This winter while the car is sitting I am thinking of bleeding and replacing brake fluid, among other little maintenance things. But then I also thought, why not swap out the stock brakes with something a bit better while I'm at it?

I don't track the car or NEED better brakes... I just kind of want to do it for the fun and experience of it I've done brake work years ago on my Integra (loved that car), so I'm not a noob at all.

I realize this is kind of a silly question/post, but is this a bad idea?

 

it is for fun, and sometimes better looks, better brake feel too. Your braking performance is also dictated by tire traction, your car can only stop as fast as the tires allow, brake bias changes also have to be considered. If you get into installing larger calipers you have to think about wheels that will fit the combo, and lowering of the car and possibly wheel spacers, the project can be more involved than you initially think. Even swapping to something like Spoon calipers affects the wheels and spacing and lowering. Simple mods like pads, rotors, fluid, and stainless lines are the easiest to implement.

 

Thanks for the reply. Ya, I didn't even consider that the larger calipers would probably mean I need spacers or different wheels... and I definitely want to keep my stock AP1 wheels on the car.

I think I'll just go the simple mods route like you mention -- pads + rotors + lines. And then clean up the calipers really well while they're off.

This will scratch the itch of upgrading and getting my hands dirty, but won't break the bank

 

oh yeah if you keep your ap1 oem wheels you are very limited unless you want to spend a lot of time doing custom fitting . Caliper painting and set of stick on decals can look really nice - you can get brake decals on ebay for front brake calipers , I ran some for a while - Honda decals , front and rear fiment.

 

Driving experience mods are pretty much always a good idea.

AP2 pads or similar semi-metallic pads will provide more bite at low temps that you'd see during street driving. Makes it more fun to stop.

Makes dust. But...you can always just not look at the wheels.

 

So some Googling tells me that StopTech rotors are a decent option.

I like the look of these ones: https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brak...or&group=&cat=.

I'll need to find a cheaper option than TireRack for shipping to Canada, though. Yikes.

 

Stoptechs are nice. I have had good luck with Msport rotors, they are made in Canada, you may find a dealer in BC, they are drilled and slotted, I always liked the look for drilled rotors but everyone has their own opinion on them.