Carolina Man

What did you do to improve your brake system?

mjr46

Since mine is an 85 it already has a 1 1/8 bore master cylinder, however, I put 87-93 spindles and calipers on it, ebc red pads with ebc blind drilled/slotted rotors, Just that made a world of difference.......Are there better set ups for the front?? Oh heck yeah but not much if you want to stay with a 15 inch drag tire......and reason I do are options for tires in drag trim are more plentiful.........not so much in the 17 inch realm.......the rear is currently undergoing the t-bird rear disc set up.......another reason I'm not going bigger is I'm not gonna roll the fender lips in the rear, I've already stuffed 275's under there and had to put a pan hard bar so the rear was locked in place so as to not rub the fender lips when cornering a tad aggressive..lol and you name it this car has it suspension wise. If I didn't have what I have invested in the tires and I played on the street more then I'd go 5 lug to gain more options for the brakes.......but there is a fine line of what do you want to use the car for vs what tires you can use for the options of brakes. My car stops well, do I go out and measure stopping distances like a guy does with his junk after taking male enhancement pills......heck no.......I have no plans to make the car faster on a stock block....it's already pushin' the limits...heck that's another can of worms we won't open up..lol

Carolina Man

Thank you for this post I'm sure it will help the op and myself to keep 4 lugs. Mine will be a daily driver so I will be looking for ways to improve the brakes on a budget and keeping it 4 lug will help.

mjr46

upgrading the front to slightly larger rotors and calipers if feasible for your rim choice is always an improvement as well as upgrading the rear to 4 lug disc will be a significant improvement over the drum 4 lug set up, will it be as significant improvement as the 2k big front/big disc rear + spend more for new wheels and tires as that's being argued......no.........you have you weigh the intended use vs your practical budget. for me, it's a no brainer to stay 4 lug, for others it's more practical to go with the expensive route.

Carolina Man

Thanks I will need to research what is needed to convert it to rear disc brakes since I have a 7.5 rear. Lots to learn.
To the OP sorry for the hijack.

yurizx6r

Mjr46, I posted those articles to back up my numbers claims, not to show how baller my brakes/rims look. I'm not one of these Honda boys who throw out BS numbers to make themselves look big. I'm an educated man who knows the how numbers can be manipulated to say anything. I always back up my sources.

There is no "antics" in stopping. Stopping your car properly is a sign of maturity because you recognize the potential danger on the road. I spent 2,000 on my brakes (and supporting mods that go with it) in order save my passengers, myself, and my car from harm. Where I live there are a tone of dumb mouth breathers who will pull out in front of you on US19 because they are to STUPID or ignorant to care about anybody but themselves. It's a real problem. I may be in my 20's, but that does not mean I fit the stereotype of driving like an @$$ hole. If your car is a trailer queen on the drag strip... yeah use the stock brakes, that's a no brainer. You can use the stock brakes for the drag strip, but if you want the BEST brakes you can get, even for a daily driver you need to do a 5 lug upgrade (or spend a ton of money doing a Chip Foose custom job). God forbid I ever wreck my car, at least I can say I did everything I could ensure my car had the proper modifications to ensure my saftey. It has already saved myself and my car 3 times. If I would not have upgraded my brakes, I would be out 13,000 instead of 2,000. I can live with that. If you want to stay with the 4 lug set up, fine. It's your car, but I have to inform other people what their options are. If you don't want the 5 lug upgrade either because you cannot afford it, or you don't want it. Yes, their are improvement upgrades you can do, but the 5 lug can offer you the most stopping potential. I challenge you to take your car for a simple 30-0 test, if you can beat 17ft. I will shut my mouth, but keep in mind that even my setup is not the best. I'm running 2 piston SN95/Baer brakes. The Brembo and Willwood setup had 4 piston calipers.

mjr46

you can surround your car in bubble wrap and it'll never stop every thing from keeping you out of harms way............and if we use your philosophy , then nearly 90 % of the cars out on the road should be recalled for not being able to stop from 0-30 in 17 ft and every manufactorer should be called immature for not reaching said goal on all their vehicles.........and where I live back country roads, that statistic won't save me period for the 100's of deer that jet out in front of me and have nailed my doors and quarter panels. Just as you are informing of options so am I. And no one cares about the sources nor the statistic nor the claims in said articles, I 've known that crap for 25+ years.......you should be smart enough to realize what people on fourms are looking for.......and that is price .........I've been in the industry longer than you've been alive and I often have to taylor a price to a customers budget......when I think that mercedes should get the good pads but the customer whines about the price, often their budget will dictate the cheap napa pads.....best option...no but it still gives them something. How many threads exist here about "budget build"? No one is calling your brakes a waste of money for "you" in particular or 4 lug set ups better than 5 lug. You've said your peace now move on and let the OP decide what is the best bang for the available cash he has on hand to put toward brakes.

yurizx6r

I'm not so sure the OP is even still here. lol

mjr46

probably not.......next topic........

bluebeastsrt

what I've take from this thread is that allot of you guys are old!