My wife had my hawks hps pads replaced on the tl with genric ones when a technician told her they were worn out. I notice better initial bite but low torque and overall braking power. There is noticeable brake fade, which was absent with hps. My question is there a pad with good initial bite (oem like or better) and excellent stopping power? What is your experience for best 2g pads? I did not really drive the TL much Before and now that it will be my primary winter ride, I noticed it has excellent pedal feel. it would be a waste to use cheap pads on it. Should I go oem or use the generics till done?

 

i had ebc redstuff and currently running racing brake et500. i like the et500 alot more. much better intial brake and torque. no brake fade and it doesn't dust as much.

 

Unless you're a "stomp-on-the-brakes-all-the-time" type of driver I'd leave them until you need new ones. Otherwise I'd suggest Performance Friction carbon metallic pads.

 

I want brakes that give the emergency slowing power regardless of temp

Had RacingBrake (brand name) ET300s for the last few years on the 01, with legend calipers
Overall great pad, worked in wifes frequent 80-20mph `uh oh, traffic stopped in front of me` uses, and backroads fun for me
Quiet all the time, marginal dusting, very hard pad material made to work awesome with RB rotor metallurgy, but will work with any rotors

now back on some used hps while I order new ET500s-
which by all reports have even more initial bite, and that same great progressive increase in force with more brake pedal effort feel of the 300s

the hps feel like no grip compared to the RB ET line,,push the pedal more and it still slows at the same rate, they make noise every morning,,,and dust on the wheels,,ugh!!
I know brake dust is a normal reaction to the friction action of braking, but c'mon!

Santa please bring me some new 500s!!

ck mrheeltoe on here, and racingbrake.com for price and more info
HT should be able to beat factory retail

 

I am running stock pads with slotted rotors.
Great initial bite and feel and they resist fade well on long twisty downhill mountain roads.
Downside? They wear quickly (fronts) 20-thou or so and there is a lot of dust.
I have tried other performance pads and they do work well but I find they warp and wear the rotors - the stock pads are more forgiving for daily use.
Happy Thanksgiving!

 

OEM pads. Great everything overall if you don't slam brakes like I do. So far about 15,000 at about 8MMishof friction material to go.

 

Akebono ceramics

 

Ok so I got 2 recommendations for et500, and since I believe akebano is Acura oem supplier, 3 recommendations for oem. Et500 are much more expensive than oem, almost twice as much. I'm not sure if oem are ceramic akebono, or are they metallic? I rather semi metallic to prevent brake fade. It seems to me oem is the best bang for the buck unless they are still the same old metallic pads that suffer from brake fade.

 

I've had a very positive experience with my Stoptech Street pads, Amazing Bite, No Fade, feel alot better than the HPS I replaced day and night difference I swear!!

Downside: BMW style brake dust, I mean very excessive after 2 days my wheels were black!! Its a sacrifice you gotta make for the performance you need.

 

EBC Green Stuff.

 

^
+2 for EBC. either green stuff or red stuff.

 

wow the suggestions are all over the place lol. so far
2x et500
2x oem
2x ebc greenstuf
1x stoptech
1x akebono

i don't see any other solution than letting the most recommended by my purchase!

 

oem are soft weak pads, they are semi-mettallic
thats why most upgrade at least the pads, and the rotors when able
You pay for what you get in brakes,,but always look for coupons!

Do you putt-putt around and never require amazing quick stop abilty?,
or live in the mountains where late hard or repeated slow braking into the corner is standard procedure?
You can run basic pads from oreilly-azone-yada and they will certainly stop the car
If thats the budget thats what you run

few of us have tried more than whatever we bought and of course think is the best!!
Kris has used up several sets of pads and rotors in his `half million miles on a TL` quest
he likes EBC,,but hasnt tried RB
I like RB and used hps pads on them to start, then swapped in ET300s when they were made available,,
back on the hps now,,way less sure stopping feeling and abilty,,,got to order et500s
(anyone want to buy me an xmas gift card?)
RB makes pads to match their very hard rotors- which eat pads like hps in a hurry

I have driven a gen2 with stock rotors and oe pads,,
felt like stopping on ice in comparison to my regular setup

 

to cut down on brake dust retention (cant stop the dust)

remove wheels, wash both sides of rim and dry fully
Apply 2-3 coats SYNTHETIC car wax - its melting point is 100 degrees higher than carnuba.

buff to bright shine and install- wheel lug torque is 80 foot pounds

Now the scorching hot bits of pad material blowing off cant get a good grip on the rim paint -or aluminum- and keep right on sliding
Normally a base layer gets established, then more pad bits and road grime can attach = brake dust

 

to those with et500, do you have brake squeal under light braking? i used to run HPS before and i hated the noise in parking lots. it seems to me that et500 are the best for stopping power but just wanna make sure i know what the downsides are. Also where do you get gen2 red acura brake calipers?

 

the calipers come in several colors--you DIY the paint job !
duplicolor makes a kit or BBQ or engine paint all work

my 300s didnt make low speed noise at all- thats wife I called them ~wife approved~
but, thats on their brand rotors
cant say what they would do on the OE rotors
What are you running now?

 

the et500 have great stopping power, saved me a couple of times already. as for squeaking, there's no squeaking for as long as i had them.

 

brembo blanks. the squealing is gone now that i have the cheap monroe pads on. do you actually feel a difference in brake pedal with et500? is it more sensitive or does it just have more emergency stopping power.

 

the et500 have a lot more stopping power than ebc red sutff. stops on a dime every time

 

you feel it in the pedal as response to input of pressure
Improved overall pedal feel and brake performance is a result of flushing the brake fluid
that will improve actual pedal firmness

Very controlled power, want it to slow faster.. give it a little more pedal
Other pads, more pedal more pedal more pedal pucker factor more pedal
but same weak grip response

 

i see, i already bled the lines with dramatic improvement. the pedal is much firmer with extra sensitivity. however there is no point pressing it any harder than ~80%. it will just enable ABS which causes poor braking on dry surfaces. i'm wondering if i install stronger pads won't that set off ABS earlier and mess with the TCS as well and reduce overall braking?

 

and also, i know this is off topic, when i was testing my brakes today i forgot to disengage parking brake and i tried to release them going about less than 10mph...there was a loud thump that scared the shit out of me. did i destroy something?

 

Just to be sure I would check my e-brakes, probably all ok...

 

i run Raybestos Advanced Technology ceramics (police/ambulance grade) on drilled and slotted stoptechs. I have had to SLAM on my brakes and i mean SLAM on them as in my car or life was done if i didnt make the stop and I stopped on a dime.

They also feel great going down curving interstate ramps at about 45 and just applying pressure. have had for about 35k and still have some meat to em.

 

I'm running Akebono on my 99 TL and on my 03 CLS6. Love 'em on both cars.

 

ok after shopping around i couldn't find the et500s anywhere in stock for my size where i live. somone wanted $225 for the fronts, no thanks. so unfortunately the et500 are out. One of the mechanics told me the oem pads are nissin semi-ceramics, at least the ones from my dealer. they create shit load of black dust and are noisy, but they last a really long time. So oem is out. The only thing i could think of is going with akebonos, that's what everyone is telling me other than the performance pads which are impossible to find at a fair price in canada.

is pedal feel consistent with those pads? good initial bite?

 

^ Yes sir!

 

Kotex red stuff.

 

Been running them for 5-6 years and love them. Light dusting and much better bite than OEM

 

so you ignored the suggestion to contact our sponsoring vendor MrHeelToe
who is a main seller for RB. or thru RB direct
heeltoe should be able to beat the factory price,,call him- he ships north no problem
RB might ship there too,,have to call-
they are in new jersey,,got any friends on this side to pick them up and drive over- slap in the local post?

I could have told you they wont be found local yet,,a specialty maker and market

 

EBC RedStuff. Best pads I've had on the TLS.

 

i did check their excellent website, however shipping would cost me $65.

those have less initial bite than i like.

ok so i recieved a quote from a local shop for:
2x brembo blanks $140 install, paint
2x hawks hps $70 install
total of $210.

dealer $450 2 rotors and pads for front.

i think i will take HPS!

 

Its not our fault you have to pay extra for living above the border!

HPs will stop the car,,BUT are dustmasters
Definetly follow my advice on clean and wax both sides of the rims with SYNTHETIC car wax,,buff to a nice shine
(carnuba wax melts off at 120f,,synth at 220f)
will cut way down on the dust retention problem

 

x2 dont let it build up, brakedust is corrosive. I hate looking at TL's with corroded wheels. Keep em nice and shiny, I usually apply a spray on wax (Turtle wax ICE) EVERY time I was the car. Brake dust accumulation is 1/4 of what it used to be and doesnt stick to the rim a simple rinse will almost take off all the brakedust. HPS give off alot of brakedust!

 

really? i never had brakedust issues on previous set of HPS. The biggest duster is my RDX with oem acura pads. I clean that once a week and it's no use...a quick run to the grocery store and back and it's dusty as hell! but they have lasted 60k miles so far.

 

Akebono ProAct. Better and cheaper then OEM for regular driving.