Brembo Brakes for the Honda S2000: Which Parts Fit

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

The Brembo part we carry for the Honda S2000 is the GT-S front big brake kit, part number 1M3.8054AS. It uses six-piston calipers and 355 x 32 mm two-piece slotted rotors, and Brembo catalogs it for 1999-2005 cars. If you want better stopping without replacing the calipers, the factory calipers can stay and you can fit direct-replacement upgrade rotors from GiroDisc or DBA plus a set of stainless braided lines. Below is what fits which car, what each part changes, and what to check before you order.

How the S2000 Brake System Is Laid Out

The S2000 has disc brakes at all four corners from the factory. It is a light, front-engine, rear-drive roadster, so the stock system handles street driving fine. What owners run into on track days and canyon roads is heat. Repeated hard stops push the pads and fluid past their comfortable temperature range, the pedal gets longer, and the pads start to glaze. That is the problem every part in this guide is meant to address, each in a different way.

One detail matters before any brake work: fluid. Honda's S2000 owner's manual calls for Honda Heavy Duty Brake Fluid DOT 3. If that is not available, the manual allows only DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluid from a sealed container, and it warns that DOT 5 fluid is not compatible with the car's braking system and can cause extensive damage. The same fluid also feeds the clutch hydraulics on this car, so the clutch reservoir uses the same spec.

Which Brake Parts Fit the Honda S2000

These are the S2000 brake upgrades we stock, with the model years each one is listed for. Year coverage differs from part to part, so match your exact year before you buy.

If you own a 2006-2009 S2000, note that the Brembo GT-S kit and the DBA rotors above are listed for earlier cars. Brembo catalogs a separate front kit for the later cars, so do not assume the 1999-2005 kit carries over. The GiroDisc front rotors are the part here listed across the full production run.

The Brembo GT-S Big Brake Kit: What You Get

Brembo sells its Gran Turismo (GT) upgrade systems as complete kits. According to Brembo, each one includes aluminum calipers, upsized discs (often with the Type 3 slotted pattern), high-performance pads, braided stainless steel hoses and the mounting hardware. The S2000 kit follows that pattern: six-piston calipers up front, 355 x 32 mm two-piece slotted rotors, pads, braided hoses, brackets and fasteners.

Brembo splits its GT kits into families. It describes the GT-S line as its "Sport" series, with race-derived ventilated pistons and hard anodizing, aimed at drivers who regularly run track sessions and need consistent performance through them. That places the GT-S above the entry GT-A kits and below the billet-machined GT-R racing kits in Brembo's lineup.

What a big brake kit changes on an S2000:

• More thermal mass. A larger, thicker rotor absorbs and sheds more heat before the pads and fluid start to suffer, which is the main failure mode on this car at the track.
• Stiffer caliper. A fixed aluminum caliper with opposed pistons flexes less than a typical sliding caliper, which gives a firmer, more consistent pedal.
• More pad area. Longer pads spread the work and heat across more friction material.

What it does not do: a bigger kit does not add grip. On street tires the factory brakes can already lock the wheels or bring on ABS. The payoff is fade resistance and pedal consistency lap after lap, not a shorter single stop.

Before ordering, confirm wheel clearance. A 355 mm rotor and a six-piston caliper need much more room inside the wheel than the factory setup, and many wheels will not clear. Check your wheels against the manufacturer's clearance template or fitment guidance first.

Keeping the Factory Calipers: Upgrade Rotors

If your driving is mostly street with occasional spirited runs, a rotor upgrade on the stock calipers is the simpler route. No brackets, no wheel clearance questions, and pads stay the factory shape.

GiroDisc A1-104 two-piece front rotors

GiroDisc states this rotor is a direct replacement for the OE disc with no modifications, and that it bolts to the car and works with the OE calipers. It pairs a 6061-T6 aluminum hat with a cast iron disc that GiroDisc pours and machines in the USA. The two parts float on 10 alloy steel drive pins, secured with cap screws and anti-noise spring washers, which lets the iron grow with heat without rattling. The disc uses curved vanes that act as a pump to push cooling air through it. The aluminum hat cuts unsprung and rotating weight compared with a one-piece iron rotor.

DBA 4000 Series T3 and Street Series T2

DBA's 4000 Series rotors are cast from a high-carbon alloyed iron and heat treated through what DBA calls thermal stability profiling, which it says improves rotor stability and durability. The vanes use DBA's Kangaroo Paw pillar pattern; DBA says its 144-pillar design gives up to 30 percent more surface area and 20 percent better cooling than a straight-vane rotor. The T3 slot pattern adds extra tri-symmetrical CNC slots that DBA says give a quieter, smoother pedal and more exit paths for pad gases and dust. The 4000 Series also carries thermographic paint that changes color at set temperatures, so you can see how hot the rotors got after a session.

The Street Series T2 front rotor is DBA's lower-cost slotted option for daily-driven cars. For regular track days, the 4000 Series T3 front and rear pair is the better match.

Brake Lines and Fluid: The Cheap Half of the Job

The factory flexible hoses are rubber. Under hard braking and heat, rubber hose expands slightly, and the driver feels that as a softer pedal. The Russell braided line kit replaces those hoses with stainless-braided lines that expand far less, which firms the pedal on its own and pairs well with any of the rotor upgrades above. The Brembo kit already includes braided hoses for the front.

Any time you open the hydraulic system, bleed it thoroughly and use fresh fluid from a sealed container that meets the spec in the owner's manual. For more hose and line options, see our brake lines collection and brake hoses.

What to Replace at the Same Time and How Hard the Job Is

• Pads with rotors. Always fit new pads with new rotors so they bed in together. Browse brake pads for pads that suit your use; track pads and street pads behave very differently when cold.
• Hardware. Replace worn abutment clips and slide pin boots while the calipers are off. Our brake hardware kits cover this.
• Fluid. Fresh fluid after any line or caliper work, bled at all four corners.

Difficulty: a rotor and pad swap on the S2000 is a moderate driveway job with basic hand tools, a torque wrench and jack stands. Installing braided lines adds a full bleed and takes more patience. A big brake kit is the most involved: new brackets, caliper mounting, hose routing and a full bleed. Torque every caliper bracket bolt, caliper bolt and wheel nut to the values in the factory service manual or the kit instructions, and bed in the new pads before any hard driving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Brembo GT-S kit fit my 2008 S2000?

The 1M3.8054AS kit is catalogued for 1999-2005 cars. Brembo lists a separate front kit for later S2000s, so check your year before ordering.

Do I need a big brake kit for street driving?

Usually not. For street use, good pads, fresh fluid and braided lines on the factory calipers are plenty. A big brake kit earns its cost on track days, where heat builds lap after lap.

Can I keep my factory calipers and still upgrade?

Yes. The GiroDisc A1-104 and the DBA rotors bolt on in place of the factory rotors and work with the stock calipers and pad shape.

Which brake fluid does the S2000 use?

Honda specifies Honda Heavy Duty Brake Fluid DOT 3. The owner's manual allows DOT 3 or DOT 4 from a sealed container if Honda fluid is not available, and warns against DOT 5.

Are slotted rotors noisier than plain rotors?

Slots can add a little sound with some pads. DBA says its T3 slot pattern is designed to reduce vibration and give a quieter, smoother pedal than simpler slot designs.

Sources

1. Brembo - GT Kit guide - GT kit contents and the GT-S Sport series description
2. Brembo - Honda solutions - Brembo product lines catalogued for the Honda S2000
3. Brembo GT-S front kit 1M3.8054AS listing - 1999-2005 fitment, 6-piston calipers, 355 x 32 mm two-piece rotors, kit contents
4. GiroDisc - Honda S2000 front rotors A1-104 - direct OE replacement, aluminum hat, floating pins, curved vanes
5. DBA - 4000 Series brake rotors - high-carbon iron, Kangaroo Paw vanes, T3 slots, thermographic paint
6. Honda S2000 Owner's Manual - brake and clutch fluid - Honda DOT 3 fluid specification and DOT 5 warning