Nix
Jötunn Moderator
Well, do you like it? Just buy it and say F-it. Do it man. I think it looks good.
stormCIVIC fg3
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- #702
stormCIVIC
Well-Known Member
I have ordered one.
Pauly99to17
Well-Known Member
I like it. Going to look good. How much was it?
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- #704
stormCIVIC
Well-Known Member
$84 with free shipping.
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- #705
stormCIVIC
Well-Known Member
got the a-type lip on. what do you guys think?
Looks good.
BlakeFG3
Member
love the lip. completes the front end
Nix
Jötunn Moderator
Yep, looks good on there.
That is one clean garage.
That is one clean garage.
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- #709
stormCIVIC
Well-Known Member
anybody know anyone that has done a drum brake to disc conversion on our cars. im thinking next mod might be upgrading brakes.
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@Nix just made a post regarding this yesterday I think
Nix
Jötunn Moderator
Yeah I tried it on mine. It's pretty straightforward. I can tell you what you'll need and where to get them cheap. However, mine did not work out.
Parts needed:
Rear spindle assembly R & L. These bolt right in. Unbolt the stock ones from the upper rear control arm and the lower arm. Its like 3 bolts.
New rear rotors
Rear calipers
New E-brake cables from an EX or Si - This is the only real pain in the *** part of this. You have to disassemble the center console to remove the old lines and run the new ones from the e-brake handle through the floor pan to the back of the car.
New rear brake lines. Just the short section from the caliper to the end of the stock system in the wheel well. The drum brakes use hard lines all the way back but there is a short section you need to replace with a rubber hose style line.
The whole thing can be done pretty cheaply. There should be no difference between coupe/sedan brake parts. However, the problem I had was once we had swapped everything over my rear toe was over 3. It should be close to 0. We were unable to determine where the issue was and getting an alignment was not able to bring the rear toe even close to being in spec. I even took the car to a Honda dealer, told them what was up, and to tell me what to buy and I would pay whatever the cost to rectify the issue.
They went through everything and could not figure it out as all the part numbers were correct. They even said that had I been in an accident they would have used the same parts from the stock catalog. So.... if you want to try it go for it. Be prepared to possibly end up with having to put it all back. Thats what I ended up doing. I got all the parts used from 2 different year EX cars and one was a coupe and one was a sedan. Which compounded the confusion. If both parts had come off the same car then we could have said it was an issue with the rear spindles on that particular car. Both sides were off the same amount.
So... if you want to do this. Buy the parts used. New will cost you more than trading in your car for an EX.
Best place to get the parts is from AHparts.com
They are a honda/acura wrecking yard. Ive ordered from them several times. Shipping is cheap, surprisingly, for the weight of the items. I got the whole shebang to do this for about $75 shipped from CA to KY. Since you're in GA it'll probably run you about the same. I think total was less than $400 for everything needed.
Wrecking yard website Civic page:
http://www.ahparts.com/cars-list.php?Make=Honda&Model=CIVIC
Pick a 2012+ EX or SI and scroll through the parts they list and get the stuff you need. I see they have a 2014 EX that has rear brake calipers for $30 each. Not bad. They usually come loaded with the OEM pads, which are fine to reuse. Get the brake lines new through Honda though.
2014 EX:
http://www.ahparts.com/used-parts.php?id=15001
This is the drivers side rear spindle assembly. You need to find a passenger side one as well. This car looks like it got hit on the front so everything in the rear should be fine. They don't list the passenger side one as it may have been damaged. They are pretty good about that sort of thing.
http://www.ahparts.com/buy-used/2014-Honda-CIVIC-Rear-driver-SPINDLE-W-KNUCKLE/84748
So $100 per side for spindles, $60 for both calipers, then buy NEW rotors from say Rockauto $40 or less, and brake lines for say at most another $100. You'll be under $400 for everything. You still need new brake fluid too but thats like $15.
Parts needed:
Rear spindle assembly R & L. These bolt right in. Unbolt the stock ones from the upper rear control arm and the lower arm. Its like 3 bolts.
New rear rotors
Rear calipers
New E-brake cables from an EX or Si - This is the only real pain in the *** part of this. You have to disassemble the center console to remove the old lines and run the new ones from the e-brake handle through the floor pan to the back of the car.
New rear brake lines. Just the short section from the caliper to the end of the stock system in the wheel well. The drum brakes use hard lines all the way back but there is a short section you need to replace with a rubber hose style line.
The whole thing can be done pretty cheaply. There should be no difference between coupe/sedan brake parts. However, the problem I had was once we had swapped everything over my rear toe was over 3. It should be close to 0. We were unable to determine where the issue was and getting an alignment was not able to bring the rear toe even close to being in spec. I even took the car to a Honda dealer, told them what was up, and to tell me what to buy and I would pay whatever the cost to rectify the issue.
They went through everything and could not figure it out as all the part numbers were correct. They even said that had I been in an accident they would have used the same parts from the stock catalog. So.... if you want to try it go for it. Be prepared to possibly end up with having to put it all back. Thats what I ended up doing. I got all the parts used from 2 different year EX cars and one was a coupe and one was a sedan. Which compounded the confusion. If both parts had come off the same car then we could have said it was an issue with the rear spindles on that particular car. Both sides were off the same amount.
So... if you want to do this. Buy the parts used. New will cost you more than trading in your car for an EX.
Best place to get the parts is from AHparts.com
They are a honda/acura wrecking yard. Ive ordered from them several times. Shipping is cheap, surprisingly, for the weight of the items. I got the whole shebang to do this for about $75 shipped from CA to KY. Since you're in GA it'll probably run you about the same. I think total was less than $400 for everything needed.
Wrecking yard website Civic page:
http://www.ahparts.com/cars-list.php?Make=Honda&Model=CIVIC
Pick a 2012+ EX or SI and scroll through the parts they list and get the stuff you need. I see they have a 2014 EX that has rear brake calipers for $30 each. Not bad. They usually come loaded with the OEM pads, which are fine to reuse. Get the brake lines new through Honda though.
2014 EX:
http://www.ahparts.com/used-parts.php?id=15001
This is the drivers side rear spindle assembly. You need to find a passenger side one as well. This car looks like it got hit on the front so everything in the rear should be fine. They don't list the passenger side one as it may have been damaged. They are pretty good about that sort of thing.
http://www.ahparts.com/buy-used/2014-Honda-CIVIC-Rear-driver-SPINDLE-W-KNUCKLE/84748
So $100 per side for spindles, $60 for both calipers, then buy NEW rotors from say Rockauto $40 or less, and brake lines for say at most another $100. You'll be under $400 for everything. You still need new brake fluid too but thats like $15.
Nix
Jötunn Moderator
There is another option if you want to get the most out of your drum brakes. I did this prior to trying the conversion. There is a company called Porterfield. They make brake pads and do custom work as well. If you had an old rare car and can't buy brake pads for it, if you send them a backing plate they will bond a new pad onto the plate or make you a whole new backing plate and pad.
They have a couple different compounds to choose from but they should be able to make you an aggressive compound drum brake shoe for your car. I went with their R4S compound. It definitely grabs harder. Those guys and OEM are generally the only choices for drum shoes. No one makes them anymore but these guys are pretty helpful. I think you need to call them though. I remember it being a very old school type of operation. CC over the phone and no email/tracking. hahaha.
http://porterfield-brakes.com/index.php
I believe you can use SHOE913.
They list that shoe as fitting a 2012 civic but they list nothing past that. Mine fit but definitely needed some custom grinding. Be ready to trim a couple tabs. I also had to drill one mounting hole slightly larger. Overall not bad and they definitely work well.
They have a couple different compounds to choose from but they should be able to make you an aggressive compound drum brake shoe for your car. I went with their R4S compound. It definitely grabs harder. Those guys and OEM are generally the only choices for drum shoes. No one makes them anymore but these guys are pretty helpful. I think you need to call them though. I remember it being a very old school type of operation. CC over the phone and no email/tracking. hahaha.
http://porterfield-brakes.com/index.php
I believe you can use SHOE913.
They list that shoe as fitting a 2012 civic but they list nothing past that. Mine fit but definitely needed some custom grinding. Be ready to trim a couple tabs. I also had to drill one mounting hole slightly larger. Overall not bad and they definitely work well.
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Thanks nix
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- #714
stormCIVIC
Well-Known Member
sounds cheap but alot of work. and the ebrake thing does sound like a pain. thanks for the input.
Nix
Jötunn Moderator
No problem man. Yeah, its a lot of work but you can definitely knock it out in a few hours with hand tools. Bleeding the brakes and running the E-brake cables are the only real hard parts.
- Thread starter
- #716
stormCIVIC
Well-Known Member
Anybody with automatics ever use the D3 , 2 , 1 as like a manual mode?
Pauly99to17
Well-Known Member
Yes. Not recommended to do this regularly. Very hard on the gears, especially if you're pinning it in first and working your way up (aka racing someone). I have done it a couple times though.
I often drive around in D3 (aka "Sport") and it increases the RPM shift change line so the car is much more responsive. Once you get up to 100 - 110 km/hr shift into D. Not good to keep the car revving high for a long period of time.
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- #718
stormCIVIC
Well-Known Member
Yeah I use to do it to.aka race someone. But not anymore.
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- #719
stormCIVIC
Well-Known Member
So.your saying it isn't bad for the car to.use d3 as let's say a sport mode? And that it's not good to.shift through the 1 2 and.3 all together?
Pauly99to17
Well-Known Member
Yes, exactly. Driving in D3 is designed as a sport mode. Just make sure you switch to D when you get to highe speeds around 100 km/hr, especially if you're going to be driving for a prolonged time (ex. On the highway).