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How To : Big Brakes On A First Gen Crx


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#1
rpr

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Brake upgrades for the first gen CRX are only as far away as the local auto wrecker. For next to nothing, larger front brakes and rear disc brakes can be had! All it takes is a little time and imagination and in no time you'll be stopping with the best of em!

This article will be your guide to upgrading the braking system in either the 1st gen CRX or 3rd gen Civic.

Donor Car Parts List
The following list includes all readily available brake parts that can be fitted to the 1st gen CRX without significant modification.

86-89 Acura Integra Front Calipers and Rotors
A fair bit larger than the stock CRX front brakes

86-89 Acura Integra Rear Disc Brake assembly
Not always a distinct performance upgrade but definitely wins out in the "cool factor"

86-89 Acura Integra Master Cylinder
Recommended when using both front and rear Teg brakes, but also quite advantageous with the stock calipers due to a larger piston diameter.

Front brake installation:

The front brake upgrade is quite straight forward. It is possible to simply unbolt your old stock caliper and rotor and replace them with the Integra units. It is also possible to swap out the entire front upright (knuckle) but Integra steering tie rods must then be used. It is also of note that the integra front hubs have a different # of splines to mate with the drive shafts than the CRX hubs. This being said, when using the stock drive train, it makes more sense just to bolt up to the stock uprights and use the Teg uprights if a ZC or Integra driveline is being used!

See Pic


Rear Disc Brake installation:

The rear disc brake swap is a far more complicated and involving job. The rear beam must be completely removed from the car to perform this task. Upon removal of the beam, place it somewhere it will be easy to work on and can be clamped down (I use a Black and Decker Workmate). Let's begin the swap:

1. With the beam out of the car, remove the drum, brake shoes and all of the associated springs from both ends of the beam.

2. Remove the hub from the spindle by removing the large nut in the center of the hub.

3. Next step is to remove the backing plate from the end of the beam. This is done by removing the 4 nuts surrounding ths spindle and pulling the backing plate off. You must also disconnect the hard brake line from the wheel cylinder to ease the removal. In my case the backing plate was VERY VERY difficult to remove as 15 years of Canadian winters had corroded it on there pretty good. It takes a LOT of heat, penetrating fluid and beating to get them off!!!!

4. Once the backing plate is removed, you will be left with 4 studs sticking out of the rear trailing arm. These studs must be removed and replaced with the slightly longer units from the Integra. To remove them, just give them a sharp hit with a hammer and they should pop out the inboard side of the trailing arm. Once you have replaced the studs you are ready for step 5.

5. The integra rear disc backing plate can now be installed. It bolts up directly with no modifications to the 4 new studs previously installed. The mounting for the caliper goes to the top.

See Picture

6. Now the hub may be re-attached.

7. install the rotor.

8. Install the caliper.

9. The flex brake line required is again an 86-89 Integra part. It must be routed creatively to use up some of its additional length. This line has a bracket half way down it's length. I used it to mount it to the trailing arm to keep everything tidy.

Another pic here when I get the chance to take it.

10. The emergency brake cables are also an 86-89 Integra part. They are far too long for the CRX and must be routed VERY creatively to take up the extra length. It helps significantly to have the Gas tank out of the car to do this but it is not impossible without removal of the tank. Regular Civics may not have this cable length problem.

And there you have it rear disc brakes!!!!

Integra Master Cylinder Installation:

This swap takes a fair bit of fiddling but seems to be well worth your while once completed. Upon experimenting I have found that for this mod you must use the stock CRX booster with the teg master. The problem with this is that the Teg master will not directly bolt up to the CRX booster, here's why. The mounting bolt holes line up perfectly and cause no problem. The real problem is that the cylindrical section between the mount holes on the master does not fit into the hole in the CRX booster. To rectify this, you must file the outer diameter of the cylinder on the master until it fits into the CRX booster. Once you have accomplished a good fit, put some gasket compound around the Master to booster interface to prevent vac leaks and reassemble just like the stock unit. And voila!! there you have it a bigger master cylinder!!!

This is just a general guide to the process of installing better brakes on the 1st Gen CRX. If there is anything I have missed, or you would like anything clarifying let me know and I will try and address any and all questions and or problems I hear about. Now, here's a few pics of the finished products!

Pic Front


Pic Rear


Happy Short Stopping Distances!!!!!!
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#2
strudel

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This is an update to Tom's article above. I was rumaging around the wreckers and was looking for MC's and so forth and came upon some interesting information.

In most cases people have trimmed the Integra MC to fit into the CRX booster with some difficulty involved. I now think I may have come across the solution to this dilemma and an easier fix.

The majority of pre 89 Hondas use a MC bore size of 13/16 which is stamped right on the side of the MC. The 86-89 Integra uses a 7/8 bore size. I then found a 90 Civic(didn't check to see which gender) with a MC of 7/8 but it had a brake booster that looked very similar to the 87 Civic in physical size.

Since being in the junkyard one can practise on different cars without any harm in trying things and possibly wrecking ones own personal vehicle. So I removed the 87 booster, with difficulty for one of the nuts, as well as the 90 civic booster so that I could compare them side by side and try them in the reverse situation to see if they would fit. The 90 booster wasn't any easier to remove. The upper left hand nut is the most difficult and a box end wrench and tiny hands are required.

Here is the comparison of the booster locations in the car:
87 Civic

90 Civic


As you can see the body shapes are somewhat different but they will interchange with the following provisio. The 87 Civic has a 1/4" backing plate(as does the CRX as shown in the manual). Take this off of your car and place it on to the 90 Civic booster. This will make it fit properly in the engine bay as well the internal length of the shaft that attaches to the brake pedal. I have not actually yet installed it in my car.

87 Civic on the left and 90 Civic on the right without the backing plate. Notice the difference in the marking on the little colored tag. NM205V-1 in red on the 87 and NM205V-3 in green on the 90. My 86 Integra booster is larger in size and has a red tag that says NM230V-3



You can also see some differences on the end of the MC shaft as the 87 has an o-ring and the 90 doesn't.

Also it is important that you get the brake proportioning valve from the Integra if you use all four disks to keep everything working correctly

Edited by strudel, 21 March 2009 - 01:17 AM.

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#3
strudel

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Just so that everyone is aware of the differences in the MC size between an Integra and a CRX here are some comparisons.

CRX vs Integra 13/16 vs 7/8 bore size


Shaft size CRX vs Integra. If you had to shave the Integra down you would have to take about 5mm off the diameter of the part that fits into the booster. This would possibly mean getting very close to the snap ring that holds it all together. Also note the difference from the mounting face to the plunger.


Another comparison as above.
Plunger size is 14mm on the CRX and 16mm on the Integra


An end view. Maybe not the best picture but you can see the difference in shape.


Finally a comparison of the MC/Booster of the Integra to the 90Civic.



I hope that helps a few people with their Integra brake swap. There are lots of other calipers that could be tried in the junk yard. It is just a matter of finding what you think might fit and attempting to mount it on 1G CRX or 3G Civic. If I have time again I may try some of the swaps I think might work. JS

Courtesy of Mayhem019:
I used an 87 carburated prelude master cylinder... Its 7/8 and it bolts right in the stock booster on our cars (no grinding required)

EDIT: The 87 fuel injected prelude master cylinder looks just like the 86-89 integra ones (which needs grinding to fit)

Edited by strudel, 02 March 2006 - 11:43 PM.

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#4
strudel

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Point of interest. You should use the Teg Proportioning Valve to keep the brake bias consistent with the system you just installed.

Just opened a Proportioning Valve up to see what is inside. The outside on all four that I have are marked similarily but different. There is no distinct system of marking that I can figure out.

But the inside is interesting. One valve on each side with a wee spring in between. The large spring in the picture doesn't appear to do anything. It seats on each side and provides presure against the two halves when you screw the two halves together.

I am wondering if there is a colour coded system of valves that regulate different rates of pressure. I may open a couple more up just to check the colours. The pink things are held in by a little circlip and one went sproing and so far have not found it. Or the small spring between the valves may come in different sizes as well. Finding someone that could provide the answer will be the problem. JS


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#5
toxicshit

jerry ive send you mail with some front calliper swapping tech biggrin.gif of wich i know for shure that it fits ! take a look if you can use it on you brake disk swap topic

1. EDM 1986 Honda CRX AS - B16A1 engine - OBD1 - Turbo - Stitch welded chassis.
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#6
strudel

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Courtesy of Toxicshit

Tom the following front callipers will work..

The EDM CRX ee8 ( 1.6 Vtec ) Front callipers ( stock user 262 disks ) fit nicely on teg hubs when you use the 242 discs or Teg discs when you use a 3mm spacer between hub and disc.

The Legend or NXS Front callipers will fit on teg hubs when you use the 262 x 29 discs from a Civic VTI ( 1.6 Vtec ) and you use a 3mm spacer between hub and disc, Another thing you can do is shave down a stock calliper 3mm like the picture I attached..

These 2 calliper swaps are very wel known around here (Holland) and done allot.. the pro's and cons are legend/nsx callipers cost allot and weight allot ( 20 lbs per side ) but when adjusted nicely they have insane braking power..

The ee8 Front callipers will allso brake very good, much better then teg callipers on teg disks and the don't cost a dime!


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#7
strudel

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Here are the EDM ZC1AS specs. Front Disks are the same size as TEG front disks and the rear uses stock Steel drums.

booster:
Tag Color is red
Type : NM-205V-1
No: 70305-2509
Nissin kogyo japan

MC: 7/8 14

Note: The little colored tags on our USDM boosters.
NM-205V-1 in red on the 87 CRX
NM-205V-3 in green on the 90 Civic.
The 86 Integra booster is larger in size and has a red tag that says NM-230V-3.

So if the stock EDM CRX's came with Teg calipers and stock booster it should work just fine with the front swap only. The only unknown at this time is if the PV's in the EDM cars are different than the USDM cars.

If you do the complete disc swap and use a Teg or other 7'8" MC then make sure you get the Teg 4 disc PV to be on the safe side. The booster application is still somewhat up in the air as to pedal travel. It can't hurt to put the slightly bigger 90 Civic or equivalent booster in to give you a bit more oompf in the pedal. I will comment more when I complete the swap. JS

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#8
toxicshit

QUOTE (strudel @ Mar 4 2006, 01:46 PM)
The only unknown at this time is if the PV's in the EDM cars are different than the USDM cars.


tell me how to measure and what you need to know and i will measure it for you tomorrow.. have the PV lose next to the car.. so i can take it appart.

greetings Erwin.

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#9
mesean13

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QUOTE (strudel @ Mar 4 2006, 07:46 PM)
Here are the EDM ZC1AS specs. Front Disks are the same size as TEG front disks and the rear uses stock Steel drums.

booster:
Tag Color is red
Type : NM-205V-1
No: 70305-2509
Nissin kogyo japan

MC:  7/8 14

Note: The little colored tags on our USDM boosters.
NM-205V-1 in red on the 87 CRX
NM-205V-3 in green on the 90 Civic.
The 86 Integra booster is larger in size and has a red tag that says NM-230V-3.

So if the stock EDM CRX's came with Teg calipers and stock booster it should work just fine with the front swap only. The only unknown at this time is if the PV's in the EDM cars are different than the USDM cars.

If you do the complete disc swap and use a Teg or other 7'8" MC then make sure you get the Teg 4 disc PV to be on the safe side. The booster application is still somewhat up in the air as to pedal travel. It can't hurt to put the slightly bigger 90 Civic or equivalent booster in to give you a bit more oompf in the pedal. I will comment more when I complete the swap. JS

I did this swap on my hatch and I know that the AS's have drum rear brakes so I think the P.V. is the same as ours.
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