JohnsRX

Ok, I have never been a fan of my RX's brakes. Now that i have heavier 19s on, im more inclined to need better brakes. I went to a Carlsson tuner couple days ago and they told me they can fit a huge 355mm rotor on my car without changing the caliper or anything else. They recommend a simple rotor change just to make the brakes look better with my 19s. But because the inside of my wheels are gloss black, so that isnt a problem at all.

But im interested in more braking power guys! Has anyone fitted any big brake kits like brembos or porsche brakes??? Otherwise im gonna think of another home made solution again.

salimshah

RX brakes are far superior to MDX's and better than others in a recent review conducted by a magazine (car and driver?)

After glossing over various posts, I have come to the following conclusions:

By changing calipers/pads/pistons/rotors you will not improve the braking distance. The improvement you can hope to get would be in the feel and fading. Weight of the vehicle {static & dynamic (shocks/springs.. how the vehicle dips etc) } and tires can make a difference.

Reasoning:
The basis of the above is on this assumption ...
Stock brakes are capable of jamming the wheels when the brake pedal is pushed with enough force. It is the ABS part that kicks in and modulates the hydraulic pressure. So if you change the brake set up, you will end up with the same results. Any improvement you will get would be when the stock brakes loose the grabbing power under heat/repeated_braking, also referred as fading.

Salim

Edit:
Since you have larger rims, your rotational mass/inertia might be more. In this case, you might be observing more fade then the rest of us. I am willing to venture that the stock system can still grab and jam the rotating wheels.

JohnsRX

i agree with what ur saying, but if i changed our 1 or 2 piston caliper to a 4 piston one like the brembo set-up, im sure i have a lot more force to slow the car down. I dont know how bad is MDX's brakes, but compared to other cars i have, the RX's brake isnt really up to my standards.
NOBODY has a big brake kit??!!

mooretorque

John, Salimshah is right. Big brakes provide more fade resistance but in and of themselves will not provide much decrease in stopping distance. You are limitied by the size of the tire contact patch as far as your ultimate braking power. Increased rotational mass of bigger wheels and tires will produce a decreased rate of decelertion for a given amount of pedal pressure, but AT THE POINT THAT ABS ACTIVATES, the brakes are locking (and unlocking) the wheel and your rate of maximum deceleration remains the same!

I know this seems a littte bit counterintuitive (a bigger brake ought to provide more deceleration force) but bigger brakes primarily provide a larger thermal mass to dissipate heat; once the brake fluid boils, you've got zero braking force (OOPS!).

Changing pads, calipers, brake lines, rotors can increase your pedal firmness and (maybe, depending on a host of other things) your decel rate at partial braking, but ultimately how much force can be used to slow the car comes from the rubber on the road when the wheel is right at the point of locking up (or locking and unlocking very rapidly, with ABS) since the coefficent of dynamic friction is greater than that of static friction. More rubber = shorter distances. More brakes = less fade.

carnal_c30

hmmm but with the combo of bigger brakes, wider tires, bigger calipers, stiffer springs, and larger master brake cylinder.... big brakes are defintely worth it

I see what you guys are saying, but the feel and lack of fade and increased braking performance of big brakes is worth it

-I dont have an RX, I have a Maxima with these



I really truly think they are worth it- Maximas have alot worse brakes than the RX I'm sure, and while the fuuul capability of these brakes arent used w/o a 3Z master cylinder upgraded, the difference is just amazing

I don know about the cost on the RX and not in Taiwan, but I think its worth it... brakes are definitely handy over here

JohnsRX

u ******!!! take those off and give it to me!!=)

carnal_c30

ahahahahhaha eedless to say when I drive the SC400 I get scared... feels like the damn things never gonna stop

if RX guys are interested we can just CNC machine a bracket and make any big brake kit fit

what di the Carlsson guys tell you John? what brakes did they wana use and how much??

JohnsRX

Didnt ask about the price but they will just add a 355mm=14" brembo disc to it. Probably cost like $200 each i guess. I think im gonna do an exhaust first, if im ever gonna do the brakes.

carnal_c30

hmmm that would look good, maybe just try different pads that makes a huge difference

and yea... I wana hear how the car sounds with a nice clean exhaust!

JohnsRX

ME TOO!!=)