RickTheWelder
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2018
- Threads
- 31
- Messages
- 121
- Reaction score
- 152
- Location
- Port Coquitlam, BC
- Vehicle(s)
- 2017 Civic Si
- Thread starter
- #16
That was a fun install!
I'm very impressed with the job Wilwood did putting this kit together. Everything fit excellently well making it a relative breeze to install. The drivers side took a few assembly/disassembly tries to get all the shim spacing right before everything was lock-tite'd together.
The only thing that I found troublesome was the wheel fitment. Wilwood and twostepperformance both state that a thin (3-5mm I believe) wheel spacer is required if you want to keep using your stock Honda wheels. Although this isn't TECHNICALLY incorrect, there is a problem with that statement.
The brake kit uses a "universal" rotor, drilled for 2 bolt patterns and requiring a hub centric ring for correct mounting. This is where the 3-5mm spacer creates a problem.
My HFP wheels just brushed the front of the rotor, requiring a spacer but by using the hub centric ring and the slightly thicker rotors it does not leave enough hub protruding to catch the hub of the wheel.
The result is that your wheels are left hanging on the vehicle's wheel studs rather than the center bore of the hub. If you plan on doing any spirited/track driving (why else would you buy these brakes?) you may encounter problems if the wheel studs decide they can't hold the spinning mass of the wheel and shear off.
The solution? Why, thicker wheel spacers of course!
After some homework, I decided to purchase some H&R 15mm studded spacers.
They have a hub centric lip machined into the spacer which allows the weight of the wheel to be safely supported and takes the stress off the studs.
Now, I've never been a fan or supporter of wheel spacers - but - I have to say, once these were bolted on it totally changed the loom and stance of the car. Who knew that 15mm would make such a huge difference in the way the car presented itself? Not me, that's who. I think I need another pair for the rear to even things out. Check out this offset difference between front and rear:
Anyway, back to the brakes - the line kit is also a required add-on as the factory flex lines are incompatible with the wilwood fittings. Wilwood provides a 90° that is NPT on one end and JIC (by the looks of it) on the other. I added some teflon tape and sealing goop (loctite 567 sealant to be exact) to the NPT side to ensure a good seal. As I mention in the vid, if manufactured correctly NPT thread will seal on itself but with a mass production run, some extra insurance won't hurt. Just be sure to keep the sealant away from the end of the fitting to avoid introducing it into the braking system.
Once the SS lines replaced the OEM ones, it was just a matter of bleeding the system and begin the bedding process.
What good would new brakes be if they aren't faced correctly to the rotors? Well, no good at all really. A braking system is only as good as its contact area. The more surface area, the better. The details of the bedding process are available online but the gist of it involves a series of acceleration and deceleration to heat cycle the pads and rotors. I ventured out at night to a closed industrial park nearby which provided me some empty straightaways in order to work everything in. Although specified in the instructions, the amount of smoke and stink coming off the brakes was a little nerve wracking.
After I completed all the cycles and allowed the brakes to cool to ambient temp (make sure you don't keep your foot on the brake pedal during that part) I checked the rotor and found a nice, even wear pattern across the whole surface with no blotchy areas - if there's evidence of heat scorching or powder coating remaining, you'll need to get the rotors machined and start again.
I'm very impressed with the job Wilwood did putting this kit together. Everything fit excellently well making it a relative breeze to install. The drivers side took a few assembly/disassembly tries to get all the shim spacing right before everything was lock-tite'd together.
The only thing that I found troublesome was the wheel fitment. Wilwood and twostepperformance both state that a thin (3-5mm I believe) wheel spacer is required if you want to keep using your stock Honda wheels. Although this isn't TECHNICALLY incorrect, there is a problem with that statement.
The brake kit uses a "universal" rotor, drilled for 2 bolt patterns and requiring a hub centric ring for correct mounting. This is where the 3-5mm spacer creates a problem.
My HFP wheels just brushed the front of the rotor, requiring a spacer but by using the hub centric ring and the slightly thicker rotors it does not leave enough hub protruding to catch the hub of the wheel.
The result is that your wheels are left hanging on the vehicle's wheel studs rather than the center bore of the hub. If you plan on doing any spirited/track driving (why else would you buy these brakes?) you may encounter problems if the wheel studs decide they can't hold the spinning mass of the wheel and shear off.
The solution? Why, thicker wheel spacers of course!
After some homework, I decided to purchase some H&R 15mm studded spacers.
They have a hub centric lip machined into the spacer which allows the weight of the wheel to be safely supported and takes the stress off the studs.
Now, I've never been a fan or supporter of wheel spacers - but - I have to say, once these were bolted on it totally changed the loom and stance of the car. Who knew that 15mm would make such a huge difference in the way the car presented itself? Not me, that's who. I think I need another pair for the rear to even things out. Check out this offset difference between front and rear:
Anyway, back to the brakes - the line kit is also a required add-on as the factory flex lines are incompatible with the wilwood fittings. Wilwood provides a 90° that is NPT on one end and JIC (by the looks of it) on the other. I added some teflon tape and sealing goop (loctite 567 sealant to be exact) to the NPT side to ensure a good seal. As I mention in the vid, if manufactured correctly NPT thread will seal on itself but with a mass production run, some extra insurance won't hurt. Just be sure to keep the sealant away from the end of the fitting to avoid introducing it into the braking system.
Once the SS lines replaced the OEM ones, it was just a matter of bleeding the system and begin the bedding process.
What good would new brakes be if they aren't faced correctly to the rotors? Well, no good at all really. A braking system is only as good as its contact area. The more surface area, the better. The details of the bedding process are available online but the gist of it involves a series of acceleration and deceleration to heat cycle the pads and rotors. I ventured out at night to a closed industrial park nearby which provided me some empty straightaways in order to work everything in. Although specified in the instructions, the amount of smoke and stink coming off the brakes was a little nerve wracking.
After I completed all the cycles and allowed the brakes to cool to ambient temp (make sure you don't keep your foot on the brake pedal during that part) I checked the rotor and found a nice, even wear pattern across the whole surface with no blotchy areas - if there's evidence of heat scorching or powder coating remaining, you'll need to get the rotors machined and start again.