Maybe I'm blind, but I did not notice a section for brakes? Doesn't anybody here upgrade their brakes?

Anyway, I figured I would post this here. Stock brakes on my car suck (to put it nicely). They need to be replaced soon, as I have trashed them only after 43k miles. I'm probably going to go with Power Slot rotors and Hawk pads. I had this set-up in my BMW and my Corolla and loved it. Checking out the prices though, it will get pricey (about $100/rotor, $70/pads) so I think I'm only going to do the front for now. Besides, the rear brakes only control about 30% of your stopping power anyway. I would do all 4, but I need to get new tires as well, which will probably run another $500.

 

yeah thats a nice set up, I have a similar set up except its EBC rotors with AEM pads and she stops very nicely.

 

Yeah, one of the things that Honda did not do well is their stopping distances on my model Accord. They are way too long compared to other vehicles in its class. Probably going to go up in the tire size as well...I'm thinking 215 instead of 205, that should help with the stronger brakes.

Its funny, I had EBC Greenstuff for everyday in my Corolla and was happy with them. I tried EBC Redstuff for a track event and I killed the brakes in one day. Ever since that time I've stayed away from EBC.

 

Not necessarily. A wider tire is going to roll over itself more in the corners. If you want to run wider tires, I'd get wider wheels first.

 

Yeah, but wider tires should provide better stopping distances...would I get 215/55/16 or 215/60/16? I should probably just upgrade to 17" rims and get 225's...again, that will cost a lot though...

 

The only way a wider tire would help with stopping is if you need to stop so fast you burn rubber. That is not how they measure stopping tests. 195 is the tire width for a stock rim, just convert the rim width to mm and thats what tire size you should be running or a tad smaller.

 

The maximum braking performance is when a wheel is being slowed down right before it locks (as you call it, burn rubber). Threshold braking, to be exact. We practiced this constantly in performance driving school. Having a wider tire allows that performance to grow b/c it takes more force to lock the wheel. In the case of our cars, the brakes are weak in general, therefore Accord's are know for long stopping distances. A brake and tire upgrade should help solve this problem, but in a car that already has excellent brakes, like a BMW, the best scenario is to get stickier/wider tires if you want to improve that even more.