darth62

Unlike others, I have no desire for more acceleration, and have no interest in mods to improve speed. I'm also satisfied with the interior comforts of the car, and have been completely free of QC issues.

The real shortcoming of this car, IMO, is the braking. I know we've discussed this before, but there brake are simply not powerful enough. There is also too much nose dive and the brake feel is not very progressive.

I'm going to go with summer rubber soon (I have ZERO need for all seasons in Califonia and am somewhat bitter than I had no choice on that issue) and hope that will help. But, personally, I'd be much more interested in after market mods that beef up the brakes, rather than increases in power or suspension.

ecsw

I am with u. As a formal Mazda6 owner, the break on M6 is much better than my TSX.:'(

ClutchPerformer

It's true. The main thing that shakes my confidence in the brakes is that they were designed for a car which is 500+ lb lighter (the RSX). I'm looking into the TL brembos as an upgrade. I think that'd be the ultimate solution. The only question is: will they fit?

darth62

I would love to do something like that, if it wasn't too expensive.

MSZ

Even my old 95 Corolla got better breaks...(I DO NOT know the real stats for the breaking from both cars, I just FEEL Corolla got better breaks since I owned the car for 3 years until I got my TSX)

There're few guys in my company suggested that I should get the breambos as well, and I am saving hard for them.

MrChad

Many people have been complaining about Honda's new pad formula. Surely that must be the issue with the TSX. There is now way upgrading from a lower Accord to a TSX could yeild worse braking as the systems are nearly identical.

I would suggest swapping out the front pads for some more agressive aftermarket pads, it can be cheaply done for well under 100bucks and should yield good improvement. If that doesn't help look to install steel braided lines before doing anything more aggressive in the brake department.

darth62

MrChad - Do you have a brand and model to suggest?

chrisalberts

Is the braking performance bad, or does it just feel bad? There is a difference. If you absolutely stomp on the brakes, as in an emergency situation, do the tires lock up and/or ABS kicks in?

If yes, then there's nothing much wrong with the brakes, if no, then the brakes need attention. Also, if your brakes can't lock up your tires/activate ABS, then summer tires won't improve matters any (not for braking alone).

Also make sure the brakes are well bedded in with no glazing by performing a series of emergency stops.

New pads are cheapish and may well improve matters. SS brake lines will improve the feel, but will do little for braking performance.

C.

darth62

Well, in all the empirical tests, the TSX stop slower than most other cars in it's class. Also, the braking feel is poor and there is lots of nose dive.

I notice the car does espeically bad whent he road is rough. Panic stops on rough rough are a dicey matter because the tires don't seem to "bite" very well.

I had my brakes checked by the dealer, btw.

provench

What is crazy is that this is a known long time Honda/Acura short coming and is not new to the TSX. They just don't step out there with top braking for some reason. However, the TL seems to indicate that in the future we will at least see "optional" Brembo's on the sports models of their cars ... that is a good sign.

Personally I think the TSX brakes are good enough ... but I haven't had to emergency stop either. No doubt a nicer set of tires will help here as said. I am looking forward to my next set of tires for sure (on many levels)

Dan Martin

The first two mods I would try would be pads and braided lines. The lines will give a much better feel because the don't flex nearly as much as the plastic/rubber ones that come on the car. Performance pads usually kick up a little more dust and they will wear you rotors a little quicker but they generally make a good improvement.

Both mods are very reasonable and you would be doing them anyways if you were to do a big brake kit so I would start there and see if you need to do anything else.

TSXautoXer

I've said it a number of times, and I'm going to said it again...

TSX's brake feel is so so. Not as bad as the Passats, but definitely nothing great about it. The braking distance is loooooooong (C/D tested at 180+ ft from 70mph). The ABS calibration is one of factor I think that affects the braking. The ABS is tuned more for a minivan than a sporty sedan. The threshold is low, and it takes a long time to stop working.

The summer tires won't help too much. I had Pirelli P Zero Nero on mine and still sucks.

After market pads I am looking at are Hawk Racing pads, and EBC Green Stuff. Hope they'll help. If not, I'll wait for the Brembo disk upgrade (not from TL).

wawa

I have to say that the BMW 325i has a better brake than TSX. I could feel the stopping power from 325i. However, I couldn't get the solid stopping feel from the TSX. Overall, the TSX brake is still good enough and TSX is still a great car to own.

ecsw

The only way to help my breaking without upgrading anything is use the engine break. I found myself drove a lot with Tip-tronic and use the engine break as an assistant.

moda_way

MrChad and I have a long standing debate about the brakes (we know each other). The big differences I've noticed is that the brakes are just weak in comparison to my 89 325i that was all stock stuff. This brake material and performance is a well known weakness for Honda, not a failing point, just a weakness.

The worst I've felt is when you've gone through some traffic having to brake or through a series of red lights, such that the brakes are warmed up. Then, when you go to brake for idiots in the fast lane holding you up, you notice quite a bit of fading.

Simply put, the brake material is weak not to mention the fact that the balance between front an rear is noticeably favoring the front. And yeah, I know the front takes 80% of the braking force, but I've also felt a more balanced braking system in the BMW and now will have to mod my TSX to get a better feel for me.

If you like them.... GREAT!!! I and a few other people don't

MrChad would suggest EBC, but they are very dusty. He's going to try a set of Hawks next. His suggestion of just putting the better brakes up front makes even more sense when you think about the front holding most of the braking power... for those who are money conscious.

STL

I notice the new 2004 S2000 has a new brake pad material. I believe the old pads were at least partly organic but the new ones aren't. Is that the same change we are talking about here?

MrChad

All current OEM honda material is Ceramic.

Ceramics offer less dust and squeal vs. Semi-Mets.

However, I would definately suggest any type of semi-met aftermarket over OE Ceramic material.

I upgraded my sister's Accord V6 from OE organic to Ceramics on this most recent brake change. We both noticed a huge POS suck factor and pedal feel with the newer Ceramic OE material.

Bottom line: Swap out the front to some EBC's, HAWKS, or anyother Auto-X/Street Hipo pad. Your life will be better. My EBC's finally got seeded in this summer. I placed them on late last fall and didn't drive much. These past few weeks I've had excellent bite the EBC in the daily congested grind.

More and more OE's are switching to Ceramics to lower road noise squeal and dust. However, My s-10 uses Ceramics and now my sister's Accord--I haven't been impressed so far. I'll take good old aggressive Semi-Metallics anyday over OE quality Ceramics.

I may upgrade to braided lines too. Only 2-3 companies offer a set for Honda's. I've been happy with Tirerack recommended products for now. I'd purchase from them if anyone wants recommendations.

I too would aggre with Moda_Way the Honda Accord platform needs some serious bite on the @$$ end brakes. If you take a decreasing radius corner (entrance ramps) and apply any degree of light pedal pressure the nose gets major jitters. I don't think the rear has anybite until the front grabs. I really wish there was an easy way to dial in some rear bite for better twisty control.

PS- Dear Honda, stop using the same old POS rear brake caliper on all your cars from Vintage 1994. please.

darth62

This is the exact problem I have been having with the brakes.

As I've said, it is the one real weakness in this car.

MrChad

In all fairness the FWD aspect of the car likely doesn't help either.

Many rave about the Bimmer's wonderful brake feel compared to the TSX/Accord Platform. I'm sure it doesn't help that all braking and steering imputs on the Bimmers don't first have to go through and/or over come the drive wheels.