cbstdscott

I have found a lot of new rotation in the chassis by removing the internal rear sway bar that is inside the rear axle.

Removing the internal sway bar created a lot of over steer which I controlled with more front roll stiffness. I have set up my car to be "neutral," with no propensity to under or over steer unless I ask for it with steering wheel and throttle input.

 "Ill gladly take the weight penalty if it keeps the middle pedal up off the floor."

That is not a function of the drums, you were over-taxing the braking system's ability to eliminate heat. Brakes work by turning kinetic energy into heat. The trick is being able to vent the heat away as quickly as possible so that your brakes can do their job. If you heat soak your brakes they do not stop the car so much. Brake cooling, primarily in the front, and better fluid would solve that problem.

Under braking, particularly hard braking, the rear brakes are barely involved in the process. If you car only has 40% of its weight over the rear wheels at rest, weight transfer under braking lowers that amount to a much lower percentage. Your front brakes are the ones carrying the load, get the fluid hot and your get a lower middle pedal.

i have never had much luck getting the parking brake cable out of them, even with the special tool that still doesn’t seem to work.

The "special tool" was the box end of an 8mm wrench. Works fine.

The 1988 and later Civic backing plates will accept the aluminum drums. That is what I am using on my '87 Si.

You have to include the weight of the caliper and the bracket to hold it for the rear discs. Let's assume at least one pound (but realistically it would be maybe closer to three pounds or more), it become apparent that the aluminum drums are the lightest choice.

For a car that has 60% of its weight over the front wheels at rest and far less under braking, you can see why the aluminum drums works so well.