01-03 Acura 3.2CL knuckle 5 lug swap front questions for larger rotors

[Losiracer2]

So I've decided to do a 5 lug swap on my Accord after finding a set of cheap $20 2g TL-S wheels....that got the ball rolling.

I'm using the Prelude 97-01 rear hubs, 98-02 Accord V6 rear rotors and a last minute change at the JY from 01 V6 Accord front knuckles (since I couldn't get the axle nuts off) to 03 Acura 3.2CL knuckles.

I just realized this, since I didn't get the calipers with the knuckles, in order to reuse my Legend 2 piston front calipers, would I need the corresponding Acura 3.2CL caliper brackets since the rotors are 11.8" vs. 11.1" that the legends use? I guess that means the same for front CL pads as well too?

[Jarrett]

Yes, you need those brackets as well. The calipers from the CL are the same Nissins that the 11.1" brake cars use, so no issue there. But the bracket helps to space the caliper the additional .35" out away from the center of the rotor.

There are tons of cars that have them. '99-'03 TL/'01-'03 CL/'99-'04 RL/'03-'12 Accord 6-speed/'99-'04 Odyssey/'03-'08 Pilot. Maybe the Ridgeline, too.

I would continue to use Legend 2-piston caliper pads, as well. The 11.1" rotor they came on was 28mm thick, which also happens to be the same thickness of the 11.8" rotors. Not to mention the backing of them is perfect for a 2-piston pressure application. It is a perfect match. Perfect enough that Honda wouldn't hesitate to use them if this car was new, unless they felt like changing the compound for some reason.

[Losiracer2]

Yes, you need those brackets as well. The calipers from the CL are the same Nissins that the 11.1" brake cars use, so no issue there. But the bracket helps to space the caliper the additional .35" out away from the center of the rotor.

There are tons of cars that have them. '99-'03 TL/'01-'03 CL/'99-'04 RL/'03-'12 Accord 6-speed/'99-'04 Odyssey/'03-'08 Pilot. Maybe the Ridgeline, too.

I would continue to use Legend 2-piston caliper pads, as well. The 11.1" rotor they came on was 28mm thick, which also happens to be the same thickness of the 11.8" rotors. Not to mention the backing of them is perfect for a 2-piston pressure application. It is a perfect match. Perfect enough that Honda wouldn't hesitate to use them if this car was new, unless they felt like changing the compound for some reason.

Thanks for the great info Jarrett! I'll be sure to get those brackets. I was strongly thinking about RL 4 pot calipers but those would practically double my budget for this 5 lug swap.

[Losiracer2]

So just an update. I finally got around to putting my 5 lug stuff on.

Things I noticed:

1. The camber on the front knuckles is now a LOT more positive. I previously had some Progress Anchor type camber correction blocks and the top of the tire now has quite a bit of positive camber. So I'm swapping those camber kits for regular stock anchor bushings to bring it back to zero. I'm thinking the CL knuckles have a lot more positive camber built in vs. accord knuckles which is why I had to get rid of my camber correction kit.

2. My toe alignment is way off. The knuckles in front caused quite a bit of toe out to happen on both L & R front wheels. I'm worried having to back out my tierods by about 8 turns that there isn't enough threads going into the outer tierods now. Would I still reuse my Accord outer tierods with the 02+ CL front knuckles or would I need different ones?

3. For the rear, I reused the Accord 32mm hub nut vs. using the BB6 Prelude nut since I was able to thread the Accord nut 6 full turns vs. only 3 with the prelude. I used the Accord nut without the washer, so hopefully it'll still provide adequate support for the outer bearing. I torqued to 139 ft-lbs on the 32mm nut. The prelude nut had a built in washer in the nut but the threads didn't start until about a 1/4" in so I didn't feel safe using that.

4. For the front brake line, I couldn't reuse the Acura mount for the triangular support that's supposed to bolt to the knuckle since it would've come into contact with the shock mount provision for the brake line. The Acura brake line provison on the knuckle is mounted about 2 inches above where the accord provision on the knuckle is. I was able to use just one of those 10mm bolts a little bit lower down on the knuckle on a random threaded hole to support the brake line, similar to where the Accord location was.

My car is still up in the air so I'll see how the camber gets affected when I lower it. But for now, i'm kinda crapped out. More tomorrow!