You are armed with your fresh dyno sheet, having finally met those elusive numbers through your turbocharged, supercharged or all motor Honda. When you are ready to address your braking ability, using this Honda brake swap guide can easily answer any of your brake swap questions of what brakes fit and how to make them work on your Honda.
Of course all of this is a moot point if money is no factor and you can afford to cash out for a racing four piston caliper setup, but when you want to upgrade your Honda brakes by using factory Honda parts this definitive guide can get the job done.
This guide is centered around the 1996-2000 Honda Civic although most of the interchange and brake swap tips will work for your 92-95 Civic as well as the 1994-2001 Acura Integra, and 1994-1997 Honda Del Sol.
Why are OEM Honda brake upgrades better than aftermarket big brake kits?
Honda brake swaps are some of the best bang for your buck modifications you can ever bolt onto your car. By taking OEM brake components and adapting them to work on your Civic, you can easily and quickly upgrade your stopping power with this budget brake guide.
Budget Honda brake setups give you OEM flexibility and reliability as well a full range of OEM replacement parts. We still get phone calls to this day about the problems people have sourcing four piston and six piston big brake kits that have long been discontinued.
Don’t make that mistake by jumping to the cheapest big brake kit available, only to find that replacement hardware is impossible to find. Instead turn to the many OEM Honda brake setups that can easily bolt onto your Honda Civic with minimal modification for maximum stopping power.
What is this brake swap guide made for?
As stated above, this guide is specifically for the 1996-2000 Honda Civic although any Honda Civic with a 9.5” or 10.3” inch brake disc. This also includes the 1990-2001 Acura Integra as well as the 1988-2000 Honda Civic, and there’s two factory setups we will be upgrading from.
9.5 inch Honda Brake Disc – These brakes are typically found on the EX and SI Honda Civics, and any upgraded swap will work for the 1988-2000 Honda Civic with the stock 9.5” brake disc.
10.3 inch Honda Brake Disc – This Honda brake swap will translate well to any 1990-2001 Acura Integra with a 10.3 stock rotor except the Type R. This will also work for any Honda Civic from 1988-2000 with the stock 10.3 inch brake disc.
Most Common 1996-2000 Honda Civic Brake Swap Upgrades
When you own a non-VTEC Honda Civic such as a DX, there’s a ton of room for improvement when you are addressing your factory braking system. Our definitive Honda brake swap guide will be addressing the front brakes first, and to easily upgrade your Civic brakes up front, here’s the brake swaps available below.
Brakes from a 1996-2000 Honda Civic EX or Si
Easy and straightforward the EX or Si front brake setup can be found on a 1996-2003 Honda Civic EX, as well as the 1999-2000 Honda Civic Si, and the 2001-2003 Honda Civic DX, LX and SE.
You will need to swap over the Civic EX knuckle and complete brake setup to complete this Honda brake swap.
What you are upgrading – 9.5” / 19mm from your Civic DX to the 10.3” / 21mm
Brakes from a 1990-1993 Acura Integra DA
Much like the EX or Civic Si brake swap, you can take the front spindles and complete braking system to easily and quickly upgrade your DX braking power. You can also build this brake swap using a Honda Civic EX knuckle and a Integra DA bracket to match the 10.3 inch rotor.
Go for a MGP Caliper cover or a stainless steel brake line to really unlock your Civic’s braking potential.
What you are upgrading – 9.5” / 19mm from your DX to the 10.3” / 21mm of the Integra
Brakes from a 1998-2002 Honda Accord
This may be cheaper depending on your area, but the Accord front brakes give you more stopping power than the Integras. To complete this Honda brake swap, you will need the Honda Civic EX knuckle to go with the Honda Accord bracket.
Find these on any 1998-2002 Honda Accord 4 cylinder F series engine.
What you are upgrading – 9.5” / 19mm from your DX to the 10.3” / 21mm of the Accord
Brakes from a 1994-2001 Acura Integra DC
The widest range of Acura Integras were of course found during this year range, and as we stated earlier all Integra front brake setups are identical. Similar to the Integra DA, the DC front brakes must be coupled with the Honda Civic EX knuckle and the Integra bracket and caliper mounts.
Any Integra from 1994-2001 that’s not a Type R will give you a great bang for the buck brake upgrade.
Go for a MGP Caliper cover or a stainless steel brake line to really unlock your Civic’s braking potential.
What you are upgrading – 9.5” / 19mm from your DX to the 10.3” / 21mm of the Integra
Brakes from a 2000-2006 Honda S2000
For a slight bump up from the standard 10.3 inch rotor from the Civic EX and Integras, the S2000 front brake setup needs a bit more to get working on your Honda Civic. In order to swap over to a S2000 front brake setup, you will need to redrill a set of Acura RSX Type S brake discs to accept your 4×100 PCD from your Civic.
The brake assembly is quite larger than the Civic DX unit, so your brake dust shield will need to be bent back. Unless you really want to be different, we recommend going the Integra route for your upgraded Honda brake swap.
What you are upgrading – 9.5” / 19mm from your DX to the 11.8” / 25mm of the AP1 or Ap2 S2000.
Brakes from a 1991-1996 Acura NSX
Probably way more expensive than it needs to be, the front calipers from a NSX can really ramp up your stopping power in your Honda Civic. The NSX uses a two piston caliper, that requires the NSX bracket and the use of a Prelude rotor.
Bolt the EX or Civic Si knuckle onto your non VTEC civic, and to bolt on a set of NSX brakes to your Civic, you will need a set of 1996 Honda Prelude VTEC rotors and Acura Integra Type R brake pads. Much like the Honda S2000, you must redrill the Prelude rotors to fit the 4×100 PCD of your Honda Civic and grind down the caliper mounting brackets for clearance.
What you are upgrading – 9.5” / 19mm from your DX to the 11.8” / 25mm of the NSX
Brakes from a 1999-2000 Acura RL
The first of our Honda brake swaps that will require you to purchase new rims, because there’s no real way to retain your 4 lug setup. The brake calipers up front on a Acura RL use a 11.8 brake disc with four piston calipers. This brake swap from a Acura RL will require the Honda Civic EX knuckle, and the hubs from a 1997-2001 Acura Integra Type R.
The hubs must be installed onto the knuckles and mount the 1999-2000 RL mounting brackets, which must be spaced out using a washer to prevent rubbing. Use the Acura RL caliper mounting bracket bolts instead of your Honda Civic bolts to make up the extra gap created by said washer.
What you are upgrading – 9.5” / 19mm from your DX to the 11.8” / 25mm of the Acura RL.
Common 1996-2000 Honda Civic Brake FAQ’s
When you are confused about some of the more common Honda brake swaps, take a look at these handy tips to remind you of what fits what.
- All 1994-2001 Acura Integra and 1988-2000 Honda Civics front brake swap will fit on any 1992-1995 Honda Civic EG, 1996-2000 Honda Civic EK, 1988-1992 Honda Civic EF, and 1990-1993 Acura Integra DA. Remember that the donor Honda must be equipped with disc brakes in rear, not drum.
- 1994-2000 Acura Integra rear trailing arms and disc brake setup is a complete bolt in upgrade for your Honda Civic from 1992-2000.
- All Acura Integra brakes from 1994-1996 are identical no matter what the trim, except for the Type R.
- Honda Civic brake boosters from 1996-2000 are all the same, outside of the 1999-2000 Honda Civic Si and the 1996 Honda Civic CX, who share the same booster.
- Civic brake discs from a 1988-2001 EX sport a 10.3 inch brake disc, which is the same as the Acura Integras from 1990-2001 (outside of the obvious Type R)
Have any questions about our Honda brake swap guide? Leave them for us below and let us know!
UPDATE – User SkyVTEC requested that we post up the brake sizes for those who want to make the big time jump from a 2002-2003 Civic Si or the Acura RSX. Because they come in 4 lug and 5 lug variety, these brake swaps will vary depending on what chassis you are putting them into.
Four lug brake swaps
Fronts – 02-03 EP3 (4 lug): 262mm, 10.3″ – 02-06 RSX-S: 300mm, 11.8″
Rears – 02-03 EP3 (4 lug): 260mm, 10.2″ – 02-06 RSX-S: 260mm, 10.2″
Five lug brake swaps
Fronts – 04-05 EP3 (5 lug): 262mm, 10.3″ – 02-06 RSX base: 262mm, 10.3″
Rears – 04-05 EP3 (5 lug): 260mm, 10.2″ – 02-06 RSX base: 260mm, 10.2″