One of the thing I'm most-often pmed about is what what the different options are for OEM brake upgrades and what parts are needed with different setups. There are nearly endless combinations when you begin to add aftermarket parts to the equation but I'll try to stick to the OEM rotor and caliper options for the purposes of this thread.
First, let's establish what your '90-'93 Accord comes with from the factory. If you have a coupe or a sedan then you have a rotor that is 10.2" (260mm) in diameter and secured to the knuckle between the hub and bearing. Wagons have this same setup but with an 11.1" (282mm) rotor that is 25mm-thick. This design is called the hub-over-rotor(HOR) and is shared by a few other Hondas of the same generation before finally being abolished after the '98 2.5TL. You also have either Akebono or Nissin-branded calipers. Much more information on that can be found here:
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=36527
The different areas in which your brake setups can be upgraded with OEM parts are rotor-over-hub conversions(ROH), rotor diameter or thickness increases and caliper upgrades. To some extent, 5-lug conversions can be considered here as they will always accompany a brake upgrade when going from 10.2". I would like to establish that I don't want for this post to come off as me saying that the bigger and badder your brakes are then the better your car will perform as that is just not true. However, some want to modify the factory braking system for the bling factor as well and bigger brakes certainly get more cool points than teacup saucer-sized rotors under 17" wheels.
ROTOR UPGRADES
4-lug ROH Options:
If you want to only do a rotor-over-hub conversion then your options are very limited. In fact, there is one car that you can get the hubs you'll need from. You will need the front hubs from a '98-'99 Acura 2.3CL. The '97 2.2CL uses the previous HOR-style rotors and are the same as what you already have. The '98-'99 3.0CL hub is designed for a slightly different knuckle and won't work without other parts.
So, if you ONLY want to do the ROH conversion and not a diameter increase then you will need:
'98-'99 Acura 2.3CL front hubs
'90-'97 Accord, '97-'99 2.2/2.3CL front wheel bearings (You'll damage yours in the process and they need to be replaced anyway. Don't be a cheapskate.)
'92-'96 Prelude S/Si non-VTEC, '98-'99 2.3CL, '98-'02 Accord 4-cylinder front rotors
Your factory caliper and bracket, regardless of whether or not you have Akebonos or Nissins, will bolt right up and the pad choices you have will be unchanged. Rotor changes in the future will be much easier and far less time-consuming. Another method to achieve the exact same thing would be to use the entire front knuckle/hub/bearing/rotor assembly from a '98-'99 2.3CL.
From there you could also tack on a rotor size increase to your to-do list. The '98-'99 3.0CL used the same 4 x 114.3 bolt pattern rotor but was wider at 11.1" (282mm). IF you were doing this upgrade on your factory knuckles then you will need the parts listed above with the exception of the rotors.
In addition you would need:
'93-'96 Prelude Si VTEC (23mm-thick) or '98-'99 3.0CL (25mm-thick) front rotors
23T brackets for the Prelude rotors or 25T brackets for the 3.0CL rotors
Some notes should be considered when going about your upgrade this way. Your factory caliper will fit the 23T or 25T (or 28T for that matter, but that's not applicable here) bracket only if it's a Nissin caliper. If you have an Akebono setup from the factory and want to upgrade the brakes outside of the initial, simple ROH conversion I first discussed then a set of Nissin calipers are in your future. These can be either standard-sized CB7 calipers or the larger single or dual-piston Nissins. Also, pad choice should be based off of the pairing between the caliper brackets and rotors. If you went with the 23mm Prelude setup then it should be obvious that you want Prelude VTEC pads. If you want the 25mm 3.0CL rotors then the pads from the respective vehicle should be your choice. Of course there are many more cars that pad options can come from that are identical to each of these but you don't need to concern yourself with them. As long as you ask for or order the pads I've just told you, you'll be fine. Again, another method to obtaining largely the same result would be to simply source the entire front knuckle assembly from a '98-'99 Acura 3.0CL. Getting the calipers with the setup would still depend on the various parameters you are working in that I described earlier, i.e. if you have Nissin calipers from the factory or not and if you want to upgrade to the larger calipers. If you do get the entire 3.0CL front knuckle then you can still use a 10.2" rotor from a '92-'96 Prelude S/Si non-VTEC, '98-'99 2.3CL, '98-'02 Accord 4-cylinder if you simply want to stay that size or you want to hold off on purchasing the larger braking components.
4-lug HOR Options
So let's assume you want to remain HOR because you don't feel that the convenience of changing rotors that you might do once every 10 years warrants the cost of 2.3CL front hubs. Fair enough. So, we determined that our front brakes are 10.2" (260mm) in diameter. The widest you can go while still retaining the HOR 4-lug setup is 11.1" (282mm). These rotors can be found in either 23 or 25mm-thick options. This will also require you to source different caliper mounting brackets as well because of the increased width of the rotor. Plan on replacing your wheel bearing here since you'll have it all apart anyway.
You'll need:
'92-'94 Vigor, '96-'98 2.5TL (23mm-thick) or '91-'97 Accord wagon or V6, '97 3.0CL (25mm-thick) front rotors
23T brackets for the Vigor/TL rotors or 25T brackets for the 3.0CL rotors
Again, you'll still need to determine your need for calipers based on your existing factory brakes or your desire to upgrade as the brakes from these cars will be the larger piston Nissins.
CALIPER UPGRADES
For Stock-sized Rotors
If you have Akebono calipers from the factory and you are looking to only upgrade the calipers and leave the rotor size unchanged then you will need source the Nissin caliper brackets from a '90-'97 Accord/'97-'99 CL 4-cylinder/'92-'96 Prelude S/Si designed for the 10.2" front rotor. This way you can fit the large single-piston Nissin calipers or the dual-piston Legend calipers onto your stock diameter rotors. I said that I wouldn't get into braking theory too much before I started but know that no Honda with the large-diameter Nissin calipers, including the tiny '97-'01 Integra Type R, ever came with 10.2" rotors. I'm not saying it's dumb, but the caliper is just much larger than a rotor that size needs.
For Upgraded Rotors
One misconception that I often hear is that rotor diameter and caliper choice go hand-in-hand. People will wonder whether or not they have to use 28T brackets with the Legend 2-piston calipers as that's what they came with. This is not true. Your rotor and caliper bracket dimensions are very dependent on each other, but as long as the caliper physically bolts to the bracket then you're good. So, in short, as long as your caliper bracket matches the upgraded rotor you've decided to go with then you have every Nissin option available to you here as well.
First, let's establish what your '90-'93 Accord comes with from the factory. If you have a coupe or a sedan then you have a rotor that is 10.2" (260mm) in diameter and secured to the knuckle between the hub and bearing. Wagons have this same setup but with an 11.1" (282mm) rotor that is 25mm-thick. This design is called the hub-over-rotor(HOR) and is shared by a few other Hondas of the same generation before finally being abolished after the '98 2.5TL. You also have either Akebono or Nissin-branded calipers. Much more information on that can be found here:
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=36527
The different areas in which your brake setups can be upgraded with OEM parts are rotor-over-hub conversions(ROH), rotor diameter or thickness increases and caliper upgrades. To some extent, 5-lug conversions can be considered here as they will always accompany a brake upgrade when going from 10.2". I would like to establish that I don't want for this post to come off as me saying that the bigger and badder your brakes are then the better your car will perform as that is just not true. However, some want to modify the factory braking system for the bling factor as well and bigger brakes certainly get more cool points than teacup saucer-sized rotors under 17" wheels.
ROTOR UPGRADES
4-lug ROH Options:
If you want to only do a rotor-over-hub conversion then your options are very limited. In fact, there is one car that you can get the hubs you'll need from. You will need the front hubs from a '98-'99 Acura 2.3CL. The '97 2.2CL uses the previous HOR-style rotors and are the same as what you already have. The '98-'99 3.0CL hub is designed for a slightly different knuckle and won't work without other parts.
So, if you ONLY want to do the ROH conversion and not a diameter increase then you will need:
'98-'99 Acura 2.3CL front hubs
'90-'97 Accord, '97-'99 2.2/2.3CL front wheel bearings (You'll damage yours in the process and they need to be replaced anyway. Don't be a cheapskate.)
'92-'96 Prelude S/Si non-VTEC, '98-'99 2.3CL, '98-'02 Accord 4-cylinder front rotors
Your factory caliper and bracket, regardless of whether or not you have Akebonos or Nissins, will bolt right up and the pad choices you have will be unchanged. Rotor changes in the future will be much easier and far less time-consuming. Another method to achieve the exact same thing would be to use the entire front knuckle/hub/bearing/rotor assembly from a '98-'99 2.3CL.
From there you could also tack on a rotor size increase to your to-do list. The '98-'99 3.0CL used the same 4 x 114.3 bolt pattern rotor but was wider at 11.1" (282mm). IF you were doing this upgrade on your factory knuckles then you will need the parts listed above with the exception of the rotors.
In addition you would need:
'93-'96 Prelude Si VTEC (23mm-thick) or '98-'99 3.0CL (25mm-thick) front rotors
23T brackets for the Prelude rotors or 25T brackets for the 3.0CL rotors
Some notes should be considered when going about your upgrade this way. Your factory caliper will fit the 23T or 25T (or 28T for that matter, but that's not applicable here) bracket only if it's a Nissin caliper. If you have an Akebono setup from the factory and want to upgrade the brakes outside of the initial, simple ROH conversion I first discussed then a set of Nissin calipers are in your future. These can be either standard-sized CB7 calipers or the larger single or dual-piston Nissins. Also, pad choice should be based off of the pairing between the caliper brackets and rotors. If you went with the 23mm Prelude setup then it should be obvious that you want Prelude VTEC pads. If you want the 25mm 3.0CL rotors then the pads from the respective vehicle should be your choice. Of course there are many more cars that pad options can come from that are identical to each of these but you don't need to concern yourself with them. As long as you ask for or order the pads I've just told you, you'll be fine. Again, another method to obtaining largely the same result would be to simply source the entire front knuckle assembly from a '98-'99 Acura 3.0CL. Getting the calipers with the setup would still depend on the various parameters you are working in that I described earlier, i.e. if you have Nissin calipers from the factory or not and if you want to upgrade to the larger calipers. If you do get the entire 3.0CL front knuckle then you can still use a 10.2" rotor from a '92-'96 Prelude S/Si non-VTEC, '98-'99 2.3CL, '98-'02 Accord 4-cylinder if you simply want to stay that size or you want to hold off on purchasing the larger braking components.
4-lug HOR Options
So let's assume you want to remain HOR because you don't feel that the convenience of changing rotors that you might do once every 10 years warrants the cost of 2.3CL front hubs. Fair enough. So, we determined that our front brakes are 10.2" (260mm) in diameter. The widest you can go while still retaining the HOR 4-lug setup is 11.1" (282mm). These rotors can be found in either 23 or 25mm-thick options. This will also require you to source different caliper mounting brackets as well because of the increased width of the rotor. Plan on replacing your wheel bearing here since you'll have it all apart anyway.
You'll need:
'92-'94 Vigor, '96-'98 2.5TL (23mm-thick) or '91-'97 Accord wagon or V6, '97 3.0CL (25mm-thick) front rotors
23T brackets for the Vigor/TL rotors or 25T brackets for the 3.0CL rotors
Again, you'll still need to determine your need for calipers based on your existing factory brakes or your desire to upgrade as the brakes from these cars will be the larger piston Nissins.
CALIPER UPGRADES
For Stock-sized Rotors
If you have Akebono calipers from the factory and you are looking to only upgrade the calipers and leave the rotor size unchanged then you will need source the Nissin caliper brackets from a '90-'97 Accord/'97-'99 CL 4-cylinder/'92-'96 Prelude S/Si designed for the 10.2" front rotor. This way you can fit the large single-piston Nissin calipers or the dual-piston Legend calipers onto your stock diameter rotors. I said that I wouldn't get into braking theory too much before I started but know that no Honda with the large-diameter Nissin calipers, including the tiny '97-'01 Integra Type R, ever came with 10.2" rotors. I'm not saying it's dumb, but the caliper is just much larger than a rotor that size needs.
For Upgraded Rotors
One misconception that I often hear is that rotor diameter and caliper choice go hand-in-hand. People will wonder whether or not they have to use 28T brackets with the Legend 2-piston calipers as that's what they came with. This is not true. Your rotor and caliper bracket dimensions are very dependent on each other, but as long as the caliper physically bolts to the bracket then you're good. So, in short, as long as your caliper bracket matches the upgraded rotor you've decided to go with then you have every Nissin option available to you here as well.
**Don't b scared be prepared for the worst**
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