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Brake upgrade (read before saying I don't need it) (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by HumanPerson@sh.itjust.works to c/cars@lemmy.world

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I need brake upgrades for a 2012 Honda pilot. The local twisty road is quite hilly and I can be hard enough on the brakes to get fade from the OE brakes. They seem to have shit themselves after a recent drive. I asked for pad recommendations and was told Hawk Performance, EBC Bluestuff, Porterfield r4-s, or akebono euro are good options. I was unable to find those for my car. If any internet stranger could find some in a size that fits, that would be awesome, but I would also be open to other suggestions. I also would like fluid and rotor recommendations. I don't want drilled rotors, would consider slotted. I'm hoping to not dump tons of cash on this, as I'm trying to save for a better car as the long term plan. Thanks in advance!

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[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The only cheap way to really do brake upgrades is to find a junkyard with a higher trim car, IF your car had options for larger brake sizes. Then swap the all the knuckle and brake assemblies including master cylinder. It's fairly involved and doing anything else custom is gonna be $.

Ceramic pads typically perform the best in high heat compared to typical organic or metallic pads. They're also noisy. Eh. I get all my stuff on rockauto typically Raybestos brand.

Its ultimately a physics issue. Better pads and slotted rotors will slightly increase your braking force and temp resistance, but at the end of the day if your brake system is not physically large enough to reject the heat it is generating, it will continue to fail every single time no matter how many Amazon parts you throw at it.

Flushing your dot3 for dot4 brake fluid (its directly compatible) will get you an extra 20deg of boil point protection and reduce fade a little. Especially if your fluid is already neglected. But see above issue about physics, it is not a magic bullet.

Other commenters are right. Change how you drive to reduce brake heat.

On long downhill slopes you need to stay in a lower gear so you have more engine braking force helping you out. If your gear shifter has the option for d, d3, d2, use the lower gear options depending on speed to ensure engine braking.
Practice pulse braking- brake harder for a few seconds to drop 8-10mph, then let off and coast until you are going too fast again. This extra few seconds allows heat to conduct away from the surface of the brake rotor and prevents excessive heat buildup in the pads and caliper. You'd be surprised how much it helps.