OEM BBK: Acura RL 4 piston brake calipers

[CWIIIFK7]

The weight saving is none existing because you use a larger (heavier) brake rotor compared to stock. 350Z Brembo rotors are 20Lbs ,oem 282mm civic rotors are 13lbs and SI rotors are 17lbs.
So the 3.5lbs you lose with the calipers are gained back by the rotors.
You could also look into using Rear CRV 1.5T calipers and rotors (310mm)I think those would bolt onto the civic rear hub.

For what it's worth my Stoptech drilled and slotted 12.76 350z front rotors were slightly under 20 lbs each. The OEM Si/Sport 18" wheel is 28.8 lbs. I'm running flow formed 18's at 19.5lbs each not including the tire. I can definitely feel a rolling mass difference over the completely stock setup. So I guess it boils down to your ENTIRE package.

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[swanarg]

The weight saving is none existing because you use a larger (heavier) brake rotor compared to stock. 350Z Brembo rotors are 20Lbs ,oem 282mm civic rotors are 13lbs and SI rotors are 17lbs.
So the 3.5lbs you lose with the calipers are gained back by the rotors.
You could also look into using Rear CRV 1.5T calipers and rotors (310mm)I think those would bolt onto the civic rear hub.

Oh yeah duh ? about the CRV I was talking to the guys at fast brakes awhile ago and they were saying there wasn’t a rotor they knew of that could work for the rear. They said they could design a bracket to accompany a larger diameter but the back spacing for a different rotor was the issue. Do you know if that combo would actually fit? I’ve been trying to upgrade the rest forever but no reasonably priced options out there.

 

[Hondanickx]

Oh yeah duh ? about the CRV I was talking to the guys at fast brakes awhile ago and they were saying there wasn’t a rotor they knew of that could work for the rear. They said they could design a bracket to accompany a larger diameter but the back spacing for a different rotor was the issue. Do you know if that combo would actually fit? I’ve been trying to upgrade the rest forever but no reasonably priced options out there.

No not sure if it would fit .The CRV rear calipers are nissin and the civic /Si are ATE .But knowing honda the bolt spacing would be the same.The calipers all use a 38mm piston.
You could try finding a cheap used one and find out.

 

[swanarg]

No not sure if it would fit .The CRV rear calipers are nissin and the civic /Si are ATE .But knowing honda the bolt spacing would be the same.The calipers all use a 38mm piston.
You could try finding a cheap used one and find out.

yeah i think its highly likely that they wouldnt fit, i bought a pair of rear calipers from a civic lx as a back up incase i some how messed up mine when disassembling them for powder coating and also to eliminate down time so i could keep my stock ones on the car while the others were powder coated. the caliper it self is the same but the bracket that mounts to the hub is different. when i mounted the powder coated LX bracket and caliper the bracket rubbed the disc, different back spacing even on civic models. luckily the caliper is the same so i just used my hatchback sport bracket with the LX powdercoated caliper assembly and voila. honda made it difficult, there a reason why only custom applications is what you see on these cars, my guess is its just too much of a headache if possible to find other car's parts that fit, hence fast brakes basically telling me they gave up on the idea LOL

 

[CWIIIFK7]

No not sure if it would fit .The CRV rear calipers are nissin and the civic /Si are ATE .But knowing honda the bolt spacing would be the same.The calipers all use a 38mm piston.
You could try finding a cheap used one and find out.

Correct. The weird thing is, my OEM front calipers were Akebono on my 2018. I was surprised to see Akebono calipers on the front, and ATE calipers on the rear.

 

[Hondanickx]

Correct. The weird thing is, my OEM front calipers were Akebono on my 2018. I was surprised to see Akebono calipers on the front, and ATE calipers on the rear.

Yeah honda uses whatever is available in the country the cars are made.
In Europe the civic's have ATE front and ATE Rear calipers (293mm front ,282mm rear)
In the USA they have Akebono front and ATE rear (282mm front ,260mm rear)
In Japan they have Akebono front and also ATE rear (282 front and 260mm rear)
The Type R has brembo front and ATE rear calipers (350 front and 304mm rear)
The civic SI has Nissin front and ATE rear calipers (312mm front and 282mm rear)

The 293/282 ATE brakes where also used on some models of the 9th gen civic in europe ,so it was easier for them to use those i guess.
I also noticed the brake pads on the ATE front calipers are smaller then the US spec akebono .So braking performance might be the same?
The front ate calipers have the same bolt spacing as all the old honda's had .
I'm currently going to do a minor brake upgrade to 300mm x 28mm rotors with a dual piston caliper from a 98 accord type R.(which is the same caliper that was used on the old legends).
Which makes it a 300/282 setup like most of previous civic type R's had.
My annual inspection doesn't allow any modifcations to the brakes without permission of the manufacturer.And i didn't want to swap brakes every year ,so if it looks oem they won't notice it.

 

[FC2]

Ok guys! So I finally installed everything. It was very straight forward. The brackets came with all the hardware you need to mount the calipers:

- 4 bolts & washers to mount brackets to knuckle
- 4 bolts & washers to mount the calipers to the brackets
- 4 extra shims Incase you have clearance issues *which I did not need*
- 2 rotor rings to fit the 350z brembo rotors
- 2 banjo bolts and 4 copper washers.

as you would imagine, it’s literally unbolting old parts and bolting on the new ones. Just be carful threading the bolts to the brackets because they are aluminum and some people have stripped their new brackets.

I initially had a small amount of difficulty getting the rotor ring on the driver side. I simply took one of my old wheel spacers and mounted it. Using a hammer I tapped the ring the rest of the way on with a star pattern on the studs, it sits flush. The passenger side went right on.

That was the only hang up, now on to the brakes. Initially my first though was my pedal travel is a bit farther and seemingly slower to engage. After re bleeding and bedding, the pedal does travel farther than before but it engages smoothly.

It doesn’t feel like you have to push harder and harder to get the stopping power you want. If you push harder it just keeps stopping harder and harder.

I do not have any vibration, fitment, or noise issues. I like them more every time I drive. With my factory brakes, sometimes when traveling at slow speeds, the amount of input from my foot would not equal the stopping force. In other words I’d lightly touch them so I could avoid scraping but the car would jolt to a stop. Other times it wouldn’t. These however just feel smooth.

So if a DIY BBK is something you want to try out, these work well and they’re very cost friendly. Just keep in mind you are changing your brake bias some which can have negative effects. On the street under hard braking I don’t notice it being a problem but I imagine if you track your car it would. I do not as of rn cuz it’s my daily.
I am awaiting a rear bracket from fast brakes so we can upgrade our rear rotors to help combat this. They are testing fitment soon. As always I will keep you all posted.

*edit* It does take time to get used to it. My factory pedal was more “touchy” with less travel and more firm initially.

*UPDATE* I bled the brakes a couple more times and got a tiny bit of air the second time. Did it a third time and also adjusted the booster push-rod about 1/2-3/4 of a turn clockwise, not very much at all. I was careful not to induce any brake drag. this solved my pedal travel/feel issue. It feels very good now.

Was wondering if you can provide links to all the parts used in order to make this complete kit. (Calipers,rotors, brackets, etc.)

 

[swanarg]

Was wondering if you can provide links to all the parts used in order to make this complete kit. (Calipers,rotors, brackets, etc.)

not sure what links they were specifically but a quick google should do it. in the thread I posted the part numbers for the rotors i used (350 z w/ brembos) stainless steel lines are optional but they're just good ridges, if you search for FK7 brake lines they'll come up. https://slickfabllc-com.3dcartstores.com/RL-Big-Brake-Upgrades_p_31.html provided the calipers, brackets, and rotor rings. they use the fast brakes kit w/ everything listed in my post and if you search pads for the acura RL you can choose whatever compound you please. slick fab will do a complete kit for you where you can select a variety of options on the site but i found it cheaper to source the lines, rotors, and pads by my self.

 

[Anger]

I see that the topic is active so instead of starting a new one, I might as well ask here:

I joust found a bolt-on Brembo BBK for the FC3 and FC1 (Civic Si HB and Sedan). Part number is 1S18005A, 4 piston monobloc calipers, 2-piece 345x28 drilled rotors. Its pretty close to the FK8 spec both in terms of size and built.

My question if anyone knows or can find out is what is the space/length between the knuckle holes for the Si. I am trying to see if this will also fit the FK7. The knuckle OEM part code is not the same between FCs and FKs but that does not mean that the length between knuckle holes isnt the same. I would assume that if for instance the 27WON BBK fits both the HB and the Si, then it would make sense for the Si Brembo BBK to also fit the hatchback!

PCD is standard 5x114.3 across all Hondas (apart from FK2 and FK8) and disc height is also the same at 47.2mm

I just wonder why would not Brembo list it for FK7 as well. Its pretty expensive but it is practically OEM quality and the perfect solution to having almost FK8 brakes (FK8 is 4-pot, 2-piece 350x32) on the FK7.

 

[Hondanickx]

Afaik it's the same as the older Honda's 140mm.There was someone that fitted dc5 brembo's to his Si and DC5 brembo 's are also 140mm.
My EDM fc1 is 140mm and fk8 is as wel.

On another note you can also buy the k-system.pro bbk kit in europe which is much cheaper.K-system pro kit
It uses calipers from a Renault Clio/Megane RS and 350z rotors.Clio/Megane calipers are not that expensive brand new from Renault aprox. 500€ for both calipers.
They also have Very good wheel clearance, much more then others.
The reason why Brembo doesn't list them for fk7 is because they have different brakes and different dust shields.The brake prop valve could be different as wel.

Here's some pictures of the FK8 calipers.
I also have a template of the Renault Rs caliper with 350z rotor which can be printed 1:1 and test fitted inside your wheels.

 

[Anger]

Ok one thing at the time, lots of useful info in your post!​

​

If the FK8 caliper holes are 140mm like the simple civic knuckles, why dont they bolt on the FK7? With adaptors ofcourse but still, I havent seen any company offering the FK8 calipers with adapters for FK7.​

​

The only calipers that I have seen to be directly bolt-on are the Hyundai Genesis. Thats why I am asking about the Brembo official kit, because it looks like it does not even need adapters.​

​

I understand about the metal dust shield behind the brake disc/rotor, but we all know thats not a big issue as it can be bent or removed altogether. I dont understand what you mean by saying "different brakes". You mean part numbers? This should not be an issue if the calipers do fit. This is indeed an expensive solution BUT is there any way to verify that this kit fits the FK7 "bolt-on"?​

​

The k system.pro (and honda performances) solution is indeed much much cheaper. However, here is an important thing about the Renault Brembo/350Z setup (and a possible solution): the 350Z discs are 324x30. The thing is that their height differs significantly from OEM as well as (more importantly also) the bore (Honda is 64.1mm, Nissan is 69mm).​

​

The good thing about these calipers however is that they are designed to be front mounted AND Honda OEM brake lines can be used.​

​

So the million dollar question is: "Can the Brembo/Renault calipers be used with 320x28mm discs, instead of 324x30"?​

​

The EUDM CRV has 320x28/5x114.3/47.2mm/64.1 discs. This is standard Honda sizing apart from the 320x28.​

​

If these calipers can be used with OEM Honda CRV discs, that would be perfect. Brembo will release OEM replacement CRV discs soon with HighCarbon and UV coating. Good stuff. I think IF these calipers fit the 320x28 discs, this is a better solution.​

​

Also, do note that if brakes upgrading and not looks are the goal, for Europe the CRV 2piston calipers should in theory (the 140mm you said before) fit the FK7. Pad surface is 157mm, which ia huge.​

​

For our USA friends, they should look into the Honda Pilot calipers. Also 2 piston instead of one!​

​

​

 

[Hondanickx]

Ok one thing at the time, lots of useful info in your post!​

​

If the FK8 caliper holes are 140mm like the simple civic knuckles, why dont they bolt on the FK7? With adaptors ofcourse but still, I havent seen any company offering the FK8 calipers with adapters for FK7.​

​

The only calipers that I have seen to be directly bolt-on are the Hyundai Genesis. Thats why I am asking about the Brembo official kit, because it looks like it does not even need adapters.​

​

I understand about the metal dust shield behind the brake disc/rotor, but we all know thats not a big issue as it can be bent or removed altogether. I dont understand what you mean by saying "different brakes". You mean part numbers? This should not be an issue if the calipers do fit. This is indeed an expensive solution BUT is there any way to verify that this kit fits the FK7 "bolt-on"?​

​

The k system.pro (and honda performances) solution is indeed much much cheaper. However, here is an important thing about the Renault Brembo/350Z setup (and a possible solution): the 350Z discs are 324x30. The thing is that their height differs significantly from OEM as well as (more importantly also) the bore (Honda is 64.1mm, Nissan is 69mm).​

​

The good thing about these calipers however is that they are designed to be front mounted AND Honda OEM brake lines can be used.​

​

So the million dollar question is: "Can the Brembo/Renault calipers be used with 320x28mm discs, instead of 324x30"?​

​

The EUDM CRV has 320x28/5x114.3/47.2mm/64.1 discs. This is standard Honda sizing apart from the 320x28.​

​

If these calipers can be used with OEM Honda CRV discs, that would be perfect. Brembo will release OEM replacement CRV discs soon with HighCarbon and UV coating. Good stuff. I think IF these calipers fit the 320x28 discs, this is a better solution.​

​

Also, do note that if brakes upgrading and not looks are the goal, for Europe the CRV 2piston calipers should in theory (the 140mm you said before) fit the FK7. Pad surface is 157mm, which ia huge.​

​

For our USA friends, they should look into the Honda Pilot calipers. Also 2 piston instead of one!​

​

​

The problem with fk8 calipers is finding matching discs.The calipers fit but the offset of the fk8 discs is different and also the center hole is 70mm i think.I believe fk8 discs have a offset of around 36mm instead of the regular 47.2mm .Which means the discs are more offset towards the hub ,and you run into clearance issues.
Also most People want to use existing disc that are not expensive.
Don't think you Will find many discs that are 350x30mm with a offset of around 47mm.

The Renault calipers come with adapters and a center ring to reduce the 70mm hole to 64.1mm.So that's not a problem at all.Also Renault calipers are mounted radial not like traditional Honda calipers.So you always need adapter.

Finding calipers that bolt on like OEM And fit the stock 320mm crv discs is near impossible.

The most important thing is the calipers Piston area needs to be the same as your stock calipers of Very close to keep the brake bias the same. Crv uses dual Piston calipers which is i think 2 Pistons of the same size around 43mm 44mm.
350z Brembo calipers might fit and are mounted the same as Honda.
But they use the 324mm discs.
350z Brembo are 40/44mm Pistons if my memory is right.

And i once heard the bolt spacing is 140mm but i'm not entirely sure of that.

 

[Anger]

In your other post you mentioned the knuckle holes are 140mm so I guess that is correct.

The FK8 disc specs you said are correct and it makes sense.

I have a friend with a FK7 who wants a BBK and I also need one for the CRV. So I guess we will get one set from Ksystem.pro and see if it fits the CRV. If it does not, he will keep it for the civic. If it fits, we will get one more! No other solution I guess!

I will look if I can find the piston sizes from the Brembo/renault calipers to compare to CRV!

 

[CWIIIFK7]

Wow, very interesting info regarding the Renault calipers. They aren't too horribly expensive either. Thanks for the info everyone!

 

[Syntek]

Is anyone running the megane retrofit kit?

Are they running into any pad overhang issues?

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