Warped rotors occur more on auto cars since the driver would keep their foot on the brake after heavy braking. The pad causes the rotor to warp due to the way heat dissipaits from the rotor.

To reduce chances of rotors warping try to not leave your foot on the brake pedal after heavy breaking, use the parking break more often or neutral or brake , let go , brake let go after you have stopped. This would allows the rotor to spin and cool down a little and prevent the pad from stayin in the same place causing the warp.

 

Interesting theory (that I've never heard before and to be honest..... I'm skeptical). Rotors don't warp anywhere near as often (and as readily) as seems to be reported. The more common problem with the TSX brakes is pad build up on the rotors. The symptoms are the same, and ironically,the rotors get replaced and everything is fine and it's assumed the old rotors were warped (when it's actually just pad build up). When someone develops a vibration or shudder under braking, first they should clean off the rotors (the same process as bedding in new pads) and see if that clears up the problem.

 

the rotors on a previously car I owned warped when I was on a steep hill. When I approached the turn I was going to make near the bottom of the hill I had been braking to slow down and had to drive thru a puddle of cold water. It caused the brakes to cool down too fast causing the warping

 

I obviously didnt invent this theory. I remember reading about it on one of the BMW workshop service manuals. When customers would complain about steering shimmy induced by warped rotors. It advised the client on how to reduce this effect.

Water issue causes this also. When the rotors are cooked high on heat, you put the pad on it and leave the pad on the rotor surface causing uneven heat distribution./ disapation.

 

So I've had the same warped issues, inherited this car from my parents and they had it too and have had the rotors resurfaced. BUT to maybe lend my support to this claim. My shuddering has gotten really bad lately, and I was due for a Type 2 service and got it done on saturday (includes break service/clean). The shudder is now totally gone! I'm not saying it won't come back but it really is amazing, going from horrible to gone with just a quick service. The tech says I'm due for new breaks front and rear at next service though so I have to decide what components to get.

Just thought I'd update this and maybe tell people to try the cleaning first.

 

All this is sound information except the rotors don't actually warp in this case. Holding the pads to the rotors when they are really hot creates a high spot that can be taken down with rebedding. If a rotor is warped, rebedding won't help.

 

Our brake issue was taken care of by they local dealer. I mentioned the TSB and the dealer replaced the pads and machined the rotors. We no longer expirience any vibrations or any sort of brake related issues.

 

i had this issue with my 04 tsx 70k miles, i simply replaced the rotors and the problem was fixed.

 

Interesting thread, worthy of a test. I had the braking vibration, again, and was looking to have the rotors machined, but, except for the dealer, it seems local shops no longer machine rotors, they just replace them.

When I was putting my snow tires on, I first took some 220 grit garnet sandpaper and just hand sanded the outside of the front rotors. Then I did a series of lower speed stops (but not a proper bedding), in town, and the vibration was gone.

 

The other issue we used have when I participated on various BMW forums was matching the pad to the rotor. BMW uses soft rotors, a lot of people upgrading to the likes ebc red or green stuff pads suffered warped rotors. Since the pad was too harsh for the soft rotor material. The used softer rotors for better grip / stopping distance.

 

was this problem resolved?

i started to turn off VSA and its helped a lot.. my brakes don't shake any more.

 

If anyone's having brake issues I'd suggest going with Marcus' "HT-Spec Brake Package: Stage 1 Street Enhanced" setup. Regardless of if you or someone else has the car, at some point the OEM rotors will need to be replaced. The Racingbrake UP Rotors will probably be the last you ever need for the car, and the pads won't cause the same deposit issue the OEM's have.

Also comes with enough to Honda fluid to install the fastline stainless brake lines to help with pedal feel and heat-inducing hard driving like auto cross.

Upgrading your brake system is a VERY good thing to do, especially on late model hondas/acuras.

 

Just to be clear here, the shuddering that is being mentioned is caused a lot of times by the front rotors, not the rear one's correct?

I'm looking to replace my fronts because of shuddering, however, I don't want any of this expensive racing stuff. I don't go around racing people, I just drive to work and back. I just want the shuddering to be gone without spending an arm and a leg. I guess I could go with the autozone stuff, but I fear that just a plain ole roter has a chance at shuddering again. Any thoughts?

 

I haven't read through all these posts, but the 09+ TSX brakes are terrible. I'm debating going BBK and or slotted rotors/pads and SS lines. Coming from brembos these brakes just do not stop in time.

 

Racingbrake just came out with some new open-slotted rotors that we'll be featuring very soon here. These are the NEW best rotors you can get for the TSX, after usurping the last best rotors for the TSX (which were also Racingbrake rotors incidentally).

 

Marcus, will the new rotors be available in your S1SE package? If so, are they replacing the older UP's and be available at the same package price?

 

Correct on the front's causing shuddering. It isn't always a warped rotor, sometimes its caused by the overly-soft OEM pads embedding material into the rotor. This causes some areas to have more or less friction when braking, giving the shuddering.

As far as "racing stuff", Racingbrake rotors are used on many members cars for OEM replacements simply to stop the shuddering. Not all members with them track their cars. They are perfectly fine for subtle driving and are very high quality, long lasting rotors.

The autozone rotors are fine. They have a 1-2 year warranty depending on whether you get the Valuecraft or Duralast rotors. Properly bedding your pads is key to any brake setup however. Also I wouldn't put new rotors on without new pads.

Just my

 

A few good points here. Very acceptable brake performance is easy to find without spending allot of money. Relatively inexpensive rotors and pads are available that will meet or exceed OE levels of braking performance. And...... I agree that bedding the pads is critical. The TSX is a street car, and spending thousands on brake parts is, well, let's just say the money could be better spent. You should be able to easily replace all 4 rotors with new pads for well under $400. As usual....... just my opinion.

 

Interesting problems, glad to say I don't have them. If the shuddering goes away with VSA disabled, wouldn't that indicate a problem being caused by the VSA?

I'm looking at replacing rear brake pads, or all four, with choices either a) Acura OEM, or b) afternarket. With only 8000 miles on my extended warranty, I don't really want to replace rotors just yet. I also drive spirited sometimes, but not every turn of the key, so economy vs. performance improvement is the equation. Hawk pads used to be popular when I joined here, what are the current recommendations if I go aftermarket?

(Yes I've read the entire thread , and see Marcus' offerings. HT-spec Stage 1 sounds nice, and affordable, but I don't want to replace the rotors.)

 

Had my rotors resurfaced and changed to ceramic pads both times. Shaking is still there. Maybe its the axle.

 

1 sentence Rotors are to small for the car!

 

My line of thinking goes along with Dan.
I have been eyeing up a BBK for a while. I'm at 122k and I have already replaced Front rotors with Stoptech Cryo Slotted and Rear rotors with Stoptech Cryo Drilled & Slotted. Not sure when I first replaced the front rotors, but it must have been around the 78 -80k mark.
The issue with the BBK is that the vehicle needs spacers WITH the studs mounted in order to allow room for the new calipers. And as of this year (2018) Project Kics is out of business , and there are only a hand full of companies manufacturing spacers WITH studs installed and in the bore size needed for TSX.

Also with the SS Lines. For the DIYers out there; Get the appropriate brake fluid, get a good set of lines with washers, and GET a LINE WRENCH (FLAIR wrench). I had TWO attempts of getting my SS brake lines installed one time WITHOUT LINE WRENCH , and second time WITH LINE WRENCH.

Just a bit of advice, so someone can avoid making the same mistake I did. Also if anyone wants to refer to Jeffrey Smith article: "Acura TSX: How to replace brake lines." Tell Jeffrey to delete the "crescent wrench" off his materials list. I was ready to rip those F&*^in lines out of my car without a LINE WRENCH. Attached is a picture of my nearly stripped brake line nut (while trying to use a regular wrench)

brake line nut (bronze color) 1

brake line nut (bronze color) 2


I'll also throw some serious money down betting against anyone who thinks they can replace ALL 4 brake lines in 30 minutes or less on a TSX with 80+k and WITHOUT a Line/ Flair wrench.