Couple brake questions

[Sarthos]

So, went to a junkyard this past weekend, found myself some Legend dual piston calipers for a whopping 27 dollars. Also previously swapped out the rear drums on my car for rear discs off an Acura Vigor. Just recently I realized my car had the wrong front brakes, since I have a wagon and someone put sedan/coupe rotors on it...

So, swapping over to Brembo discs in front, Hawk pads, and the Legend dual piston calipers. Gonna wait on pads/rotors for the rear, just stay with what it has for now since they work fine.

Anyway
1. What kinda proportioning valve is best for this setup? I've heard a 40/40 proportioning valve off of something is what you want when you just swap rear drums for rear discs, but I also know that with the big brakes and dual pistons in the front you want something different, and I'm not positive what you want since this is being done on a wagon which had the big brakes from the factory.

2. Is the brake pedal always kinda squishy on cbs? Not saying that it's really a problem by any means, but after driving my mom's 2012 Saab, I realized that my pedal goes down a LOT easier than that one and I'm not sure why. So I mean is that just the design of the pedal, or is there a part of the braking system that's getting worn, or something else? Perhaps going back to the junkyard for the brake booster/master cylinder for the legend type 2 would help me out on that?

[Jarrett]

Well the DA 40/40 proportioning valve is only for non-ABS cars. Does yours have ABS?

As for the brake feel question; have you upgraded your lines? If not, you're comparing 20+ year-old lines to the quality of brand new lines on a car built to perform on a higher level than the Accord was intended to. Get stainless lines and bleed your system correctly and you'll get closer to the SAAB if that's your standard.

[Sarthos]

Do the lines actually make that big of a difference? I've heard yes and no. I have some somewhere, but they're the cheap ebay ones. What about the expensive DOT 5.1 brake fluid?

Also, no, the car does not have ABS. But is that proper for rear disc swap + front legend calipers?

[mndude07]

Sounds like you're mixing up a squishy pedal with a longer pedal throw. The master cylinder on the Saab is probably larger in proportion to the rest of the brake system compared to the CB7, so less pedal movement stops the car.

However, you will find that the longer pedal throw is not a completely bad thing. You have better ability to modulate the pedal this way, and also it takes less pedal effort to achieve the same output force.

Its a trade-off and somewhat a matter or preference.

As for the proportioning valve, still use the 40/40. Its the best thing you're going to get as far as OEM goes. It doesn't matter how big/small the front brakes are, the proportioning valve is supposed to meter the pressure to the rear based on incoming pressure, and the front circuit receives full pressure always. The only reason the front system even needs to go to the proportioning valve instead of tee-ing off at the master to the fronts is because the OEM system is set up diagonally. i.e. one output on the master controls the front left and rear right.

I hope that makes sense

[Sarthos]

Hmm, that would explain it. I was mostly just curious as to whether the squishier pedal is just the car is designed, or if it's a sign of wear. I never drove a cb9 new, so I wasn't sure if over the years a piece of linkage or a spring or something starts to get loose and soften up.

40/40 is out of an integra, right? or is it just a really specific type of integra?

[Tippey764]

Hmm, that would explain it. I was mostly just curious as to whether the squishier pedal is just the car is designed, or if it's a sign of wear. I never drove a cb9 new, so I wasn't sure if over the years a piece of linkage or a spring or something starts to get loose and soften up.

40/40 is out of an integra, right? or is it just a really specific type of integra?

I'm pretty sure the 40/40 valve is out of any honda with 4 wheel disc brakes and without abs

The integra is just the most common car ( 90-93 integras had 4 wheel disc brakes as standard but abs was only available on the top end GS which is rare )