(euro) Brake upgrade advice

[mugen88]

Considering some brake upgrades for the Euro for street use mainly.

Is it better to start replacing them in this order or would I get more value in doing the pads and then upgrading straight to aftermarket calipers?

* better brake pads
* Upgrade rotors
* Upgrade calipers

Can't afford to do the whole lot at once so any advice is appreciatted, thanks.

[EuroDude]

You need to consider ABS/VSA compatibility if you replace the rotors/calipers. I believe someone on the forums put mercedes capilpers on and its causing problems with ABS/VSA.

From what others have mentioned, simply replacing the pads will improve brake response greatly, so maybe try a set of premium Bendix pads first and see how that goes

[Tobster]

You need to consider ABS/VSA compatibility if you replace the rotors/calipers. I believe someone on the forums put mercedes capilpers on and its causing problems with ABS/VSA.

They actually had whole wheel hubs, not calipers.

***

If it's for street use, I would suggest that you don't really need a hard-core conversion. I'd start with pads, and then maybe go to braided brakelines. Then I'd do disks if required or when the stock ones wear out. Unless you really want pretty calipers and have money to burn, I wouldn't bother with them.

If you really want to upgrade the whole lot (which really isn't necessary for street use IMO and you can end up with brakes that can seem worse because you won't be getting the heat into them that they need to operate) then I wouldn't do it in stages, but do the whole lot as a compatible package.

The other thing to bear in mind is your insurance...

[aaronng]

Go with the pads first. With the rotors, if you are sticking to the same size, then you might as well stick with the stock one as an aftermarket rotor won't give you additional stopping power, it just resists warpage better.

If you are really loaded, then a caliper upgrade would be nice. Of course, the 4-pot caliper would be larger, so it would have its matching rotor that is larger. When you put all together, you'll realise that the 16" or 17" rims can't accomodate the brake package and you'll have to go 18 or 19" instead. If you are changing the calipers, remember to upgrade the brakelines to ADR-approved SS ones.

[driven]

If you're gonna be driving on the street, just a change of pads would be sufficient. get good street pads and not high temp track pads. High temp pads will only work well at higher temps and thus will squeal and perform poorly under street conditions.

majority of the big brake kits(brembo, AP, endless, spoon) will fit within 17" rims. Rim width, offset and spoke design would be the important factor and not rim size. Spoon calipers will fit with stock rotors.

[aaronng]

I was looking at the Project Mu 4-pots. Here's a pic comparing the size to a 16" rim. It's going into a tsx with the Comptech SC and 19" LE28N. I wonder if it will fit into 17" rims...

(Source: TSX Acurazine forums)

[Chris_F]

id say just upgrade the pads then the brake lines. The stock euro calipers and rotors hold up fine under track conditions as a few members have tested them with better pads and they work a treat.

[raz05]

better street pads, brake line, brake oil will do for street use

here is an example of how big an endless brake calipers is on 18s

[aaronng]

Wow, that just clears the rims by 1cm, like how the stock calipers clear the 16" rims. How much did the Endless calipers cost you? Are they forged?

Also, since the front system is upgraded, what do you upgrade the rear calipers with? If the brake bias is too much to the front, that's not good too.

[raz05]

NAh, i'm only using stock one. I wish i have them......lol

[mugen88]

Can someone share their experience with brand, type and cost of upgrading brake pads in the Euro?

What works better and why?

[EuroDude]

I was driving in the wet today and was very suprised how much better the brakes performed - they were very responsive and werent spongy at all like as usual.

Which leads me to believe that simply replacing the pads with some decent aftermarket ones can greatly improve braking, without the need for new calipers/rotors/lines I am guessing the stock honda pads generate too much dust or something.


Its worth a try at least, before spending mega bucks on the expensive equipment.