Brakes

Applications:  86-88 NA/Turbo, 89-91 NA/Turbo

I'm not going to go into too much detail on how to maintain your brake system.  The Haynes manual does a very fine job describing what needs to be done to change the pads/rotors.  I am going to talk about upgrading rotors and speed bleeders.

Cross-drilled / Slotted Brake Rotors

Difficulty: Medium

Time: Depends on how hard it is to get the old rotors off.

Discussion:

For the most part, people on the street will never need to upgrade there brake rotors on the second gen RX-7.  There just isn't the need because the stock system (I'm referring to the 5-lug cars with the sport suspension) is more than adequate for street applications with light/moderate track use.

The only reason I changed rotors on the 86 is because I had to replace them.  Below you'll see the slotted/drilled rotors that I purchased from Gotham Racing.  I spent the extra couple bucks and had them cadmium coated.

Speed Bleeders

Difficulty: Easy

Time: Less 1/2 hour

Discussion:

I don't know why I waited so long to put speed bleeders on my car.  These things are awesome!  Installation takes a few minutes, and with them you can bleed the entire brake system by yourself in under 5 minutes! 

As far as I know, there are two manufactures of speed bleeders on the market.  "Speed Bleeder" brand and "Russell" performance brand.  There may be others, but these are the brands that you will find at most performance parts stores. Both products are virtually identical, so it really doesn't matter which you purchase.

I purchased the Russell bleeders for $12 each.  Total cost: $24.

The sizes that you need are simple:

If you have the 4-piston brakes in the front, you need = 8mm X 1.0"

If you have the single piston brakes in the front, you need size = 7mm X 1.0"

The rear brakes of all cars requires size = 7mm X 1.0"

Here are the part numbers: (they come is packages of two)

Also, If you want to convert your clutch cylinder to speed bleeders you'll need one more 8mm X 1.0.

That's really all there is to it.  Here is a picture showing the stock bleeder with the new Speed bleeder.

And here are some pics of my wheel wells after the speed bleeder installation...there really isn't much sense in taking pictures of the bleeders: