The stock rotors and pads are set up to stop a cold vehicle quickly, that being said, they obviously dont work well when hot because of the pad compound. Switch to a ceramic pad, it will be weaker when cold, but much more resistant to brake fade. Also go for some decent name brand rotors, the drills and slots dont do much, it's the quality of the metal used and the casting process that's important. The stock rotors warp easily when exposed to high heat, canyon road braking.

 

I'd recommend slotted rotors, but not drilled. Centric brand is a good quality one. As far as pads go I don't know maybe EBC Green-Stuff pads, but they generate a fair amount of dust. Also change the brake fluid to one that has a higher boiling point. Your faded brakes may be due to hot fluid.

 

Do NOT do slotted or drilled rotors for a street car. They are one example of race car parts that don't make good street car parts. They are prone to having stress cracks. Real race cars get parts like rotors replaced after each race or at minimum inspected. Street car parts get put on and left alone to they fail or the pads wear out. Just Google cracked slotted and drilled rotors for images.

Personally, I'd use either Centric or KNS 4000 rotors.

In regard to pads. Everyone has their favorites and swears by them. I've used Hawk HPS, Hawk HP+ and Carbotech AX6. HPS didn't appear to stop the car any better than my OEM Subaru pads, they just didn't seem to fade as bad. They were dustier and sometimes squealed. The HP+ would stop on a dime, but squealed like crazy and were very dusty. Carbotech AX6 stop just as well or maybe better than the HP+, are even dustier, but don't squeal so I can live with them. Keep in mind all were properly bedded in.

My fellow autocross friends run Ferrodo, EBC Green and Yellow, Hawk, Carbotech, Project Mu, and Stop-Tech. All swear by what they run. Some are national level competitors.

Most internet advice is going to recommend what they run without any comparison to anything else. At best it will reference what came off which might be OEM or if they bought their car used my be some white box cheap crap from the local discount auto parts store.

Basically, just buy what you want based off whatever hype you believe. They will be more than adequate for a street car.

Last bit of advice. Do NOT do DOT 4 brake fluid unless you plan at minimum to flush your system every year. Again, race car stuff is for cars that receive higher levels of maintenance

 

Just reread your post. If you want brake pads to last and stop better than OEM that's probably not going to happen. If wear is a concern buy something like the Wagner that O'Reilly sells with a lifetime warranty. Then flush your system with fresh DOT 3 fluid. Not knowing your skill level or saying mine is better than your, do some local autocross or sign up for autocross school with your local SCCA chapter. I've never been able to push my car that hard on the street without endangering someones life to overheat the brakes. No offense, but it could be your driving?

 

Its not hard at all to overheat the stock brakes. No offense but auto X is considered low speed driving, the canyon roads i frequent have long 90mph sweepers leading into tight 2nd gear hairpins, plenty enough to make the stock brakes fade with even modestly spirited driving. Let me make it clear, u should NOT be overheating your brakes driving in congested city streets with pedestrians and traffic, but when im heel toeing from top of 5th to 2nd gear before a hairpin on my favorite canyon road i DO NOT want brake fade. And i totally agree with you, do not use DOT 4 on a street car with stock brakelines, it will eat up rubber, and master/slave cylinder seals more rapidly. Also, drilled slotted rotors are crap for street, whats important is the quality of metal and the casting process.

 

I live in the MidWest. We don't have canyons to do canyon runs but even if we did I still probably wouldn't do it. It would suck going to jail for manslaughter if by chance you kill someone. The soccer mom in the minivan hasn't given her consent for someone to endanger her life. In amateur motorsports you have to sign a waiver, or basically consent that you might hurt yourself or a competitor might hurt you. That being said, I've done a couple track days. Myself, it doesn't do allot for me. I also understand that autocross don't do allot for others? To each their own.

Some of my favorites

 

I Definetly dont support driving 10/10ths on public roads, im driving 8/10ths max through these canyon roads that literally nobody but other enthusiasts use. Occasionally we will go 10/10ths in a friendly battle, the touge scene is strong here, we have lookouts with communication to be clear of traffic much like they did in initial d. Its been going on here since the late 90s


Id also like to add, alot of subaru drivers are young and inexperienced, with most of their seat time logged on forza. He broke two crucial rules, NEVER pass civilian traffic, NEVER cut into the oncoming lane, if you cant clip an apex within your own lane, we wont drive with you.

 

This is my dedicated touge machine, 2100lbs, 200 crank HP semi built b16b with port matched and polished usdm p30 intake manifold, 4.7 final drive 98 spec itr trans with lsd, i can harass fk8 type Rs, 2018 sti, e46/e90m3, ap1/ap2 s2000. Of course driver skill is a huge variable, and ive been driving those kinds of roads almost 20 years now.

 

Even NEW Fits have drum rear brakes, right? I've found that braking effectiveness is increased noticeably on these cars simply by adjusting the rear shoes yearly (or 20K miles). I did this on a friend's 2004 Civic, and his wife complained that the car stopped too QUICK.

Make those rear brakes shoulder some of the braking effort! I'm sure I have posted a DIY in the GD section.

+++++++++++++

I also beg to differ regards the use of DOT 4 brake fluid. This fluid has a higher boiling point than DOT 3, but its best trait is that it is LOW MOISTURE ABSORBING. (It's the moisture that lowers boiling points and rots metal brake lines.) I've used this fluid on all my cars over the past 30 years (even my track-day rides), no issues with seals or anything. Volvo specs DOT 4 on their SUVs.

It's DOT 5 fluid (silicone) that you shouldn't use in a street car...

Lastly, I haven't faded brakes in street driving since my mid-70s Impala. YIKES. That car had lousy brakes (it was a company car).

 

I have done autocross and I find that what works for autocross has absolutely NO bearing on real life street use.

We live in the mountains and, just to take my son to school in the morning and then back home, puts more stress (to clarify...puts more heat in the system over a longer period of time) on brakes than any autocross event. This is especially true if you're in a modern car with stability control systems that are working the brakes through every corner.

I've had two cars now that will overheat the factory brakes BEFORE even standing on them to stop for a deer crossing the road or an idiot pulling out of a dirt side road.

Both of those cars were GREATLY improved by switching to ATE TYP 200 fluid.

On several cars we've owned, including our Fit, we have used that fluid in combination with EBC USR slotted rotors. Put over 100k miles on one set of USR's without a single crack or warp. Key is that they do a better job of heat dissipation and, therefore, don't overheat and crack/warp.

In the end there's good autocross setups, good street setups, and good track setups. The three are not the same.

 

This fallacy has come to be due to cheap eBay drilled rotors where they take cheap blanks and drill them.

A proper drilled or slotted rotor is made from the beginning to include the necessary bracing and the necessary rotor thickness to accommodate the holes/slots.

There is a very good reason why EVERY factory high performance car sold today has drilled and/or slotted rotors. It's for better heat dissipation. I can assure you that OEM's would not spend an extra $1 if it weren't for better performance. Plus, keep in mind that these OEM's have to cover brake rotor warpage under the bumper to bumper warranty.

In short, don't buy cheap drilled/slotted rotors. They are far worse than good quality blanks. But, do buy high quality slotted rotors and rest easy at night knowing that even the OEM's feel they are worth the extra cost.

 

I would not use a drilled rotor. Slotted rotors were used on my MINI for about 75,000 miles with no issues what so ever. They were Stop-Tech slotted & cryo treated. That mileage includes a lot of track-day use. I would use them again. I have seen drilled rotors fail & it ain't pretty. A quality drilled rotor is a different animal & would work fine, but > $$$$.

What ever you do don't cheap out on brake parts. Although no one has mentioned it how one drives has a great effect on how your brakes work & last. If you are the last of the great late braker's you may find it's not the brakes fault. Maybe try a track day or two to hone your skills a bit if you feel there is the need. I learned so much on track. My take on the Fit is that it is a momentum car. It's all about how much speed you can carry rather late brake & power out. Just my .02 for what that's worth.

 

Totally agree with all of this.

My point on the drilled rotors was that I wouldn't go and replace the drilled rotors on my Porsche/Lambo/Ferrari etc with solid thinking that "drilled rotors crack."

Cheap drilled rotors crack and that, unfortunately, probably includes any in the under unobtanium price point.

Personally, I've had great luck with EBC slotted and PowerSlots (not to be confused with PowerStop) and mostly see good reviews on both from other users.

 

They are for looks. So are those wings and wide tires and center lock lugs. But, they do make you look like a boy racer which is cool.

 

SUMMARY:

I think the answer to the OP's question is to buy good quality standard parts (not the cheapest, nor the most expensive). In Philly where they use road salt, a rotor with painted hubs (and inner vents) will resist the vibrational effects of rust.

Keep the brake system maintained, change the fluid every few years and adjust the rear drums. When you DO use the brakes hard (end of a freeway ramp or after a canyon run) don't stop the car in one spot to avoid pad redeposits. Stop a few feet before you really need to and CREEP FORWARD.

-Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

 

OP find a nice empty street or parking lot, put the car in reverse, back up fast as u can and slam on the brakes. Do this 3 times in a row and report back to us on pedal feeling and how easily the fronts are overheating. Im starting to think your drums arent adjusted forcing the fronts to do all the work, in turn overheating them much quicker.