good brake upgrade?

[AznDragon]

after getting my 17"s i've been wondering what would be a good uprade/replacement for my ugly stock rotors. i was thinking about maybe some brembo slotted/cd or something along those lines, but what do you think? i know practically nothing about brakes and i need help from the experts (you guys). will i have any problems if i go with this setup? also, which brands should i be looking at?

[Ace$nyper]

brembo blanks best you can do. pads i've heard much good about AEM and EBC greens.

[BullShifter]

Cross drilled is for looks not function on a civic. Cd is also weaker which may crack.
Brembo
Power Slot

Advice: Do not use racing brake rotors, pads, or the combination on the street. You'll never be able to keep them hot enough to function. I've taken "racing"type pads off a few cars because the customer thought it would be better and actually had trouble stopping.

[SilverY2KCivic]

Agreed.

Rotors:
Brembo blanks (NO slotting or CD holes)
Power Slot
EBC slotted/dimpled

Pads:
AEM/Nissin
Hawk
Axxis Metal Master
EBC Green Stuff

My brake setup on my Civic right now consists of Power Slot front rotors, and AEM pads to match with them. They give me very minimal to no fade (nothing compared to the OEM brake components) and they work great. All this considering this is the brake setup I use when I auto-X with my car. So if they can survive that, then just normal D/D is no thing to them.

[CivicSiRacer]

As for me I went from bling bling CD/slotted rotors to Brembo Blanks and my car was braking so much better with the same pads (AEMs).

I now go all out with Brembo blanks and Hawk HP+ pads which stop so fast it will fling you forward

[SilverY2KCivic]

Originally Posted by CivicSiRacer

As for me I went from bling bling CD/slotted rotors to Brembo Blanks and my car was braking so much better with the same pads (AEMs).

I now go all out with Brembo blanks and Hawk HP+ pads which stop so fast it will fling you forward

How much do those HP+ pads run you $$$ wise?

[CivicSiRacer]

I don't know since my sponsor picked them up for me

[Ace$nyper]

LOOKIE I said somthing right woot woot. arn't the hawks the ones that make that nasty ass dust though? cause god forbid teh spoons get fouled.

[zebra123]

Darn but I forget where I saw some great tech info on brakes, mighta been here in a FAQ or team SCR racing.... Anyhoo, if all you are looking for is a new 'look' since the new wheels reveal your rotors, what little I know is cross drilled is not the way to go, you loose rotor mass (thermal capacity) and they say they chew up your pads pretty bad. Do you need a performance upgrade in the rotor department or simply a cosmetic upgrade...?

As I'd read, brakes don't stop your car, tires do. Brakes convert kinetic energy to thermal energy by putting the clamp on a hunk of metal (the rotor) and producing gobs of heat. The rotors only job is to dissipate that heat somewhat in balance with the rest of the mechanical system's requirements (the weight of the car, wheel mass, brake pad size, caliper force, vehicle speed, are a couple) The rotors' of course mechanically coupled to the wheel which has friction w/ the ground (or adhesion, a variable based on lotsa stuff, tire design, rubber compound, etc). Wider, grippier tire, more adhesion, skinny bald OEM tire, less adhesion w/ground. Higher speed, higher energy, more heat upon stopping. It was stated your OEM braking systems (rotor,pad,caliper) are 'generally' engineered to stop the car from highway speed at the limits of the stock tire's adhesion, once. Increase your 'adhesion' (performance rubber) and you have the capability of creating a LOT more heat than the system was designed to dissipate. Even with stock brakes, after repeated high speed stops, you'll exceed the rotor's capability to cool off and it'll progressively heat up and you'll experience 'fade'. Increase your wheel size and tire width and weight (thinking 'wider is better') and you may actually increase your stopping distance by inducing 'fade' in a single high speed stop... Ida never thought. Those tires and wheels may be capable of stopping faaster (adhesion), your brake system isn't. Again, this was pertaining to the 'WHY' upgrade your brakes. Only if you are experiencing braking issues (like 'fade' as its called). For lower speed, around town stuff I imagine you'll have some pretty great results from stock brakes and upgraded wheels/tires (and cosmetic-only rotor upgrades) since you're not overheating the system really bad...

I saw another article with an SUV with upgraded wheels/tires which sorta confirms this. Some huge set of aftermarket hides.. No other changes. The truck's stopping distance was like 15-20% further with the new rubber. Upgrading the braking system brought it down a bit better than OEM but I think they were getting spanked by the significantly increased wheel weight.....

I know I rambled, I found the topic enlightening as far as what brakes are actually doing......

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally Posted by Ace$nyper

LOOKIE I said somthing right woot woot. arn't the hawks the ones that make that nasty ass dust though? cause god forbid teh spoons get fouled.

Yeah Hawks do dust a little more than most pads, but they damn near stop on a dime anytime you ask them too.

[Ace$nyper]

I dont mind lil more dust for extra power. But I heard some where the hawks make dust thats really nasty to your wheels and I really don't want to mess up my 2k set of rims you know?

[CivicSiRacer]

Well I went the whole winter without washing my wheels and just last week washed the car and my wheels are fine.

[tibby01]

email this guy and ask him for just slotted rotors. im currently running a group buy with him on rotors for tiburons, so if you want to wait untill the participants get their rotors, you can get some reviews. zinc coating is free, they have a 90 day warranty, and they are brembo blanks. you can also get different colors too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2459671864

also, stainless steel brake lines are a great upgrade. axxis pads are supposed to be pretty good too.

[Ace$nyper]

Originally Posted by CivicSiRacer

Well I went the whole winter without washing my wheels and just last week washed the car and my wheels are fine.

OK cool thanks i'll have to check a set of them out!