I saw this not so long ago on http://www.tirerack.com and was wondering if anyone is using them? And whats you impressions of them?



I was considering it, comparing it to the other setup I was going to do which is...

-VTEC Calipers (remanufactured)
-Cobalt G3000 rotors
-Axxis Ultimate Pads
-Goodridge BL

Or

-Power Slot Power Plus System
-Axxis Ultimate pads
-Goodridge BL

With either setup I would be increasing rotor size to my current Si brakes, but I've never really dealed with Power Slot and not sure if they are comparable to say Brembo and Cobalt? Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

I have powerslots and axxis brake pads. Pretty good combination. However, it makes a difference, but not everybody needs it, unless you have some major work done.

 

axxiss ultimates stop like a mother and dust like no other... I need something with all the stopping and none of the dusting --- I have to was my rims every week to clean the black crap off of them...

 

solid rotors > slotted/cross drilled rotors.

 

why do you say that toma?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kulrevon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why do you say that toma?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Because when you carve or drill into a solid piece, it tends to create weak points. This sometimes can result in a cracked rotor. However, I haven't heard much of that at all with the powerslots.
BTW: the axxis dust so much because they are semimetallic, its hard to have the best of both worlds(good stopping power with no dust)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by maxvtec7500 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have powerslots and axxis brake pads. Pretty good combination. However, it makes a difference, but not everybody needs it, unless you have some major work done. </TD></TR></TABLE>

same combo, id recomend it too

 

This is the point where you look deep into your soul and ask yourself: "why do i need upgraded brake components?"

report back with your answers

 

I'm sorry, but did you just say you're going to buy VTEC calipers?

 

Why do u need an upgraded brake system? road racing? drag? drift? jst for the hell of it?

 

i also have the axxis ultimates with stock autozone blanks. once i broke them in they braked MUCH better. i will never go back to stock pads. (especially for the deer i have to watch around here) btw, the pads do dust a lot but just take a rag and clean off the wheels so u don't have to wash the whole car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This is the point where you look deep into your soul and ask yourself: "why do i need upgraded brake components?"

report back with your answers </TD></TR></TABLE>

Ha, sorry I forgot to mention the reason. I plan doing auto-X soon, but also hit up the track sometime (Circut). This car is a daily driven (race car in progress). You seem to be familiar with auto-Xing and road racing so any input would be great.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fwdtamiya &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm sorry, but did you just say you're going to buy VTEC calipers?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, I did say VTEC because the calipers are for larger rotors on the 4th Gen VTEC model then the Si.

Prelude Si 1992-96
OEM : 10.21" Front
Powerplus : 12.15" Front

Prelude VTEC 1992-96
OEM : 11.09" Front
Powerplus : 12.19" Front

Prelude 1997-01
OEM : 11.10" Front / 10.28" Rear
Powerplus : 12.19" Front / 12.0" Rear

These are the sizes, and you can check it out on http://www.powerslot.com

 

For auto-x, major brake upgrades aren't necessary. It might be worthwhile to go with a more aggressive pad, but as long as you can engage ABS, there's no reason to worry about stopping power.

For the track, brake size matters a little more, but since brake upgrades tend to be pricey, the usual order for brake improvement falls into 3 major upgrades.

First stage(basically, easy **** that you should feel obligated to do when you drive on track):

upgrade pads-it's good to have a dedicated set of track pads, for insurance purposes (if you light your pads on fire and they die, you'll need a set to get home), for economy purposes (using $150 race pads on the street is kind of a waste), but most importantly for heat purposes. track compounds vary, from something like the cobalt spec b to the spec VR, but the key point is that each of these particular compounds has an operating temperature range. my spec VR's are good to about 1500 deg F, which is hotter than what i can get my brakes up to with my given horsepower/weight. OEM pads crap out at a much lower temp and when they overheat you experience pad fade, which means that the coeff of friction drops off significantly and the pad fails to create friction with the rotor. this is no good. that said, for a novice lapper, double duty pads like the Cobalt GT-S, Carbo XP8, Hawk HP+, and Porterfield R4S are good choices--since they have good "cold bite" (friction when the pads are not up to temp), but have higher heat tolerances than stock compounds. still, on hot days or brake intensive tracks, they can be overwhelmed (lit my GT-S's on fire last summer at willow springs in 110 deg weather). Now that i've gone to Spec VR's, i don't think i'll ever go back.

upgrade fluid-if you haven't changed your brake fluid in a while, make sure you do it before you get to the track. OEM dot 3 brake fluid has a boiling point in the low 400's (i'm guesstimating) when it's brand new--however, after some time in the brake system, the fluid absorbs water, which lowers the boiling point. when you boil your brake fluid (fresh or old), the previously incompressible fluid becomes compressible and your hydraulic brake system struggles to build up pressure because the fluid has become gaseous in the brake lines. this happens somewhat progressively, however it can catch you with your pants down and brake pedal limp on the floor. this is the phenomenon called "brake fade" or "fluid fade", and is the #1 enemy of race car drivers. it's easy to understand why. upgrading the brake fluid to something like motul RBF600 ( dry boiling point of 593 deg F) or ATE Superblue (IIRC, DBP of 550 deg F) ensures that you've got a lot more room before you experience fade.

stage 2: (if stg 1 doesn't fix things, try these things)

brake ducting- brake ducting is a fun sort of mod, because it requires some creativity to do it. no one makes any ducting kits for preludes, which is a shame, but it's also something you could take care of w/ a trip to home cheapo or some online shopping at mcmaster-carr. the basic premise is that you're ducting air from the front of the car to the rotors to help them cool quicker. ideally, you want fresh cool air flowing to the center of the rotor, which is then dispersed through the vanes of the rotor. ducting can make a dramatic difference in the overall heat resistance of a braking system, and considering it costs very little to do, it's worth a saturday and $40 in materials.

remove the heat shield- the thin metal heat shield behind the rotor tends to trap heat in the general area of the rotor and caliper. cutting away this shield with tin snips will help dissipate the heat better--however, temps from the rotors can be enough to damage your outboard CV boots, so taking some measures to ensure that the boots are insulated from the increased heat is necessary. though some contend that the shield is necessary to prevent warping in wet weather + hot rotor conditions, real world experience hasn't proved this to be true 100% of the time.

stage 3: ($$$$$$)

bigger rotors- bigger rotors mean more metal, means more heat capacity in the rotor (and less being soaked up by the caliper and fluid). however, this comes at a cost of new brackets, new rotors, and increased rotational mass and unsprung weight. big 2 pc rotors address the weight issue, but they're pretty f'in expensive, especially when you consider them a wear item. as far as braking power goes, it'll increase braking force (since the radius is bigger and it thereby increases the torque created by the pad) however, since braking is only as good as your tires, don't expect to cut stopping distances at all. oversized rotors vs. an OEM rotor size with the same tires on both setups only means it takes less pedal effort to engage abs/lockup the wheels.

calipers-aftermarket caliper designs with more pistons and better cooling are great, but they cost an assload of money.

optional stuff:

SS lines-some say they love the improved pedal firmness of SS lines. others can't tell the difference (like me), but since SS lines are a wear item, and ought to be replaced every 2 or 3 years, they're kind of a pain in the *** and may or may not be worth it to you.

cryo treating-cryo treating apparently lengthens rotor life by a significant amount, though if you're like me and using cheap rotors, it's not really worth cryo treating them. still, it's a process that works, and if you find that your aggressive race brake pads are chewing up rotors at an alarming rate, it's something you could do if you're sick of buying new rotors...

don't waste your money:

slotted, x-drilled rotors-these things are solely for bling purposes. you could argue for the functionality of slots, in that they make a small difference in the way braking feels (more consistent initial bite), but since they generally cost literally 8 to 10 times more than the rotors i use, i'll pass on that little benefit. x-drilled rotors don't belong on the track and chances are they'll crack on you.

(goddamn that was a ******* novel)

 

I have Napa VTEC rotors and Perfomeance Friction carbon metalic pads. $48 and $47 a set respectivley. The pads have a lifetime warranty. I just send in the backing plates and they give me a new set. That combo is good enough to last 20 minutes lapping sessions with minimal fade and can out-brake the grip of my 215/40/17 Azenis 615s even after 20 minutes. Drilled/slotted or bigger caliper/rotor upgades are unnecessary unless you are runing some really soft R-compound. Which would be lame on the street.

I recommend a pad upgrade and some grippier tires. It is a lot cheaper and more practical.

Pirate

 

Slotted rotors were created back when pads used to "out gas" (sp?) where the friction of the pad/rotor would create a gas that'd get in between the two surfaces and reduce your braking ability. The slots allowed this gas to escape.

Modern brake parts don't "out gas" anymore. Hence, no need for drilled/slotted rotors.

That, and your rotors are a heatsink. You want them as large and beefy as possible.

If you wanna learn more about brakes, do some searches under the Road Race/AX forum.

 

Would the VTEC upgrade discs fit behind 16" rims with NSX callipers?? I'm looking for bigger rotors for the track/circuit days that I do, but want to keep the speed/handling of a 16" rim.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Demonlude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Would the VTEC upgrade discs fit behind 16" rims with NSX callipers?? I'm looking for bigger rotors for the track/circuit days that I do, but want to keep the speed/handling of a 16" rim.</TD></TR></TABLE>

they should, since the og NSX wheel was 16" and the rotor size should be the same or similar.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

they should, since the og NSX wheel was 16" and the rotor size should be the same or similar.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

But the NSX and Prelude vtec both use 282mm discs (sorry, I'm from the UK and work in mm) and the Powerslot ones would increase the radius to 310mm (or thereabouts). Not sure 310mm would fit behind a 16" rim due to calliper clearance

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Demonlude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">But the NSX and Prelude vtec both use 282mm discs (sorry, I'm from the UK and work in mm) and the Powerslot ones would increase the radius to 310mm (or thereabouts). Not sure 310mm would fit behind a 16" rim due to calliper clearance </TD></TR></TABLE>

ah, i thought you were talking about rotors upgraded to 282mm from SI size.

yeah, most oversize rotors will be tough to use w/ 16" wheels. there are some kits that advertise that they will work, but it depends on the wheel and the caliper.

as far as the NSX caliper, 310 mm, and 16" wheels, i don't think it'll work. def not with the stock 16" wheel.

 

but wont the NSX caliper work with the 92-96 preludes also? i can tell you the pad is the same dimensions from 92-01 prelude and the NSX pad has the same dimensions also. so if the caliper will work between all that, i would think that they would work with the OEM 15" wheel on the 92-96 or the OEM 97-01 as long as you stick with the OEM diameter rotor.

 

It works just fine w/16's. There plenty of room there still.




Oh, and dont forget that with the larger diameter rotors, your car will accelerate and turn slower(gyroscopic effect). BUT, all else equal, this setup has much, much better stopping power than stock calipers/rotors.

 

^^^^

 

Thanks for all the replies and info guys. I think I going to just go with my intial setup, like they say, "stick with your first choice."