Brakes

Scott,
I just did all four wheels on my 850 last month. I bought the slotted and drilled rotors found on eurosporttuning.com. They are original Volvo spec brembo's with the custom gas porting and drilling. I have 2000 miles on the system so far and have had no problems or complaints. I did use Volvo OEM pads as well as installed the rear-brake shims. Also, be sure and upgrade the brake lines while down there. It took me a full day to complete the job. I did not need any special tools. Just the usual stuff. Volvospeed did a great job on showing how to do the maintenance. I pretty much stuck with the recipe verbatim. Only thing you should do is have a can of PB blaster spray handy. Pre-treat all of the lines and bleeder screws before even thinking about putting a wrench on them. Also, don't be afraid too beat the crap out of the old rotors to get them off. Mine felt like they were welded to the hub, but with a 16 lb sledge hammer, I got the buggers off! I suggest buying a couple of quarts of DOT 4 fluid, 3 cans or so of berkable brake cleaner. (Chlorinated and flamiable!, don't use the envrionmentally friendly crap as it does not work!) Also, have a large 8"+ C-clamp for compressing the calipers, silicone goo for librication and squeel protection, lotts of rags, oil catch pan, line-wrenches for the brake lines are a plus. Keep a constant eye on the level of fluid in the resivoir as if you let it go empty, you will be bleeding brakes all-night-long. You will still have to bleed the brakes however if you just let the lines drip while working, there is a much slighter chance of getting air and crap into the system. Plus you can basically flush the system that way too.

Well...best of luck to you. It is a termendous difference and you will be able to really enjoy it that much more if you do it all your self! Have fun, and remember to take your time and ask for help if you have any questions! You should still have my mobile number, call me if you need assistance.

Prospero

Sean, Thanks for the compliments! Yeah, the mechanic in me is starting to come back out again.

Now about the SC-900, it sounds sweet! I have nearly completed the install. At this point I am making my own 2nd and 3rd order passive crossovers to get it all right. Spent more time on figuring the frequency ranges than I did on the actal labor. I still have not figured a few of the wire nor hav I done the dolby since I don't have the processor. Let me know if you ever come across one as well as the cables and antenna booster. I would like to complete this system one day.

Scott,
The brakes are much better all the way around! The stopping is so much more "crisp" and responsive. But my intent with the install was simply to rid myself of the warped rotor issue. The tefe/steel brake lines were preventive mainenance as well because at 200K miles, the original ones were getting nasty. Now regarding the rotors, the ones on eurosporttuning are the only ones which I have used. They are OEM with some extra mods. I would strongly suggest these for keeping it safe. The silicone goo is basically just that. Silicone grease. I would just buy the goo from the dealer when you get the pads and shims. It will keep you from wondering about it's quality.

Prospero