I’m looking for some feedback from those of you that have upgraded your braking system. I’ve just received my Hawk HPS pads for the front & rear and am awaiting delivery of my new Racingbrake front rotors.


What I’m asking the group here is it worth it to upgrade the rear rotors and replace the brake lines with the Goodrich SS lines. I called Racingbrake yesterday and they told me they don’t, as of this date, have any plans to make a rear rotor for our TSX because of the low demand. My top choice now for the rear rotors would be Powerslots but I’m open to suggestions. As for the brakeline upgrade I’m wondering if anyone having done this now has “too” touchy of a pedal, etc. Thanks in advance for your experiences and comments.

 

well I wish I had a free weekend to install everything.

I bought the RacingBrake slotted fronts, Powerslut rears, Hawk HPS pads, and Goodrich SS lines.

I just couldn't stand having the OEM braking system any longer. The fronts have been resurfaced twice & the rears need some resurfacing too. All four pads have been replaced too.

Perfect world scenario would of had me with an extra grand to replace the calipers. I'll post comments once I've installed.

 

IMO, no reason to upgrade the rear brakes other than a more aggressive pad unless you are going for looks over functionality.

 

I hope those were cheap

 

 

I agree. Where can I get some of those? Powerslut = The Win

 

But do you really trust the OEM rubber???

 

I would double wrap and still dip in a can of latex paint for the Powersluts.

 

Powerslut...

But seriously...upgrading the brake pads makes a huge difference. However, even before upgrading the pads on my 06, I noticed that upgrading the tires made an even bigger difference than upgrading the brake pads did in my 04. In fact, in past discussions, it has been concluded that since the brakes were strong enough to lock the wheels, the real problem lies with the tires rather than the brakes.

 

ALthough sometimes in a panic stop.. the brakes still seem to lock up although not quite as easy while i'm not hitting the pedals that hard. Does our TSX have one of those "panic braking" features when it senses you doing a panic stop that it will automatically apply max braking on all 4 wheels?

 

You're thinking electronic brake assist and yes, the 2006 TSX has it (according to HondaNews.com) though I'm not sure if the 04/05 has it.

 

nice, let us know how the RB rotors work for you. i am almost sure it will be 'dramatic' improvements.

i'm slated for brembo blanks and hawk hps on my rears this spring.

 

FYI:

I have a set of Brand New, Goodridge Brake Lines for sale in the Black Market if anyone is interested

 

I'm going with Powerslots and Axxis Ultimate pads all around. I decided to hold off on the SS lines until the next brake job since I figure the rubber lines are still strong enough at this point. I'll post comments after they're installed. Tires are soon to follow so I'll see how much difference that makes.

 

It doesn't (mine is an 05), and thank God for that. That's the biggest reason why I got my my TSX over the IS300, just when you get on the brakes hard to set up rotation for a corner, the sh!t system kichs in and screws everything up....

 

I disagree. I have stock tires and my brake rotors have uneven pad deposits and thickness variations (cementite from too hot operation). This car is underbraked for heat dissipation in aggressive driving, compounded by the traction control kicking in and heating things up worse....

Just because you can lock the brakes in normal driving does not mean the car has adequate brakes.

 

As discussed above, the lessened ability to control the car under heavy braking and driving is the main reason I'm upgrading the braking system. I want to be more able to control the back end of the car under braking than what I now have. Of course the OEM tires will be upgraded in the future (about 7.5-10k miles of usable life left). I'm upgrading the braking system now in order to establish a "baseline" and shorten the learning curve based on still having the OEM tires. This desire also makes me think that I should upgrade the rear rotors as well as the fronts and have a new braking platform at all four corners. The SS brakelines upgrade is still up in the air.

I guess I'm a little old school in that I want more human control v. save-your-ass computer mode over the braking system. Sooooo.... I've decided to shit-can all the OEM rotors & pads and then go have some fun driving in the mountains & coast. Next up will be a CPU reflash when I find myself in LaLa land and the impulse buying bug bites me in the butt.

 

Update

I just ordered the Powerslot rotors for the rear and did a "what the hell" and ordered the Goodrich SS brakelines. Once I get them installed and broken-in I'll post my observations. Total delivered cost for all the parts was just under $700.00.

 

How much did you pay for the lines? I have a brand new set $100 shipped

 

Hey Still Water, you're gonna love those Hawk pads! I have them on my current ride w/ PowerSlot rotors & stainless braided lines. Much less dust than OEM pads & whatever dust there is cleans up easily. Once broken-in the braking performance is incredible!

 

Yea, your gonna love the step up in braking power. I just switched out my pads this past weekend with EBC greenstuff. Combined with cross drilleds all around, they bite pretty hard. But im going easy on them for a few hundred miles.

 

so which pads produce less brake dust, Hawks or EBCs?

 

I upgraded the OEM rubber too. Can't trust stock with a powerslut. The main reason for changing the rear rotors was b/c the stock was warping on me. Hopefully the upgrade will put an end to that.

 

From what I've read, the Hawks produce less dust.

The Hawks will be the way to go for me once I go through the OEM pads.

 

Ok are the RB rotors larger diameter than stock? And if i am not mistaken the Powerslots are the same size. I am looking to go bigger. The stock brakes look way to small with 19's. But i honestly dont want to spend 3gs anyone have any ideas?

 

I dont know which one produces less, but the EBC's are organic and dont produce much dust at all...

 

What I said is not based on personal experience. Just what my feeble little brain remembers from reading posts a long time ago... :killer:

 

As to the brake pad choice - I spoke with the folks at Racingbrake and they said they had real good luck with the Hawk pads and in fact sell them as an approved & preferred match. I was looking for a pad that performed well but would also not become a major problem in the dust & noise department. From what I've been able to tell the Hawks pads should fit the bill.

I've received the pads, Racingbrake front rotors (mean & nasty looking) and the Goodridge brake lines (they look very well made and stout as hell). Still waiting on the Rear Powerslots (passed on the Powersluts but was tempted) because Tirerack lost my order somewhere - Booo.

While out this weekend I parked in a lot away from the crowd and on my return a new BMW 330 was parked next to me. I looked at the rear rotors and then looked at mine and felt a bad case of rotor envy pulsing through my body. And then I thought, just wait, just wait a little longer....

 

Good choice on the Racingbrake / Powerslot / Hawk / Goodridge setup. That is exactly what I am using.

 

Thanks for the input. BTW - In what areas did you find the most improvement?