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This isn't new, or really a performance upgrade, but I found the info on mx6.com to be semi-misleading and or incomplete as are the 626 threads here on ProbeTalk. I took the leap on this quote-unquote "upgrade" and wanted to dispell the rumors and fill in some of the blanks for folks thinking about doing this...
What: Second Gen PGT rear caliper replacement or upgrade
Why?: My parking brake was seized up and I had 12 hours to fix it for my state safety inspection. They won't pass you without a working parking brake. Bastards...
How Autozone had no Protege calipers on the shelf/in stock, and Mazda6 rear calipers are not compatible with our parking brake cable setup so I was forced into either A. Stock PGT calipers, or B. 99+ 626 calipers.
Parts:
I ended up with Morse rebuilt 1999 626 Calipers for the rear corners... I was happy with the quality of the rebuilds, and the end price after returning the cores was 213$ which included new pads, springs, slides and brackets.
Morse p/n P1596B
I also got some generic cad plated x-drilled rotors for a 1999 626, which I installed after passing inspection (yay!) (80$ Shipped). These are marginally bigger than the stock rear rotor (maybe a half inch or so wider diameter). They DO fit under the steel splash sheild lip, but mine were so rusty that I just cut off the lip of the shield with a cut-off wheel so there was no chance of them coming into contact with each other. That and the rust looked ugly as hell...
Installation:
Nothing of note here; these are 100% bolt on. They are almost the exact same part as stock, except hte brackets extend the caliper out an extra half inch to allow for the slightly lalrger rotor. The Calipers themselves are almost hte exact same design, but do seem 'beefier'. The pot size looks about the same, however, so basically jsut the casting of the caliper is slightly larger from what I can tell. To be honest, my stock calipers were rusted beyond recognition, so its hard to tell what was speciifically different between the two. Note that you'll have to transfer your old Parking Brake cable bracket arm from your old calipers to the new ones. Be sure to loosen this bolt before removing the old caliper from the car, just a time saver.
Size
So the rear rotor is 280mm in diameter for the 626 (11"); I believe the stocker is 10.4" or about 264mm (I THINK!). So its about a half inch bigger. Barely noticible, but yes, it is bigger. Whether that is better or not is debatable...
NOTES:
The PGT/MX6 Stock Rotor will work with the updated 626 caliper but I don't recommend this setup as you cut the pad to rotor contact surface area by about 3/5ths of an inch. I did run this setup for a day or two until my rotors came, however and didn't have any problems.
Most important to me: The parking brake cable and bracket mate PERFECTLY with the updated 626 Caliper. I have to have an ebrake for inspection unfortunately. This is the main reason I went with these over hte Mazda6, MazdaSpeed, or aftermarket bbkit as it's generally noted that they aren't compatible with the stock hand brake cable. Oh, that and it was IN STOCK!
Rear Brake bolt on cross polination Breakdown:
1. Stock: MX6, 626, and Probe 1993-1998, 10.4" and obviously compatible with Ebrake
2. 1999-2002 Mazda 626: Compatible with E-Brake; can use stock 10.4" or 11" 99+ 626 rotor
3. 2000-2003 Mazda Protege and P5: Stock PGT Rotor works, so 10.4" and is compatible with ebrake cable. I don't know for sure, but the protege rotor may be larger and compatible...
4. Mazda 6, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, etc - 2002+ 11+" Rotor, newer design, but incompatible with Stock ebrake cable.
All are single pot/cylinder designs. There are other rumored and one-off caliper exchanges from non-ford/mazda donors including Subys, mitsu's and even a porsche, but I was only interested in a QUICK fix, not somethign I'd have to fabricate or design and augment or replace the brake master cylinder to handle much larger and multiple pot designs.
What: Second Gen PGT rear caliper replacement or upgrade
Why?: My parking brake was seized up and I had 12 hours to fix it for my state safety inspection. They won't pass you without a working parking brake. Bastards...
How Autozone had no Protege calipers on the shelf/in stock, and Mazda6 rear calipers are not compatible with our parking brake cable setup so I was forced into either A. Stock PGT calipers, or B. 99+ 626 calipers.
Parts:
I ended up with Morse rebuilt 1999 626 Calipers for the rear corners... I was happy with the quality of the rebuilds, and the end price after returning the cores was 213$ which included new pads, springs, slides and brackets.
Morse p/n P1596B
I also got some generic cad plated x-drilled rotors for a 1999 626, which I installed after passing inspection (yay!) (80$ Shipped). These are marginally bigger than the stock rear rotor (maybe a half inch or so wider diameter). They DO fit under the steel splash sheild lip, but mine were so rusty that I just cut off the lip of the shield with a cut-off wheel so there was no chance of them coming into contact with each other. That and the rust looked ugly as hell...
Installation:
Nothing of note here; these are 100% bolt on. They are almost the exact same part as stock, except hte brackets extend the caliper out an extra half inch to allow for the slightly lalrger rotor. The Calipers themselves are almost hte exact same design, but do seem 'beefier'. The pot size looks about the same, however, so basically jsut the casting of the caliper is slightly larger from what I can tell. To be honest, my stock calipers were rusted beyond recognition, so its hard to tell what was speciifically different between the two. Note that you'll have to transfer your old Parking Brake cable bracket arm from your old calipers to the new ones. Be sure to loosen this bolt before removing the old caliper from the car, just a time saver.
Size
So the rear rotor is 280mm in diameter for the 626 (11"); I believe the stocker is 10.4" or about 264mm (I THINK!). So its about a half inch bigger. Barely noticible, but yes, it is bigger. Whether that is better or not is debatable...
NOTES:
The PGT/MX6 Stock Rotor will work with the updated 626 caliper but I don't recommend this setup as you cut the pad to rotor contact surface area by about 3/5ths of an inch. I did run this setup for a day or two until my rotors came, however and didn't have any problems.
Most important to me: The parking brake cable and bracket mate PERFECTLY with the updated 626 Caliper. I have to have an ebrake for inspection unfortunately. This is the main reason I went with these over hte Mazda6, MazdaSpeed, or aftermarket bbkit as it's generally noted that they aren't compatible with the stock hand brake cable. Oh, that and it was IN STOCK!
Rear Brake bolt on cross polination Breakdown:
1. Stock: MX6, 626, and Probe 1993-1998, 10.4" and obviously compatible with Ebrake
2. 1999-2002 Mazda 626: Compatible with E-Brake; can use stock 10.4" or 11" 99+ 626 rotor
3. 2000-2003 Mazda Protege and P5: Stock PGT Rotor works, so 10.4" and is compatible with ebrake cable. I don't know for sure, but the protege rotor may be larger and compatible...
4. Mazda 6, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, etc - 2002+ 11+" Rotor, newer design, but incompatible with Stock ebrake cable.
All are single pot/cylinder designs. There are other rumored and one-off caliper exchanges from non-ford/mazda donors including Subys, mitsu's and even a porsche, but I was only interested in a QUICK fix, not somethign I'd have to fabricate or design and augment or replace the brake master cylinder to handle much larger and multiple pot designs.
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