Reason for purchase:
Basically my EBC Greenstuff gave out after 20k miles of service. I was driving around with squealing brakes for a few days and i had to use my pitiful integra Ebrake to help stop. After deciding i was gonna use this opportunity to get some more upgrades, i came across a deal for these AEM’s for $350 out the door with new AEM/NISSIN cerametallic pads. I was able to sell my old crappy powerslots for $250 too.
I figure i didnt feel like spending 6+ billz on a wilwood or baer. I didnt think id need the calipers anyway because i dont think they do too much other than allow the use of different pads, give you the bragging rights, and looks. All i thought 4 piston calipers would do is change the pedal feel most likely due to different piston volumes. It’s the larger rotor surface area alone that provides braking performance. Stock calipers have more than enough clamping force. The rotor is essentially a lever when the brake is applied. So adding 2 inches to an already halfway decent system will tremendously increase brake power and it did. You are essentially increasing the mechanical advantage coefficient of your brake system by a large amount - for you physics majors.
Quality, Install, & Testdrive:
AEM as far as i have known has some pretty crude instructions, but i guess i dint need it anyway other than for the torq specs. Comes with 2 rotors, 2 billet aluminum brackets, and aircraft grade hardware. Install was VERY easy. 4 Main bolts per side @ 50lbs of torq. The billet aluminum caliper relocation brackets fit perfectly. You also got a billet brake line relocation bracket. I got the install done in a little under an hour. The new 2003 design rotors are 1 piece design to prevent warping problems due to not torqing it properly of the past design. This version only comes in carbon black and it looks “damn sexy - c25a1guy”. I thot it would look good if the rotor surface stayed black even after use…o well. The rotors are a little heavier than stock but significantly bigger (probably due to the aluminum rotor hat). The rotor surface seems to resist oxidation significantly better than my powerslots and stockers. The pads fit as good as OEM brake pads. I did the bed in period during test drive. The car stops very effortlessly. I let a few people try it and they all thought it worked really well. I didnt notice any fade at all - these rotors have huge vents, lots of surface area to cool, and slots.
My conclusion:
I rate this mod 9.5/10. -0.5 justified because of the price and crappy instructions. I know these can be even cheaper than they are sold for, but i dont see too much competition or demand for something like this so mabe that’s why. Now my 17" rims are even harder to clean since my hand cant fit between the rotor and inner rim :mad: You DO need a MINIMUM of 16" rims to install this brake kit.
I think i got 95% of what a $600 can offer for less than half the price**. It looks pretty good too, now i just gotta paint my ugly stock calipers =P. Oh yes and AEM pads have VERY MINIMAL DUST. I got white rims and im telling you these make almost no dust after a 3 days of driving on the street. It’s a miracle.
The AEM pads get an 11 out of 10 on the rating scale. They’re perfect. They are quiet, virutally dustless, and inexpensive. I dont know about durability yet, but i could care less with the benefits i get from these pads. I will be extremely hard to convince me to get another brand pad.
Pix: (ill get more l8er)
:D. 12.1" in the fronts + 11.1" in the rear is a sh1tload of braking power i tell ya…even if the rear caliper is small it is amplified to the extreme by the greatly increased rotor diameter.