Greater power, lighter weight, better handling-three things that 99% of enthusiasts pursue after they start investing in their project car. Strangely, brakes are a distant item on their "to-do" list, and are usually pushed farther than they should be. From the large number of options to the sometimes intimidating price tag, the brake upgrade can be overwhelming, especially for the Honda/Acura crowd.

Even if you are not proficient in brake upgrades, you are certainly familiar with any type of vehicle that Wilwood Engineering, Inc. can imagine for you (there may be few that you would not have thought of, such as snowmobiles, military vehicles and agricultural equipment), Wilwood has been providing high-performance parking products since the late 1970s.

So, how much brake do you need? This decision largely depends on the weight of your vehicle, its power output, and what it will be used for. On a 1992 Integra like this, if equipped with high-quality brake pads and rotors, the factory floating calipers can scrub very well on this light (estimated 2,400 lb) car.

I replaced the rear caliper with a refurbished factory version because the car was a mess when I first bought it and it was all confiscated. In the front, I rebuilt the original calipers and installed cross-drilled rotors, intermediate performance pads, and stainless steel braided wires on all four corners-everything is fine. However, after the introduction of enhanced flavors, fading under vibrant conditions quickly becomes a problem.

Wilwood offers a variety of options for Honda/Acura in the 90s, including their Forged Dynapro 6 Big Brake kit, which uses six-piston calipers on a 12.19-inch rotor, and a four-piston Forged Dynalite kit for the same rotor size with specific resistance. App, and a full-race Dynapro Radial option using four-piston calipers on 11.75 inch rotors. According to your intentions, these are first-class kits, including everything needed for installation. For my car, I think upgrading to a large brake kit might be a bit too much. I have another car on hand with a 12.19 inch Dynalite device, and I found that none of my three sets of wheels can safely remove the calipers.

Fortunately, Wilwood provides their DynaPro Honda/Acura caliper (DPHA), which fits your factory’s 262mm rotor (most 90’s Civic/Integra), accepts OEM brake cables, and does not require any type of adapter, because It is bolted directly to the knuckles. By keeping the size of the rotor the same as the factory version, Wilwood calipers have enough space to fit most 15-inch wheels. The DynaPro series caliper is a four-piston fixed caliper made of forged blanks, which provides corrosion resistance and thermal protection to keep it cool. There is also no need to replace the master cylinder; Wilwood points out that the factory device works perfectly with the kit and will not interfere with your ABS function. Most importantly, the DHPA kit is one of the most affordable upgraded brake kits.

Usually, when you find Wilwood calipers, they are powder coated in red or black, but the group offers dozens of color upgrade options. I chose "Chicago Gray" in black font. Obviously, performance and affordability should be the decisive factors, but the opportunity to choose from a variety of different colors is a good reward.

There are pros and cons to using slotted, drilled or drilled and slotted rotors, again, it depends on the purpose for which you will use the car. For my construction, Wilwood's standard blank rotor is more than sufficient. It provides durability, even when the brake pads wear out, remain quiet during operation, and generate very little brake dust-all of which are excellent attributes of street machines. Of course, if you need one of the other rotor types mentioned, Wilwood can provide you with a rich product range.

Wilwood blanks are a direct substitute. Don't forget to add some anti-seize agent before tightening the fixing screws.

Otherwise, you will hate yourself when you need to remove the rotor in the future.

Wilwood provides new hardware to install the calipers and does not require spacers or spacers to get the correct fit-this is actually a bolted connection and is by far the simplest brake upgrade.

Wilwood also recommends the use of red Loctite on the caliper hardware to ensure that the bolt does not pull out over time due to vibration.

When it comes to braking your car, don't be lazy, don't just shoot. Take the torque wrench and apply the 60 foot pounds recommended by Wilwood.

The kit includes Wilwood's BP10 street mat-a high-performance composite material for smooth bonding and low dust levels. For street cars, I prefer street mats, but there are more radical options based on your needs.

It is easy to install the brake pads with DPHA calipers. After removing the spring retainer, simply slide the new pads into place and they will click into place.

Reinstall the spring clip through the guide holes of the caliper and the brake pad itself, tighten the single anchor bolt, and you're done.

Wilwood's brake line hardware will be used in conjunction with factory production lines or OEM-style banjo after-sales production lines. These production lines should be clamped between the provided washers and tightened to specifications.

The complete brake bleed procedure for installation is the same as the OEM, but with Wilwood calipers, you will find four bleed screws-the top two need to be fully deflated.

If you use inferior tires, the largest and worst brake setting you can find will be wasted. When requested, high-quality brakes will work, and if you use something like Wilwood's DPHA kit, they will do very well. However, your actual parking ability depends only on the connection of your car to the road—that is, the tires you are driving on. Every time I attend a car show or attend a car and coffee party, I can’t help but notice that people are wearing dangerously bare tires and are equipped with big, fancy brakes. It's maddening.

Just as you can "over-clutch" a car with something that is too radical for your setup, you can also over-clutch with a tire. For example, if it starts to rain, a set of R compounds ready to fight will not be too fun in your daily commute, and the all-season tires that come with your aunt's SUV may not reduce any reasonable lap time. The idea here is balance, which is what most automakers are looking for, although sometimes they will find balance after spending too much money and wasting too much time.

Over the years, many of us have relied on Falken’s Azenis RT615K (later supplemented by 615K+). This tire provides unparalleled track performance, gentle manners on the street, and a combination of sturdiness, all of which are very reasonable The price tag. Having said that, Falken began working on developing a successor that can carry the weight of the RT615K in the past ten years-the Azenis RT660.

The RT660 launched last year has changed a lot, starting with a directional mode instead of an asymmetric design. The directional design allows you to flip the tires when needed to squeeze more lives out of it-perfect for those who participate in track days. As you might expect, the RT660 improves torsional stiffness, or transfers your steering cues to the action on the road, but the 25% increase is huge.

The shape of the tread radius is a key factor in the development of the new design. If you compare the RT615K (left) with the RT660 (right) with the same specifications, the new tire has a wider profile and provides more contact patches for more grip. Earth power. Compared with the predecessor product, the only area where RT660 does not improve is the wear characteristics. As with anything, there is a trade-off that can be expected. In this case, the 615K will be more durable than its new sibling, but the young gun gets a nod in terms of superior grip. In fact, using your nails to penetrate RT615K (+) and RT660, the new compound is much softer.

Here, the same size tire (215/45-16) on the same size wheel (16x7 +42) has a very similar lip pattern, showing that the RT660 extends beyond the lip than the RT615K. For now, Falken will continue to provide RT615K+ and you will not lose any of them, but if you are trying to squeeze every ounce of performance out of the project and want extra grip, then RT660 is your answer.

On the road, I quickly sprinted to my local *cough* energetic driving to relax on the back road, where on the road, the new tires showed the same gentle behavior as my previous tires. Overall, the RT660 feels very much like 615K in terms of predictability and response, which is great. However, there is no denying that these new tires provide extra grip. Falken claims that their new tires will "strengthen the connection between the road and the driver," and this is what you get with the RT660. The combination of Falken's high-performance flagship tires and Wilwood's user-friendly, ultra-efficient DPHA kit creates a world of difference.

Whether it's fixing the Integra in a straight jump or scrubbing speed before and after a turn, Wilwood's feedback is rock solid, showing no signs of fading or fatigue. With the sticky RT660, the car remains confident without any unnecessary "creeping". The weight of this car and the tire and brake combination of its current capabilities are exactly what I need.

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