What are Big Brakes?

See Tom Stangl's VFAQ page. It describes the brake changes and what to do if your rotors appear frozen on the car. [For reference, the required bolts to free stuck front rotors are 8mm in diameter, 1.25mm pitch. Tom Stangl recommends you don't count on them, since often the rotor ends up cracking into pieces instead of breaking off the hubs, so be prepared for the worst.]

For 1G models prior to 1993, and all 1G and 2G non-AWD models, "Big Brakes" refers to upgrading the front brakes to 1993-94 AWD front brakes, which are larger and have more powerful calipers. These larger dual-piston brakes were also used on non-turbo Stealth and Mitsubishi Diamante cars. for the details on this common upgrade.

Sometimes people use this term to describe 1G aftermarket upgrades too, such as Baer 4 piston brake kits, but this is not commonplace on the Talon Digest.

For 2G AWD, this refers to replacing the front brakes with larger non-DSM brake kits, containing 13" rotors and 2 or 4 piston calipers.  Brakes from Mustangs and Corvettes have been considered, as well as Baer 4 piston kits. 

Some people have looked at moving the front brakes from the 95+ AWDs to the 1G cars, but reportedly nobody has done so yet. The swap is complicated by the fact that some 2G calipers use a different brake line fitting, which requires the use of different brake lines. Other than that, they should bolt on in the same manner as the 1993-94 brakes. One enterprising Digest member has looked at Mazda Turbo II calipers, but has not yet mounted them nor matched them with rotors.  Apparantly the mounting brackets are not compatible, either.

While it is true that "big brakes" are Stealth brakes (non-turbo), what most people want to know when they inquire about the Stealth parts is if it is possible to use the extra-large brakes from the turbo Stealth models on their DSM. These massive four-piston monsters are a very hard fit to the DSM family. At a minimum, one would need 17" wheels before even contemplating the upgrade, as the stock 16" rims are likely to hit the brakes themselves.

Fortunately for 1G owners that find even 'big brakes' inadequate, Martin Queckenstedt has found a BIG big brake package from Baer. The kits price out between $800 and $1250 $USD, and combine lightweight 1 or 2 piece 12"-13" rotors with dual piston calipers. Those interested can look up the "Sport" and "Track" kits on the Baer website. There are also other aftermarket 4-piston caliper kits available.

Some potentially useful Mitsubishi part numbers for the big brake upgrade:

• RMB 699 450 Remanufactured Caliper Kit LH
• RMB 699 451 Remanufactured Caliper Kit RH
• MR 493-985 Pad Set
• MR 389-652 Shim Kit
• MR 389-599 Clip Set

The above-mentioned kits include the mounting bracket for the caliper and new caliper mounting bolts.