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EK Civic and other Honda Brake Options

Foreword/Disclaimer

If you choose to rely on this information or make changes to your vehicle based on it, you do so at your own risk, Discreet Auto takes no responsibility for any liability or issue that arises from it. Similarly, altering brake systems may not be legal, or may require engineering/other legal processes to be legitimate in your situation. Discreet Auto takes no responsibility for your choices or modifications to your vehicle as a result of this information page. Discreet Auto recommends you get the assistance of a professional with any brake modification or changes to your vehicle.

This is not an attempt to have an exhaustive list of every possible braking alternative for EK Civic. It will not attempt to cover the wide variety of aftermarket options or particularly the more exotic combinations as there are too many which we do not have access to and they are subject to change.

Rather it is a record of confirmed information obtained either by Discreet Auto staff attending wreckers/ trading through parts to take note of information to share with others or from searching the internet for information. Where this information was not observed in person (i.e. from the internet) it will be prefixed with ‘alleged/allegedly’.

Lastly, this information has been obtained in Australia and confirmed against Australian vehicles. It may not apply outside of Australia as other models and variants exist which were not available in Australia. Again, use this information at your own risk.

Brake lines – General Word

There are flexible rubber brake lines that connect the callipers to the hard lines which run the length of the vehicle back to the master cylinder. In some instances, the brake line lengths vary during swaps. It is suggested to consider using the brake lines that match the brakes being swapped onto the vehicle. This means it is important to take them at the time of obtaining the callipers otherwise additional cost to get them at a later date will be incurred.

Drum to Disc Conversions – handbrake and its cables

The handbrake mechanism handle is connected to a cable which joins to two cables shortly after in the cabin. These two cables run go through the floor and connect to a brake on either side of the vehicle. Drum brakes and disc brakes have different fittings at the brake drum/calliper end.

This means they are not interchangeable i.e. if you want to change to discs you need disc brake handbrake cable from where it splits into the two cables and vice versa. The singular section connecting to the handbrake and handbrake mechanism does not require replacement.

Rear Trailing Arms

EK Civics have a stamped rear trailing arm, which it shares with DC2, DC2r and DC4. The trailing arm itself is the same across all of these models, including Cxi hatches with drum brakes. Note Gen 1 CRV also has a rear trailing arm, but it is different in size and is not immediately interchangeable.

Its suggested to consider removing the brake lines from the chassis and any ABS sensors before moving from the most difficult to get to bolts back towards the exterior of the chassis where they are easiest. You may take a floor mat or bottom of a rear seat to scoot round on when doing this to reduce the likelihood of kneeling in something nasty. Similarly, supporting any trailing arms, callipers etc before removing them i.e. with a wheel underneath or similar will reduce damage as it comes away and less likely to crush yourself when it comes off.

Both drum and disc variants use four T50 torx bolts and a 21mm nut to secure them to the trailing arm. This means in theory if you are purchasing a disc brake setup from a self serve wreckers, as is usually the cheapest way, you could disassemble the trailing arm and remove these four bolts and leave the trailing arm behind, avoiding paying for it. However, note that these can sometimes be a right pain to get off and if they become rounded its very hard at a junkyard. The simpler method is to remove the trailing arm, discard of any toe arms etc still connected and call it good. This also means the trailing arm bushings can be replaced before attempting to replace the braking system, meaning the vehicle can still be driven right up until the point of swapping it over.

Five stud conversions

Five stud conversions are desirable as they emulate the Type R EK9 and to match other wheel sets in 5×114.3. This also opens possibilities to use other OEM wheels like Civic Sport or Accord Euro on a civic, both of which will not fit on the usual 4×100 without an unwelcome PCD adapter.

The simple way to convert a EK to five stud is to obtain the complete front knuckles and rear trailing arms from either an EK9 civic or a DC2r Integra. Whilst this works, as they have become increasingly rare it is not longer a cost effective means of converting to five stud.

The front can still be solved relatively easily and cheaply, as RD1 CRV complete front spindles are the same as 98 Spec ITR. However, it should be noted they are a 36mm outer, not 32mm as four stud are. The rear is where the trouble/expense lies.

Whilst trailing arms between all DC2, DC4 and EK models are the same, the immediate attachment to it, being the rear spindle is what differs. The Type R rear spindle is longer by about 5mm to accommodate for the relatively wider type r hub. There are relatively well documented sketchy means of getting around this, known as the “poor mans five lug swap” which involves using the non type r disc spindle, discarding of the splined washer between the hub and hub nut and using a slimmer hub nut off a Mazda 323. People swear by this, but its not recommended. Honed also have a product that will allow a similar approach.

Tools

All sockets are 1/2″ unless referred to otherwise

The following information is incomplete, but will improve over time as more information is obtained.

EK Civic EK1 Cxi 3DR Hatch

EK Civic EK1 4DR Sedan

EK Civic EK4 Gli 3Dr Hatch

Allegedly the same as EK Civic EK1 Cxi 4Dr Sedan

Brake Upgrade

The well known front brake upgrade for both EK1 Sedan and EK4 is to switch out to DC2R/RD1 CRV front callipers (stamped “17CL15VN”and are commonly found on many other 90s Honda models including prelude, accord v6 and more) and Mini Cooper rotors. Note this will only work with the front spindles that originally had 262mm front rotors given the spacing of the two calliper bolts are different on 242mm spindles.

The Mini Cooper Rotor Details are: 280mm Front Disc (Height 44mm, Thickness 22mm, 64.1mm Centre Bore), part numbers (different brands) being DBA2526, RDA7996, 09.A761.11 and 09.A761.1X.

EK Civic EK9 Type R Hatch

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