipers. After lots of research and a bit of measuring, I purchased some Evo 7 Brembo calipers, in hopes for a near "bolt-on" BBK. I received the calipers in the post the other day, after picking them up off eBay. This evening I did a test fit, to get some measurements for rotors, and to see if I'd run into any issues. Everything went quite well, and I now have a good baseline of what I still need to work on.

First off, there are quite a few similarities between the Evo 6-9 and the MS6 in the brake department. Both use a 12.6" diameter rotor, both have the same wheel bolt pattern, both have the front calipers mounted towards the front of the vehicle, and both have the caliper mount holes on the spindle at a similar distance near 160mm. However, there are also quite a few differences.

The first issue I ran into, is that the caliper is not a direct bolt on. The MS6's caliper mount holes are around 157mm, vs the Evo's at 160mm. That is very close though, and it shouldn't be to difficult to make the Brembo's fit. Here's a pic, showing how the holes don't line up perfectly:




The next issue is that I'm going to have to run some pretty thick wheel spacers. That's not really a concern though, since it was only a matter of time before I bought some, I just have a reason to now.

I have a few other things I have to work on. Finding rotors that will fit perfectly. It is not too difficult, I've got most of my measurements taken, and I'm thinking 2-piece may be the best solution. Also I may have to get some custom brake lines made, which shouldn't be too hard to get done. I haven't tried yet to see if the MS6 lines work, I've got my stock lines laying around, so I'll give that a try soon.

I've still got a lot of work to do, and plenty of testing before I make a "How-to" for this and go over the full details. I'm not trying to do a DIY BBK for looks, I want this for performance. I've seen some pretty bad hacked-up DIY BBKs, and I hoping to learn from their mistakes, and not replicate them.

I do have to thank the Mazda engineers for the close to 160mm mount span, and plenty of suspension, driveline, and dust shield clearance. I know they had big brakes in-mind, when they designed this car.

Enough of me rambling, here's some more pics:










My goal is a well preforming BBK, for under $1,000. If I do not succeeded... Hello StopTech!