Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I'm pretty close to making a decision on upgrading my brakes, and I wanted your opinions, guys.

Rotora's big brake kit is going for 1300 shipped.

Brembo's big brake kit is going for 2400 shipped.

Wilwood, I don't know if they have a BBK for our cars, and I don't know the prices. But I know Wilwood is pretty darn good.


Financially, it would make sense to buy the Rotora BBK for me. But there's also a chance to pick up a used Brembo Touring kit for 1500 shipped.

I don't know what to do. Is Brembo worth the money? Or are we basically paying for the name? Is Rotora good for the money? What about Wilwood?

Please advise. Thank you.

1st timer

i know the rotors that Brembo makes wear out faster than others.

Chemmech

I have Wilwood brakes, good for Nascar's, not so good for a street car. My brakes are great, no fade, great stopping power, but they squeek and grind like crazy. I guess my pads are abit agressive.

I would recomend Brembo's Big Brake Kit over the Wilwoods. I think the Brembo's are more refined.

I think the price of the Wilwoods is somewhere between the Rotoras and Brembos.

benzo555

I was gonna do the same thing. But I was thinking about those Brembos and Rotoras. My main reason is running with spacers on the front is not very appealing for me. I think Im going to find some 91-93 NSX calipers and just call it a day.

fsttyms1

id say its a toss up. the brembos you pay more for the name. the rotora bb kit is good also. id say rotora. used isnt worth it. unless its like less than 1k miles that arent race track miles

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Kris -- I talked to Robb (Astroboy) and he has AP Racing calipers, rotors, and Hawk pads for sale. I'll have to buy brackets, lines and whatnot for another 400 or so from AP Racing.

However, he said they won't clear the stock Type-S wheels. That's bad, because I was going to use my stock wheels for the winter, now that I got a set of 18"s with summer tires for the summer.

I'm kind of leaning toward Rotora at this point, due to the convenience. And they are pretty damn good, too.

Man, I don't know what to do. I also thought about running Legend/NSX dual-piston calipers with Rotora slotted rotors. I'm lost. Too many choices, and good ones at that. It's hard to pick one, especially when I'm about to spend a lot of money.

samkws

hey rob,

i talked to the garage guy today...he said rotora is just ok...wilwood is a gd choice....and never spend money on brembo coz they are expensive...

just the pads alone for brembos are 300 dollars per SIDE, they do wear out fast too

i am thinking of custom a wilwood 4 piston...costs about 1200 total including the brackets, the brackets are very expensive thou, costs about 250-300 plus installation

if you want to save that much trouble you can probably get the rotora, which includes everything for a gd price

ndawood

I am really happy with my rotora slotted and hawk hps pads. The only thing I have been looking at is getting a set of Legend calipers. Since they are dual pistons I would imagine that they would be better than what we currently have.

samkws

how about a 6 pistons?

they will make the wheels dead lock!!!

dark inspire

ive heard that they Legend calipers have trouble fitting the thicker TL rotors, but im not sure.

ndawood

I heard that if you go with the 96 Legend calipers there shouldnt be a problem with fitment but I am not 100% certain so you could be right!

AcuraCar99

Hey before you purchase the BBK, what is the reason for goin to a big brake kit, Looks or berfomance?

If it's looks then it's not worht it unles your showing the car
If it's perfomance then you migh want to consider other possibilities first.
Such as if you go to www.frozenrotors.com they get their rotors from brembo.
I have them on my car, 03 TL, slotted and cryogenically treated. I've heated up my rotor a few times still no warping or glazing of the pads. I'm very impressed with these rotor. Perhaps get the rotors from them and the B BK excluding the rotors...

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I couldn't care less if it looked like a loaf of shit as long as it brakes better than the stock setup.

Tom Blasing

Have you looked at Baer Brakes yet. Talk about no holds barred...

I had some Brembo rotors on my Talon (drilled and slotted). They did stop shorter but they also made a bit more noise (with and without the brakes being applied) and they did wear out rather quickly for the money.

Ooops...nevermind. They don't make anything for the TL.

Edward'TLS

None of the big brake kits out on the market will clear the stock Type-S wheels. Even some 18" with reduced radius spokes won't clear. So be prepare to lose your stock 17" wheels.

Edward'TLS

Just out of curiousity, how can the rotors make noise without the brakes being applied ? Are you sure the noise is not from the wheel bearings ?

Tom Blasing

The pads do very gently graze the rotor even when the brake pedal isn't applied. It's normal. From when I was in school, the reasoning was to keep the pads/rotors just a little bit warm all the time to keep them from warping.

Edward'TLS

So is it true to say that the brake pads will wear out by itself just by driving the car without even using the brakes. If someone adjusts his/her brakes so that the pads will not graze the rotors, does it mean he/she can achieve better acceleration times and higher top speeds.

newbie

REALLY?!
I didn't know that. I always thought that it would fit the stock 17".
Even some of the site where they carry the Rotora BBK (where you can select parts based on the car make and model) lists the Rotora BBK as something that would fit the stock rims... I guess I was miss lead.

Tom Blasing

In theory, yes. But your talking about a lot of miles. Probably more than the serviceable limit of the car.


If disc brakes were adjustable it would be a viable theory. But I've never heard of it being done. But slowing down at the end of the track could/would be interesting.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Bad idea, because when you brake, the pads will have to come in contact with the rotor first. That'll increase your braking distance, and create too great of a heat range for the rotors (cruising on the highway cold as shit, then braking, warming it up), which is the fastest way to warped rotors.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Apparently, with a 5mm spacer, it will fit the stock Type-S rims. I don't know about the Premium model's 16" wheels.

fsttyms1

here is a break down of the quality of the BB kits.

Brembo. i had them and warped them in 1 track day event. got new rotors from them and they lasted 4 weeks (but i also had the most aggressive pad compund on them)

Rotora. i had them and they lasted about 1full season of track events.

Wilwood. i had them and they lasted about 6 weeks before warping.

id have to say rotora then brembo. odds are no matter what BB kit you go with you will need spacers or complety different wheels.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Damn, Kris. You're a brake whore.


After reading that, I'm leaning more toward Rotora now. I'll most likely go with that for several reasons. First, I won't have to scrounge up other necessary parts. Second, it's cheaper than others. And third, Rotora has a solid reputation.

I'm just waiting for my new wheels to come in to take some measurements and make sure that they will clear the calipers.

NiteQwill

Go for the Rotora. I have them.

Thing about Wilwood and Brembo is that they require a rebuild after a certain number of miles. Rotoras do not.

newbie

Wow... you sure wore them down fast.

So how "long" does the Rotora BBK last under normal driving conditions, and how much of an improvement performance wise are we talking about here compared to stock, and compared to just stock calipers with rotora sloted rotors?

fsttyms1

under normal drivint those BB kits will all last 20-40k (depending on the pads used)

if at all possible (if they make it) get a rotor thats a 2 piece, it will reduce warping

AcuraCar99

My worth:

What does cryogenic treating do for my rotors?
Cryogenic treating will increase the useable life of your rotors by 100% to 300% and typically increase the life of your brake pads by 10% - 50%.

They are warp resistant! Their site says it...
www.frozenrotors.com

Acura TL front rotors for all 1999-03 models, PRICE: $121.00 each, as you all know if you got a hookup you use it right? If you have a friend who owns a shop then you can have your friend order the rotors for you and pay wholesale prices. They use brembo rotors too...

Mind you Acura wants $115/rotor...(Untreated)

I don't work for them i just like to pass on my good experiences to my fellow TL owners.

fsttyms,
Try these rotors i bet you will get longer life out of them..

I would not reccomend anything i haven't tried my self.

I have them on my 03TL - Type S. I had them on my 99 TL Premium. Never warped....

paul_huryk

I wish that Baer made a 2 piston kit for the TL/Accords as they use OEM Corvette parts and are almost maintenance free and cheap to replace pads. Unfortunately they only make them for the Integra/RSX. I have them on my Camaro - a million times better street system than the Brembos could ever hope to be.

elah

rotoras are real nice... i have a set. huge differance while braking specially going from high speeds to a stop or near stop. they sound so refined, no shaking no nothing just your seatbelt pulling you back tight

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Good, because my entire car shakes under braking from high speeds. I got new rotors and pads about 8k miles back, and they are fucked again already.

patrick

I agree, no shaking or vibrating from high speed to a stop or near stop.

car_lost

you've had all three of those big brake kits? or you had all three sets of those rotors/pads combination?

there is a big difference between swapping stock rotors/pads with other rotors/pads and swapping the stock stuff for a big brake kit.

car_lost

Rob, IM me or send me an e-mail... i might be able to help you out.

IM: TGOCarlos0069
mail: carl0st001@gmail.com

fsttyms1

ive had all 3 on my past honda. all were BB kits that i used for racing.

fsttyms1

HOW??? man i have 50,000 HARD miles on mine now anf they still arent warped. how do you guys manage to do that so easy? these have had more 140+ mph to 0 stops on them than the times most of you have gone over 100 in the tl, and they are in great shape yet (the pads suck doing it though, 1 of those and you arent stopping quick any time soon, that and your rotor is black from the dust. STUPID axxis pads)

elah

just adding in from someones previous post. the rotora big brake kit will fit perfectly on the type s wheels using 5mm spacers. but it will limit you on choices on rims if you plan to upgrade.

when i originaly bought the car the first owner fixed the warped brakes and sold it to me. 4 months down the line i bought some cross drilled/slotted rotors due to vibration again then 8 months later ran into a used BBK from a member on this board and its worth EVERY penny imo pads(170$ for pads alone) are expensive a shit tho but its beats spending 400$ every 6 months to have brakes that dont shake.