new/better/more piston brakes

[ryanprins13]

Thats interesting with the drilled rotors not being as good for a daily driver. I put them on my '02 civic 2 years ago thinking they would be better and they warped almost right away (no heavy use at all), didn't improve stopping distance and i absolutely hate having to drill all the brake dust and junk out of those stupid holes every couple months. Earlier this month was the first time i used them real hard and they faded a bunch still. Had the car loaded right up with camping gear, bike rack, big roof rack and going down a very long steep hill in the rockies behind a guy who didn't make it over 40km/hr. I was dumb and put it in neutral and just braked behind him the whole way down, at the bottom the brakes had faded decently. Same hill next day with another slow person in front i left it in gear and it was no problem, but i was surprised at how much they faded the first time.
Anyway, ill probably buy just cheap solid rotors if that stupid car is still alive next year. See how that works.
My festiva has ceramic pads in the front and im ok with them, i dont remember what the last set was like though, these ceramics have been on 6 or so years now.


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[Advancedynamix]

I used cheap ebay drilled rotors when I did the Aspire swap on Tweak, my B6T swap. The same rotors are still on that car after 80k miles (over 50k of that is serious track abuse). They have survived 3 sets of brake pads and haven't warped on me. I used performance friction sport pads on the track because the cheap organics would disintegrate and catch fire. That was after back to back 30 minute track sessions with a 140mph straight followed by a 78mph carousel corner. This was also done with 100+ degree ambient temp. I've never faded the cheap pads on the street. In fact, even when the cheap pads were disintegrating they didn't noticeably fade, just wore down incredibly fast (3 sets a day!).
Cold, the cheap pads and cross drilled rotors work great. They have good initial bite and work very consistently.
I liked the setup so much, that I've done the exact same setup on my daily driver Festiva. The brakes work excellently, both for daily stop n go and for spirited canyon runs. They work great in the rain, they don't make any strange squeals or noises. They just work. I've never once had to drill the debris out of the holes on any of my cars with drilled rotors, and I've had over 20 cars with them. My BMW and Porsche cars came with drilled rotors from the factory.
The current owner of my turbo festiva is around 60 years old, and his wife is over 60. They both feel safer in the turbo car than their other Festiva that has an aspire swap with solid rotors. The turbo car weighs over 120lbs more than their other festiva, and makes 120 more hp. This is a good comparison, because both cars have the same tires, the same suspension and are both daily driven. Hopefully, both cars will be at Festiva Madness this year for those who want the story first hand.

[Dragonhealer]

I used cheap ebay drilled rotors when I did the Aspire swap on Tweak, my B6T swap. The same rotors are still on that car after 80k miles (over 50k of that is serious track abuse). They have survived 3 sets of brake pads and haven't warped on me. I used performance friction sport pads on the track because the cheap organics would disintegrate and catch fire. That was after back to back 30 minute track sessions with a 140mph straight followed by a 78mph carousel corner. This was also done with 100+ degree ambient temp. I've never faded the cheap pads on the street. In fact, even when the cheap pads were disintegrating they didn't noticeably fade, just wore down incredibly fast (3 sets a day!).
Cold, the cheap pads and cross drilled rotors work great. They have good initial bite and work very consistently.
I liked the setup so much, that I've done the exact same setup on my daily driver Festiva. The brakes work excellently, both for daily stop n go and for spirited canyon runs. They work great in the rain, they don't make any strange squeals or noises. They just work. I've never once had to drill the debris out of the holes on any of my cars with drilled rotors, and I've had over 20 cars with them. My BMW and Porsche cars came with drilled rotors from the factory.
The current owner of my turbo festiva is around 60 years old, and his wife is over 60. They both feel safer in the turbo car than their other Festiva that has an aspire swap with solid rotors. The turbo car weighs over 120lbs more than their other festiva, and makes 120 more hp. This is a good comparison, because both cars have the same tires, the same suspension and are both daily driven. Hopefully, both cars will be at Festiva Madness this year for those who want the story first hand.

Charlie, can you post the brand of rotors you source? I think the issue is likely the quality of the rotor material, drilling and slots aside. You know we use OEM 90-93 Miata rotors (Aspire swap) to avoid the warpage problem....

[jaketlong11]

are escort gt the best or the rio's

[Advancedynamix]

Escort GT won't fit.

[Advancedynamix]

Charlie, can you post the brand of rotors you source? I think the issue is likely the quality of the rotor material, drilling and slots aside. You know we use OEM 90-93 Miata rotors (Aspire swap) to avoid the warpage problem....

I don't think they had a brand. Lol. They were 60 bucks a set on ebay. I bought 2 sets 4 years ago. Tweak has one set, Pedro has the other. 2 sets of rotors were cheaper than the front pads for my grocery wagon. Haha

[Advancedynamix]

are escort gt the best or the rio's

If you want insane brakes, get capri xr2 knuckles, and have the hubs machined to accept galant rotors and then you can use your Escort GT calipers. You'll need 15" wheels minimum.

[jaketlong11]

got it. thanks im going to find em. going to Carlisle fall car meet to look for some 15s

[ryanprins13]

Huh, so do you have any idea why the holes in my rotors constantly get filled with junk? Its quite solid and i cant just push it out with a screwdriver usually unless i want to hurt myself. Maybe just poorly designed rotors, yet you would think they would all be the same basic design. There is no right and left to them is there?


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[jaketlong11]

Huh, so do you have any idea why the holes in my rotors constantly get filled with junk? Its quite solid and i cant just push it out with a screwdriver usually unless i want to hurt myself. Maybe just poorly designed rotors, yet you would think they would all be the same basic design. There is no right and left to them is there?


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they are directional at least mine were

[Advancedynamix]

Not sure. Do you drive in mud?

[ryanprins13]

new/better/more piston brakes

Not sure. Do you drive in mud?

No, actually. Finally got a place off gravel roads just before i got the car! Its so nice.
And i looked in the packaging, on the rotors and on the ebay site where i bought them and it said nothing about right/left. Maybe i should switch sides with them and see? If they aren't labelled is there a way to tell which way they go?


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[jaketlong11]

what all would I need for the insane brakes? I want the best of the best could you make a list of the parts?

[scitzz]

I have aspire swap front and rear, used all the parts from the donor car until last spring, bought centric rotors and pads from rock auto, still have whatever the aspire owner had in the rear. Like I told Charlie yesterday afternoon, that might have saved my life less than 24 hours ago! I turned out of a subdivision, heading downhill in right lane, with full traffic in left. Guard rail on right. Dude slid into the road running the red light in a jacked up pickup, and I guess stalled it. Just as I am hitting 50MPH. Slammed on the brakes, and laid sideways in case I went under him. Came to a stop with my front bumper about an inch under his truck. Heard him start it, and backed up as he did, everyone honking horns. He waved an apology at me, I grinned and waved my one fingered acceptance back at him, he shrugged, I took off.

The brake swap makes an incredible difference over stock, also when towing.

[Dragonhealer]

The stock brakes in a Festiva, in proper working order are great for all types of driving.
It's that towing that will bite you in the a$$ !