DIY rear disc brakes.

PARTS LIST:
2 '86-89 Acura Integra rear calipers -$30 for both (local wrecking yard)
2 '95-01 integra rear rotor- $12.99 each (kragen online store)
1 set of brake pads -$19.99 (kragen online store)
2 custom brake caliper bracket- FREEEE (from genius Quangalang)
2 '96 Honda accord rear brake hose - $10 (local wrecking yard)
2 20" brake lines -$1.69 each (kragen online store)
misc. nuts and bolts - $6-$10
Total: $95 buckaroos
NOTES:
I made my brackets out of 1/2 inch steel plate that i had laying around. i was able to use the stock brake cables with a little modification to the caliper e-brake tab. The honda fit brake lines use bubble flares I dont know why they switched to bubble flares. so i bought new brake lines with bubble flares and cut one end off and put a standard flare on it.
COMMENT:
If you have some knowledge of working with metal and have some fabrication skills you should be able to do this. It was really time consuming because there was a lot of test fitting and such. I did this for just under $100 dollars, it sure beats the price on the other kits out there. If you are going to attempt to do this yourself, be careful because you are dealing with your brakes dont do anything half-assed because it's your life and other people's lives you put in danger

 

wow quangalang i think you are so cool!

 

dude u got that finally done? i wanna see it and parts list and stuff give us an update!

 

Awesome...good work!

 

spill the beans man we need to know

 

yeah i finished, been driving around for the last 2 days breaking in the pads and rotors. ill post the parts list later on today

 

nice work. my girlfriend just picked up a Fit over the weekend. I'm interested in this conversion.

 

Has anyone tried the T1R rear disc brakes?

 

They haven't been released yet.

 

Is there a good reason for rear disks, other than looks? How is the braking effort kept in balance? What does this do to the anti-lock system?

Eric

 

Wouldn't do anything to the anti lock system, wheel speed sensors are inside the hub.

 

Ok, I hadn't thought about the full brake control system. I guess that makes the whole front and rear balancing somewhat obsolete.

So the next question is whether or not the stock drums are insufficient. Has anyone experienced any brake fade or overheated brakes? AX runs shouldn't get the chance to get the brakes very hot. I can't imagine having problems with the drums anytime other than track days or rally racing. In my mind, the Fit is not very well suited for either, for reasons other than the brakes.

Eric

 

the reason i did the conversion was mainly for looks. i have no intention of going racing for anything, the Fit is weak anyways. but after the conversion i did get less of a nose dive when i brake hard, so the brake balance is distributed to the rear a little more. Im not claiming it stops any better, because i cant feel if it does or not.
the stock drum brakes are really great for daily driving if you dont race or anything like that, but they are still sufficient for auto X runs, plus they can just go practically forever without service. they are just more economical. The thing is, drum brakes are really not that great for racing, do you see any race cars with drum brakes? they don't really grab that hard, and they tend to over heat quicker than disc brakes because it's an enclosed system.
I did NOT do this thinking the stock brake system sucked or thinking it was going to help me stop better, it was mainly for looks and it's a little challenge for myself to see if i can do it or not. and i succeeded

 

PARTS LIST---- up top

 

Wow, great job. You said you were going to do it, and you did it. Using the OEM parts bin approach is probably exactly what Honda would do. Looks very nice too.

 

I can totally respect that, you did a great job.

Eric

 

Nice work. Did you happen to take pics of the caliper brackets you fabbed up?

 

Dude, would you be willing to fab up brackets? Make some money doing it? I would soo do this but I don't have any skills with fabricating stuff. And maybe post a pic of what you meant by putting standard flares on bubble flares?

 

i did but unfortunately it all got deleted somehow.. sorry
if i had time i would make these brackets and give them away, but unfortunately i'm a busy college student.
i don't have any pics of the brake lines i modified but, pretty much all i did was borrowed a Japanese metric brake flaring tool from autozone and cut the end off of the line(the end that screws into the stock drum brake piston) and flared it so i can connect a soft line to it. yeah it's kind of hard to explain with out pics...
im going to go back to the stock drum brakes sometime this week because i have to bring it to the dealer to get my windows serviced and i dont want them to see the rear disc setup and void my warranty, plus my parents are pretty much forcing me to go back to stock, they keep bringing up some scenarios of me crashing my car because of the brakes even though everything i did seems totally safe, they rode in my car and couldnt see anything wrong with it but, my parents are Asian so there is no convincing them.
I love how the car stops now that the pads and rotors are broken in, pretty much no nose dive at all, the car stops so level. Funny story, i met a fellow fit owner and saw the rear discs he liked them and all but didn't really say much about it. a few days later i see him again and he comes up to me and starts telling me about how the dealership was racist because they wouldnt sell him the rear disc brakes, i just smile at him and said they dont make it for the fit, but he just kept on insisting they have it and he even says he saw 2 other fits on the lot with rear discs, but the dealer was just racist.. i just got a good smile out of it.

anyways when i go back to stock, if you guys want i can take the time to draw a template of the caliper on paper and scan it onto the computer and i can email the template to anyone that wants it, all you would have to do is print it out and youll have a perfect template to make yourself or have it made at a machine shop, it shouldn't cost much because it's pretty simple bracket... so yeah let me know if you guys want it.

 

Totally would love to see those templates. I just love hearing how you dont get any nose dive with the new upgrade. Its just the most awesome DIY upgrade I've seen for the fit yet. If you ever get a chance, I'm a little confused on the the flares so pics would be cool.