4 lug brake upgrade options, AEM big brake kit, RSX calipers?

[27rocks]

does this interfere with anything? Thanks for the pics; it was gonna take me forever to get under the car and find a way to do this. So this just cools the inside?

If you do it correctly it shouldn't. It cools the brake rotors.

[cyllarus]

Looks like I'm going to go with the re-drilled RSX rotors and RSX calipers. Is there an online shop that sells the rotors re-drilled? A reputable one that we have some experience with and can vouch for?

Or do i just need to buy whatever rotors from ebay.. or where ever, and take them to a local machine shop to have them re-drilled?

[hyu]

Drilled rotors have a tendency to shatter since it alters the structural integrity of the rotors

"Vehicles that have holes in their rotors from the factory also have large, heavy rotors and the same in wheels. The holes are there to reduce unsprung weight. They are not there to reduce temperatures (that's what bi- or uni-directional vanes are for) or reduce out-gassing (modern-day pad material produces little or no gas).

Compare two rotors of the same diameter and thickness, one with holes and one without, and the one with holes will actually run hotter.

If you must have the bling (holes), you must increase the diameter and thickness of the rotor. And that means the existing calipers and wheels at the very least have to go as well, since a larger rotor won't fit. A better solution, if you have to have something other than factory-type rotors, is slots."

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...ed-rotors.html

[cyllarus]

Hrm, thought i replied to this.. but i guess it went nowhere.

The re-drilling I'm talking about here is redriling the central "hat" or whatever you like to call it from the whatever the 5-lug RSX patern is to the 4x100 EP3 bolt pattern.

I'm not considering getting crosdrilled rotors. If i want any "bling" i will go with slotted rotors.

Anyone know a good source for RSX rotors re-drilled to the ep3 4x100 patern, thats not a huge mark up? What about buying the cheap RSX blanks at napa or whereever and having a machine shop drill them, anyone done that before?

[iDom]

Lots of good info in here. I too would like a brake upgrade.. But it's best to be sensible about it.

I think looking at anything beyond SS lines, fluid, pads is a pure WASTE if it's a DD and you're only 'thinking' about taking it to a track or autoX.. Also, even IF you are FOR SURE going to track the car, you would have to literally have the brakes be the limiting factor in your track times for a BBK to actually be useful.. Chances are, if you are only now looking in to braking upgrades, it will take you a long time to use your car to its full potential AS IS.

Also, like the few other people have said.. TIRES!! You can have the fastest and best handling and best braking car in the world but if you can't put it to the ground, it means nothing. Ask anyone, tires is a more important upgrade than suspension, brakes, sway bars, etc..

[da9b16]

I can tell this is an old thread so whatever to waking the dead. Just thought you all would like to see my 11" big brake kit for less than 100 that I have installed.

First off- DO YOUR HOMEWORK- DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON ANYTHING... THIS IS BRAKES we are doing here. They CAN be done for on the cheap but make 100% certain you KNOW what the he77 you are doing.

parts list I used:

99 acura CL 3.0 calipers with 25t brackets(cost was 33 total at Pick n Pull and there is a 6 dollar core that I could get back so technically they were 27 including the brackets!) NOT THE 23T or the 28T.... these are the same as a lot of other model honda's and acura's that utilize an
11" rotor. Do your homework on leading and trailing brakes. I won't go into details here. AGAIN you NEED the 25T brackets...

2007 mini cooper DOHC 280mm rotors-($42 shipped for the pair NEW)There are 3 different rotor sizes available... 276mm, 280mm (11" actually = 279.4mm.... CLOSE ENOUGH), the last is a 294mm.... The 276 and 280mm are BOTH available in 4x100 and come with the same size center bore (64mm I think)

Pads-(warrantied out pads from my wagons=free so roughly 30 for some pads) take your pick...don't depend on me for your answers or my opinions on what is best for pads.... I can tell the difference in some but not so much in others.

I already had brake fluid but maybe an additional cost of 2-5 depending on brands.

Now on to the comparison and install pix.


In this picture you can see the OLDER rotor is the 02 ep3 rotor and caliper bracket sitting next to their BIGGER BEEFIER BROTHERS from the CL and the mini cooper.


Installed- yeah I know there is a mark on the rotor. I did not take my time cleaning as I should have when bleeding and got a groove I took it off and machined it out. OH WELL....



I had the flu this weekend when I installed them and still did it all in under an hour and drove them around testing them out. I have driven over 300 miles and brakes stop on a dime now... They are VERY sensitive compared to the weak ep brakes.

Just thought I would share my experience in brakes. If you need help let me know.

[PatrickJamesYu]

@da9b16 nice write up.
And it's 56.1mm fr the bore
the 64 is the 5lug ep3.

[sleepy ep3]

People also forget that the BBK kits also weigh less. The center section is normally made from aluminum, and the calipers are lighter as well. I see so many people on here going with really expensive wheels trying to save "unsprung weight" and then rocking the stock brake setup. I bought the Wilwood BBK, and love it. It looks sexy, saves weight, and brakes well. It's not really all that expensive when you just buy it and install it, rather than doing tons of research, running to a bunch of junkyards and parts stores piecing together a "custom" oem kit, but then again, I don't know what anyone's time is worth either.

[hyu]

@da9b16 hmm def interested in that write up. Is it possible to post up pictures of how the rim sits over the rotors?

[PatrickJamesYu]

@da9b16 hmm def interested in that write up. Is it possible to post up pictures of how the rim sits over the rotors?

THE rim? or A rim?

[da9b16]

People also forget that the BBK kits also weigh less. The center section is normally made from aluminum, and the calipers are lighter as well. I see so many people on here going with really expensive wheels trying to save "unsprung weight" and then rocking the stock brake setup. I bought the Wilwood BBK, and love it. It looks sexy, saves weight, and brakes well. It's not really all that expensive when you just buy it and install it, rather than doing tons of research, running to a bunch of junkyards and parts stores piecing together a "custom" oem kit, but then again, I don't know what anyone's time is worth either.

I cant afford a 600-1000 brake kit. I am a baller on a budget. I did all of that for under 100. I did the research and my time is worth a lot. So making my dollar stretch and produce the most is more important to me than spending more money. Oh and I guess if you included my research time I would say all of 2 hrs including buying rotors on ebay. Then 45 min drive time and pickup of calipers at the junkyard. I make 70k a year..... but that is for my family to live on and other personal things. So living smarter and shopping wiser is what I do. I don't buy ANYTHING if its not on sale. And I am so anal about things if I miss the previews at a dollar movie...I will get a refund.... LOL. By the way I am an analyst not an english major. I don't care about proper sentence structure on most days as well.



Of course is if you are into the bling factor you could go for the big names like Brembo or Willwood etc. Or you could look harder for the legend dual piston calipers or NSX calipers and be in the same boat.

[da9b16]

@da9b16 hmm def interested in that write up. Is it possible to post up pictures of how the rim sits over the rotors?

Pix coming up..

before:


after


Kind of hard to see from the angles.... but you can see the major difference looking at the spacing between the edge of caliper and inside lip of wheel. Oh yeah and you can see the caliper where I had to shave the bracket to make the wheel fit.
Sorry for the pix if they are too big I can resize?

[cyllarus]

Interesting that this thread has come back up.

DBA thats a nice write up, and pretty good looking brakes. Id be interested to know what the pedal feedback is like.

For myself I ended up buying SiBorgs Rotara brake kit for ~550. A bit much when compared to what DBA did, but very cheap considering what I got.

for a DD the rotaras are massive overkill, but not wasted completely. You'd be surprised how much faster you are willing to drive when your braking pedal feel is solid and you get good feedback. For 500 i completely changed one of the 3 main characteristics of the car ( Acel / cornering / braking)

I wish the other 2 aspects were as easy / cheap to bring up to the same level as the brakes.

overall the 500 I spent on the rotara's is the best 500 i've ever spent on my car.

now my limiting factor as far as braking is tires, and how fast the person behind me can stop.. :)

[MugenReplica]

I can tell this is an old thread so whatever to waking the dead. Just thought you all would like to see my 11" big brake kit for less than 100 that I have installed.

First off- DO YOUR HOMEWORK- DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON ANYTHING... THIS IS BRAKES we are doing here. They CAN be done for on the cheap but make 100% certain you KNOW what the he77 you are doing.

parts list I used:

99 acura CL 3.0 calipers with 25t brackets(cost was 33 total at Pick n Pull and there is a 6 dollar core that I could get back so technically they were 27 including the brackets!) NOT THE 23T or the 28T.... these are the same as a lot of other model honda's and acura's that utilize an
11" rotor. Do your homework on leading and trailing brakes. I won't go into details here. AGAIN you NEED the 25T brackets...

2007 mini cooper DOHC 280mm rotors-($42 shipped for the pair NEW)There are 3 different rotor sizes available... 276mm, 280mm (11" actually = 279.4mm.... CLOSE ENOUGH), the last is a 294mm.... The 276 and 280mm are BOTH available in 4x100 and come with the same size center bore (64mm I think)

Pads-(warrantied out pads from my wagons=free so roughly 30 for some pads) take your pick...don't depend on me for your answers or my opinions on what is best for pads.... I can tell the difference in some but not so much in others.

I already had brake fluid but maybe an additional cost of 2-5 depending on brands.

Now on to the comparison and install pix.


In this picture you can see the OLDER rotor is the 02 ep3 rotor and caliper bracket sitting next to their BIGGER BEEFIER BROTHERS from the CL and the mini cooper.


Installed- yeah I know there is a mark on the rotor. I did not take my time cleaning as I should have when bleeding and got a groove I took it off and machined it out. OH WELL....



I had the flu this weekend when I installed them and still did it all in under an hour and drove them around testing them out. I have driven over 300 miles and brakes stop on a dime now... They are VERY sensitive compared to the weak ep brakes.

Just thought I would share my experience in brakes. If you need help let me know.

Any chance you'd be willing to write up a DIY for this?

[StockTexasEP3]

I can tell this is an old thread so whatever to waking the dead. Just thought you all would like to see my 11" big brake kit for less than 100 that I have installed.

First off- DO YOUR HOMEWORK- DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON ANYTHING... THIS IS BRAKES we are doing here. They CAN be done for on the cheap but make 100% certain you KNOW what the he77 you are doing.

parts list I used:

99 acura CL 3.0 calipers with 25t brackets(cost was 33 total at Pick n Pull and there is a 6 dollar core that I could get back so technically they were 27 including the brackets!) NOT THE 23T or the 28T.... these are the same as a lot of other model honda's and acura's that utilize an
11" rotor. Do your homework on leading and trailing brakes. I won't go into details here. AGAIN you NEED the 25T brackets...

2007 mini cooper DOHC 280mm rotors-($42 shipped for the pair NEW)There are 3 different rotor sizes available... 276mm, 280mm (11" actually = 279.4mm.... CLOSE ENOUGH), the last is a 294mm.... The 276 and 280mm are BOTH available in 4x100 and come with the same size center bore (64mm I think)

Pads-(warrantied out pads from my wagons=free so roughly 30 for some pads) take your pick...don't depend on me for your answers or my opinions on what is best for pads.... I can tell the difference in some but not so much in others.

I already had brake fluid but maybe an additional cost of 2-5 depending on brands.

Now on to the comparison and install pix.


In this picture you can see the OLDER rotor is the 02 ep3 rotor and caliper bracket sitting next to their BIGGER BEEFIER BROTHERS from the CL and the mini cooper.


Installed- yeah I know there is a mark on the rotor. I did not take my time cleaning as I should have when bleeding and got a groove I took it off and machined it out. OH WELL....



I had the flu this weekend when I installed them and still did it all in under an hour and drove them around testing them out. I have driven over 300 miles and brakes stop on a dime now... They are VERY sensitive compared to the weak ep brakes.

Just thought I would share my experience in brakes. If you need help let me know.

Nice! Did you get the rotors from a junkyard? What is pick and pull. I would like to do what you did but I'm a super noob and am confused how to get all these different parts. Halp!