Honda Prelude
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MY 'LUDE - Interior - Suspension - Brakes - Tyres - Engine & Maintenance - Lighting - Audio

Brakes

Copyright DBAThis is a less obvious modification. I was running out of brakes. Which has a dual meaning. 1. They were wearing out and 2. They would fade after 5-6 hard stops from 100kph. So I went on a quest for better braking with a tight budget. I settled on Slotted DBA Kangaroo Paw front rotors (pictured but without the slots).

These offered quite a significant improvement in fade resistance over the OEM rotors. The DBA web site states that (abstract from http://www.dba.com.au/kanga_paw_design.asp):

" The ‘Kangaroo Paw’ design features a series of 144 diamond and tear drop shaped pillars and columns, individually spaced between the rotor faces. This system provides two key advantages. One advantage of this design is the ability to cool the rotor faster than ever before.This works on the same principal as an air-impeller, designed to extract hot air.As the disc rotor rotates, aerodynamic turbulence around the individual pillars and columns is generated, increasing the force of hot-air out from within the internal areas of the rotor. The second advantage is the increased dimensional stability across the disc rotor, directly achieved by the individually spaced pillars and columns. These advantages increase the disc rotor’s efficiency by as much as 20 per cent when compared to conventional rotor designs. A 20 per cent increase in disc rotor efficiency, directly translates to reduced brake operating temperatures, brake fade, disc rotor stresses, disc thickness variation, run-out and shudder. Importantly,customers fitting DBA 'Kangaroo Paw' rotors will benefit from significantly better braking performance and at no extra cost to the consumer or trade user. This technology is specifically designed for the modern vehicle,covering a wide range of driving styles, from street use to 4WD, including high performance applications. Kangaroo Paw technology is another example of Disc Brakes Australia ’s commitment to improve driving safety."

What's more, they also improve the look of the wheel, giving the car a racer's look.

Pads
The brake pads also came in for some attention and I finally decided on the EBC Greestuff kevlar brake pads.

Abstract from http://www.ebcbrakes.com.au/green.htm "This pad features a high Kevlar content formulation resulting in an ultra high performance road pad which is extremely kind to discs. With a friction co-efficient of around 0.5 and a high resistance to brake fade (650ºC) this pad is a superb upgrade for high performance street cars, high speed freeway use and consecutive heavy braking."

Overall, I would say that I am happy with the pads. Don't believe what they say about no brake dust. These do dust, but the brake dust from these pads are very easy to wipe off the rims. On the performance side, they do need warming up in order to get the most out of them. Under normal driving conditions I would say that they work as well as OEM pads but once they have some heat in them, they do bite a lot harder than OEM pads. If I am going out for a 'drive' I will have my left foot tralling the brake a little before pushing the car hard. This brings the brakes up to temperature and they preform briliantly. So far I have not been able to make the brakes fade at all.

Brake Lines
The final addition to the braking system was the replacement of the stock rubber brake hoses with stainless steel braided teflon items. The idea behind this is that the steel braiding will ensure that the hose doesn't swell when you apply the brakes which would give enhanced brake pedal feel, braking power, and quicker pedal response. The also look great through the alloy wheels if you cared to look. I opted for Goodridge brake lines which have ADR approval.

Braking distances are now phenomenally short. I measured the braking from 100kph to be just 34 metres.