I am thinking about upgrading my brakes and the decision has come down to this. The aem kit with the factory rotors or the wilwood civic/integra kit. anyone have any pros and cons for either setup? The price is about the same. thanks,

kyle

 

I say- NO, not the AEM!! Im case I got the kit:
took off the OEM rotors
Put on the AEM
they warped-had to send them back...
Took off the AEM
Put on the AEM
How many rotor changes is that? No, it wasn't worth it. Yes. AEM set me new rotors. Following, I got rid of the thorn in my side. If you not pushing some serious horse power or doing autocross I wouldn't waste the time and money. But hey, thats just my (1st hand) experience.

 

i think they are mainly cosmetic. get a set of brembo blanks, ss brake lines, hawk front pads, something good for rear (hawk doesn't make rear pads for our cars), and some good fluid. there will be ample stoping power, if not better then the aem's. my $0.02
that doesn't even count the money savings too.


[Modified by nsane-ls-rr, 1:42 PM 9/28/2001]

 

I say go for the wilwoods for sure. They have a little more experience with brakes than AEM. And the Wilwoods rotors are lighter, not only reducing reciprocating mass (less drivetrain loss), but reducing the overall vehicle weight (increasing power/weight ratio).

My $.02

 

get wilwoods and make sure to buy the calipers from summit they are so much cheaper if you get them from there.

 

I haven't heard a lot of good about aem- so I ended up getting the wilwood kit. I highly recommend it. The car just plain STOPS! Plus the fact that the cheaper aem kit has relocator brackets and larger rotors for about $500, whereas the wilwood kit I got has the 12.1" rotors/4 piston calipers and braided lines for about $720...you tell me what the better deal is. Oh and the wilwood kit will help your car lose weight (rotors are 2pc. w/aluminum hats, and the calipers are billet aluminum as well-very light). Sorry if I sound like i am selling wilwood, I just think its a good product.

 

WILWOOD!!!!!!!!

I have fastbrakes 11" 2 piece now on my GSR and it is fantastic!

I cant imagine a wilwood 4 piston caliper in here!
OMG that would be nice!

 

WILWOOD IT IS THEN, now, where is the cheapest place to buy. I heard some 300z shop had them for $525? Thanks for the help guys. FOr those of you with the wilwood kit, what did you do for the rears? Just left them alone or is there a rear kit too? Thanks,

 

Unless you're doing some serious track time, I don't believe larger brakes are necessary - although they do look pretty damn nice.

Just upgrade the fluid, lines, & pads, and you'll be good for anything you'll encounter on the street, and most tracks. Keeping the stock size also reduces rotating inertia. Big brake kits may be lighter so unsprung weight doesn't suffer much, but that large rotor can't help acceleration.

Ideally, the best way to improve braking (after fluid, lines, & pads) would be to lighten the car . . . . If you really want to spend money, lightweight rotors & calipers in the stock size would be pretty slick. Doesn't make much sense to me to spend a ton of money on lightweight rims in order to reduce rotating mass, only to stuff heavy, oversized, warp prone brakes in them.

Another factor to consider is your braking bias. SCC found on several cars that their braking times got worse after upgrading the front brakes. The rear brakes lock up before the fronts, and you are never able to utilize the improved potential of your front setup.

 

I have the AEM front kit on my car (not a honda) and I love it. However, after looking at the prices on www.fastbrakes.com I would definately go that route. For just a couple hundred more, you can have 4 piston calipers and an 11" rotor. If I get a Honda when I sell my car, I will be going with the fastbrakes setup for sure.

EDIT: To clarify, I only have the larger rotor w/relocation kit, not their 4 piston kit.


[Modified by ffdet, 3:43 PM 10/2/2001]