Project EF Civic Racecar: Making it Stop

We’ve refreshed the suspension of our 1991 Civic racecar and now it’s time to upgrade the brakes.  All of that fresh suspension will mean nothing if we can’t stop on track!  So let’s put a stop to things shall we?

Stock Civic 9.5 inch brakes. This is a photo of the original suspension from when we bought the car
Our Civic came equipped with factory 9.5” front disc and rear drum brakes. This would be the perfect time to toss all of that in the garbage and upgrade to one of the literal dozens of options for golden age Hondas. Fastbrakes can set us up with almost any caliper and rotor combination we could dream of. The quick and simple front upgrade is to grab a set of DA Integra knuckles with larger brake rotors, calipers, and pads and are a drop in upgrade. Later model Civic or Integra rear discs would also be an easy conversion at this stage. Frankly it would be silly to upgrade the ancient, undersized stock brakes.
Stock Civic rear drum brakes. This is a photo of the original suspension from when we bought the car
Unfortunately Improved Touring is a very restrictive class and we can only change out pads, rotors, and lines. We can’t upgrade the size of the caliper, disc, or change from drums. We can’t even remove the brake booster. We’re stuck with these little guys. So let’s bite the bullet and make the most of a bad situation.
Powerstop red powdercoated brake caliper
Starting up front, we are installing a set of refurbished calipers from Powerstop. Inside are brand new seals, pistons, and hardware. Outside is the fresh coat of bright red powder coating. Powerstop calipers are leak tested before leaving the factory so we have peace of mind that they will work when installed.
Hawk DTC-60 brake pads in box
For pads we went with Hawk and their DTC-60 compound. This should be a great compound for a mix of track days and autocrosses. The friction coefficient remains fairly consistent over a 1500 degree range. This means our brakes will grip up quickly when we need them on an autocross without overheating on a longer track session.
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