OK - another post already...

It's been a while since my first post I know. So ok here it is... my second one.

Brakes and money [to spend on my car] two things I don't have much of. We have been saving for a while now to repair and upgrade various aspects of my car. Notice the word "we". I used the word "we" not "I" because now that I am a married man with a family... there's more important things out there than having a totally tricked out car. Plus without my wife helping me put money aside from each paycheck I wouldn't have any money set aside to do anything. So that being said, "thanks honey, thanks for the help". -back to the car stuff...

I need new brakes. I'm past the slight squeak and they are starting to grind a bit everytime I stop now. So since money is an issue I'm trying to get the most bang for my buck. Big brake upgrades are out. I did a lot of research and have found some great factory alternatives. Like a lot of car manufactuers Mitsubishi "cross-engineers" a lot of things. Meaning things from one model will fit another model without having to change or modify much else.

I was faced with a few options. My ultimate choice would be twin piston calipers from an Eclipse GSX (if you don't know, that's the all wheel drive turbo charged version - one of the best cars that they ever made). Well as awsome as it is to know that all the parts are available and original Mitsubishi parts and everything will fit... I would have to get larger rims to fit the bigger rotors and calipers - not currently an option (new rims with tires would run upwards of $600).

Another option would be to swap out the rotors meant for a 2000-2001 Mirage Sedan with ABS. This combination would be bigger (bigger is better) than what I have but not by much and it's still a lot of work and money. But these would fit with my current oem alloy rims. The current rotors are about 9" in diameter, while these are about 11.5 (if memory serves). Problem is, even with my discount, I'm still going to need over $300 for everything... more than I can spend at the moment and the brakes are becoming unsafe.

The third and final option... boring but the most affordable, and at this point still a MAJOR upgrade from what I've got now. No drilled and slotted or no cryogenicaly treated rotors... not going to spend the extra money since ultimately I still want option #1. I'll be refurbishing and rebuilding my existing calipers, replacing the oem rotors with standard rotors and replacing the pads with standard semi-metalic oems. At this point it's a necessity and I can still make it look good and perform well. Hopefully, eventually, I will save up more and be able to get larger (and wider: ie better handling) rims that will allow for the GSX calipers that I've always wanted.

it's nearly 10pm now and I'm bushed so here's where it ends. More technical data and possibly some pics to come soon.