Caliper Boot Damage

[supersuckers]

I own a 09 Mazdaspeed3. I recently had to replace the rubber boot that protects the piston on the front right brake caliper. The left side boot appears to be in good condition.

After my first track day I noticed that there was a small tear (1cm) in the boot. The tear was rough, so I don't think it was caused by pad installation. After a second track day, a third of the boot was completely gone. The damaged portion was furthest away from the axle and visible while the caliper was still mounted. I was running Carbotech XP8's on the car during my track visits. Is there any chance that the track pads or increased rigors of tracking the car caused the damage? Or did a mouse chew through it? Has anyone seen this before?

 

[sm76]

Mine haven't been that bad on my Protege, but they do crack and start to break apart after a lot of heat exposure. Does it feel more brittle than the new one you installed? Your best bet will be to add brake cooling ducts if possible. Also, keeping some brake pad thickness will help to insulate the caliper piston and the boot. Running thin pads will allow a lot more heat to reach those parts. Same thing with the rotor, if it is thin, you will lose a lot of your heat sink and more of the heat will go to the pads.

 

[grant]

Did you notice any other damage? I just saw a rip on my passenger side boot. How easy was the repair job?

 

[supersuckers]

No additional damage. Pretty sure it was caused by track abuse. I plan to buy the correct tool if I have to replace it again.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123788945-Dust-Seal-Replacement