Hi folks, I used to have an 03 CLS-6 and was posting in the CL section back in the day, but not so much now that I have my Z06.

Anyways, my dad has a 2003 TL-P and he has the dreaded rotor warpage problem. Streering wheel shakes when the car brakes. Much like my CL did as well.

He'd like to replace the rotors and pads all around, with parts that will no longer cause this problem to re-occur.

He doesn't drive the car in a spirited fashion, so the most important factors are:

• Replacement rotors & pads which will prevent the problem from re-occuring
• A minimum performance equalling to the factory pads/rotors (preferably better)
• No increase in brake noise and/or dust

I do remember reading several discussion on the CL forums stating that even Brembo rotors will eventually warp, and that Rotora's are actually the best. Do you guys agree?

Furthermore, what pads should be used with the rotors?

Thanks for your help!

 

Brembo blanks, IRotors, and Rotora seem to hold up the best. I have over 75k on my IRotors with out warpage. Pads, any oem replacemt style pad will work just fine. Satisfied, akebono, and EBC all make great pads

 

Thanks for the info!

Anyone else?

 

Fsttyms1 pretty much summed it up. I will throw in Hawk pads.

 

All good suggestions

 

I replaced my stock warped rotors with the Brembo blanks with stock pads up front and satisfied pro ceramic pads for the rear. The braking is basically the same but the best part is the steering wheel doesnt shake and it is SMOOTH!!!

 

What about the drilled/slotted Brembos? Are they worse than the blank ones?

 

It depends on who did it and how they drilled them.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

let's ignite this thread once more...I need to change my rotors and i'm thinking about just buying some lifetime guaranteed rotors from oreilly. like the bosch brand or wagner. Does that seem like a good idea? Anytime they go bad I can just replace them for free.

75 bucks a piece doesn't seem too bad for rotors that are guaranteed for life IMO...i mean, they should last a few years anyway.

 

any rotors are fine as long as you get the proper pads. oem rotors with hawks HPS work great for me, no warping and no fading and great improvement in braking. if you wanna avoid warping stay away from metallic pads. another good combo is slotted rotors with oem pads, they don't overheat and give u that initial bite that no cermaic pad offers. also they dont warp as easy. i don't recommend slotted rotors with softer brake pads, they will eat your pads away! so i say get the rotors but don't use oem pads with them, get softer pads like hawks hps

 

are you talking about these?

http://www.amazon.com/Hawk-Performan...ar=1&carId=005

 

yep thats them, they might be a bit noisy at first but they get better over time. my experience with them taught me to break them in by taking it easy on the brakes for a few hundred miles (unless hard braking is necessary). this way there would be a lot less braking noise for the rest of the pad's life. also one thing you have to know about them, they have less initial bite than oem pads but unlike oem they don't mind the heat and actually have more stopping power in medium hard braking situations. initial bite improves after braking a few times and heating them up.

 

hps pads need the aggressive bedding as described on the box and their website
its not waiting 200 miles,,its go get them warm- then hot then hot hot and do a transfer layer of pad material to rotor..cool off drive

will take 2 or 3 or more of these bedding sessions to get them fully mated- rotor and pad
so all the mountains and valleys meet into each other

first time just gets the excess resins out of the pads

lifetime rotor warranty--well they will go bad on you and yes they will replace--make sure of limitions of warranty--excess heat or other reasons not to cover

warping is often a few factors-can be heat without good cool-down
or lug nuts improperly tightend causes stresses in the hub

brake calipers that never get exercised, or have the fluid flushed thru and replaced-- can hang up and cause a rotor hot spot or overheat

 

if you want an opinion on the BEST brake parts-
I and many others enjoy RacingBrake brand- see MrHeelToe in sponsored sales section

1 piece rotors with side slots (and inner curved vanes for better heat extraction)
their own pads work best on their rotor,,, same as most brands work best with their own parts,
pad compound: ET300 for mom drives it, and ET500 for you think you are a race driver,,or have frequent need for repeated hard slowdowns or repeated use like mountains

they make ever harder compounds for track day use,,those you wouldnt want to drive in a normal situation,,no grip on cold pads

 

i know about the instructions but my first set when i followed it, my pads ended being noisy and i remember my bmw dealer telling me to take it easy on the brakes for a few hundred miles for my second set. this is what i did on my second set of hps and they weren't noisy anymore. they grip well. also i don't bellieve racing brake kits are too good of an idea for street use since they will need to be heated up for best peformance.

I'd go with OEM for trouble-free, quiet brake operation and take a step up to Brembo blanks (plain vented rotors - identical to OEM) and Hawk HPS pads in the front. Brembo blanks and Hawk HPS pads is what I run on all my cars. Rotor friendly pad material, much better fade resistance than OEM, and higher initial bite on braking. Once you get used to it, may not want to go back to OEM. Downsides are little more braking noise and more dusting. If you want something that is inbetween, OEM quite and smooth with little dusting, but a higher friction coefficient than OEM - try Hawk Ceramic pads.

 

RacingBrake is a brand name, their stuff works fine cold or hot for the street pads
Only consideration is if you buy the et700 pads `made for track use`
et300 and et500 pads are totally user friendly, outstop anything else I have tested in decades of working on cars in shops, and the numerous race cars that comes with~

the rotor will outlast several sets of pads with no wear issues,,figure them to outlast the car!!

the op question was best brakes and its not hawks for sure!!

tip: wax rims with 3 coats synthetic car wax to reduce brake dust adhesion
If your pads dont make any dust- they are not stopping the car very well
dust is a result of heat and friction from good braking..

but hps seem to be dustmasters and are weak in comparision to RB products
I can say that, as a set is on my car now until I get some new et500s!!

 

did the bimmer dealer tell you that regarding bimmer brakes?--
thats correct for their well known soft metal rotors that wear out fast,,hard pads with soft rotors makes awesome brakes,,, but no life in them
I am a former bimmer tech, changed many many sets of rotors and pads, plus the low pad sensor has to be repaced too!

 

yep but it also works some other brake pads. also i still think brembo blanks with hawks hps are the best for the money. although i havent tried RB ET300 i have heard good things about them. cermaic racing pads have 0 initial bite when cold which i really hate and also slotted rotors eat through brake pads.

 

also i wouldn't just change brake pads and rotors for improved braking...the improvement might be minute over oem specially if its the same size pads and rotors as before. other things you should do...switch brake fluid to dot 4 such as ATE super blue and changing brakelines to smt like stainless steel phantom series. also getting stickier tires, after all with the best brakes if you have crappy low rolling resistance tires, all you end up doing is skidding no matter how hard your wheels are locked. also stiffer front suspension is a must specially for 2nd gen TLs which are pretty soft and nose heavy making them dive like crazy in extreme braking.

 

Guys, thanks for the suggestions. But I think we're blowing this out of proportion here. I'm just going to get me some regular life-time guaranteed rotors from oreilly, most likely the bosch brand and throw some ceramic pads on there from either Wagner or Beck/Arnley. I want the brembo blanks, but I can't find them locally in which case the rotors from the store with lifetime guarantee are more of an effective solution for me. Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm just a normal city/highway driver and I don't live in mountains or race ... I'm just going to go with some normal brakes and rotors just like 90% of the other drivers on the road. Thanks for the suggestion about ceramic pads, however. I would have gotten some regular pads if y'all hadn't suggested that. So what i don't want are Metallic pads, correct?

 

i just talked to my friend who is a senior mechanic and specializes in toyota supras, mr2s and celica tunning. this is what he said regarding Hawks and Racing Brakes:


As for Racing Brakes pads - from what I've heard, they've actually worked with Hawk on some R&D aspects - so they would be very similar products. Their ET300 would be equivalent to the Hawk HPS, their ET500 would be more like Hawk HP+, their ET700/800 series are considered more competition than streetable pads (ie, very agressive street pad) which would be equivalent to Hawk Black or Blue pads, their ET900 is a full fledged race pad, like the HT and DTC series of Hawk pads. I have not used RB pads myself, but they come highly recommended.

 

We've used Powerslot/STOPTECH on many many vehicles, especially Acuras. They are extremely durable and the performance is significantly improved over the OE Parts. The Powerslot/STOPTECH front slotted rotors also have a curved vane construction with a power alloy compound.

Here is a link to one of our brake packages:

http://store.excelerateperformance.c.../i-398965.aspx

 

I've been running Centric Premium Rotors which are really great and inexpensive and they are rust free! As for pads Stoptech Super street pads which provide a deadly stopping power. Coming from the Hawk HPS pads which had horrible initial bite the stoptechs feel grabby and firm. It was really an inexpensive setup all 4 corners ran me 300$ from rock auto. The centric discs are holding up very well no warpage!

 

I can say from actual road testing on my own 01TL:
that hps are decent brakes that make massive amounts of dust,,,
pulled them off at 5000 miles when RB introduced their own pad,,RB needed harder than hawk compound- as those were only lasting 20-25kmiles, and they appear to think 40-50kmiles are reasonable for lifespan for what you are getting in performance value
Note- had to slip the hps back on front until new et500s get ordered and arrive.
not racing the car for now~ but they do stop it well enough

there are many ziners running et300s with over 40kmiles on them
I treated mine like they were 700s and got 25kmiles, down to the noise maker bar!
note that I live near Yosemite with its 70 miles of awesome winding mountain approch road, and hold an scca national race driver license...
which means I like to late brake into the corner~ decellerate or die on the mountains!!

others here on 500s are reporting over 40kmiles, and going strong

RB rotors will eat other pads YES!!
and RB pads on RB rotors will outlast any other combo on their rotors

the micro shaving of the pads is not the major wear factor- it just knocks debris off them--pull the pads and look at them--its easy to tell

braking generates heat from clamping friction, thats your wear

Ineffective cooling warps rotors and can get hot spots (pad material transfer to one spot under pads) IF you stop with the brakes hothot and hold the pads onto the rotor (foot on brake)

centric and stoptech offer great products at good prices, based on user reports
Josh-excellerate also runs a performance shop, so he gets real feedback from customers on brake parts--his statements would reflect accurate info -not just a sales pitch

sidenote on lifetime warranty- they may use cheap stuff and replace for you--and have found that you will buy something else while in the store,,fluids,new pads,,whatever
So they are still making money on the deal

 

i put on Brembo blanks and Satisfied pads from Tirerack. The rotors started to warp after about 25k miles and I am not agressive on them at all. But I may have not bedded them in correctly at the beginning.
well I am used to it now because I still have the same set up after 95k miles! They still stop fine and the pads have very LOW dusting.
I think the stock size rotors are just too small for this car that many rotors are going to warp, especially if you drive hard.

 

I bought Rotora Slotted and Satisfied Pro Ceramic brake pads to replace mine in like 2006 and I'm just now buying new pads 6 yrs later lol...

I kept checking them and there was life left until now... they are all gone, but the car still doesn't pull, no shaking, no squeal, nothing... So, I forgot about them... the rotors still look good!

After I started with these pads in '06... my brake dust disappeared...I love this combo... best I've ever used

I'm going to look for a deal on a new set now...

Just replaced my lower ball joints with Moogs after 134k, so I need an alignment... I also have to get a new CAT Converter... She sounds angry at around 2000 rpms

 

Nice I definately need to replace my rotors and pads on my 2003 CL. Is there a link you can provide me and how much were the parts?

 

IMO the BEST brake package that can be installed on CL/TL are the RL Calipers.

Picked up a pair for $300 and I am pairing them with Akebono proact pads in both front and rear. I will be using Powerslot Slotted or Sport-Stop crossdrilled rotors in both front and rear. Along with SS Brake lines.

 

i understand, I try and go for the best i can with what I have in my bank account . Those seem too expensive for me right now. Although they are nice.

 

We're talking iPad territory here haha

 

I wouldn't do crossdrilled... I think I read a loooong time ago, that if you're not careful... they either warp faster or they can have cracks between the drill holes... and never drive your car hot and then wash hot rotors with cold water...

I'm still searching around... I can't seem to find the front satisfied pro ceramics... may just go with a new set of ceramic pads... I'll post my experience if I do... I live in flat land Dallas, TX, so I don't really have to be too extreme... but I do like a little overkill... for me, they all stop good enough if they are posted on here... like splitting hairs... I just want to go with the one that does the job without brake noise and dust all over my white car...

I had the stock ones on for a couple years and cleaning all that dust off the rocker panel area every time sucked...

 

Well, Satisfied has gone out of business... No more Satisfied Pro Ceramics for me lol

They really were a great price too damnit! was like less than $100 for all wheels and a great pad

 

I am very happy with RacingBrake brand pads and their `one piece` slotted rotors

approx 40-50kmiles on them, used up 1 set of et300s, and a set of hawk hps are nearly gone (rb rotors eat hps in 15-20kmiles--thats why they make their own pads now)

Rotors still in perfect shape!,,just clean the surface with sandpaper, install new pads and bed them in a few times = awesome braking once again

See our sponsoring vendor MrHeelToe for them,,has tech info on product on his site
www.heeltoeauto.com and www.racingbrake.com for their own info
very hi tech design on inner cooling vanes really works!

I suggest the ET500 pads for most drivers who really like to use the brakes~
had et300, which the wife loved for quiet and `excellent 80-20mph abilty in a HURRY`, but dont last as long as the harder compound of the 500 series
She drives the car much harder than I was aware !!

as reported by other ziners, Average user can expect 40-50kmiles on the et300s ,,
driven in a sane manner
(I am not of that group--got 25k on the 300s with extreme use,,still not bad for their `street pad`

both compounds are very low dusting and generate excellent brake torque
many ziners are on the 500s, with the 1 piece slotted rotor, and will never use anything else again
(tip: wax rims on both sides with 2-3 coats synthethic car wax--sheds brake dust!)

I have the dual piston `1995 Legend ls-c` front calipers (same price as TL calipers-$55-75 each, rebuilt)
and SS brake lines--(100$)

the lines dont expand or flex like the stock rubber ones,,keeps the pedal firm and pressure constant to the calipers thruout the operating temps--especially extreme temps from repeated hard use
While the calipers add more, and better pad contact area, than stock 1 piston does--by far!

for many of us- that is the most braking for your dollars on a reasonable budget

 

I just installed powerslot sloted rotors with stoptech pads, so far so good, but then again its only been a week...$390 for everything not too shabby

 

I've used EBC slotted/dimpled rotors and red stuff pads on my daughters TL and on a
99 Mustang with good results. They stop faster than stock and don't make very much dust.
Excessive dust was always a problem with stock pads on the Mustang.

 

I had EBC Sport dimpled/slotted rotors + EBC RedStuff brake pads + Goodridge SS brake lines installed almost 2 years ago. Great combo, IMO. The next brake upgrade I want to do is to install the Legend calipers.

 

Got brembo blanks with ceramic pads 2 yrs ago, warped again after 15k miles with normal street driving... It was great when first installed but didn't hold up, the rotor and pads look great still but steering wheel shakes like crazy if braking at highway speed.

Based on what I read in this thread, I'm leaning towards rotora slotted or Centric blank (RB seems to be priced higher). Any other reasonably priced alternatives? Car is used for commuting only.

 

Have you thought about getting in on the group buy?

BRAKEMOTIVE Drilled & Slotted Brake Kits - LOWEST PRICES EVER!

It's still going on.

 

Thanks. It looks pretty good, I'll order a set and try it out.