brake upgrading

[b18c_crx]

hey guys

planning to do a brake up grade, need same advice to what brands, what to buy, and tips will be great. thanks its for my civic ek4

[Limbo]

depends on how much you wanna spend.

1) Slotted rotors & better pads about $200-300
2) ITR Rotors and Calipers + Pads about, $250-300 + $100 (to machine caliper) + $80-150 (Pads)
3) Spoon caliper & slotted rotors (or williwood) about $2,000 +

on all of them i'd get a brake stopper also + $130. You can also change the master brake cylinder but i have noted not really needed.

I have option 2 with brake stopper and i have to say that the improvement is 100%, with stock ITR pads which are about $150 (pretty expensive stock pads) or you can run bendix pad for ITR for about $80. I had option 1 which i would give about a 30% improvement, slotted rotors + Bendix pads. Haven't had the money to try option 3 or thought i would need it.

[EG30]

I would do the following 1st:

RDA 262mm slotted rotors
Lucas TRW pads ( max continous working temp of about 400C )
Bendix Ultimate ( max continous working temp of about 450-500C )
Ferodo DS2000 (max continous working temp of about 500-600C)

not sure how hard you intend to use your brakes, your rotors would start glowing from about 400-420C at night and after 630C normal cast iron rotors would start to crack anyway.

you can always upgrade to ITR sized rotors, but don't forget the 282mm rotors weighs 1.5Kg more per side and that's a fair bit as it's not only unsprung weight but also rotational mass. ITR calipers and its huge pads weighs more than the EK4 items too. So if the 262mm rotors and EK4 pads are sufficent for your needs don't be tempted to go for the biggest possible.

[b18c_crx]

if i change to the ITR does that mean my stud patterns will change. i want to keep it 4 x 100.

i got bout 1K to spend.

[Limbo]

you can do it for under $500 the ITR caliper.

Ok here's a quick rundown of what i did.

Buy calipers & ITR rotors.
Then you need to machine the rotors 2.5mm the back part that bolts onto the shock.

Then you need to redrill the rotors to 4x100
Recommend a proper place to do the above mods as its your life on the line

Everything else will bolt one.
Then bleed brakes

Buy some bendix premium pads or OEM pads and your done.

THe machining of the caliper cost me $100 and the redrilling will set you back somewhere around that mark unless you can do it yourself.

[simonnowis]

yeh itr is 5 stud, that means you would have to get a 5 stud conversion.
the integra non-type R are 4 stud, but i think the calipers and rotors are about the same as EK4, so id just go with option 1.
even the stock brakes you have now are suffient with a b18c underthe hood. unless your goner put a larger engine then to make it road worthy ud need sufficient braking.
or what limbo said to redrill the itr rotors.

[EG30]

get the machine shop while you are there to make a hubcentric spacer for the bore hole to step down the hole from 70mm dia to 64mm for the EK4/EG6 hub, afterall the bore hole centralises the rotors on the hub, not the 4x100 holes.

[bennjamin]

IMO

leave front rotors ( if within stock thickness range)
change rear rotors to slotted
and get some nice front/rear pads (same type).
Make sure your brake fluid is clean and fresh and the car should always stop quite well.

[Limbo]

earlier model Dc2 have the same calpiers so that is no use. Changing those.
Unless your making more than 100kw or so atw don't bother with more than option 1.
I only upgraded to keep up with a boosted engine. But it has made alot of diff. even though its not boosted yet. Heaps better braking power


yeh itr is 5 stud, that means you would have to get a 5 stud conversion.
the integra non-type R are 4 stud, but i think the calipers and rotors are about the same as EK4, so id just go with option 1.
even the stock brakes you have now are suffient with a b18c underthe hood. unless your goner put a larger engine then to make it road worthy ud need sufficient braking.
or what limbo said to redrill the itr rotors.

[Limbo]

get the machine shop while you are there to make a hubcentric spacer for the bore hole to step down the hole from 70mm dia to 64mm for the EK4/EG6 hub, afterall the bore hole centralises the rotors on the hub, not the 4x100 holes.

There is no need for this so long as you make sure that the 4x100 are drill properly. They will centre the hub. A proper machine place will understand. ALso the spacer will affect the seating of the rotor. It needs to sit flush on the hub itself

WHen drilling the rotors the drilling needs to be perfect. otherwise you will put stress on the redrilled rotors, as they won't be completely balanced.
Also make sure that the shop countersinks the holes otherwise it will crack from any sharp edges.

[EG30]

if the hub centric spacer/ring machined properly and sit flush it will of course not affect the seating.

even when you put a manufactured rotor with 4x100 pre drilled from factory say a EK4 262mm with a 64mm bore hole onto a Ek1 with 61mm hub there will be some movement as the 4x100mm holes are slightly bigger than needs to be for ease of install and the rotor is designed to be centred via the centre bore hole. I suppose you could get the machine shop to drill the holes so they are just big enough so the the rotors fits snugly on the studs and no need for the hubcentric ring; but while you are forking out for a machine shop's skilled labour I can't see the cost of the rings going to break the bank.

[DUST]

Awesome thread!

Is there any aftermarket rotors that are the same size as the DC2/EK4 rotors? eg. SPOON rotors?

[EG30]

plenty of aftermarket 262mm rotors for the dc2/ek4/eg6 around the world.

most popular ones and easily obtainable in aust are DBA and RDA ones. DBA offers their hi performance 4000 ( slotted and harder grade of cast iron than the standard series ) series in this size ( DBA no 474 ), as well as standard plain jane rotors and slotted rotors in std cast iron. RDA slotted rotors are about half the price of the DBA ones, prob around $160 for the PAIR. Bought a pair of 282mm ITR slotted rotors for $188 so the smaller rotors ought to be a bit cheaper.

[b18c_crx]

should i be gettin briaded brake lines to? who is that for show?

[Limbo]

braided lines are for less flex and reliability. For road use it more bling.

[Bayani]

For the refrence for those answering, this brake upgrade is for what?

Is it to compensate for a larger capacity engine?

[SLOWEGG]

If ur look at his sig, vtec turbo.

[Bayani]

*I* realise this, but to state it for others who aren't reading signatures.

[DUST]

Is it alright just to upgrade the fronts to slotted rotors and performance brake pads and leave the rears stock? Or should i upgrade all 4s?

Gonna be tracking next yr so what do you guys think?

Probaly getting DBA 4000 rotors for the fronts. :D