Quality of Fit Brakes?
 

Hi,

I bought a 2012 Fit Sport AT back in july. I have a couple
of thousand miles on the rascal.

I also have a 2005 Acura TL.

It is my 'seat of the pants' feeling that the brakes on the
Acura seem much more efficient in slowing the Acura compared
to the stopping action of the Fit brakes.

What is the general consensus on the quality of the Fit brakes?

Are there any (simple) things one can do to improve the stopping
power of the Fit brakes? i.e. better pads.

Thanks for any insights.

Jerry

You'd be correct, I'd bet any Acura ever made has better brakes than the Fit

Fairly crappy. Change to pads with more bite: Hawk HPS or EBC Greenstuff for a street driven car would be my suggestions.

Change the pads and tires.

Prepare to have your mind blown.

weak and mush. :D i have a G35C with Brembo's using Endless pads and 370Z with Akebono's. going from that to my '12 GE, it feels rubbery and mush.

my braking greatly improved by going to lighter weight wheel/tire set though. :) not solid by any means, but it stops the GE a lot better now. :p

i think some folks swapped to greenstuff pads.

Well I changed the tires to Kumho Ecsta 4x and have installed
a Progress rear sway bar and Swift springs...

Which pads?


Jerry

Tires adjust your CoF with the ground, pads will change your CoF on the rotors. Rotor material also plays a part too.

It would be in your best interest to see if you can get new rear brake shoes with harder friction compound... The stock brake pads and shoes use a relatively soft compound that requires less pedal pressure than aftermarket performance products and if the rear shoes aren't matched to the front your rear brakes will grip more if the front brakes are not warmed up... The rear brakes will also fade when they become hot.

Suggestions on this?

I think with the streetable pads suggested here it should be fine, they're not race pads that need to be warmed up or anything like that. I could see if you used race pads up front and stock in the rear you might end up facing the wrong way at the first right hand turn you take on the way to work with brakes applied but with Greenstuff or HPS it's not a problem.

as reference, here's my summer vs winter wheel set. 5.6lbs = major improvement for braking capacity.

1) summer: 18.6lbs 17" + 22lbs RE760 tire = 40.6lbs
2) winter: 16lbs 16" + 19lbs DWS tire = 35lbs

From what i hear, the stock sport '12 wheels are 18lbs and tires are 18lbs or 36lbs gross so you're pretty much at the light side of the spectrum.

i suppose with RPF1's you can go maybe 2-3lbs lighter but changing pads would net more, i think.

In my opinion, for the most cost effective fix, I would recommend upgrading the pads. Something like Hawk HPS, Project Mu B-Force will do the job. For daily driving, this will make a very noticable difference. As other have mentioned, swapping out tires to something better will definately make a difference as well. However, if you were to choose 1, I would go with the more cost effective one, which is brakes.

At the end of the day, this is something you should never cheap out on. We supply just about any brand of braking products as well as tires, so if you ever need a quote, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Thanks.

Jason @ AJR

For those of us with multiple vehicles, it's also about awareness of what you're driving at the moment and adjusting your driving styles accordingly. You've had the Acura for a while and the Fit fairly recently.

You definitely can't drive them the same way... :D For me the Fit's brakes are just fine.

I used to have a '97 Corolla and a '99 T&C minivan which I drove occasionally, my main car being an '02 WRX. I hopped into the Corolla one time after a long while and I swore there was something wrong with it. I thought it was misfiring or something. The acceleration, the handling and the braking was not there. :hyper: My subconscious didn't switch when I switched cars. :D I definitely wouldn't take corners with my mini van as I would my WRX nor expect the same response from my Fit. Stuff happens... :wavey:

For the GDs at least, I believe some of the ultimate "weakness" in stopping power is also down to soft stock spring rates at the front. I think there's a little too much energy wasted in a nose-dive that would've been better used braking the car.

That said, better pads and fluid are cheap ways of augmenting the stock brakes even without swapping suspension components. Your front brakes do ~90% of the job of stopping the car, really.

The soft stock front springs also contributes to snap oversteer when lifting off of the throttle when understeer occurs.... I hated that when it would occur.

Theres a fix for this! :)

Upgrading the springs and a front sway bar. T1R has both of these, and we actually have them on a clearance price.

Check them out here:

A&J Racing :: Specials :: T1R S-Coil Version 2.0 Lowering Springs - Honda Fit/Jazz 06-08 (GD3/GD4)

A&J Racing :: Specials :: T1R Front Sway Bar - Honda Fit/Jazz 06-08 (GD3/GD4)

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Jason @ AJR