[speedfoos]

You know it Richard!

[tuningmycivic]

wtf is a sorostitute?? co-ed??

[speedfoos]

It simply has to be warped man. There is no way I should constantly push coolant when I dog the car, this is after 3 new head gaskets, plus I ran a a leakdown test on it.

Cyl #1 - 8% loss
Cyl #2 - 25% loss
Cyl #3 - 20% loss
Cyl #4 - 8% loss

That pretty much confirms it right there. The car's coolant temps are fairly erratic as well. I can be running at 196 F, turn on the heater and I jump to 205 F. I turn off the heater and I'm down to 187 F and then it climbs back to 196-199. After dogging on it, the coolant in my rezzie bubbles like an aquarium as well. Definitely pushing exhaust gas into the water jackets of the head.

She simply has to be warped. And it happened when it overheated this summer to the point where the car would not start. It even burned up a coil pack when it happened.

[HonCiv02]

man foos i give you mad props for not once seriously considering giving up, i am sure a lot of other guys out there would have thrown in the towel, but you, NO WAY! i still cant wait to see this thing run when you get everything taken care of - i know it is going to be epic.

[speedfoos]

Oh, I have seriously considered giving up already. Problem is that I'm a stubborn bastard when it comes to problems and I not really known for giving up on stuff. I think if I didn't have this extra head sitting here, I would be less likely to be so optimistic about the problems I'm encountering.

I just hope that I don't have a leak in the the rings of #2 or #3.

[greeen01civic4d]

have u done compression tests?? id like to see what kind of compression ur running at idle, if u did have a leak at the rings, that would surely tell u

[speedfoos]

How do you run a compression test when the car is running? A leakdown test checks the cylinder compression loss which is what I did. To do that you need to pull the plugs. What other test are you talking about Adam?

Anyway, put the new stoppers on today. Got these off Ebay for $150 shipped.




Yep. Drilled/slotted Brembos and PBR Metal Master pads. They should bite a bit better and not fade like my cheapo kevlar-metallic pads I'm running right now. Just so you know, I don't need new brakes for daily driving. See? These have been on the car for three years with about 20K's worth of miles on them




It's just that the bad boys that were on there had a really crappy pad composition and faded like nobody's business. So. Off with the old.




And on with the new!





The thing I love about disc brakes is the time lapse between those two shots was 10 minutes. Easiest thing in the world to change out on a car.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Foos! D/S rotors suck! They take away surface area used to dissipate heat, are more prone to cracking, eat up pads faster, and they voted for Al Gore in the last election!"

I don't care. The 2nd and 3rd aren't true, I've been rolling on that set I just took off for 3 years now. Pads looked fine to me and the rotors never cracked. The brakes themselves were perfectly fine for daily driving, I never noticed any fade. Only when I put the car on the track and beat on it did they fade out. And since Al Gore was the founder of the internet, I don't mind the extra votes he got from my rotors.

Plus they have that whole bling appeal!



The break-in procedure is rather involved, but that's all right. 20 minutes of irritation for many miles of good braking is a fair trade off.

[greeen01civic4d]

sadly, u probably dont have access to the equipment to do it, did u use a compression gauge, ie just hooked up to each cylinder? because u can have it tested electronically as well, but usuaully honda is are the only ones who can do it, but if ur registering that much compression loss ur head is probably toast anyway, do u lose any coolant? or just push back into the res? and as far as ur rings being worn, or having a cylinder problem, If compression is low in one or more cylinders, you can isolate the problem to the valves or rings by squirting a little 30 weight motor oil into the cylinder through the spark plug hole and repeating the compression test. The oil temporarily seals the rings. If the readings are higher the second time around, it means the rings and/or cylinder is worn. No change in the compression readings tells you the cylinder has a bad valve

love the brakes btw, when did brembo start making drilled and slotted for our cars? this is the first ive seen of it! im excited to see how it goes tho, i love the brembo's on the wife's car, stop really well for oem replacements, but for the pads, ive never heard of pbr, how well do they stop? i use hawk ceramic oin both of mine, and love em, but they are a little dusty, how much brake dust do u get, and are those ceramic

[speedfoos]

did u use a compression gauge, ie just hooked up to each cylinder?

Yeah, gauge hooked up to each cylinder individually, rotate to TDC, pressurize to 100psi, determine loss.

do u lose any coolant? or just push back into the res?

Nope, just pushes it back into the res.

when did brembo start making drilled and slotted for our cars?

Brembo doesn't make them D/S from the factory. Folks buy the blanks and then typically do that stuff to the rotors themselves the same way they add the lug holes for the different vehicles.

but for the pads, ive never heard of pbr, how well do they stop?

PBR and Axxis are the same manufacturer. They stop really well IMO. I haven't done any actual measured braking tests but they grip better than the knock-off set I had on there.

how much brake dust do u get, and are those ceramic

Can't really tell yet since I just put them on. They are a semi-metallic pad, vice ceramic.

The break-in procedure was a little involved. It involved some 60-40mph braking to warm things up, then some mulitple (7-8), consecutive 60-10mph hard stops (cram pedal to floor) to properly bed the pads in and take the zinc coating off the stopping surface. There were clouds of smoke billowing out from both wheel wells by the 5th go-round, it was awesome. Even though they were smoking like crazy, no brake fade. So yeah, I'm happy with them.

[sl33pyriceboi]

these are just soem things you might want to consider next time u get new rotors...

and no offense too u or ur car...

you're actually downgrading ur brakes...

and they're not "offical" brembos. they are brembo blanks drill/slotted by a 3rd party...

brembo doesnt make drilled+slotted for our cars....or any cars with such a small rotor...


u lose about 40% surface area with slotted and drilled...and that is a DRAMATIC lost in surface area....hence ur braking potential will significally go down.

most people who have slotted or drill have GIGANITC rotors..and calipers..

plus, if u get it slotted/drill with a 3rd party, there is a good chance that they will crack because it was slotted/drilled after the rotor was made. hence it becomes more brittle than origionally.


brembo drills/slots it when the rotor is being made and therefore it does not become brittle if you would have drilled/slotted them after they cooled down.

btw, a member here was selling his AEM BBK (big brake kit) for bout 200...

why didnt u get those? they would have been a significant upgrade

[Alpha 5]

AIM BBK thread
Cool FS: Aem Big Break Kit / Tiebar / LCA / OBX and more AM and stock pics! 07-25!

[speedfoos]

I didn't get the BBK because I don't want to mess with figuring out a new proportioning valve to compensate for the larger rotor and number of pistons. There was a good article posted on the site a while ago about how BBKs are not a good idea because they seriously change the bias. Unless you account for that increase in bias to the front wheels with a new proportioning valve and somehow reprogramming your ABS to factor in the new size and effect it has on stopping, then BBKs are actually worse than my D/S Brembos.

I know they've been D/S'd by the 3rd party company I bought them from, I said that in my response to Adam.

I've read up and down about the myths, drawbacks, and benefits of drilled, slotted, D/S, and smooth rotors. I appreciate the advice, but the only upgrade that you can really do is smooth rotors and better pads. Like I said, I ran my other D/S el cheapo rotors for 3 years with no problems. My car will see the track maybe once per month. With those factors, I'll take the looks over the potential risk of cracking which hasn't happened to me yet.

[Alpha 5]

Keep us infromed about the breaks. I was thinking about getting the AEM BBK. Can you link me to the article you were reading about the abs and proportioning valve? That would be a good read.

[greeen01civic4d]

i second that, a good read indeed, ill take a look around, if i dont find, u should post it up, thanks Clint

[speedfoos]

Here's the quote from the thread (thank dog I organize my subscriptions).

Originally Posted by texascivic2k1

If you do do your research on the BIG brake kit with the 7thgen civic you will find out that the BBK is not needed. Here are some articles that Zzyzx gave me to read before I got my Wilwoods. Click on the links in the quote below...

Tires are the key to stopping the car better/quicker. Yeah upgrading pads, rotors, stainless steel lines, and brake fluid may help a little too. IMO the bbk's fills in the larger wheels and look awesome!

A member named "rijowysock" has had 19" wheels with the Wilwood application. You can PM him with any questions or if he had any problems. Also Zzyzx and Boilermaker are pretty much the experts to go to. Right know I have 18"'s but this summer (if everything goes right) I will have 19"'s and then I’ll be in the same set up as you maybe.