Do you guys change your own rotors and brake pads? Is there any "special" tool that is needed or anything I should know before attempting to do it myself?

My wife's accord coupe needs new pads in the rear and the front (down to 4mm in front and 2mm in the rear). The Acura dealership said its $230 for the fronts and $230 for the rears because they not only replace the pads but also resurface the rotors. The rotors are fine but I agree that they should be resurfaced when new pads are added. Now the car has about 33k miles so my other question is would it be better to just get the Brembo OEM replacements for $55 a piece (front) and $45 a piece (rear) and just do the job myself?

Are the stock pads a compound pad or ceramic? I assume compound but am not sure. Finally, if I go with the brembo rotors, what pads should I get (keep in mind that its my wife and she does not need sport brakes)? Most of the other questions are in regards to the rotora rotors and which ceramic pads to go with (which I will cross that bridge when I get there - except the dealer resurface my rotors and put in new pads under warranty on Monday).

Thanks!

 

ceramic pads are for off road use only... in other words... ceramic is used for the track... you can use new stock pads if she is not looking for performance, since they stopped the car for the past 30K miles..


the install is not rocket science... but you will need someone with a strong leg to pump and hold the brakes while you bleed them...

get yourself some small clear tubing that will fit over the nipple of the brake bleeder.
the rest is just common sense.

 

You bled the brakes to change the rotors and pads!? I changed to axxis ultimate pads and rotora slotted rotors and never bled the brakes. all is well.

 

opps, i guess I overlooked that one.. when I did my brakes, I upgraded them to the BIG brake kit..

 

As Smitty said, FULL Ceramic pads are typically track pads. There are pads out there that are blends. Axxis Ultimates are Kevlar Ceramic and are fine for the street. When you hear Ceramic, you need to ask full or blend.

 

You guys are the shiz! Thanks. Oh and glad I don't have to bled the brakes! I figured it wasn't rocket science, just wanted to make sure I didn't need anything special.

I guess I'll go with the brembo replacement rotors (F-$53 each, R-$44 each) and the Satisfied Pro Performance OEM pads (F-$34 set, R-$21 set). Anyone have any issues/experience with either?

 

yeah, they are fine for the street if you like hearing squealing everytime you apply light pressure to the brake pedal ..

and if you like practically chiseling dust off your wheels .. in some parts there are big chunks of black dust that won't come off the polished lip of my wheels, I am pissed. it has little black dots all over the lip. when these come off for the winter I'll have to probably go over them with a metal polish to get all the black marks off.

after only like 2k miles with the Ultimates, I've had it. the only good thing about these pads is that the stopping power improved a great deal, but thats where it ends .. I'm sure the stopping power of the Hawk HP's or EBC Greenstuff's will be somewhat similiar. I will be replacing them with either of those two pads, I'm not sure which yet. Anyone have any reviews on the hawk's or ebcs?

 

I read in my prior search that Hawks are pretty good and well known. I didn't choose them (although I might) because they are expensive compared to the Pro ones I mention above. My wife does not care about performance but more about safety and durability.

 

Mine don't make sound. I'm very thorough cleaning and prepping my parts to start and use a good lube on the shims and caliper contact points. Bed the pads in and you're good to go. As far as the dust, I wash my car weekly so not a big deal to get the desired performance. My philosophy is that I'd rather wear pads instead of warping rotors w/ no dust.

 

My patented tip: Tighten the lugs down onto the rotors before removing the small retaining screws. The screws will come out much easier.

 

Actually you can bleed brake systems by yourself ,all you need is an old clear bottle a length of rubber hose sized right to slip tightly on to the brake bleeder nipple and fresh brake fluid .
Fill the bottle about one eight of the way with brake fluid then poke two holes in the lid .Insert the hose through one of the holes leave the other one open .Next insert the hose far enough into the bottle so that the end is covered by brake fluid .Now attach the other end onto the brake nipple and crack open the bleeder .Make sure the master cylinder reservoir is full to the top .Now pump the pedal fifteen to twenty times .Close the bleeder move to the next caliper and so on and so forth making sure the master is always full of fluid as you go .Do this twice for each caliper and you are done bleeding brakes solo .

Jens

 

Jens? Your back on the boards?

 

with two jobs and a full time schedule at school I dont always have the time to wash the car, and sometimes that brake dust has to sit there for a while. maybe if I kept up on it at least once a week it wouldnt leave marks but it is leaving marks that will have to be polished off when I take the wheels off for the winter ....

 

I just wanted to pop in and see if this screenname works ,for the life of me I cannot remember any of my passwords for the old ones and this screen name is actually quite appropriate as I am going home soon .

Jens

 

you do know we can just change your screen name for you and send you the password again... that way people know who the hell you are and all the info you have posted on the forums can be at your finger tips...

 

Actually I am probably just going to stick with this screen name but thank you very much anyway .

Jens

 

That's a good screen name. What does ueberholen mean anyway?

 

Actually the correct spelling is überholen but for some reason the website does not support german letters with umlaut on them when used in a screen name so I used the other spelling for the word .It means "to overtake" or "to pass" .Since I am moving home to Germany soon (or as soon as I sell my house anyway) I thought it would be approriate ."Ich bin auf der autobahn" means quite simply "I am on the autobahn" (going full speed ahead LEGALLY!!!)

Jens

 

Very cool. You'll have to go do a few laps at the Nurburgring. I hear that's a blast.

 

HEHEHEH just a few?

Jens