17 or 18 rim and brake upgrade

[Tak]

Hi,

I own a 12 lx taffeta white and plan to change the rim soon and upgrade the brake in the near future.

This is a family daily driving car so I don't think I will drop it. If I really drop, the range is 0.5 to 1.0" max only.

My budget is 1500 for the wheel/tires. These are my final.

1. Drag dr-31 17x8 or 18x8
2. Drag dr-33 17x7.5 or 18x7.5
3. MB Weapon 17x8
4. MB Battle 18x8

Should I get 17 or 18?

With the money remaining, I will save up more first for brake upgrade. Then I want to change the front brake to after market brake (maybe SI) and replace the rear drum brake with EX disc brake.

Help plz.

Thx

 

[webby]

post 6 shows you a parts list for users on the 8th gen. The 9th gen should be very similar regarding price/parts needed (just to give you an idea).
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/rear-brake-swap.7864/

Wheel choice is going to be personal opinion. I believe I've seen each of your 4 choices on member cars here. I believe I've seen more mb battles than any on your list. I think I've seen the dr-31's the least on your list. As for 17/18", it's going to depend on what look you want. An 18 is going to be slightly rougher ride due to a shorter sidewall, & you'll end up paying more money for tires. Have you looked at the wheel threads here to see what 17's/18's look like and what you prefer?

 

[Nix]

I did the drum/disc conversion and it did not work. The toe was off so far and we could not get it corrected or even close to spec. Im talking your toe should be close to 0 and mine was a 3.

That said, if you want to attempt it you will need the calipers, new brake lines for the rear, new e-brake cables, rotors, and the hub/spindle assembly. A good place to look is on AHparts.com

Look through their wrecked cars and see if you can order the pieces you need through there. Get the brake lines and cables new through a Honda dealer. You need the rear spindle assemblies. Here is one from AHparts: You need a right and a left. They will just bolt into your car. Pretty easy swap. The spindle assemblies do not come with rotors, calipers, lines, or pads. Sometimes the calipers will come with stock OEM pads in them. They are fine to use. Just make sure you get new brake lines for the rear as the stock drum hard lines will not work with the new calipers.

Link to page:

http://www.ahparts.com/cars-list.php?Make=Honda&Model=CIVIC

 

[Tak]

post 6 shows you a parts list for users on the 8th gen. The 9th gen should be very similar regarding price/parts needed (just to give you an idea).
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/rear-brake-swap.7864/

Wheel choice is going to be personal opinion. I believe I've seen each of your 4 choices on member cars here. I believe I've seen more mb battles than any on your list. I think I've seen the dr-31's the least on your list. As for 17/18", it's going to depend on what look you want. An 18 is going to be slightly rougher ride due to a shorter sidewall, & you'll end up paying more money for tires. Have you looked at the wheel threads here to see what 17's/18's look like and what you prefer?

Thanks Webby.

I prefer MB Battle as well. However, it only has 17x9 30 offset. I don't want to cause any issue like rubbing or needing the fender work.

I like 18 itself. If I don't drop, the wheel gap is tiny.
I ask either 17 or 18 because this is a family car for parents and friends. I heard using 18 is going to be a rougher ride and I need to spend more money for tires maintenance.
That's a major con for me.
If this is my own car only, who cares right?

Do you think Drag dr-33 works? I know it's also a replica but I heard quality might not be as good as MB.

And thanks for the information regarding the rear disc brake replacement.

Is it a good idea to keep the rear drum brake and upgrade the front disc brake to something better, better caliper and disc pad, etc?

Thx again.

 

[Tak]

I did the drum/disc conversion and it did not work. The toe was off so far and we could not get it corrected or even close to spec. Im talking your toe should be close to 0 and mine was a 3.

That said, if you want to attempt it you will need the calipers, new brake lines for the rear, new e-brake cables, rotors, and the hub/spindle assembly. A good place to look is on AHparts.com

Look through their wrecked cars and see if you can order the pieces you need through there. Get the brake lines and cables new through a Honda dealer. You need the rear spindle assemblies. Here is one from AHparts: You need a right and a left. They will just bolt into your car. Pretty easy swap. The spindle assemblies do not come with rotors, calipers, lines, or pads. Sometimes the calipers will come with stock OEM pads in them. They are fine to use. Just make sure you get new brake lines for the rear as the stock drum hard lines will not work with the new calipers.

Link to page:

http://www.ahparts.com/cars-list.php?Make=Honda&Model=CIVIC

Thank Nix for you information.

That's a lot of works and I don't think my friend and I can do.

Perhaps I might bring it to local mechanics for that type of works. But I will need to throw a lot of $$$$ out.

I am thinking about upgrading the front disc brake to something better and keeping the rear drum brake.

If I upgrade the front disc brake, I want a better caliper and pad, etc. I need to know if 17" has enough clearance though.



Thanks

 

[Nix]

Its' really not that bad. The only pain the butt part of the whole thing is running the new E-brake cables. The rear spindles bolt right in and the calipers just bolt to that. The brake lines you need to run are maybe 12" long and they bolt right into the stock location. You do need to bleed the whole system afterwards but we did the swap on my car in under 4 hours. Then when it didn't work we were able to reverse it in about 2 hours! hahaha. But yes, its a bit of a project.

As far as front brake upgrades go it depends on what you want. Overall the limit of your brakes are going to be your tires. Currently your stock system has enough force to activate the ABS. This means you have more brake power than your tires can handle. Unless you are tracking your car or doing lots of canyon/mountain runs and overheating the system there isn't much you really need until you get better/wider tires.

Once you do, a good high temp fluid is a must and you can certainly get more aggressive pads. If you are looking for a big brake kit for looks, they do look good but are definitely expensive. The only real advantage of the BBK setups is not brake force but heat dissipation. Hence, if you are running high temp fluid and proper pads you probably will not ever overwhelm the stock system.

The OEM pads are a good balance of being quiet, not too dusty, and lasting a decent amount of time. Going with a more aggressive pad compound generally means more noise, more dust, and they don't last as long. They will grab hard but it just means you will be at the point the ABS kicks on sooner.

If you want a fluid upgrade I would recommend you the ATE Type 200. It can handle higher temps than the OEM fluid and it doesn't need to be changed as often as some of the other fluids out there. Motul makes some fantastic brake fluid but they need to be changed at least once a year and ideally every 6 months. Bleeding the whole system is a bit of work. The ATE fluid you can get away with changing once a year.

Brake fluid is hygroscopic so it absorbs moisture from the environment. The more performance oriented fluids do this at a higher rate than the OEM fluid. Old watery fluid does not work as well and contributes to a spongy brake pedal feel. So does air in the system.

Hope that helps a bit. Let me know what you're thinking and ill try and point you in the right direction.