square_1

Anyone know what the biggest brake you can fit inside of stock EP3 wheels?


I am looking at the Wilwood kit that give you 12 inch rotors. I am not thinking they are going to fit.

phthalo

the biggest rotor you can fit inside the stock ep3 wheels are the stock rotors probably. I know that the bigger rsx rotors don't fit...12 inch ones definitely won't either.

square_1

Yeah, I am thinking I am going to be needing 17s for a 12 inch rotor. There goes my plan for a stock looking sleeper...

Earthworm Jim

You'll need a 3mm spacer.

Todd00

What are you doing where you need such a large brake upgrade? If you're looking for better stopping power, upgrade your pads and fluid to something more aggressive. It'll make a difference.

Plus you won't take the weight penality of the larger brake kit.

People, quite often, mistakenly upgrade their entire braking system when they just don't need to. If youhave a street/autox car, then it's a complete waste of time.

square_1

So the wilwood calipers only weigh 2.8 lbs a piece. And they have aluminum hats. I am sure I would be saving weight in that case. And I am not so much that worried of the weight that would add. And I am sure I may NEVER totally need the big brake kit. I probably would just be fine with some slotted rotors and nice pads, but I WANT big brakes. I think they are sweet. I do a lot of spirited backroads driving/ plan on more autocross. I think that the stock Si brakes suck. My EF hatch braked better. If a WRX can come with 4 piston calipers stock then why shouldn't I? Lighter car you say? I know but still.

Todd00

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by square_1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So the wilwood calipers only weigh 2.8 lbs a piece. And they have aluminum hats. I am sure I would be saving weight in that case. And I am not so much that worried of the weight that would add. And I am sure I may NEVER totally need the big brake kit. I probably would just be fine with some slotted rotors and nice pads, but I WANT big brakes. I think they are sweet. I do a lot of spirited backroads driving/ plan on more autocross. I think that the stock Si brakes suck. My EF hatch braked better. If a WRX can come with 4 piston calipers stock then why shouldn't I? Lighter car you say? I know but still. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Let's look at physics for a second. Even if the big brake setup is only 2-3 lbs more, that's 2-3 lbs of unsprung weight, plus it is weight further away from the center of the hub. Accelerating this kind of weight is harder to do, period.

And it's still a waste of money. Why not spend $80 and get a set of good front pads and replace your fluid then let us know if you still need that big brake kit.

And if you're trying to show off a big brake kit, putting it under an OEM wheel makes no sense at all, because nothing will be shown.

You're better off replacing those 20 lb OEM wheels with a lightweight set of 15x7's and doing the pad/fluid replacement. You *will* notice a difference this way in both acceleration, cornering and braking. Plus you'll probably save a little money.

Don't buy into the hype of the big brake kit. It's a ricer upgrade unless you track your car very hard and need the extra stopping and fading power. Harsh, but true.

BTW, slotted rotors = Crossdrilled =

square_1

Yeah yeah, I know. Rotating mass, duh. I would be better off getting lighter wheels to help with stopping and accelerating because there is just less stuff in motion. I don't wanna show them off. That was why I said I wanted to keep stock wheels. I have driven my friends WRX many times and I love the way it feels having the large 4 piston calipers up front. I have also driven lighter smaller cars with stock brakes and good pads. Two totally different feels. I like one a lot more than the other. On my EF civic I had flat brembo rotors with ceramic pads. It stopped great. Took a little time to warm up, but that is just each type of pad having its own attributes.

I never said I wanted cross drilled rotors. I am totally against the idea. Seen too many cracked rotors at the track and at autocross events.

I don't do aftermarket wheels. You won't see me rocking anything that doesn't have Honda's name wrapped in rubber. My plan is to shoot for some HFP Fit wheels in 16 inches. Hopefully something that will let me get a wider tire than the 205s I am sporting now.

I don't see why you have to hate on someone else for wanting to do something to their car. I asked a simple question. You turned what should be a simple answer into a retarded argument.

That is like trying to convince someone not to put foglights on their car because increased drag or something lame like that. I may never NEED Wilwood brakes, but I want them. I wanna know that whatever is thrown at me I am ready. Probably won't ever happen but who cares. That's that.

Todd00

I didn't hate on you. But, I did point out that it's a pretty much a worthless upgrade for a street-going car.

However, OEM wheels are going to severely affect what you can do. There are also much, much lighter OEM 15x6" wheels than the OEM 02-03 Si wheels. There are also lightweight Enkei 16" wheels that have the OEM look. That was what I chose when the OEM 16" HFP wheels were found to be 21 lbs.

And if a car stops good, who cares how it feels? Sure, big 4-pot calipers are easier to modulate, but in what non-track situation are you going to need this?

Buy what you want, but I don't want people reading these threads to think that a big-brake upgrade is needed to get good stopping power, because that isn't true--at all. Yet this seems to be the thought for some reason.

Also, let's not loose the fact that tires have as much impact on braking than a good brake system does.

square_1

Yes. Your brakes are only as good as your tires. A nice set of tires will probably make more impact on braking than pads. I will openly admit that I probably don't need the big brake kit though. Just a matter of wanting. And I had planned getting a nice set of brake pads with new rotors before buying any sort of huge brake upgrade.

It does suck that the 16 inch fit wheels are heavy. I am not sure what other Enkei made 16inch light wheels you are talking about?

Please don't say the 99-00 Si wheels cause I don't think those look very great on EP3s...

chunky

sounds like you should be pricing out a JDM 5 lug swap complete with the JDM brembos + dc5-r wheels.

You OEM baller you.

square_1

OEM baller yes. Crazy for the 5 lug... Not so much. Although very nice, I don't mind my 4X100.

But I do think the concept of 5 lug on a civic is very sexy.