2004-2012 Aston Martin DB9 Brake Job Tools and Torque Specs

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

A brake job on a 2004-2012 Aston Martin DB9 with steel brakes is a pad-and-disc service on large ventilated rotors: 355 mm discs at the front and 330 mm at the rear, according to Brembo's replacement-parts catalog. The tools are ordinary - a good jack, stands, a torque wrench and a vernier caliper - but the fasteners and the parts are not cheap, so every bolt should go back to the value in the Aston Martin workshop manual rather than a number guessed from another car.

Below is what the job involves on this car, which measurements decide whether the discs stay, the tools to have ready, and how to bed new pads so the expensive parts last.

Which Brake System Does Your DB9 Have?

Before buying anything, confirm what is on the car. Aston Martin's own DB9 heritage page lists ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 398 mm at the front with six-piston monobloc calipers and 360 mm at the rear with four-piston monobloc calipers. Brembo's catalog, by contrast, lists ventilated steel discs for the 6.0 V12 DB9 Volante built from 09/2005 to 07/2012: 355 mm by 32 mm at the front and 330 mm by 28 mm at the rear.

Those are two different systems, and the pads and discs do not interchange. The simplest check is to measure the disc diameter, or look at the disc itself: a carbon ceramic disc is grey and matte, while a steel disc has a bright machined friction face. This guide covers the steel-disc cars, which is what the pads listed below are made for.

Figures from Brembo's catalog listing for the DB9 Volante 6.0 V12. Brembo marks its rear pad for this car as directional, so each pad has a correct side and orientation.

Tools for a DB9 Brake Job

• Low-profile floor jack and four jack stands. The DB9 sits low; use the lift points shown in the owner's handbook and never work under a car held only by a jack.
• Torque wrench covering wheel-nut and caliper-bolt ranges. A click-type wrench is fine. Wheel nuts, caliper mounting bolts and any disc retaining screws all get the values from the workshop manual for your car's year.
• Vernier caliper or disc micrometer. This is what decides whether the discs are reused.
• Piston retraction tool. A flat, wide tool that pushes pistons straight back without cocking them.
• Brake cleaner, a wire brush and lint-free rags for hub faces and pad abutments.
• High-temperature brake grease for pad contact points only, never on the friction material or disc face.
• Fluid bleeding kit and fresh fluid of the type stated on the reservoir cap or in the handbook, if you plan to flush while the wheels are off.
• Wheel protection. A soft mat for the wheels and a non-marring socket for the nuts; these wheels are expensive to refinish.

Torque Specs: Where the Numbers Come From

We do not print torque values for this car here, on purpose. We could not confirm the DB9 caliper, carrier or wheel-nut figures from a published Aston Martin or Brembo source, and a number copied from a forum or from a different model is how caliper bolts strip or loosen. Use the Aston Martin workshop manual or the owner's handbook for your exact year, or ask an Aston Martin dealer service department to read the values for your VIN.

Whatever the values, the method matters as much as the number:

• Clean the threads and check them for damage before reinstalling. Replace any bolt the manual lists as single-use.
• Do not add lubricant or thread-locker to a fastener unless the manual calls for it, because it changes the clamping load a given torque produces.
• Tighten wheel nuts in a star pattern in two passes with the car on the ground, never with an impact gun alone.
• Recheck wheel-nut torque after the first short drive.

Measuring the Discs: Reuse or Replace?

Brembo's guidance is to measure each disc with a vernier caliper at no fewer than four points around the face and use the lowest reading. If any reading is below the minimum thickness, the disc is replaced, and if one disc on an axle is below the limit, both discs on that axle are replaced. Discs carry the limit etched on them as "MIN TH". For the steel DB9 discs, Brembo lists 30 mm at the front and 26 mm at the rear.

Thickness is not the only test. Brembo also lists deep circular scoring, radial cracks, dark spots or blue marks from overheating, and visible deformation of the braking surface as reasons to replace. Brembo's general rule of thumb is that discs typically need replacing at every other pad change, and new discs always get new pads.

The Job, Axle by Axle

1. Loosen the wheel nuts slightly on the ground, raise the car at the correct lift points and support it on stands.
2. Remove the wheel and inspect before taking anything apart: pad wear left versus right and inner versus outer, any fluid at the caliper or hose, and the disc face.
3. Remove the pads following the caliper design on your car, and note how the wear indicator and any anti-squeal shims are fitted.
4. Measure the discs as above. If they are replaced, clean the hub face down to bare metal so the new disc seats flat.
5. Retract the pistons slowly and watch the fluid reservoir, which rises as pistons go back.
6. Clean the pad abutments, apply a thin film of brake grease to the contact points, and fit the new pads with shims and wear indicator. Fit directional rear pads in the correct orientation.
7. Torque every fastener to the manual value, refit the wheel, and pump the brake pedal until it is firm before the car moves.
8. Repeat on the other side of the same axle. Pads are always replaced as an axle set.

Front pads for the steel-disc cars include the EBC Redstuff ceramic front brake pads for the 2004-2012 DB9 and the EBC Yellowstuff street and track front pads. For the rear axle there are the EBC Redstuff ceramic rear pads and EBC Yellowstuff rear pads. You can also browse all brake pads or brake rotors.

Bedding In New Pads

Brembo describes bedding-in as roughly 300 km of driving with brief, gradual stops so the pad surface conforms to the disc, avoiding very hard braking that can overheat the friction material. Check for vibration and noise during that period.

Performance street compounds such as Yellowstuff generally take longer to bed than a ceramic street pad such as Redstuff, so give a new set a few hundred miles and several heat cycles before judging pedal feel, and follow the bedding sheet packed with the pads. New discs lengthen bedding for any pad, because pad and disc have to wear into full contact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do a DB9 brake job myself?

Yes, if you have the tools above and the workshop manual's torque values. The work is the same as any pad-and-disc job; the difference is the cost of mistakes, so measure carefully and torque every fastener.

Do I need to replace the discs every time I change pads?

No. Measure them. If both discs on the axle are above the minimum thickness and show no cracks, heavy scoring or heat spots, they can stay. Brembo's rule of thumb is new discs at about every second pad change.

Will steel-disc pads fit a DB9 with carbon ceramic brakes?

No. Carbon ceramic discs use different calipers, disc sizes and pad compounds. Confirm which system the car has before ordering.

Redstuff or Yellowstuff for a DB9?

Redstuff is a ceramic street pad aimed at normal road driving with low dust. Yellowstuff is a higher-friction fast-street pad with a longer bedding period, better suited to drivers who brake hard and often. Both are street pads, not dedicated track compounds.

What torque do the DB9 caliper bolts take?

Use the value in the Aston Martin workshop manual for your year. We could not verify a published figure, and guessing on caliper bolts is not worth the risk.

Sources

1. Brembo Parts catalog - Aston Martin DB9 Volante 6.0 V12 - steel disc sizes, thicknesses, minimum thickness, pad dimensions
2. Aston Martin - DB9 heritage page - carbon ceramic disc sizes and caliper piston counts
3. Brembo - Minimum brake disc thickness - measuring method, MIN TH marking, replace in pairs
4. Brembo - When to replace discs and bedding in - disc replacement signs, bedding distance and method