Sprockets

iTrader: (6)

I've run Axxis Ultimates on my stock 99 Civic Si brake system for years and loved hem, but I think they're totally inadequate for my new setup. After boosting in 3rd gear, the brakes faded badly when a car pulled out in front of me in the right lane and I couldn't stop. Luckily, there was enough space to get into the left lane, but a garbage truck just pulled into that lane. It was really close and I don't want to go through that again.

I want to keep my stock Si wheels for the winter, so that limits what kind of calipers I'm able to get. The Wilwood DPHA calipers seem like a great solution, and I can keep my stock rotors. They come with a BP-10 brake pad, but I'm wondering if it's worth my time to use them until they're worn out or upgrade right away to BP-20 or another company's brake pad altogether. I don't want anything that will ruin the finish on my wheels (I've seen videos of sparks flying from Hawk pads.). Unfortunately, Wilwood doesn't make DPHA calipers for the rear. They have an 11 inch rotor and caliper kit that's double the price.

Is it OK if I just get the DPHA calipers for the front and keep the rear discs stock? Does anyone here do that, and if so, what brake pads do you use for the front and rear?

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

My wife has a set on her EM1, using the BP-10s since it is NA, but I recommend using the BP-20s for 300-400hp on the street. They will not be that good for the circuit, so I recommend using a different set entirely for any circuit use.

We did a little special touch on hers, so they are neither black, nor red.

They are nice, exclusively for the cost

Sprockets

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for posting. If I didn't hear from anyone, I was going to PM you, because I read your posts in the Wilwood thread. I did see the picture of your modification, by the way. This will strictly be for street use, so I'll try the BP-20 pads first. You had mentioned that Fastbrakes was going to set you up with 11" rotors, but that didn't work out. What did you end up doing for the rear brakes? I do want to retain the parking brake. I tried to contact Fastbrakes yesterday, but they didn't answer the phone or respond to my voicemail message.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Be patient with Fastbrakes. They do a lot for the limited staff they have, so they get busy. It may take a day or so before they get back to you. Have your questions pre-written and ready as you won't have a lot of time on the phone.
The BP-20s seem to be quite nice for a good street sub-350whp, although I recommend stainless lines, good 650F* boiling point brake fluid, and there's no need for "special" rotors. OEM blanks will do fine, just make sure they are properly seated in. The EM1's clutch slave went out not too long ago, so we're done for the year, but next year should be a lot of fun, if I decide to take the car back out. I have to focus on the TA TEG after the new year when I have some more free time.

For the Integra, I wound up using a different Wilwood 4-piston caliper system to fit the 12.2"" Mini-Cooper JCW front rotors (I can't remember the exact part # right now). For the rear I went with rear rotor sized for the '02 EP3 SI and a caliper bracket kit, while using the same GS-R calipers that came with the car. I haven't installed them quite yet. (Still collecting parts). But the Willwoods will get the same treatment as the DPHAs.

I won't be able to give a review on them until at minimum Fall of 2017.

Here's the brake fluid I run on all of my cars with stainless lines except the Integra.



For the Integra, I use this:

Sprockets

iTrader: (6)

Fastbrakes did call me the next day. He stated that the DPHA calipers wouldn't give me any better braking than my stock brakes, because the rotor is the same size. He said it would just give me a better feel, but some of the reviews state otherwise, so I don't know what to believe. This is what was recommended, but it's expensive. I wish they were more specific about the parts that go into what they sell.

Fastbrakes 1990-2001 Integra 11.6" 4 piston big brake kit

I've also been looking at ITR calipers with mini cooper rotors and TSX pads. There's a thread on an Integra forum that's about 50 pages. I've got some reading to do.

As for the brake fluid, I've giving ATE a try. I don't know anything about ELF, but Motul is pretty hygroscopic, isn't it?

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

That is a better option than the DPHA, as I gave those to the wife, too. What you've linked is great, as he also has a bracket to adjust to a 12.2" front rotor as well.
They aren't going to go into any more description because it goes against their formula that they've worked hard to make the right combinations with. I see why they did that.

As for the RBF 660, no, I've never dealt with any hygroscopic issues with that fluid. The ELF is fantastic. The ATE SuperBlue is "meh".

Sprockets

iTrader: (6)

I may end up spending the extra cash for the Fastbrake kit, but the ITR upgrade is pretty tempting for the price.

ELF sounds like good fluid, but what makes you say ATE is subpar? The ATE dry boiling point is identical to ELF, but the ATE has a wet boiling point nearly 50 degrees higher.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Just from racing with it over the years in events. It just didn't seem to last for its boiling point as marked. That's why I went to the RBF for the race cars and ELF for the daily. (I can get the ELF over the counter pretty easily).

Calif_Kid

Shodan - what do you think of for Motul RBF600 vs the RBF660 brake fluid? I know that the RBF660 has higher boiling points, but is more expensive and may be more difficult to find, so do you think that the RBF600 is good enough for most street/track cars? I've used the RBF600 fluid in my race car for years, and haven't had any issues with it.

To the OP - whatever fluid you end up going with, it really would be a good idea to occasionally fully flush out the fluid - say once every 2 years? My understanding is the same as what you're getting at, that the fluid will slowly get moisture in it, so it is good to occasionally replace it with new fluid. The master cylinder makes it pretty easy to suck out the old fluid, and then to fully flush/bleed to each wheel. I bought my truck (2000 Ford F150) used around 2006 with say 80K miles, and when I put new front pads on, I went out to bed in the new pads, and after say 5-10 fairly hard stops, I could barely stop - I think that they never replaced the fluid, so I was getting boiling near the wheel cylinders. I fully flushed out the old brake fluid, and the old fluid was really dark/cloudy, and the truck then stopped fine. - Jim

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

I haven't noticed any difference between the two fluids. Outside of the specifications on the label, I don't see any difference. I could buy both items pretty easily. I simply went to my local Powersports dealer, and picked it up. The only thing I noticed is that the older RBF600 was on the shelf about a year or so ago, and now I see the RBF660 in it's place.

I switch fluids about every 3 years or so, whether or not I use the fluid to their full use.

Sprockets

iTrader: (6)

I'm pretty **** about that stuff, thanks. I'll do another flush again in the spring or summer when I do the brake upgrade.

spAdam

iTrader: (1)

OP, I'm a little late to this discussion but hopefully I'll add... Adding more caliper to your setup will not be as effective as adding more iron. Get into larger/thicker rotors and you'll have more heat capacity in the system. Bang-for-the-buck, it's the best upgrade you can do for the system. The only thing that I don't really like about the DPHA caliper is that it marries you to the 10.2" rotor, and that's where your issues are IMO.

Matt_EH3

No need to read 50 pages. There is really not much to it, especially if you already have hubs for the 10.3 disks. It really is just a matter of putting on the rotor, bolting up the bracket, putting the pads in and bolting up the caliper. It works great and struggles a lot less with heat than the 10.3 ever did for me.

I have not tried the Wilwood setup, but right now, I am fully satisfied with the ITR setup. That is with consistent track use (on a track that is reknown for being hard on brakes).

If you do the upgrade, though, make sure you do it right and change the master cylinder/booster to the 1 inch setup at the same time. Otherwise, it will feel sloppy.

Sprockets

iTrader: (6)

I've decided to get the Mini/ITR setup next year. I'm not sure about the brake pads, though. Should I go with ITR or TSX? I don't like the idea of removing that spring, but others have used TSX brakes without removing the spring.

I've read about people upgrading the master cylinder and booster, but haven't seen any parts numbers listed. I tried searching, but most of the posts are for clutch master cylinders. Is the stock 99-00 Civic Si size 15/16"? Someone mentioned that you'd use '98+ Integra 1" master cylinder and booster, but that you need to "change the size of one of the output nuts and reflare that line." Is this true, or is there one that just bolts up without modification?

What's the best OEM upgrade for the rears to go with the ITR fronts? I've seen EP3 and RSX mentioned, and I assume they're the same? Maybe I can piece together something like this:

https://proparts-usa.myshopify.com/p...entric-premium

That's only 10.2", though. Fastbrakes sells a rotor setup that would allow me to use an 11" rotor with my stock rear calipers:

Fastbrakes 1990-2001 Integra/Civic rear 11" big brake kit

I'm not sure what would be better. Sorry about all the additional questions. Thank you for the help!

Matt_EH3

I still use the ITR pads and the additional hair out of the rotor is not causing me any problems. Mind you, this is on a track driven car, and I go through 1-2 sets of front pads & disks a year. I wouldn't know the effects of long term wear.

As for needing to reflare the lines, there are many 1 inch MC options out there. In my case, I was working off of an Integra 15/16 setup on a 93 Si, and I only needed to rebend the lines (ports on the MC were not at the same place, but were the same size) when using an ITR 1 inch MC. I don't know what the line setup is on a 99-00 though, but I am sure that the info is available out there. Take away from this is that there are many options out there with lots of different port sizes. I would research what you have and look at what does not involve reflaring.

I personally have not upgraded the rears (still stock 93 Si disk brakes) and they are just fine with the 4040 prop valve. Mind you, I have a gutted hatchback with almost no weight in the rear except a roll bar. Not experiencing any unreasonable dive.

As for pad compounds, I will let others comment, as what I am running is too aggressive (and messy) for a street application.

havok907CRX

I'd recommend getting 02-03 EP3 rear rotors, and ITR rear calipers to keep the bleeders pointed up. That's just personal preference, I think the ITR rear calipers are considerably more expensive than EP3 rear calipers. I run Project Mu HC+800 pads on my ITR, and had zero issues at the last track day/time attack event I went to. They do tend to squeal a bit when driving around town, but have excellent cold bite, and no fade.

This would make your rotor dimensions nearly identical to an ITR (mini rotor is like 1mm thinner), and would give you plenty of braking power.

Sprockets

iTrader: (6)

Maybe I'll make a new thread asking about potential problems or successes with the TSX brakes over time. Having that tiny bit of brake pad not making contact probably doesn't make a difference, though. It just bothers me a little.

Someone in another thread posted a link this adapter, so you don't have to flare the lines:

AGS Brake Line Fittings BLF-36C- ReadReviews onAGS #BLF-36C

This master cylinder is made by in Japan by NTP and is supposed to be the same as OEM Nissin:

Acura Integra Brake Master Cylinder 46100ST7L51 NTP | eBay

Sounds good. I'll try to track down some ITR rear calipers for a decent price. There was only one brand on Rock Auto with ITR rears and they weren't too expensive. The problem is the core charge. I don't think they'd accept my Civic brakes, lol.

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it!