As noted in the title, this is a review of direct replacement (bolt on) Brembo sport slotted front rotors (bought from Tire Rack) and Porterfield R4-S compund front pads and rear shoes for the OEM drums (bought directly from Porterfield).

This has turned out to be a great combination. Some of you may remember I'd bought this stuff a couple of months ago and have been waiting for time and decent weather to do the mod. Well I finally did it two weeks ago and wish I'd done it as soon as I got the parts.

I didn't have a problem with my 08 Fit's braking capability but I constantly had problems with uneven pad deposits on the front rotors causing a pulsing pedal - very annoying. It recurred even after resurfacing the discs. So I decided to upgrade.

I wanted a little extra bling on the brakes without going to a very expensive and functionally unnecessary big brake kit and/or rear disc conversion kit. So I ordered Brembo's Sport Slotted OEM replacement front rotors that come with a golden toned zinc coating that inhibits rust. I love the look of slotted rotors. Initially I had gotten OEM Honda Insight aluminum finned rear drums that I read on this forum would fit. They don't and I had to send them back which is too bad because they are sick - they're just too small.

I also wanted pads/shoes with a bit more bite and had heard good things about Porterfield's street compound - R4-S. Plus, Porterfield is about the only maker I could find that had a rear shoe application for the Fit. Man these pads are great. The car stops faster with less pedal pressure and considerably more bite. You can really feel them working. So far I've seen not a speck of dust and not had one squeal, no kidding. There is a slight grinding noise at low speeds due to the higher friction material used in the pads but it is not intrusive in the least, it's a "good" noise.

Here's a picture of the rotor...I painted the calipers black with Duplicolor brake paint.



The front rotor install was easy except 1 of the 2 bolts holding the rotor to the hub was seized on each side necessitating drilling out the bolt - sucks! Use all the OEM shims when installing the pads to decrease the chance of brake squeal. Use a C clamp to compress the pistons in the calipers and I used rubber straps with hooks to hang the calipers to the spring so as not to let them hang from the brake lines.

If you've never done any drum brake work before you might consider having this done by a pro. It is truly a PITA and the wheel cylinder is going to leak which means you have to do a brake flush which you should probably do anyway. In retrospect, you could get away without doing the rear shoes at all as the front system does 3/4 of the work anyway, but if you're OCD about stuff like this as I am go for it.

I've since ordered Goodridge stainless steel brake lines for an even better brake pedal feel but they aren't necessary. All in all, I am very pleased with my new brake setup and have a better performing and safer Fit for it .

 

Great write up!!... do yyou have the part # for the rear shoes off hand

 

Thanks.

Porterfield doesn't list the part # for the rear shoes on their site ( :: #1 Race Specialist in The World :: » ), but if you call the phone # a lady will answer who will get what you need. It is easier to call them for an order over using their website. They aren't the cheapest either but IMO worth it.

 

Nice job on the review, and what a surprise, a fitfreak who knows how to write! I will keep your vendors in mind when I seriously address the brake issues on my '09 Sport. Maybe they will have your parts that will fit the GE's by that time. Oops, just noticed your join date. Were you writing about GE vintage parts? (I hope). Thanks!

 

GD parts - I have an 08. You could call Porterfield and ask about the pads though. They have an application for almost every vehicle made. Brembo does as well on OEM replacement sizes.

 

Thanks a lot- I will remember this in my brake system considerations for my GE8.

 

nice-lookin brakes!

 

those brakes look really good, nice review!

 

good to know where to go on the rear shoes. nice write up.

 

Great review, I was thinking about getting the R4-s pads myself. I had HPS's on my hatch back in the day and they just created to much dust for my liking. Let us know how they do brake dust wise after driving for a few weeks. Oh and the R4-s pads last a while too, my friend had them on his all-trac with slotted rotors and he drove it hard and i know the pads lasted him for over 3 years.

 

Thanks to everyone for the props

 

Great review man

Mind if i ask how much the front pads and rotors were?

 

Thanks.

The Brembo rotors were $171 from Tire Rack, Brakes Products for Honda Fit Sport 2008

and the Porterfield R4-S (don't forget you want the "S" or street pads) front pads were $99.95 from Porterfield, :: #1 Race Specialist in The World :: »
I want to say the rear shoes were $84.95 or someting very close to that. As I noted above, the shoes aren't listed on the website, you have to call them directly.

You can get considerably less expensive rotors and pads but I knew what I wanted and didn't mind paying more for what I knew would be quality.

 

Great to know there's at least one company that's willing to develop better rear drum braking power.

I wonder if those Porterfield R4-S shoes will fit all GDs with rear drum brakes? They seem like a worthwhile upgrade. Great review bro!

 

I don't know if the drums are the same in other countries as USDM spec but you could call.

Honestly it's hard for me to tell if the rear shoes are a worthwhile upgrade or not since the front does so much of the work on a Fit. Only way to tell would be to test them independently and that would take a lot of effort to do right.

 

Your GD1 drums are a little bit smaller than the standard USDM ones... the pads wont work

 

Hmmm, that's too bad. Looks like I'm stuck with the stock shoes and upgraded pads skimming the front rotors.
Thanks for the heads up!

 

awesome review!
the three things that i would never skimp on are suspension, brakes, and tires as these three components dictate whether you stay alive behind the wheel or not. i was ready to buy the hawk hps pads, but will have to deliberate again based on your review of the r4-s pads.

 

Thanks.

I considered the Hawk HPS and they would probably be fine for a Fit over the OEM pads but based on my research for my other car, an 07 Subaru Sti, they seemed to dust quite a bit while not standing up to heavy brake use. That said, the Sti is a wholly different car from the Fit but I'm glad I went with the Porterfields.

 

Okay...they dust. It hasn't been very noticeable due to the color of my wheels, but I washed it this evening and it was there. It would be very noticeable on lighter wheels.

Here they are with cleaned wheels: