OEM caliper Dust Boots

[elim11]

Hi,
Might be a noob question, but what is the function of the OEM dust boots? Is it to prevent dust from getting into the calipers? What is the downside of "burning" them off? Is there any functional performance difference? What does re-building a caliper involve and how do you know when it is time to do it?

Only reason I ask is I track with OEM calipers and track pads, noticed one of the boots is coming apart.

Sorry for all the questions,

[roastbeef]

time for that essex kit broski...

[elim11]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

time for that essex kit broski...

Bad influence! lol

[dparm]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

time for that essex kit broski...

Dude, we get it, you like the Essex kit.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by elim11

Hi,
Might be a noob question, but what is the function of the OEM dust boots? Is it to prevent dust from getting into the calipers? What is the downside of "burning" them off? Is there any functional performance difference? What does re-building a caliper involve and how do you know when it is time to do it?

Only reason I ask is I track with OEM calipers and track pads, noticed one of the boots is coming apart.

Sorry for all the questions,

The dust boots are primarily there for protection from the elements, especially in the winter. It's a common problem for those dust boots to get damaged from track days (namely when a braking system is pushed to the limit and generating very high temps).

Some of the more race-oriented BBKs do not use them, but call out the fact that you need to be careful in areas that salt the roads.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by dparm

Dude, we get it, you like the Essex kit.

we're track pals, and we've talked about this before.