GSR front and rear or GSR fronts and nice rotors/hawk pads? Which combo will give me better performance? Im driving a 92 si with stock brakes (SUCKS!!!) on front and rear right now. I went ahead and bought some new brake rotors (stock sized) and hawk pads the other day, put them on and I was impressed but still not satisfied. Ive ridden with a buddy of mine that has EX brakes all around in his EG and that car stops great. Im curious to know which is gonna do me greater good.

 

gsr's all around are perfect w/ hawk's up front and oem pads in the rear

upgrade w/ oem parts!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by atc5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">gsr's all around are perfect w/ hawk's up front and oem pads in the rear

upgrade w/ oem parts!</TD></TR></TABLE>
Thats not what Im saying. Ive got a choice to either upgrade to STOCK GSR brakes (rotors & pads stock too) front and rear OR upgrade to GSR brakes in the front (ONLY) but with Hawk pads and some really nice rotors.(forgot the brand of rotors but HEELTOE racing sells them) Id like to know which is gonna be the more dramatic increase in performance.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Im driving a 92 si with stock brakes (SUCKS!!!) on front and rear right now. I went ahead and bought some new brake rotors (stock sized) and hawk pads the other day, put them on and I was impressed but still not satisfied.</TD></TR></TABLE>

What in particular "sucks" about your current setup?

 

coulda swore really nice rotors were like twelve bucks apiece.

 

the feel of the pdal is sloppy and it just doesnt "grab" like my buddies with the GSR's. And the fade is ridiculous. And I cant stop fast enough. In pretty much every way they suck. lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chjkingme &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">coulda swore really nice rotors were like twelve bucks apiece. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, Thats what I bought for the stockers but it still doesnt perform like the GSR's do. Marcus from HEELTOE racing has all but sold me on some brake rotors that they sell. Im not going to begin to explain them, just call him and he will tell you about them. 949-584-6659

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Im not going to begin to explain them, just call him and he will tell you about them. 949-584-6659</TD></TR></TABLE>


why do you not bother understanding what you are hyped on buying?

unbelievable

your car is fine w/ GSR's all around, hawks up front, oem's in the rear

this setup has been track tested, daily driven by many here...

if you don't get this, good luck w/ your brake setup from heeltoe that you can't begin to explain

 

there's a big thread on em in here somewhere.
(dem heeltoe rotors)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the feel of the pdal is sloppy and it just doesnt "grab" like my buddies with the GSR's. And the fade is ridiculous. And I cant stop fast enough. In pretty much every way they suck. lol </TD></TR></TABLE>
You could try going with a more aggressive pad for the stock brakes, bleed the system thoroughly, and then follow the proper bedding/break-in procedure... you'd get better braking performance for alot less $$

Also, is your car being track driven or is this a street setup?

Christian

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by atc5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


why do you not bother understanding what you are hyped on buying?

unbelievable

your car is fine w/ GSR's all around, hawks up front, oem's in the rear

this setup has been track tested, daily driven by many here...

if you don't get this, good luck w/ your brake setup from heeltoe that you can't begin to explain</TD></TR></TABLE>
I really apreciate the bashing,..... not. I dont fully understand why the rotors are better than say Brembos or Fast Brakes,... Thats the reason why I didnt explain them. When Marcus @ Heeltoe explained them to me, He not only told me WHAT was better about his rotors but why as well. He even gave me a link to a site where he did a full article on braking issues. As far as not "understanding" what Im buying,.... sorry man but I trust Marcus and I dont have to understand what he tells me,... I just trust his judgement. Do me a favor, If your gonna post in the thread,.. just post informative input please...... Thanks

. <TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Xian &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
You could try going with a more aggressive pad for the stock brakes, bleed the system thoroughly, and then follow the proper bedding/break-in procedure... you'd get better braking performance for alot less $$

Also, is your car being track driven or is this a street setup?

Christian</TD></TR></TABLE> I got the Hawk PBS's I think (once again trusting Marcus's judgement) already. Those are pretty aggressive arent they? The car is street driven but weve found and old back road with a bunch of curves in it that we go down frequently. Its not un-safe (not overly un-safe I guess) We take plenty of precaution to ensure safety and the road has no inlets or outlets between beginning and ending point (that we run). Its like a weekend thing weve been doin now for awhile. I DO want to take the car to a track though (road Atlanta probably) but I want to have my suspension and braking somewhat tuned in before I try it. As far as the bedding in procedure.... No one has explained how Im supposed to do it. Ive been told to take the car out and do a few harsh stops in it, then drive it for several miles and repeat a few times. Is that right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the feel of the pdal is sloppy and it just doesnt "grab" like my buddies with the GSR's. And the fade is ridiculous. And I cant stop fast enough. In pretty much every way they suck. lol </TD></TR></TABLE>

Then you need to fix whats wrong with your braking system, not throw parts at it.

You need good pads, new rotors, flush your brake fluid, and replace any worn components - the calipers and master cylinders on these cars should be considered "wear items" and replaced.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> As far as the bedding in procedure.... No one has explained how Im supposed to do it. Ive been told to take the car out and do a few harsh stops in it, then drive it for several miles and repeat a few times. Is that right?</TD></TR></TABLE>
What you'll want to do with fresh brakes (after bleeding and/or flushing the system depending on the age and qualify of your brake fluid) is to take the car out to a deserted road and do progressively harder and faster stops until the pads fade. Once the pads have faded continue driving the car until the pads have been allowed to cool down to normal operating temps. Park the car overnight and you're good to go.

RJ's right though... if your brakes feel mushy then there's something wrong with your brakes. Could be MC, could be a poor bleed job, could be poor pad bedding... could be all three. Don't throw new parts on the car until the current setup is fixed.

Christian

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I got the Hawk PBS's I think (once again trusting Marcus's judgement) already. </TD></TR></TABLE>

No such thing, Hawk HPS most likely.

 

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

No such thing, Hawk HPS most likely.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I was wondering what he was talking about...

Christian

 

Yeah, HPS's. Thats it, sorry about that. I'll take the advice on the bleeding. I'll try that tonight but I dont relly think that thats the problem. When I say mushy, I dont think I a m picking the best word to describe the feel. Its like theres not enough clamping force to stop the car like Id be pleased with. I mean, I can lock up the brakes @ 70mph if I want but only if I put all of my wheaties into it. Im not saying that I want/need to be doing that but on the GSR'd EG,... you dont have to because the brakes grab harder. Like I said though, I AM gonna try to bleed the brakes tonight and see where that gets me,.. oh and I did do exactly what you guys said about bedding the brakes in.

So what most all of you are saying is that if the brakes were tuned in correctly, that regular rotors and good pads would be more than enough for me?

 

I don't know if this will help, but I wasn't ever able to get a nice firm pedal on my CRX until I used a pressure bleeder on it. It displayed all the problems of a car with a bad master cylinder even after I replaced it. Soft pedal, sinking under constant pressure, etc.

I highly recommend using a pressure bleeder.

 

Dont just bleed - flush your system.

the Valvoline synpower is cheap and you can get it at any parts store. Also, tires make a big difference in how well the car stops - are both of these cars that you're comparing have the same, or comparible tires?

Its possible that something is busted (calipers, master cyl) or the rear pads are not installed correctly (nub on the pad not lined up to the notch in the piston), or who knows what else.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MattP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I highly recommend using a pressure bleeder.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would highly recommend against using one - its a great way to get air into your system. Gravity bleeding, with a tube on the bleeder is the foolproof way. Its slow, so bring lots of beer.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=925064

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So what most all of you are saying is that if the brakes were tuned in correctly, that regular rotors and good pads would be more than enough for me?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what they're saying - basically that you can get the firm pedal and grabby brake torque you want from good pads and proper maintenance stuff. If your car has high mileage you might want to check those drums, they're probably all original drums, shoes, etc.

Drums will never have the spot-on solid feel of discs as some of your brake pedal travel will be taken up by just pushing the shoes out to contact the drum. I always noticed this in my '99 CX; even with absolutely perfect brake maintenance it had more pedal slop than all the other cars I've owned (which all had rear discs).

 

Like everyone said above. Replacing rotors is not going to do anything for your mushy pedal feel. Where in GA do you live? Rotors is pretty much rotors no matter what that guy tells you. I don't think any rotor he sells you will make you stop any faster. Some guys I know have been getting more wear and more even wear out of cryoed rotors. But again, they won't change the feel of the braking system. Sounds to me like you have old fluid and air in the system and possibly an old MC.

Edit: I see you are in So Ga. Too bad you aren't closer.

 

....glazed pads would also explain what he's feeling.

 

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

That's what they're saying - basically that you can get the firm pedal and grabby brake torque you want from good pads and proper maintenance stuff. If your car has high mileage you might want to check those drums, they're probably all original drums, shoes, etc.

Drums will never have the spot-on solid feel of discs as some of your brake pedal travel will be taken up by just pushing the shoes out to contact the drum. I always noticed this in my '99 CX; even with absolutely perfect brake maintenance it had more pedal slop than all the other cars I've owned (which all had rear discs).</TD></TR></TABLE>
92 si= 4 wheel disc

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by El Pollo Diablo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">....glazed pads would also explain what he's feeling.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Pads and rotors are brand new all the way around

Ive never bled the brakes before and Ive owned this car for right at a year, however Ive never taken the brake lines loose for anything so I didnt think that I COULD have air in the lines. Ive also never flushed/ replaced the brake fluid (obviously if ive never bled them). Can old brake fluid cause problems? By old I mean like 3-4 yrs old maybe.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Can old brake fluid cause problems? By old I mean like 3-4 yrs old maybe.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, absolutely. Flush it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allanonjj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
92 si= 4 wheel disc</TD></TR></TABLE>

Pads and rotors are the same size and fitment as LS/GSR, I believe. Going to GSR brakes only lightens your wallet.