digitu

Guy at Firestone said that the brake pads are okay, but the rotors are "glazed over" and I should replace the pads too since they get glazed over from the rotors being glazed. Quoted me $136 for the fronts and $155 for the rears including resurfacing. Or just $70 to resurface the rotors. I dont know shit about brakes, but I'd rather just resurface the rotors if its all thats really needed. What do you guys think?

Thx

denverdandb

Yes, you'll probably get better life out of both if they are both fresh, you could save about 50% if you do it yourself, those chupacabras just want your money.

01tl4tl

You can buy rear rotors at NAPA for about 20 bucks each- the "American made" ones
When a shop wants $10 each to resurface -then its smart to replace.

The fronts- all depends if you are on stock rotors- total miles on rotors, how many sets of pads have been on it, how you drive and where you drive.
Glazing often occurs from stop and go traffic or getting the brakes very hot and not letting them cool properly afterwards by simple drive time..And its usuallt the pad that glazes not the rotor. What exactly do the rotors look like, blue- burned, cracks, or just wear lines?
Have a pic- that helps!

Depending on your mileage on your 00, it may be time to replace the rotors as they are near min thickness or will be after resurfacing
Turning the rotors is exactly that- a metal cutting lathe that cuts/shaves off layer after layer until the lowest thinnest spot is now the total thickness remaining- and it has a min spec

There are many good quality replacemets and performance upgrades on the rotors and pads.
First though- take it to anther place for an opinion.
If they did not remove the caliper from the rotor to inspect, measure and be certain all would be ok after repair, then all they did was look at the car and decide how much to give as INITIAL estimate- which MAY get raised depending on their findings.
Flush your brake fluid too- and every year from now on.
Brakes on the TL are a simple DIY for you or the neighbor kid.

My 01 went thru 2 sets of pads and 1 resurface on the fronts and the rears never touched
Replaced everything at 70k miles

Second Opinions can save $$$
Look for a private auto repair shop that specializes in Acura or other imports,
NOT commisssion based sales quotas to meet- tire store!
Buy tires there- not brakes!

denverdandb

Thats purely experience based and very subjective, i had an 01 Cl and went through 2 sets of pads (front & rear) and 1 full set of rotors (f&r) in less than 50,000 miles, not including resurfacing. (the car never reached redline more than once a day). Im not a person that pushes his car hard either, i have others for that and i still needed new brakes. Look at it this way, my 91 Eclipse GSX has 175,xxx miles on it, and over 500AWHP and i only replaced the brakes twice, , the second time because i really was abusing them. Now i have Rotora discs and Braided lines and ive never seen a problem, even including panic stops from 130+mph. My advice on this one would be to can the oem parts and get some that you can treat like crap for the life of the car, instead of spending hundreds of dollars on parts you know will wear out.
-Paul

01tl4tl

Yes, my mileage for brakes numbers are purely experience based.
Some get far less miles before wear out- other much more!
the Gen3 cars are getting 25k out of front at at 40 replacing rotors

So my point was to see how many miles & pad sets the OP has gone thru,
that enables a better "guess" as to the real problem of the "alleged glazing"

And Denver D&B what exactly does your braided lines and running it to rev limit once a day have to do with the OPs actual problem and helping him fix it?
And your comparison of a totally different cars use of brakes...ummmm ?????

For all out performance and rotors that will go thru 2 or 3 sets of Hawk HPS pads and not need resurface- not pick up vibration. Well spend the big dough and go RacingBrake rotors
Hands down the best and have data to back it up SCIENTIFICALLY for those who need.

fsttyms1

I drive my car hard and track it and i get 60k+ out of the fronts and typically 100k out of the rears before they need replacing.

denverdandb

2/3 of my cars have far superior brakes and pads compared to anything ive seen here (intended for racing. Brembo, Rotora and stoptech rotors and recommended brake pads), and thier wear life and ability to resist severe abuse proves it. BTW, i was talking about stock discs and stock pads on both my former CL and current TL. The point was that stock stopping gear on these cars is less than sub par, ie, noticible and documented rotor warp after just one hard stop. going to the redline once a day or less is an indicator of how hard i dont drive my car, (or atleast one of them.) The 308 GTSi only has 19577.1 on the odo, but the GSX, mind you, with power far surpassing pretty much anything on this board, has only gone through one, only one, set of rotors in 16, (yeah, s i x t e e n) years. To make my point complete, i wasnt saying that anyone here was an abusive driver, i said that some of the components on our cars just plane old suck. The comparison was more to illustrate that incredibly severe abuse should be the only thing to affect your brakes (especially your discs), not driving around town (but that, getting off the highway or stopping behind granny because she can't see.
-p

digitu

Yeah, I think Im just gonna replace the front brakes myself. Ill see if they can still resurface them, if not I really dont wanna spend that much and get RacingBrake rotors. Are the NAPA ones good for the fronts too or just the rears? What about Brembo replacements? I found some on TireRack for $120/pair.

01tl4tl

Denver you need to do more research
Based on what noted brake vendors here say about glaze and warping and its causes:

Pads are often trashed by stop and go driving- because thats actually speed and slam with no period of cool air flow between
Most of us dont do panic stops from 130 to zero- sure that could warp a rotor
more like 50-70ish to slow is the average driver
And my car rarely sees redline unless its a planned fun day or freeway need it now situation
then my brakes are used to just below their limits, always save the last 10% for emergency
You may have seen the pics of my Yosemite road trip test area.

To answer the OP, I can say that "in my personal useage and experience"
NAPA rears are fine on my car- I have RB on the front and Hawk HPS pads all around.
I ~imagine~ the same NAPA American made rotors are fine on the front for normal drivers.

01tl4tl

digitu

get that second professional opinion and know whats wrong before dropping money.

Kris- we were talking OE brake life- not the special brakes that you and others use-
Also driving skills and style contribute to fuel mileage, tire and brake wear and more.

Deflocks

Digitu
I would check out if there are any machining shop near by, their most likely the cheaper buy for resurfacing, i had my rotors done for $5 a rotor, and they did a kick ass job!(note: make sure that they have rotors before!!)

digitu

Thanks....called PepBoys and they charge $6 bux. Any thoughts on Raybestos or Akebono pads?

01tl4tl

Well that depends on how you drive
For superior performance in all situation I say Hawk HPS
Brake pads make the car stop
Cheap pads make noise
Good pads do make a little dust because they work so well
Our cars originally came with ceramics to combat noise

Be prepared for rotor replacement if they will be under minimum thickness when they are done. The shop will check them first for you.

SodaLuvr

Raybestos is the Toyota Camry of brake pads. OK pads for daily driving, mediocre braking performance but low dust, noise, long life IF installed properly. Akebono ProACT offers much better braking performance without compromising life, dust, or noise.

Go with Brembo OEM fitment replacement rotors.