hi, i have a 97 civic DX coupe. and have done the integra rear disk swap and i also am using integra front calipers and integra rotors. so full integra brake set up on my civic. i have a 7/8 master cylinder off an integra as well but am still using the stock brake booster off my dx. braided brake lines all around. the brakes feel pretty okay when im driving around town but i still feel like they are almost worse than stock could this be true? i couldnt get the rear brakes to work and ended up getting a prop valve off a hatch. all brakes are functioning now. all new calipers rotors pads you name it, its new. my crv brakes are far more touchy... my MAIN concern here is when im doing some sprinted driving on back roads if i come to a stop sign my car will be in a plume of smoke from my brakes and the brakes are pretty much gone.. its like they stop working when they get hot. not sure if that is called brake fade lol but yeah brakes get hot, they are pretty much worthless and my car has a cloud of smoke around it. i have brembo blanks all around and bosch pads all around.. thought this would be an OK set up but i was clearly wrong. anyone have advice on how to fix them from disappearing when they get hot and maybe get a better feel on the pedal?

 

rear trailing arms.

 

EX front knuckle, integra brakes

 

rear brakes contribute very little in these hard stop tests youre describing and using as a benchmark.

any lack of brake pedal stiffness is typically poorly bled lines. its difficult to get all the air out if there was ever a time air got in the lines, which happens anytime you break the lines or replace MC or prop valves. so if you think you bled them properly and its still soft, its not. its just difficult so keep trying.

and this plume of brake dust test.... thats just your pads. try different pads. i dunno what "bosch" pads are. standard ceramic brakes from rabestos or akebono provide more than adequate 1-stop braking.

"performance" pads need to make you stop for repeated amounts of hard braking. and good brake fluid prevents brake fade from rising temperatures from repeated hard braking, just saying even tho youre not describing it as a directly a problem, someone might suggest it.

what is the exact pad youre using? did you clean your rotors from all the oil they come shipped in?

 

im positive no air is in the line or getting in the lines. master cylinder was bench bleed before i put on. deffiently not performance pads, they are some auto store junk.. the pedal is stiff, but after a couple hard stops i can slam the brakes as hard as i can and i will barely stop.. im using dot 4... im thinking maybe the pads arent good enough for what im doing with my car. when im just driving around town or the brakes are cool my brakes are pretty good, it just when they get hot after me getting on them and going down big hills... does this sound like pads or something else??

 

rotors were cleaned, and ill get a product link for the pads

 

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...nt+Brake+Pads+

 

ok, so thats just a street pad. works fine for street, but if youre driving crazy in the canyons (which i really dont think ppl should do...) then you want to get something more performance oriented. again its trying to handle the multiple heat cycles which doesnt have time to cool off between hard uses.

hawk hp plus seems well regarded for next step up.

personally i would not get some middle ground compromise, and just get real performance pads like their blues or DTC or whatever else other comparable performance pads are and drive on the track.. but thats just me.

 

good advice. and im not going crazy on the streets just like to Vtec some back roads when no one is around lol i live in a valley so im surrounded by pretty big hills. alot of the roads i cruise are pretty steep . but you think the issue could just be the pads? if i get a more performance based brake pad could this solve the issue? also im not sure if you know but what is the actual difference in the pad material that makes it a performance pad? im thinking my issue is just heat related. when the brakes are cool they are great. when ive been using them alot they get to the point of them being pretty much useless... and then all the smoke comes haha burning brake smells so bad

 

dead giveaway that you need better pads or better brake cooling. (may want to upgrade the fluid as well, I may have missed if you mentioned it)

I did the same to a set of HPS on the track, not a good feeling (or smell)
hot brakes good, burning brakes bad.

 

if the pedal is still stiff, the fluid is fine and your bleeding is fine.

ppl get really defensive when they say they have a soft pedal and think they have bled the brakes well enough....