[Bread]

I would like to see if there is any interest in having a big brake kit using Bear components for the legend. It will likely be a 13" - 14" rotor that uses the stock caliper to keep the kit reasonable. The kit will include either a cast rotor or a 2-piece unit that is much lighter and more expensive. I could manufacture a 4-piston kit, but that will be even more expensive. I was just going to make one for myself, but if there is interest out there then I can produce a kit for retail sales. I have a 1992 LS Sedan, so the kit will fit all cars with my trim-level brakes. It will not fit the GS models that have larger discs since I do not have access to those parts for R and D as well as fabrication. You can vote for which types of kits you prefer, Stock caliper or 4-piston caliper. Keep in mind the price differences and only vote for the one that you would buy.

 

[tnelson]

either one man, i voted brembo, but i have been wanting a brake upgrade, let me know how much it will cost and ill get back to you. and did i see dynomat availble, hook me up please. email me or pm me please, im about to start system building and i need some cheap dynomat
peace
Tnelson

 

[Legend95]

I would be interested in a big disc only application like the aem oe kit. not down to shell out 2grand for a car that i may not keep much longer.

 

[E K]

I vote for 13" factory caliper. 14" prob wont' fit under 17" rims.

 

[Guest]

I voted for the Brembo as well, but after I started reading, I'm now wondering just how much more it would be for the calipers as well. If it's way expensive then I would want to go with the Big Discs.

Besides, the Type-II Legends come with pretty good dual piston calipers stock.

 

[legend4life]

can we get some price ranges please?

 

[Bread]

Your input is important

can we get some price ranges please?

Well, they will be less than existing kits on the market right now. You can go to AEM and Bear's website to see how they price full kits and partial kits to get an idea. I can't say for sure what it will cost, only that it will be less because I don't need to make much money on my kits. I already go to the University of Washington full-time and work for Cable Connection full-time, so my little business of Endless Motorsports is only a hobbie for now. I mostly work on cars of friends of friends, and people I meet. I just thought it would be cool to have a kit for our Legends because I love the car and nobody else makes a kit. And since my dad ownes a machine shop I can contract out the construction of these kits to him, and put them together for re-sale in my shop. So for now, I just need to see what people are interested in before I go ahead and buy the parts I need to start developing a kit for my car.

Oh, and EK, you are right about the disc size. I know from experience that I can't go much over 13" in order for the rotor to fit in a 17" wheel with the caliper mounted. And just so everybody is clear, you must have at least 17" rims for this kit to fit. Big brake kits do not work on factory rims because there is not enough clearance. Even some of the aftermarket 17" rims will not provide adequate clearance. I can provide picures of a Bear 13.5" kit w/ a 2-piston Bear caliper that I installed on a '94 Integra if anyone is interested in seeing how these things fit. I just need somebody to host them for me.

Once I decide on the best option I can start getting some preliminary pricing together. Since it's getting closer to summer now I can ride my Ducati while my Legend is torn apart So for now, just place your votes and voice your opinions and desires here on this thread. I want to put together a kit that people can afford.

 

[Dave C ver2.0]

Might want to look at Wilwood calipers also. May be cheaper than Brembo or Baer and just as good.

 

[aiznpride]

Might want to look at Wilwood calipers also. May be cheaper than Brembo or Baer and just as good.

i agree. how were you planning on using stock calipers with bigger rotors? new brackets? it would be a better idea to change the calipers as well. using 2 piston calipers on big rotors might not be good. i would go at least 4 pistons.
-j

 

[Guest]

Hmmm, I like the idea of using a 13" caliper, cause I think that most of us probably have at least 17" rims. What is the stock size for the rotor? If it becomes an issue with not being able to use stock calipers with bigger rotors then do you think that we could get some that are slightly smaller (like 12.5" or 12").

 

[NickD]

Has anyone considered factory 6piston Porsche calipers and rotors? From what I understand these is not a difficult mod to do and I believe it will run $2500 for both front wheels. I know a guy who installs these brakes on BMW 540i's and it takes about 2 hours a wheel on those cars...

 

[Bread]

i agree. how were you planning on using stock calipers with bigger rotors? new brackets? it would be a better idea to change the calipers as well. using 2 piston calipers on big rotors might not be good. i would go at least 4 pistons.
-j

It's fine. The bigger rotor alone will greatly increase the stopping power. The Integra kit I did had the 2 piston because that's plenty big for street use. The 4 piston is overkill for a street vehicle and isn't worth the extra weight in most cases.

As for Wilwood. They are relatively new to the aftermarket street scene. They started out making parts for drag racers that are lightweight. Those parts will not last on the street. They do have a few street kits for the Camaro and such now, but they don't have a very big variety to choose from. I like Bear and AEM because their kits have been proven to be quality setups for street vehicles.

 

[aiznpride]

Has anyone considered factory 6piston Porsche calipers and rotors? From what I understand these is not a difficult mod to do and I believe it will run $2500 for both front wheels. I know a guy who installs these brakes on BMW 540i's and it takes about 2 hours a wheel on those cars...

i was considering doing that but i was quoted 3000 for the front. so i decided on just getting the rotors.
-j

 

[siege]

If you can make the kit I would buy one, but it has to fit a 17" rim.

 

[Bread]

Has anyone considered factory 6piston Porsche calipers and rotors? From what I understand these is not a difficult mod to do and I believe it will run $2500 for both front wheels. I know a guy who installs these brakes on BMW 540i's and it takes about 2 hours a wheel on those cars...

These brakes are not compatible with the Legend. The difference is that there is a kit to install those brakes on the BMW. I'm also unsure of the thickness of the aftermarket rotors from certain cars. If we are going to use the stock caliper then we need to consider the fact that they are designed for a rotor of a ceratain thickness. If the rotor is too thick then the caliper will not fit over it. Those of you that have replaced your own brake pads know how difficult it is to pry them far enough apart to get the caliper to fit over the rotor. It's not too bad on mine because it's worn down to the 21mm minimum thickness already That's why I began to research the big brake kits.

The majority of the work in designing our kit is going to be in the brackets. When you increase the size of the rotor, you cause the caliper to extend beyond it's mounting points on the spindle. That's why we need a bracket. It's a simple concept, but difficult to produce.

My brackets are going to be fully CNC machined to exact tolerances (within a few thousands of an inch), and then mostl likely powdercoated or anodized depending on the material I choose. I will use high-grade materials to ensure strength. They basically need to be overbuilt to ensure safety. So I'm going to have to make up drawings of the prototype part so that I can make a CNC program to machine it out. Then I have to buy blank material and make a jig to fit in the machine. Once all that is done I will program the setup into the machine and dial in the perimiters. Only then can I start to mass-produce the parts. Once machined they will need to be de-burred and cleaned before shipping out to the powdercoating company. So as you can see there is a lot of work and time involved in making a simple bracket.

 

[Guest]

From the sounds of it, I would be down with just a 13" Rotor that will work with our Stock 2 piston calipers.

 

[Bread]

Ok, found out some new stuff. If we go with Bear components then I have to make only a 4-piston kit w/ 13" rotor because the rotor is 1.1" thick. That rotor is too thick to work with the stock caliper. I see from the poll that we are pretty much split on voting for either the big brake kit or just the rotor upgrade. But if we go with AEM then I can make a kit for both. So then you could buy the whole kit for $2000, or just buy the large rotor for like $700 and then upgrade to the large caliper later if you choose. Only thing with the thinner AEM rotor is that it won't dissapate heat as well as the Bear which is around 4mm thicker. Look at a ruler, that's a lot of metal. Here's a quote from AP Racings website regarding aftermarket brakes......

"Benefits of larger discs

The discs are wider and of a larger diameter than standard. The extra material controls heat build up and the larger diameter means that the caliper can be mounted further away from the centre increasing the leverage effect, which increases braking torque while decreasing effort required on the pedal."

I still need to contact Brembo to see what they have. I've talked to a couple people about using Porche brakes with conflicting results. Some say Porche uses Brembo, others say it is their own brand. It's a waste of money either way as far as I'm concerned becasue anything with "Porche" on it has got to be expensive.

I'm also trying to see if we can get "Legend" printed on the caliper because I have found blanks that we can get. So anyways, I'm doing the leg-work folks, just keep giving me input and I'll keep you updated.

 

[ChrisK]

Just for your information, the TYPE II rotors found on the 93+ Coupes and 94+ GS Sedan are still 11" just like the TYPE I rotors. The only difference is it is 5mm thicker. Therefore, your kit should work on all the G2 Legends. While I am not interested in a larger rotor, simply because I still use my stock 16" rims at times, I would be interested in a better, lighter caliper that would either bolt to the OEM mounts, or bolt up with a minimal bracket coversion. I find my OEM brakes with EBC pads and drilled rotors work well enough for me, but I would be interested on how much of an affect a lighter caliper would have on unsprung weight and performance. If there is minimal improvement, I'd still use it since it looks much better I need to keep my 11" rotor size though.

 

[Guest]

Ok, well I think that 13" rotor sounds good, but I don't want to get up over that $1000 range. I don't even know if I can afford $700 for brakes. I think that I may be better off going with teh $200 or whatever 11" brembo cross slotted rotors.

 

[Dv8]

a bigger brake kit is cool and all, but do you really see that many Legends out there on the road courses? MY Legend stops pretty dang well with the brembos xdrilled and slotted under ebc green stuff pads as it is.

I wouldnt mind a nicer caliper and a slightly bigger rotor though. But it would come in second to any HP producing product.












~Hybrid