New Honda Civic Brake Kit - Wunderladen Racing

We've been teasing our big brake kit for a while and now it's finally here! With how versatile our brake kit is and how many ways it can be configured we thought it would be a good idea to write up a detailed post to cover every aspect of the kit as well as share some helpful info about brakes!

We would like to note that the kit is compatible with Civic generations 8, 9 and 10. All three generations use the same mounting dimensions so the brake interchange between all three generations without issue.

Right from the beginning when we started developing Civic parts we knew we wanted to do a big brake kit. There are some decent options on the market but felt none really hit all of the points that we look for when shopping for brake kits. What we've ended up producing we feel is the most versatile kit with how many ways it can be configured to give customers great control over running costs as well as performance and intended use.

We'll start with a breakdown of what's in the kit, what's standard as well as what can be added on, and why we went with the parts we did. The parts of the kit include:

  1. EBC Apollo 4 piston brake calipers (standard)
  2. Wunderladen Racing caliper mounting brackets + hardware (standard)
  3. EBC 1 piece rotors (optional)
  4. EBC brake pads (optional)
  5. EBC braided brake lines (optional)
  6. EBC titanium pad shims (optional)

1. After evaluating a few caliper options we ultimately decided on EBC's 4 piston Apollo caliper. The biggest reason we liked this caliper over others was the versatility it has. We know some customers will be buying this kit for their track car, where function matters more than form, but other customers will be buying this for their street car where they want the kit to complement the aesthetics of their car while also giving improved braking performance. The Apollo calipers are available in two configurations, we'll refer to them as street and track calipers going forward.

The street calipers are available in 4 colors (red, blue, yellow, and black), use dust boots to protect the pistons from dirt and corrosion, and use hard anodized aluminum pistons. The track calipers are only available in an grey hard anodized finish (the street calipers are also hard anodized but epoxy paint is applied over it), do not use dust seals because they cannot withstand the heat produced by heavy braking on track, and the pistons are make from stainless steel instead of aluminum to reduce the amount of heat transferred into the brake fluid.

Other than those differences both versions are exactly the same, all of the hardware on it is made from stainless steel so corrosion is not a concern and we really like how large the bleeder caps are which makes them very robust and not prone to tearing like is common with thin OE style bleeder caps. So if a customer purchases the brake kit for their street car or dual purpose car and gets it with the street calipers, but in the future they turn the car into a dedicated track car, they can just change out the calipers without having to buy a whole new brake kit.

We also appreciate that these calipers are produced in the UK where we can have high confidence in the quality control of the caliper.

2. We spent a fair bit of time developing a robust bracket that would have minimal deflection under hard load, yet not add too much unsprung weight; what we ended up with is a thick and strong yet light bracket. We achieved this by using a rotor which has a tall height to help locate the mounting bolts as close to the main cross section of the bracket as possible which reduces the moment lever on the bracket. We also opted to make the bracket from 7075 aluminum, this aluminum alloy is often regarded as the strongest commercially available aluminum and is nearly as strong as many steels while being still being as light as other aluminum alloys, with the only big downside being its higher cost over other alloys. Also, we make these brackets right here in the Midwest!

 

3. For rotors we knew we could do what everyone else does and design a 2 piece rotor that would work well, but would increase cost of the kit significantly. Since we wanted the kit to be as versatile as possible that meant we needed to have 1 and 2 piece options. Getting castings molds made for custom 1 piece rotors is expensive which defeats the purpose of doing this so we knew we would have to use rotors from another vehicle application.

We ultimately decided on the Nissan 350Z rotor for it's size (324x30mm), tall height, and large amount of rotor options. The 324x30mm rotor is a significant increase in thermal capacity for the braking system which is paramount for keeping brakes working properly under heavy use like on track, the tall height allows for a strong bracket design, as well as improved wheel clearance, and the large amount of options means they can be purchased at your local auto parts store if you find yourself in a pinch and need replacements ASAP. But with keeping to our versatility theme, we still wanted customers to have the ability to run a 2 piece rotor for improved performance, fortunately there are plenty of 2 piece aftermarket rotor options for the 350Z!

For out kit we have EBC 1 piece rotors as an option. For 1 piece options we believe the EBC rotors are one of the best. Their quality is great, they use a very durable anti corrosion coating, and since quality is controlled tightly on them they are less likely to have noise or performance issues commonly associated with cheaper rotors.

4. One great thing about the Apollo calipers is they use a common pad shape, which means that there are a ton of brake pad compound options available. So if your car is a street car you can still run a popular ceramic compound like an EBC red, or if your car is a dedicated track car you can run a track only compound like an EBC RP-X. There are pads available from tons of different manufacturers so if there is a particular compound you are looking for that isn't on our site feel free to reach out to us and we most likely can get what you're looking for!

5. We kept going back and forth about whether or not we should make braided brake lines standard with the kit but ultimately decided to make it optional. We decided this after finding out that standard off the shelf braided lines for a Civic Si are compatible with our kit and we don't want our customers to pay more for something they may not need if they've already put braided lines on their car. That's right, if you've already upgraded to braided brake lines on your Civic they'll work with our kit! We have the EBC lines as an option but also offer Goodridge lines on our site, both are high quality lines.

6. The last piece of the kit is optional titanium pad shims. This may sound like something for track use, and it is, but the street calipers benefit from this more than the track calipers. If your Civic is a daily driver but still goes to the track occasionally it's a good idea to give your calipers every edge against damaging heat. Titanium shims do a good job at reducing the amount of heat that gets into the pistons and thus the brake fluid and piston seals by acting as a thermal barrier. Although they are definitely not necessary for track calipers they can still make a difference in extreme cases since titanium has a lower thermal conductivity than stainless steel so there is still going to be a reduction in temps with the track calipers as well. We really like EBC shims because they clip onto the back of the pad which keeps them well retained.

 

So there it is, a detailed *brake* down (WOO I got a pun in) of our new brake kit! If you have any questions regarding our kit or about your need for brakes feel free to reach out to us via Facebook, Instagram or email at austin@wunderladenracing.com.Thanks for following along and keep your eyes out for the next post!

Wheel clearance template can be found HERE

The product listing can be found HERE

We currently have a lot of pads on the site from a few pad manufacturers but if there's a particular pad you have in mind that you would like to run here are the cross references for this pad shape from various manufacturers:

EBC DP002
Raybestos R767.17
PFC 7767
AP Racing CP3215D50/AP5200
Carbotech CTCP2279
Gloc GPX6
Pagid 1361
Winmax WMP814-17
Carbone Lorraine 5004W50
Cobalt AP2
PMU F1076/PMA8706
Endless RCP015
Mintex 1289
Brembo B52
Hawk HB110
Ferodo FRP216H
Wilwood 8517

 

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1 comment

This kit will also work on 10th gen Accords. Just something to think about listing to maybe get more customers.

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