Sorry guys I'm sure this was discussed a lot before but I was wondering what pads you guys are all using? I bought my 2013 car as a CPO at around 50K. Car now has 99K and I'm finally starting to hear them squeak a bit when braking, although nothing too bad though.

My guess is that it's probably time to start thinking about changing them soon. My other guess is that Acura most likely replaced the pads prior to me buying it which is probably why it's lasted so long? I've had no issues with OEM so far. They've lasted a long time, obviously, and the dust was almost non existent. Performance wasn't terrible either.

I hear that Akebono are pretty good, just not sure which ones? Also, are there any other pads you guys recommend? Also where to purchase? How do you guys feel about AutoZone, O'Reilly's, or other auto shop's stuff? I suppose I'd like something similar to OEM as far as longevity and minimal dusting goes but if I could save a few bucks here and there I'd definitely be all for it. Thanks.

 

Assuming Acura did change pads prior to selling this car to you. You put 50K miles on new pads. If you will install non-OEM pads and save $100, it will make huge 0.2 cents/mile saving! Like OEM – use OEM. Just my 2c.

 

Yeah for sure.. I'm not saying I'm opposed to OEM by any means. This was more of a conversation about what most guys on here are using or decided to use when they were up for brake replacement.

Where did you purchase your OEM pads?

 

I haven't had any issues with any rotor/pad combos i've purchased from RockAuto either: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+pad+kit,13824

Something like the Centric or PowerStops would be very comparable to OEM.

 

I recently purchased Advics rotors and pads from RockAuto and really like the quality of these rotor/pads and Advics is OEM for at least some of the Acura brake parts. ADVICS AD1697 front pads

 

Only
Front AKEBONO ASP1102A
Rear AKEBONO ASP1103

 

Are you saying you only go with Akebono over other brands? Sorry your comment was a bit vague lol. But thank you! I'll look into those for sure. Again I've heard great things.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on the Raybestos EHT? Also what about the Brembo's from Rock Auto? I mean Brembo is considered one of the top in the game so I was surprised to see those there for our car.

 

Before Akebono installed Brembo in front and they constantly squeak terribly.

 

Little late to the party here but I've had great success with Akebonos on various Hondas/Acuras, as well as any tier of the Powerstop brand on Rockauto.

 

All good! I still haven't bought/replaced my brakes yet. I still have a bit of time left but I definitely appreciate the feedback.

 

Why re-invent the wheel. If you know what works and to your satisfaction, why change it. I always use factory discs and pads...and they last...and imagine that, they even stop the car.

I still use a conventional lead acid battery? Why? Because the ones that came factory fitted in my new cars lasted 14 and 16 years. When my 2017 RDX battery goes, I'll replace it with the same...so far so good. Same with my discs and brakes.

 

Not to hijack this brake recommendation thread but I would like to know how to get 14-16 years of life out of a battery. Average life of batteries in my cars is around 4 years and I even purchased a battery capacity tester to know when they go bad.
About the brake pads, I've used Akebono for years but recently bought the Advics rotors and pads as I mentioned in the previous post and I have to say the Advics pads are quiet. low dust and stop even better than the Akebono pads I took off the car. They have a little more initial bite when stopping so they may not be as rotor friendly as the Akebono pads but I'll need more time with them to find out.

 

Before I start, I worked in a defense battery lab testing new batteries, batteries near their end of life to see if I can bring them back to life, battery chargers (their packaging promises you the world) and battery test equipment.

First of all, where do you live? Batteries die due to a charging system that overcharges them because the voltage regulator is not doing what it should be doing, high heat, vibration and neglect (if you store your vehicle).

The batteries that lasted that long were both Panasonics in our Toyota and Honda and are unavailable in the aftermarket (but I do use Panasonic NiMH AA and AAA batteries also known as Panasonic eneloop now). The charging systems were spot on and every year or two I would top up the batteries with maybe a 1/4" of distilled water. Neither of them ever got a battery maintainer even if one of them was stored for 6 weeks. My seasonal motorcycle batteries would fail in the 9th year.

Two of my newer vehicles came with an AGM (that type still needs to prove it to me that they will last) and they are now into their 9th year (Porsche) and 8th year (BMW motorcycle). The RDX is a conventional battery from what I can make out and it is a 2017. It was stored for 3 months without a battery maintainer, yet it started as if it had run the day before...I was impressed!

BTW, I installed or the vehicle came with one on all of my cars and motorcycles, a voltmeter.

Anyway, the factory brakes on the RDX are great. My RDX sits outside all the time (in rain) and is ultra low mileage and the discs are fine with no rust after a 2 mile drive. Great Honda quality!

My other car has PCCB brakes; no rust and no dust, period!

 

Well I was quoted the other day from the dealership and the fronts pads were like $125 and the rear pads were $80. So besides the the fact that they're expensive I wanted to see other alternatives from members here that would do the same or even better at a lower cost. I understand some members here can get OEM cheaper although I'm not really sure where myself, but again.. this is a conversation for sure. Thanks for your input!

 

t0md0: I use an independent mechanic that specializes in Honda and Acura for my 2017. My front brake job cost $180 which included machining the rotors. He used OEM pads. The dealership will charge the maximum amount for parts and of course their labor costs are more expensive.

 

That's not bad! I was quoted $185 for my fronts which included pads and resurfacing the rotors as well. He said he uses Duralast Elites. Which looking online via AutoZone, were about ~$60 or so bucks. He said if I brought in my own pads he'd charge $135. So basically he's only charging $50 for his pads (if I decided I wanted the Duralast).

I've read online people typically have pretty positive things to say about the Duralast Gold (1 step down from the Elites) so I figure the Elites can't be all that bad. I couldn't find many reviews on those however.

So right now I'm basically just trying to determine if I'll just go with what my mechanic has, vs Akebono or Advics? OEM seems a bit too expensive.. and again unless anyone hooks it up with a link for a much cheaper price, I'll probably take that off the table.

Anyone here running Duralast pads? Thoughts?

 

Yes, if you want to sell low-quality brakes to a person so that he returns to replace them as soon as possible, then buy Duralast , so this garbage is usually installed before selling the car.

 

Akebono is OEM supplier to Honda as I was with an industrial spray systems company and provide equipment to Akebono and we tested on there pad samples and they were marked Honda. So I would suggest the ProACT for every day driving. Have used them on my RDX with not issues and low dusting.

 

If they are, the Akebono site when I key in the year, make and model tells me they are ALL Ceramic pads. Or are those just aftermarket and Honda/Acura chooses their own pad material spec.

 

And I would agree with Akebono they are all ceramic and they more than likely sell Honda the same ceramic pads. I have two RDX’s a 2014 & 2015 the 15 has 127K miles on original front pads pulled them thinking I need to replace and set them beside the new Akebono ProACT 1697 pads and they were only worn maybe a 1/8 (.125) of inch. Granted most of those miles were highway miles and soft braking. I sanded the pads a little to remove surface glaze an reinstalled the original pads. The rotors looked really good also with no grooves or excessive wear.

 

Original pads are made by ADVIC I think they have slightly more Initial bite than the Akebonos. That being said i have Akebonos all around and they are smooth and modulate well and I'm happy! Next time I might try Advics (front) and Akebnons (rear). Advics as of the last time i checked are only available for the front.