Brake Upgrade Discussion
 

So...I'm going to be up for a brake change soon...and I'm thinking of doing a minor upgrade.

Let's discuss the pros/cons of upgrading rotors and pads and stainless steel lines. I have found some products I'm looking at, but not any lines thus far.

http://www.corsportusa.com/store/cat.../USRRotors.jpg

CorSport: Honda - 2009+ Honda Fit - USR850


http://www.corsportusa.com/store/cat...enstuffpad.jpg

CorSport: Honda - 2009+ Honda Fit - DP2891

So let's discuss...ideas? And can anyone point me towards the correct ss lines for our fits?

I don't want to have a big brake kit but I do want some upgraded brakes for a bit more performance.

Slotted rotors are going to be the way to go for any real track time, at least in most instances. I am personally weary of EBC Green pads, but know of people who have used them with success and liked them.

Goodridge makes an SS line kit for the GD3s and mine only cost $125. If you do all the above, you better have stickier tires to take advantage of the brakes or all you have done is made it easier for the ABS system to lock up under hard breaking.

Then once you have some stickier rubber, like Direzza Star Specs or Hankook RS3s, Nitto's etc. Your brake fluid has become the weak link.

Motul RB600 DOT 4 or 5.1 would then be the way to go.

Fortunately the Fit is a very light car so the potential for abuse and overworking the brakes is lower than many other platforms.

Which pads do you recommend? I will probably do it all in one shot...rotors, pads, lines, fluid.

Eh those are fine, I'm sure. I've had a front pair completely disintegrate before though. I was abusing the hell out of them though.

To be fair, people have had the same results with the Hawk HPS pads I've been using on all my cars for the last half decade though.

But the HPS are high performance street and labeled as such. The Hawk Ceramics are nice too.

Then there are the full on race pads, which would be overkill for you and aren't super-effective till you get some heat in them.

Also, if goodridge doesnt have a GE kit. NAPA can make some for you.

Thanks for the help.

Do you have a link to the Hawk Ceramics?

Goodridge does make GE8 stainless steel brake lines, I was just looking at them the other day on some site... (I knew I should've added the link to my favorites), can't find the link at the moment, if I'm not mistaken they were ~$125-$145.

Heard good reviews on the Hawk HPS's, considering a set when these wear out. Also want to change the lines & fluid at the same time (SS & Motul). I really want those Spoon calipers, but at $1700..... not for a while. :(

You definetly don't need to upgrade the calipers. I have enjoyed the HPS on several cars.

We have those rotors with Hawk HPS pads and are very, very happy. I was hesitant to go with more aggressive pads or rotors because every bit of road/driveline noise transmits straight into the cabin of the Fit. Even with this set up they are louder than stock, but work significantly better.

I went with ATE SuperBlue brake fluid to save money and the pedal is very firm and feels great. Not sure if it would have been better with the Motul. I had the Motul RBF600 in a previous car and I had no complaints. Just cutting costs these days cause marriage/child/mortgage etc really cuts into the car budget :(

I have no experience with the rotors. I use Hawk HPS for DD/Autox, and love them. I'm also on Goodridge SS lines, bought mine from Tirerack.

The HPS/stock rotor/ATE super blue fluid/Goodridge SS is a good setup for me. I have yet to see fade, even on 225/45/15 Hankook RS-3s. That's the stickiest tire i can run in my class. I can force a lockup situation, but i really have to try.

$.02 :wavey:

I really disliked the HPS when I had them on my EF, meh initial bite, stopping power didn't excite me, only redeeming factors for me were the lack of dust and the initial price.

However, I LOVED the HP+ on my Integra, great bite once warm, felt like I could stop on a dime, however they did squeak occasionally, the wheels were never clean and they were slightly more expensive.

Well my wheels are black, so I don't think dust will be an issue.

I just want an affordable, and more performance oriented braking system.

HP+ then.

10char

It's been over 2 years since I felt my ABS activate on my car so I'm satisfied with the stock brakes... I don't understand how people can go through brake pads and rotors on a car with manual transmission in under 50,000 miles unless they are on the track a lot... I guess that's because I grew up driving cars with archaic drum brakes that would fade completely out after a few minutes of late night rat racing in residential neighborhoods... Studebakers were real bad about doing that, so were old Harley Davidson Duo Glides..

Have to agree... I'm just over 30k miles on the original pads, checked them this past weekend and they still have plenty left (almost look brand new) :popc: That's with NYC driving ~ 50% (MT). When I'm on the hwy (the other 50%) they're barely used.

Kinda want to start pounding on them a little just to finally get the Hawks... :vtec:

TC love your recent rants btw.. :D :wavey:

Our stock pads at 53,000 miles had TONS of pad material left, but the rotors looked like someone took a blow torch to them. Hot spots all over them, cracked, and discolored. In our case, it's because we live in the mountains and drive these roads like we're on the track. No traffic, no pedestrians, no traffic lights, and very few police. The Fit is very light, but it still takes some serious braking power when decelerating from 70ish to 30ish when going down a steap decline. Several of those in a row and our brake pedal was going to the floor. That was likely due to the original fluid more than anything, but it wasn't a happy feeling.

I also feel that our slightly heavier/wider than stock wheel/tire combo took a serious toll on the tiny brakes.

Don't be mad, Coyote...that I'm thinking ahead and want some mad stopping power, yo! :hyper:

In my opinion our stock pads should have shown more wear at 53,000 miles. The pads are meant to give up their life to create the friction necessary for braking. The fact that ours had so much material, when other cars have been worn out by this time due to our driving and location, tells me that the factory pads are seriously oriented toward longevity and not performance.

Just look at magazine tests at the fairly poor stopping performance of the Fit and I think you can see there is room for improvement.

I've used EBC Green stuff on powerslots in the past, was a good street combo, no noise, better stopping, no real increase in brake dust. Were not awesome on track though haha... I didn't expect them to be though.

Also used Hawk HPS on Brembo blanks, thought I would like it better than the EBC, was unimpressed.

Was two different cars, so comparison is far from scientific haha.

Will probably get EBC for the Fit when the stocks get low. The price is right and they're rotor friendly... I don't need racecar stopping power, besides, my tires aren't up to par and probably will never be.

By the way TC, I don't think anyone is talking about "going through brakes." We're talking about upgrading the performance of the stock brakes. Much like adding a supercharger to the stock engine :) :)

As for brake pad recommendations...my favorite pads I've had were Carbotech's. I didn't buy them for the Fit because I was trying to save money and they take a while to get since each set is made to order. From what I understand, Hawk actually makes the pad material for them to their spec as there aren't that many companies that actually make pad material.

I'll definitely be looking at this thread when I need to purchase new pads... I had a bad experience with some high performance pads on a 79 Lincoln that costed a huge white tail buck his life and me to spill a full bottle of Heineken.. The harder compound of the pads didn't grip as well as the stock brake shoes on the rear so the rear brakes had locked up... When the buck literally attacked the left front parking light/turn signal the rear end of the car went right and I ended up stopping inches from the huge pine trees that lined the road after sliding down an embankment... My girlfriend wasn't happy about me spilling beer on the back of her head either... I think that may be something to consider... The part about the difference in the braking force of between performance pads and the stock ones.