Before I begin, yes, I can be hard and demanding of my car when I run it and I like to shoot the turns.

I need advice as to what brake upgrades to make because on all 3 of my prior Hondas, I've burned the rotors and fried the pads on OEM parts. Front rotors light blue, rear dark blue.

For suspension, I find all new OEM Integra GSR too soft but I need a setup suitable for daily driving around town but able to handle cruising 70-90mph on the toll roads and able to help
keep the car planted and not rolling or bouncing shooting the turns. I've been checking into the Skunk2, Eibach and Progress offerings but have never used them myself.

 

I did a good bit of research around the brake and suspension upgrades myself and ended up going with a Koni adjustable setup and love it. Top tower adjustments make for easy tuning when you want to play in the turns, but great for a daily driver too. Lowers the car about 1.5" from stock, but can raise and lower more from there independent of spring rate change which is what I like. As for brakes, I went with the Powerstop pads from RockAuto and love them. I beat the tar out of them and they hold up well!

 

For suspention, that's within the ideal height window for street use. With the brakes, Powerstop rotors as well?

 

Yeah, I cannot say enough good things about the suspension. I live in Connecticut where our roads are beat, and was concerned about that with a hybrid suspension that I can use for DD but also performance when I wanted it. This checked both boxes.

And yes, I am using the Powerstop rotors as well. I went with the drilled and slotted, which I am quite happy with. Being that the pads are performance based pads they dust a bit more than your standard economy passenger car pad but thats the trade off when going with a more performance based product.

 

I live in Oklahoma so our roads are all over the place in surface condition and the reason I want my car to have mild oversteer is how tight some turns are. the scariest was a literal box turn. picture a chicane fit within a concrete sided rectangle. I was in my GFs VW Jetta and I still don't know how I kept it off the walls. Had to use the Ebrake to make it turn fast enough.

With the rotors, you haven't had issues with stress cracks around the holes?

Note: you really should replace the missing pop pins for the wheel well liner. Trust me.

 

hahah wow that does sound like an intense curve! But fun too... I'm sure your GF enjoyed the E-brake stunt (mine does... *sarcasm*)

Have not had any issues with the rotors having stress cracks around the holes. I have had some friends that had issues (with various brands) but they were always brought back to having washed their cars immediately after returning from an aggressive drive and not allowing the rotors to cool down properly, but that is common sense... or should be.

Valid point with the pop pins, they were installed along with the stock mud flaps just after this picture was taken; quite honestly I was too excited just after having the new wheels and tires installed and wanted to verify ride height and final adjustments to ensure I was not going to have clearance problems. I actually posted another thread in the Del Sol category about the inner liner; just yesterday I had the front piece where it sits on top of the inner bumper come loose on the highway, which rubbed against the tire and ended up melting my once perfect plastic liner - still irritated about it. If you know where I can get one for the drivers side that would be much appreciated.

 

Yeah, she didn't appreciate that but the move was so violent I had to stop and check my 3yo daughter in the back. She was sitting there looking at me like "do it again dad!"

Agreed. Back when I raced SS class, We always let the car cool slowly with the hood up and no washing for an hour. Mind you I had to ask because I was using slotted rotors then.

Sucks when that happens. I'll take a look around but my first suggestion is check Rockauto, Parksgeek, places like that. If I find a specific source I'll post it.

 

If it was 3yo approved you know you did something right! And yeah I totally get it, common sense isn't too common these days, there are a lot of people that still douse the cars while hot. My favorite is seeing folks hitting the engine bays with water - you can almost hear the cast exhaust manifolds screaming ready to fracture. Pretty cool that you used to race your car, I have not gotten to that point but would love to venture into autocross - I have been to a few meets and the Miata's and Del Sols sure hold their own with short wheel base and light frames.

Believe it or not, RockAuto doesn't have the liners - go figure right? May possibly be the ONLY thing RA doesn't carry! Thanks for keeping an eye out. Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any more questions about the brakes or suspension. I can give you the PN, pictures of the setup, or anything else you need.

 

Thanks to you and a few other members, I have a good set on suspension tuning. FYI, its not just the short wheelbase but selecting the right parts and tuning for mild oversteer. One keep point for tight maneuvers is the car must rotate a certain amount. Another bit of advice is learn the Scandinavian Flick and J Turn. Combined with the right setup and tuning you will be amazed at the agility of the car.

Now that I think about it, what chassis reinforcement, ect do you run?

 

That is pretty cool, I am familiar with the terms, but not so much on how to carry them out - but I will definitely look into that. I have not yet done any chassis reinforcement on the car yet, but plan on installing some tower struts on the front and rear. I was however surprised just how much having the roof on the car versus off effects the handling. But, when you think about it, the roof holds to some degree the car in square when turning.

Even without any chassis stiffening to this point, I am really impressed with how well the car stays planted to the ground with a well-tuned suspension and a good tire. All the rest to come in due time (and money.)

 

Based on what I am seeing available, I would invest in PWJDM or Circuit Hero 3 point front and 2 pint rear tower brace. 2 point rear is to ensure access to the spare tire, ect. For undercarriage braces, Progress or ASR rear, and Megan Racing front 4 point if you don't mind having the cat moved back. Otherwise the NRG front 4 point. Its not quite as rigid as the Megan unit but no exhaust modification needed.

As to the Scandinavian Flick and J turn, DO NOT practice on the road or other location with no room for spin outs and mistakes. Trust me, you will mess up and spin the car out at least the first few times. I probably spun out a dozen times before I started to get the J Turn right. The Flick wasn't pretty at first either.

 

i have a del sol Si as well. and can vouch for the koni's as well. i went with a stiff GC spring on mine its a rough ride (not a daily so dont really care) but handles nicely.

as for the breaks i upgraded mine with the ITR calipers and rotors. the (slightly) larger disks and pads will keep the brakes slightly cooler by distributing the breaking friction and allows for greater heat dissipation within the same time frame. i also use a DOT 5 high temp break fluid to prevent break fade.

 

For brakes, I've gone with EBC rotors and pads. Often Yellow versions, but you would want to look at Green, Red, and Yellow to see what works for you.

 

Thanks for your feedback. I'll have to talk with EBC to figure out the most appropriate pads