SodaLuvr

The car in question is a 01 TL with about 60k miles on it. Rear pads are almost done (original), front pads have about 10k miles on them. The front pads are OEM pads and the rotors were machined when they were installed.

Currently there's a slight brake pedal pulsation during breaking, so I'm assuming that it has developed the infamous rotor warp.

Here are my questions. Please answer them thoroughly if you are able to help:

1) Are most of our brake problems caused by poor rotors, poor pads, or a combination of the two?

2) Are performance rotors and pads such as Rotora Slotted Rotors combined with EBC greenstuff pads, the only permanent cure for our brake problems? Side note: will substituting Brembo OEM fitment rotors instead of Rotora slotted rotors yield the same results?

3) If I just went out and bought some el cheapo rotors and pads, would they perform as poorly as the OEM combo as far as rotor warp goes?

Thanks.

JMAL

oem rotors suck. the pads are ok.
bembo blanks are a far less prone to warp then the oem rotors but not impossible. racingbrake seems to be the king of rotors with rotora. personally i have raceconcept rotors from ebay with no problems. there are also several members that also have similar rotors with no issues either.
Ideally given our braking woes, you are better off getting at least slotted rotors.

pads, go ceramic. the oem is ceramic or ceramic blend.
akebono pro act and satisfied pro ceramic(i have these) are great street pads for decent money low noise and low dust.
ebc green stuff and hawk hps are fantastic street/mild track pads with a little more dust and noise.

with any of the above items, your performance will increase. consistent rotor warp is only for oem rotors.
ideal would be racingbrake/rotora rotors + hawk hps/ebc green
bang for buck would be ebay either irotor/r1concept/raceconcept or bembo blank + akebono pro act/ satisfied pro ceramic

this is all just my opinion, hope it helps.

flush your fluid too and the brake line upgrade will increase braking feel.

good luck

sb65

I am much less knowledgeable that most on this board, but I have never heard of warped roters causing a pulsing break pedal. I have heard of steering wheel shake (and have moderate to severe shaking myself right now due to warped front rotors), but not brake pedal pulsing. Anyone else?

JMAL

you can get pedal pulse, esp if your calipers dont slide smooth, you will get feedback pressure from the rotor wobbling into tho piston. wheel shake is more noticable tho

SodaLuvr

Thanks...

I wonder how do Rotora/iRotors/Racing brake compare

fsttyms1

They are all higher quality rotors. I got over 70k out of my irotors without any warping till the last 1-2k miles. If i had to guess they are all about the same quality which is better than oem

01tl4tl

IN General- rotor warp is caused by a couple of things
1- overheated by heavy use or panic stop THEN not driven immediatly to cool them back off.
Its heat soak/heat sink that causes the metal to warp
Driving forces air through the cooling vanes inside the middle of the rotor- thats their purpose= extract heat
2- Over torque- unequal torque on the whell lug nuts/studs
3 worn to minimum specs- usually the resurface with first pad change takes them pretty close to mins,
the calipers then have to extend their piston farther to push the pad against rotor

Rotor Comparison
cheap blanks- NAPA American made- good for daily commute- basic driving and stopping

Rotora- I have changed my low opinion on these after installing a set of slotted on another members car here with Brembo fronts.
The quality is much improved from prior years and models I have used.
Surface is mildly cross hatch cut finish and then sprayed with protective coating to protect until installation, FOR SURE a solid upgrade over OE brakes. 200 mile break in before bedding pads and using the brakes fully.
Came with NEW improved Rotora pads- supposed to be matched to the rotors in design, and performace equal to Hawk HPS- thats per Josh/Excelerate- our Rotora vendor here
Good for daily driver, track days and fun runs for a normal human driver to spirited driver
Will advise further after friend completes break in period and we can go head to head.

Racing Brake- I have the 1 piece slotted on my 01 TL and love them (trying to be calm)
Comes with extreme cross hatch cut which, with the recommeded Hawk HPS pads, means they are ready to be bedded and allowed to cool 15 minutes, then ready for track use or severe street use. Their inner cooling vane design and special alloy makes them trick.
Good for everday- wife loves how she can kill 20 mph in a hurry on the freeway and in town sudden stops- and track days and mountain fun.
Excellent for EXTREME drivers- I look for reasons to go test them a little harder and deeper into the corner-
see www.rotora.com and www.racingbrake.com for tech info
Our vendors get you a better price than listed on makers sites

see Off Topic area Sponsored Sales for Excelerate and MrHeelToe,
for combo deals and always CALL for package on rotors pads brake lines etc

SS lines give better pedal FEEL and feedback, good for extreme drivers and change that brake fluid often!

01tl4tl

Slotted rotors allow better braking by providing an escape for gas build up and they stay clean by themselves. Drilling is overkill for regular road use- good for Extreme drivers!!!

Better calipers like the Legend/NSX 2 piston on one side are good
the Brembo 4 piston- 2 on each side of the rotor are really good- but you NEED slotted rotors to shed the heat they will create

01tl4tl

AND the all important
grease the caliper slides and bolt ends and the pad contact points and anything that moves and even the part where the rotor goes over the center hub- grease that too
Of course use caliper grease only!

mrmako

I have Akebono pads and they have withstood pretty harsh stop and go driving. No real fade, but I have not been able to put the rotors I want on.

And the grease is no joke. Ensure it's a high temperature grease.

djdonte

My steering wheel is also shaking at 70+ breaking. Im guessing getting the OEM rotors turned will just be a quick fix? Also do all 4 of the rotors warp or can i just replace the front 2?

mrmako

Most braking (I believe 70 - 80%) is with the front brakes, so replacing the front rotors and pads is easy and WILL make a huge difference.

Just make sure you bed the pads in correctly as stated earlier and do not run through a car wash right after getting the brakes heated up....

01tl4tl

The OE rotors do warp easy compared to some quality aftermarket names
They MAY be able to resurface (about $10 each)- that depends on the warpage runout, min thickness and how deep any grooves may be. At a certain point its cheaper to replace and have good brakes- for the labor involved. NAPA sells decent rear rotors 20$each so....

Have a brake shop do an inspection for you visual and measured,
and have the tires balanced as well.