Brake ducts install for about $100 in an hour or two

[jacobzking]

I looked here for brake ducts install guides and parts here before and didn't come up with much. Kognition used to make some pretty cool bolt on duct adapters, but they no longer make them... no big deal though.

I have been taking my car to track days about once a month and am always looking for cheap and effective ways to make my car handle better or stop better (I'm happy with the power it puts out). So here's my quick and easy guide to install "nascar style/naca" brake ducts on any 240...

First you'll need some good 3" brake duct hose (neoprene coated fiberglass withstands up to 300°). I went with this stuff ($55 for 10' which is usually use enough but a close fit):

JEGS Performance Products 63105 JEGS Brake Ducting

You'll also need 2 adapters to mount the hose to your brake dust shield, I bought these and just riveted them on:

Allstar Performance ALL42160 Allstar Brake Ducts

The process is pretty simple (I've done some quick photoshopping to show you the general idea... note the adapter will install behind the brake shield unlike on the photo)...

1. Remove tire

2. Remove brake caliper and rotor

3. Mount the adapter fitting as close to the inside of the wheel hub as possible, at about the 2 o'clock position. MArk where you'll have the 4 holes for the adapter and then draw a circle where the 3" opening will be. Then cut a 3" hole (I used a dremel, but a 3" hole saw would definitely speed things up). Again, I chose to just rivet the adapter in to place, but screwing it in would work also. Another note: on the side of the adapter that is closest to the wheel hub, I flattened that side down so it could sit as close inward as possible (the the red part on the photo).

4. Attach your brake hose and use a generic 3" hose clamp to tighten it down.

5. Route the hose (blue drawing). You'll need to route the hose right along the frame so your tires don't hit the hose. I'm running 255s up front and don't have any issues, but it is close. You can use zip ties and zip tie it to the frame in a couple of spots to keep it where you want it.

6. Attaching the hose to your front bumper... This will vary by bumper and how clean you want your install. On my particular bumper, i can mount some duct intake to the backside of the vents:

Allstar Performance ALL42141 Allstar Brake Ducts

Again, I'll post some better photos of the install when I do the other side in a couple of days...

[slider2828]

Cool!!! I can't wait... But I got rid of my dust shields.

[jacobzking]

Originally Posted by slider2828

Cool!!! I can't wait... But I got rid of my dust shields.

they're only $29 each, new from the dealer, or i'm sure you could probably find some for about $10 from someone parting out a 240

[tamdo7114]

great set up! kudos to you

[Rich260z]

You can do this even cheaper if you just weld on a 3" diameter piece of pipe with a little tab on the outside to keep the hose clamp in place, and use aluminum ducting from home depot or something.

[jacobzking]

Originally Posted by Rich260z

You can do this even cheaper if you just weld on a 3" diameter piece of pipe with a little tab on the outside to keep the hose clamp in place, and use aluminum ducting from home depot or something.

yep, that'll work too. i don't know if theres a real reason NOT to just use dryer hose (maybe it'll rip too easy) but I didn't mind spending $60 for the correct hose. also, welding on the pipes wouldn't be quite as easy but would certainly work. if I had a welder I'd have probably gone that route. with my little adapter plates, they don't sit flush on the brake shields since there's so many bends on them... so I'll probably lose a little air flow due to that, but not a big deal. i did the other side today and took photos which i'll post later, but the 2nd side only took me about 45 minutes.

also, here's a photo to show the routing and mounting... i found 2 places on the body of the car where there were 2 small holes right next to each other horizontally. i ran a zip tie through the holes to make a "bracket" to wrap another big zip tie around. the red lines show where i looped the smaller zip ties to make brackets. and the green lines show where the zip ties attach the hoses to keep them in place... clear of the tires.

[jacobzking]

just a follow up, to mount the hoses to my bumper i found some REALLY big brake duct intakes (like 7x13" from a retired nascar) and cut it up and used a heat gun to mold it to the inside of my bumper, then riveted it in to place. can't really see the rivets, looks factory, very secure.

[slider2828]

That looks great... I really need to do that

[DreamN]

Nice job. Had something similar in mind as well. There's similar stuff at autozone for $30 or so if I recall correctly. If the workers know where the pre-heater hoses are located in their store they'll know about the ducting.

[snowplow]

Definitely keeping this in mind. Is there any benefit of installing them on the rear though?

[boyou2]

I removed dust shield+well designed wheels+silicone pipe = WIN ^^

[hOngsterr]

could of gotten the spl tension rods and bought their brake duct that attaches on.

[slider2828]

For my setup, I am using a 2" diameter hose which ducts the air towards the center of the rotor. I think helps cool a little bit better... but 3" is nice too...

[nieko]

I would suggest routing that hose differently... Do your tires not rub that at all?

[jacobzking]

Originally Posted by nieko

I would suggest routing that hose differently... Do your tires not rub that at all?

there's really no better way to rout the hose I don't think... and no, tires don't rub. but it helps that i have a wide body kit and low offset wheels.