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Stock brake upgrade. Recommendations?

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Old 01-11-13, 01:14 AM
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Stock brake upgrade. Recommendations?

To start it off I have an 88 n/a GXL with stock 4 piston fronts. Since I've had the car I've barely driven it 12k in 3-4 years so I never serviced the brakes other than replacing a leaking caliper and bleeding them.

Well times come for a complete overhaul. And I
Mean complete. ~2 years ago my master went out so it's fairly new.

Corksport steel braided lines 129
OR
Mazdatrix steel braided 84
New front wheel stud 9
Front caliper rebuild kit 38
Rear caliper rebuild kit 37
Front hawk pads 55
Rear hawk pads 56
Front stoptech drilled slotted rotors 159
Rear stoptech drilled slotted rotors
159

Was my list/plan and I just want
Old 01-11-13, 01:19 AM
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Stupid iPhone I didn't finish typing up


I just want to get some opinions. Where are good sites to order parts from? What are good brands

I need to rebuild all calipers because I'm sure a couple pistons have seized by now. Sandblast and powder coat the fronts. Replace all 4 rotors. Install new more aggressive pads and then SS brake lines. I have high HP plans for this car in the future and before going along with that I want to be comfortable with the cars braking ability. Is a BBK really necessary
Old 01-11-13, 01:21 AM
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The brakes have always been EH to me.

So far I've checked out mazdatrix, corksport and a couple other sites.

Sorry for the broken up life story. Thanks guys!
Old 01-11-13, 02:37 AM
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If you go BBK you are looking at costs that may be more than what the average FC is actually worth!
Have you looked at a Master cylinder Brace?(levelzero sells them here in the vendor section)
Old 01-11-13, 05:57 AM
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Just freshen everything up like you already plan. BBK is a waste for a street car. Also, tires do 98% of the braking, not the brakes!
Old 01-11-13, 07:22 AM
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Before going nuts with bigger rotors/calipers, you can easily upgrade the booster and master cylinder to great effect.
Although the Mazda 929 w/ 1" MC bore is the forum favorite, I've had equally good results with booster/MC combos from Nissan (some of which have integrated prop valves) and Honda (what I'm currently running).
Even better IMO, is the 1 1/16" setup from a Subaru.
Old 01-11-13, 10:00 AM
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Yeah, getting wider tires is a good brake upgrade

tirerack.com is a good place to go for brake stuff. don't bother with most SS lines, they're just rebranded and possibly inferior quality. get some Goodridge brake lines, they're nice and high quality DOT legal lines.

don't bother with drilled and slotted rotors, it doesn't do anything except make pads wear faster and rotors crack easier.

Get some nice brake fluid, that'll help some too. Most people use ATE super blue.

Clocker, do any of the larger BMCs you've found have 3 outlets? or would you have to make a t fitting for non-abs lines?
Old 01-11-13, 10:12 AM
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Most are two port.
I usually use a double banjo for the front lines.
Old 01-11-13, 10:50 AM
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This is why I love this forum, constant extremely helpful advice. Thanks guys!

After I finish up everything else I want to see how firm the pedal feels and go from there about whether or not I want to upgrade the bmc
Old 01-11-13, 04:45 PM
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You can get a rebuilt 4 pot caliper for $44 at orielly's, autozone. About the same at Rockauto, but you have to deal with shipping a core.


I wouldn't rebuild a caliper for the $ difference. That's just me.

Good Luck.
Old 01-11-13, 06:11 PM
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I didn't mean wider tires, I just meant a "better" tire in general.
Old 01-12-13, 12:03 AM
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I usually just do a caliper swap out from NAPA. Very cheap. The only issue would be wanting to powder coat them, then I would go through them myself.

2nd on the Goodridge lines and good fluid. You will be suprised what good pads will do for pedal feel. Stock type rotors are fine, they haul EP race cars down from 150mph at Daytona all day long with proper cooling.
Old 01-12-13, 11:17 AM
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Originally Posted by jgrewe
I usually just do a caliper swap out from NAPA. Very cheap. The only issue would be wanting to powder coat them, then I would go through them myself.

2nd on the Goodridge lines and good fluid. You will be suprised what good pads will do for pedal feel. Stock type rotors are fine, they haul EP race cars down from 150mph at Daytona all day long with proper cooling.
Ill call up a couple places on rebuilt caliper quotes. When I had to buy a remanned rear caliper it was somewhere around 100..... So I'm not sure. Everything in New York is overpriced and I wanted to powder coat them so I'm having second thoughts

Hmm ill check them out

Originally Posted by beefhole
I didn't mean wider tires, I just meant a "better" tire in general.
Well I'm running 205s so running a wider and better tire would help. But at this point I can't even lock up my brakes.
Old 01-12-13, 11:31 AM
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$56.79 at Rockauto.com

If you can't lock up your brakes right now, and you have a hard pedal, I would say better pads will help for sure.
Old 01-12-13, 12:07 PM
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If he can't lock the brakes but has a hard pedal, he might also have a bad booster or check valve.

Even the base model single piston calipers can lock the wheels (albeit maybe only once...).
Old 01-12-13, 01:50 PM
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Originally Posted by clokker
If he can't lock the brakes but has a hard pedal, he might also have a bad booster or check valve.

Even the base model single piston calipers can lock the wheels (albeit maybe only once...).
Pedal isn't hard. It feels nice but just has to be pressed down to almost the floor to stop

Originally Posted by jgrewe
$56.79 at Rockauto.com

If you can't lock up your brakes right now, and you have a hard pedal, I would say better pads will help for sure.
I called up a local napa. The guy told me 47 each 4 piston front caliper. And AAA members get a discount so that would work out.

Before the hurricane I could lock up my brakes and now my pedal has to go all the way to the floor to actually stop so I tried bleeding thinking some water may have gotten into the lines but it didn't help.

I think it's just time to redo all the brakes.... In my other thread I explained what it went through. There's no shiny surface on my rotors anymore.

Stock brake upgrade. Recommendations?-image-632537516.jpg
Old 01-12-13, 02:12 PM
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Originally Posted by NYsNumba1Man
so I tried bleeding thinking some water may have gotten into the lines but it didn't help.
No doubt about it, water has gotten in your lines.
Brake fluid has a real affinity for water, it's constantly absorbing it from the air in the reservoir.

Whether that's a factor in your particular case is unknown.
Old 01-13-13, 04:23 PM
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Originally Posted by clokker
... I've had equally good results with booster/MC combos from Nissan (some of which have integrated prop valves) and Honda (what I'm currently running).
Even better IMO, is the 1 1/16" setup from a Subaru.
do you happen to have models to go along with those recommendations? i know you said in your thread that you're using an Integra booster/mc. is it 2nd or 3rd generation? i checked and there are a few different part numbers between them.

i'm going to be doing my brakes pretty soon and it was actually your thread (and a couple PMs with j9fd3s) that got me thinking about NOT going with either 929 or Rx-8 parts.
Old 01-13-13, 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by diabolical1
do you happen to have models to go along with those recommendations?
1997 Integra GS-R...1" master, double diaphragm booster, the unit I've been using for three years

I'm terrible about finding out what cars I pillage at the junkyard, usually focused only on the part I'm seeking.
I think the big Subie MC comes on early 90's Legacies.
Old 01-13-13, 06:59 PM
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'97 GSR or 90s Legacy ... yes. thank you much!
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