Hi, I have a quick question about pads. Autozone has 3 different pads (lets not get into too many politics here lol). Two are their ceramic top of the line stuff and then there is a semi-metallic one for half the price. They all have the lifetime replacement so which one is the best bet. I don't want them chewing on the rotors too much. I've done many brake jobs without even looking at what the brakes are made up of, but now that I am looking, its confusing the crap outta me.
Thanks

P.S, I used AZ pads just as an example, I'm talking about them in general though.

 

What rotors are you using? Maybe makes no difference, but on our cars, ceramic is factory recommended.

 

I would stick with ceramic because as mentioned above, ceramic is factory material.

 

Using stock rotors. Looks like ceramics have more votes. Trying to stay away from having my brakes chew away on the rotors though. Anyone else?

 

Consider having the rotors resurfaced prior to bedding in new pads. Most of the chain auto parts stores can do that service for a small fee.

 

Seriously don't worry about this. I ran super AGGRESSIVE pads for over 30K miles and the rotors showed about 0.75mm of material loss from the braking surface. By my calculation, you can run 50K before reaching the service limit. Any OEM spec ceramic pads aren't aggressive at all so you'd be able to go MUCH longer than 50K on a set of rotors.

 

Alright. Thanks for the responses. I was a bit confused because some people were makinga huge deal about going organic and changing them more often rather than just replacing the rotors and brakes less. As far as getting rotors machined, I have done that a few times, but I'm not really a believer of it. I've never replaced rotors because they were too thin either. Has anyone ever picked used autozone duarlast ceramics with the lifetime warranty of course. Or any autozone brakes.
Thanks

 

I used the Duralast golds on my Accord and didn't really care for them. Maybe it's because they weren't aggressive enough; they felt really blah. I put on a full set of Duralast golds on my in-law's SUV and they were night-and-day versus the OEMs. I will however recommend the Duralast rotors if you need to replace yours. Those things are worth far more than they cost and the warranty is unparalleled. If you paired the Gold pads with their rotors, you'd have a really cost-effective OEM replacement setup.

 

Well the rotors are good (even the brakes actually for a bit, they are annoying, but passed inspection), but what makes its warranty so great. Isn't it only 2 years? BTW, I use Bendix 95% of the time, but this past change is the first time I used something else (Wagner thermoquiets) so can you compare these with them at all?
Thanks

 

I just posted this in the other break pad cost thread but i just bought the Autozone rotors and pads, the C-Max ones, and from driving about a week on them they seem just as good as stock to me. Although, my stocks were shaking so violently I don't even remember what "stock" felt like. 40k miles on my 06 and my rear pads were almost shot, the front rotors were resurfaced by the dealer at 15k and started shaking at 30k again. I couldn't take it anymore and got new all the way around. OEM, never again!

 

Oh really. Whats the difference between the C-Max and the normal Gold? They both are ceramics. Also how is the dust on them? My OEMs get the rim dusty way to fast. I thought that ceramic are suppose to be low dust, but everyone here is saying stock is ceramic (I thought they were semi because of the dust and though I read it somwhere around here).
Thanks

 

The Cmax are suppose to be a new ultra quiet formula with less dust and better fade resistance. I have not had them long enough yet to really say anything about dust quantity. The Cmax also comes with the shim kit and some lubricant in the box too. As for Acura OEM, I think they are a mix but I'm not sure.

 

Interesting. By mix do you mean semi or what? lol
Thanks

 

A 2 year unlimited mileage warranty on a wear item is VERY good. If you buy Rotora garbage rotors you get a 2wk/500mile warranty. The break-in period for most rotors is around 1K miles. If you are a daily commuter, you could put ~30K on your Duralasts before the warranty is up!

As for the other Pads, I can't compare. I am very particular about my brakes and except for the one time, I always buy aggressive performance pads. I absolutely hate how OEM Honda/Acura pads feel/fade.

 

But why would I need to replace the rotor within 2 years? I've hit 4 years with the stock rotors and they work fine. So please explain. Are you recommending to get a free replacement set after 2 years or what? Also, someone on this forum has to have some experience with brakes that don't eject you when you tap on them! lol. Anyone else have input on the pads? Anyone here try the cheapo $20 autozone ones or nice golds or anything else?
Thanks

 

You don't HAVE to replace your rotors after 2 years. What I was saying is that compared to other brands/manufacturers, the 2 year warranty is VERY good. You should obviously expect they last longer but there are many people on here that would be happy to have their rotors last two years without vibration.

 

AH alright. I thought you were trying to imply that they weren't good, but at least the warranty was (which is what people say about their brakes apparently). Why do other people have issues with warping rotors though? Hard on brakes or what?
Thanks

 

The "warping" phenomenon is commonly attributed with poor pad formulation and driving style. I have yet to experience this issue but there are TONS of threads about it on here so I guess there are a lot of people that have.

Regarding brake pads, you usually get what you pay for. IMO, brakes are the most critical safety item on the car. Not something I wish to skimp on. I like pressing that pedal with confidence that she's going to stop exactly as I predict. That is not something you can do when pads fade and glaze etc.

 

avoid semi metallic--way to much dust

ceramics are the best for DD-quiet, stops well, and very very little dust. i use it them in all my cars now.

 

huludicidal- yup I see your point, thanks!

ck123 and anyone else- I get a lot of dust on my stock pads. Are stock ceramics because if they are then they aren't what they live up for in their name for no dust lol. I clean, it gets dusty FAST.

 

If you dont like how fast your brakes give out brake dust .. you can only go softer pads (more towards ceramic). Stock is ceramic or semi metalic. With how soft they are .. i'm leaning towards it being ceramic already.

IMO .. it's your brake system .. why care if they make dust or not. I rather run a more aggressive pad, ie RacingBrake ET500 from our forum vendor, Heeltoe Auto, knowing that my braking will be better at the price of more dust. A set of RacingBrake stuff will cost you nearly the same as the OEM.

Rear oem pads last about 40k. Front, dont know. I'm at 80K and still have plenty of life on the front pads. But i'm waiting for funds to replace the front set as well.

 

Just an update on the Duralast setup I put on a few weeks back. Under normal driving conditions they perform perfectly fine however, I have noticed that when braking hard, they do not "grab" as well as stock actually. There was an incident the other day that took me longer than I wanted/anticipated and it made me a little nervous. However, it was going down hill and on very bumpy pavement. When stopping from high speeds on the turnpike and such they grap just fine. I would say it is probably 95% of the stock setup. Would i buy these Duralast Cmax pads again.....I do not know at this point just yet. Great price and I find my driving style to be changing to less spirited so I may not need a more aggressive pad so I might consider it again. The rotors seem to be just their job just fine!

 

Oh thanks for the update! I think the stocks are semi-metallic though. I was just looking around the internet and more people are saying they are semi then ceramic. How true is this?

 

i think theyre semi-metallic because of how much it dust up. ceramic does not dust up at the rate of semi-metallic.

 

I would have to agree with ck123 on the dust. The new ceramics i have hardly produce the same amount of dust that the oem ones did.

Also, just to note, I did have to come to a sudden stop yesterday on flat pavement from about the same speed as I mentioned in my other update post and they performed better than on the bumpy surface (obviously). I have a little more confidence in them now.

Another side note. I saw in the thread about the Racingbrake rotors and pads that the weight of them was like 7.2 lbs. That will GREATLY reduce the unsprung weight compared to the Autozone rotors (if you care about that at all). The Duralast rotors are pretty heavy however, I cannot compare them to stock since I did not do the install. I would guess the Duralasts were around 17 lbs, maybe a tad more.

 

I saw the same picture, but do realize that was the rear rotor pictured alone. Any rear rotor replacement weighing close to 20 lbs. on a TSX is ridiculous.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...2#post12322222

 

I did not notice that it was the rear until you just said that. The duralast rear rotors were significantly lighter than the fronts. I would agree that it would be way to heavy in the rear. My guess on the Duralast rears, and this is completely just my engineering estimate, would be around 10-12lbs.

 

yup. the picture in that thread are actually of the rear brakes. I've yet to order the front set. Once i do, i'll weight it for you guys. Unless Marcus @ Heeltoe wants to do it for us. =)

btw, my brakes is a lot better even though i only replace the rear to the racingbrake brand. I cant wait to replace the front!

 

Hey guys Monroe brake pads have a $20 mail-in rebate right now. Anyone use these pads? They are ceramic as well. I wonder if I should bother have the stock rotors resurfaced, might go with Autozone rotors.

 

Yeah, they are super cheap after rebate, but didn't hear much about them quality wise and how long they last.