brake upgrade

What is the best basic brake upgrade for a 5th gen Prelude?

My buddy is running the brembo brake kit and they are awsome and thats what I would get if I had that fat of a wallet. If you dont then get some slotted rottors such as neuspeed or power slot, some performance brake pads,and some stainless brake lines.

I can't imagine needing better brakes on our 2000.....I have never got them hot enough to fade

Originally posted by cybercrx00
I can't imagine needing better brakes on our 2000.....I have never got them hot enough to fade I´m not looking for a brake upgrade because of fading. I just want to stop faster!;)

Originally posted by blueluder
My buddy is running the brembo brake kit and they are awsome and thats what I would get if I had that fat of a wallet. If you dont then get some slotted rottors such as neuspeed or power slot, some performance brake pads,and some stainless brake lines. The brembo kit is too expensive for me and I don´t think that it´ll fit with the stock 16" rims. I´m really low on funds in the moment so which of the three opportunities (discs, pads, brake lines) would be the best when the other parts remain stock?

Originally posted by Veetec
I´m not looking for a brake upgrade because of fading. I just want to stop faster!;)
Better brakes really won't make a difference on a 5g lude until you get up to 100mph+ (160+ KPH). And even up there, just some high friction pads (like EBC Green Stuff - 0.46µ) will get you a decent decrease without having to change out your rotors.

The best way to decrease your stopping distance is to get better tires! This will make a much bigger difference than new brakes, particularly at lower speeds (<100MPH). I don't know what you have in Germany, but here in the US, the Prelude came with Bridgestone RE92. They're terrible, I have no idea why Honda would use such a poor tire. :(

:cool:

That sounds like a lot better idea. Although, I think our SH may have come with different tires....but I'm not sure

Originally posted by fritz_269

Better brakes really won't make a difference on a 5g lude until you get up to 100mph+ (160+ KPH). And even up there, just some high friction pads (like EBC Green Stuff - 0.46µ) will get you a decent decrease without having to change out your rotors.

The best way to decrease your stopping distance is to get better tires! This will make a much bigger difference than new brakes, particularly at lower speeds (<100MPH). I don't know what you have in Germany, but here in the US, the Prelude came with Bridgestone RE92. They're terrible, I have no idea why Honda would use such a poor tire. :(

:cool: That´s cool cause I´m going to buy new tires soon (Bridgestone S03 PPs maybe?). The stock tires are from Michelin and they suck, too. I mean they aren´t really that bad but I´m used to better ones!:D

Originally posted by Veetec
That´s cool cause I´m going to buy new tires soon (Bridgestone S03 PPs maybe?). The stock tires are from Michelin and they suck, too. I mean they aren´t really that bad but I´m used to better ones!:D That'll make all the difference in the world. :D

I ended up with the slightly cheaper Bridgestone RE730 on my SH. But texan picked up the SO3 all around for his SH, and they rock. IMHO, it's pretty much the best all-around street tire available.
:cool:

Originally posted by fritz_269
That'll make all the difference in the world. :D

I ended up with the slightly cheaper Bridgestone RE730 on my SH. But texan picked up the SO3 all around for his SH, and they rock. IMHO, it's pretty much the best all-around street tire available.
:cool: Yea, that´s what I´ve heard, too. I can get them cheaper from a friend of mine you has got a big garage at my place.:)

So no brake upgrades for me except the new tires.

Thanx for your help!:)

so what is a good track worthy tire for the prelude 16's?? That is if that is the only driving you will be doing on those tires. We have 18's on it with falken gr-b 2's, but i don't want to use those for auto x-ing. I would like to put some really nice tires on the stock rims and use them.

Originally posted by cybercrx00
so what is a good track worthy tire for the prelude 16's?? That is if that is the only driving you will be doing on those tires. We have 18's on it with falken gr-b 2's, but i don't want to use those for auto x-ing. I would like to put some really nice tires on the stock rims and use them. I´d guess the Bridgestone RE 730 or S03 Pole Postions for examples. ;) Or do you need slicks for auto x-ing (I think we don´t have it in germany so I don´t know what it is! :confused: )

i think slock put it in a different category......would like to stick with a street class

I think the Bridgestone SO3 is probably the best street-legal tire made in the 205/50R16 size. But there are better ones if you buy wheels specifically for them - like the Hoosier Radial A3SO3 - they come in 225/50R16 but you'd need to step up to a 7" or 7.5" rim.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bs_s03.jsp
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/hoosier/ho_rad.jsp

I thought I would save some space and go ahead and post a question here since it is about brakes. I am going to have to replace my rotors on my 93 Si and I was wondering what the best way to go would be? I just need rotors since the pads are new. I have looked at either Powerslot or Neuspeed but I was wondering if Brembo or Wildwood made vented rotors.

Alan

I think it is highly recommended that you put new pads with your new rotors. Maybe you coule even find a pad/rotor set for a good deal

The pads are new. But since yesterday I have looked online and found no good deals on rotors. The best ones I saw were the Powerslot X-drilled and they were $175 a pair. I also found out that I am getting a new car so the plain-jane Honda rotors are going on. Thanks for the advice though. Some of you guys may remember me from Purehonda.com (Prelude4me) I just recently found this site and was glad of it.

Alan

True that better tires will enable you to stop quicker....But the rating onthe tire you need to look at is the TRACTION raitng on the side of the tire. UTQG ratings for the TRACTION rating is from A - C. A being great, C = sux. They test this by wet braking distance on a straightaway... The better the rating, the lesser distance you'll need to stop.

BUT: I did upgrade my brakes on my 5th gen (for safety issues. some idiots in hawaii don't know how to drive and panic stop on the freeway going 60mph) I upgraded to AEM pads, POWERSOLT rotors and Goodridge brake lines.... Man let me tellyou... It's like DAY and night!!! ESP with the brake lines...Pedal is SOLID in all conditions and the braking distances are MUCH shorter and require much less pressure.

Tires do make a difference, cause they're the SHOES for you car..But I did the upgrade WITH my stock RE92's, and baby it made a huge difference!

If you're looking for a great deal... www.landspeedracing.com

They have a package deal with pads/rotors/brake lines... Cheaper than anyone else I found on the web!

Good luck!

Originally posted by WickedSSH22a4
True that better tires will enable you to stop quicker....But the rating onthe tire you need to look at is the TRACTION raitng on the side of the tire. UTQG ratings for the TRACTION rating is from A - C. A being great, C = sux. They test this by wet braking distance on a straightaway... The better the rating, the lesser distance you'll need to stop.

BUT: I did upgrade my brakes on my 5th gen (for safety issues. some idiots in hawaii don't know how to drive and panic stop on the freeway going 60mph) I upgraded to AEM pads, POWERSOLT rotors and Goodridge brake lines.... Man let me tellyou... It's like DAY and night!!! ESP with the brake lines...Pedal is SOLID in all conditions and the braking distances are MUCH shorter and require much less pressure.

Tires do make a difference, cause they're the SHOES for you car..But I did the upgrade WITH my stock RE92's, and baby it made a huge difference!

If you're looking for a great deal... www.landspeedracing.com

They have a package deal with pads/rotors/brake lines... Cheaper than anyone else I found on the web!

Good luck! So should I upgrade my brakes now or not?? You guys are confusing me! :confused:

ahahahahahah! Do what YOU want man! If was me..Id do it all over again!!!!

Originally posted by WickedSSH22a4
ahahahahahah! Do what YOU want man! If was me..Id do it all over again!!!! Easy said!

But I definetly need some brake upgrade. But I don´t have any idea what to do!?

Originally posted by Veetec
But I definetly need some brake upgrade. But I don´t have any idea what to do!? Tires first. That makes the biggest difference.

The traction rating, while intresting, it pretty much a worthless rating. It's not consistent across years (they change exactly what each letter means every so often) and it only has to do with wet, straight-line stopping distance, completely regardless of dry stopping distance or lateral traction (wet or dry). And anyway, any tire that I'd even pretend to consider would have a 'AA' rating (introduced in 1997).

Here's how to know if you need better brakes: After you get great tires, find a stretch of dry, smooth road where you can practice a panic stop (e.g. no traffic at all). Get on the gas and take it up to a typical freeway cruising speed (i.e. 75 MPH, YMMV). Now, pretend there is suddenly an accident in front of you. Instantly jam on the brakes as hard as you can and keep steering straight ahead. If the ABS kicked in nearly immediately after you hit the brakes, then you have more brake traction than tire traction. If the ABS didn't kick in until your speed significantly dropped, then you have more tire traction than brake traction. Take it all the way down to 5 MPH, then pick it back up at a slow cruise for a couple of minutes to cool everything off. Don't repeat this test without a significant cool off period.

Here's the idea ->
If the brakes can make the tire stop spinning even at high speed, there is no advantage to getting better brakes - they are already doing more than enough - the tire traction is the weak link.

If the brakes can NOT make the tire stop spinning at high speed, then they are the weak link; better brakes will let you take advantage of all the traction you tire affords you.

The above is true for the occasional panic stop during street driving. When you're talking about circuit track or rally racing, it's a totally different story and a lot of other factors come into play.

If you want to make your brakes just "feel" better, i.e. less pedal mush; just start by changing the fluid often (every 6mos or so) - that is by far the biggest factor in pedal feel. Use a high-quality fluid, I'd highly recommend "ATE Super Blue". Keeping your pedal firm also may decrease your 'reaction time' a bit, making it still easier for you to avoid an accident.

Here's a table with the specs for some performance brake fluids:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t20986.html

Upshot -> IMHO, high-traction tires and fresh brake fluid are the two biggest 'upgrades' you can make on a 5g Prelude. Start there, and you can always upgrade more if you need (or just want).
:cool:

Okay, I will try it when I got better tires. Thanx for the good info!! :)