Thanks for the input, guys. I'm still investigating the racingbrake.com site. Their rotor/pad combo 20% discount coupon code doesn't seem to work when you try to use it. Argh, becoming increasingly frustrated w/ their site (hopefully their brakes are better). BTW, I'm specifically looking at one-piece rotors, and their EP500 pads front and rear (retaining the stock rear rotors).

 

The one piece is what I ordered as well. Sorry you are having problems with the site.

 

Get the point of what I said:

If the brakes had been a little better- able to stop the car just 3 feet sooner-
she would not have been last in line for the freeway cluster stop- and brought it home 2 feet shorter
That was the Maxima- and we got the TL as a result. First thing I did -after getting my free warranty transmission- was look for the very best brakes I could find.
Past experience with most brands from years of wrenching.

El cap- you are a new member not familiar with my post or the tech help that I give, claiming to be open minded yet you block the understanding of the technology. I can provide tech info on metallurgy with details and structure on why these rotors are better than anything else available.

Warranty?? Names of major makers with warranty please- beside zone

RB had to make their own brand of pads to work with the rotors- there was nothing on the market that let you take full advantage of the cooling and strength of their rotors.
The "paint" does not hurt cooling- the inner vane technology is where its at
RB stamps their castings with production date and other info- I have looked and have not found same info on other brakes. If your rotors had a problem- wouldn't it be nice to instantly say- oh- this production run from here to here has an issue- and be able to deal with it.
Other brands--- who really knows when and where they were made and sat stacked wrong and getting deformed and ?,?,?,

The slots dont make it stop faster- they do allow pad outgassing during hot repeated application- which is a very real event when enjoying your TL in the mountains, and they keep the pad surface debris free and ready to apply full stopping force

I know its hard to imagine spending $300 for brakes- $500 for all 4, when you have been shopping at kmart type parts stores, until you get a set of them and learn how to sucker Miatas way too deep and fast into a corner
If you had a beemer- its 500 for a normal brake job!!!

Now you have a TL- it runs on premium gas and premium parts

Recently I helped another member install front RBs on his 02 that had been thru 2 sets of dealer brake jobs. After a quick bedding of the pads I showed how much was ok to use now as they get the first 500 miles on them
Then we went for a ride in my 01--- as we did a quick slow down from 60-10 to warm the pads then a VERY quick full stop from 50- not even at 80 percent effort- not thrown into the seatbelts, no ABS- just STOPPPED right now!!!!
he said, These are on my car!!??!!!?? excellent!!

so back to the original story: lets see- the crash deductible was 500 and she destroyed 2 other peoples cars - hmmmm
and still the wife does not look far enough ahead for the speeds the TL easily attains
What were good brakes going to be worth to me???
should I get the ebay drilled or bremblos or napster cheapies or...then by joining azine, I talked to many people and found what I was looking for.

They have saved both of us several times on sudden freeway situations- the daily driver is really in the most danger and needs brakes that will do instant speed reduction- to say the least!!

You will find that acurazine sponsoring vendor MrHeelToe carries the RB and his price is below what you see on RBs site and includes shipping

Those familiar with my post- please check my sig!
Marcus is trying a new program
and guess who he asked to handle this forum ???

California has 2 types of drivers
Those going slower than me are idiots
Those going faster than me are mental cases!!

================================================== ========

 

Hey 01tl4tl

Which pads do you have, the ET300 or ET500?

 

Point taken (although you lost me on "suckering Miatas" LMFAO, I would know; I also have one--the only time a TL will get an edge on a Miata is on a straightaway). Okay, so which pads would you recommend, the 300s or the 500s? I'm not a tuner-boy and I'm not into any type of competitive driving.

PS: You're right, I'm new to this forum, and to this great car (but by no means new to cars in general...among others, I've owned several RX-7s; no need to harp to me on "premium parts"), and to a newbie like me, your posts sound like you're bought and paid for. Assuming that's not actually the case, I'm impressed that these products have worked out so well for you, that you've become such a fan.

 

your not very open minded since between most of our members we have tried just about every pair of rotors, and having done, that members have tried to point you in a direction of ones that have worked the best on our cars. Those have been RB, Rotora,Brembo blanks and Irotors. Those are the ones that Gimmick sales pitch or not have been the highest quality least warping.

Oh and wanna see if the only edge my tl will have against your miata is a straight??

 

rx7 owner!- then you should understand the need for better brakes!
I was with a winning race team called RotorSport

now who do you think knows about rx cars and good brakes????

If you think RB is all hype- why do you want to know about their matching pads???
just buy some napa-zoner-krapen parts and dont drive too fast or too close to anyone
simple solution!

I paid full whack for my brakes and other stuff I got from Heeltoe last year-made all my post based on my research and real world parts testing on the roads to Yosemite
-
I found what I think is best and let others know about it- because I got tired of reading
My brakes warped boohoo threads

NOW- this week, MrHeelToe has asked me to monitor the azine forum and answer basic questions for members- he was getting 50 PMs a day on the same subject-

So your claim that I was bought and paid for could be consider liable and slander if you really want to push it.
I have offered tech info to you that counters your understanding of metallurgy, but you dont seem interested

Welcome to the forum and the 21st century improvements in parts -

sure glad I found the Ignore Member button~

 

FYI, I ordered the 300 pads, it's my girlfriends car and she does not drive really aggressive.

 

1. FD RX-7s already had great brakes. Like I said, I'm not into competitive driving, so I never saw the need to improve them further. TLs are another story, though.

2. Never denied that you know a thing or two about good brakes.

3. I want to know about their pads because I want to know about their pads! What, are you angry with me? I was only trying to get beyond their sales pitch. People's unbiased input and real-world experience is what I'm looking for, not someone like you basically telling me: go read their sales pitch... I know, I know, I should just use cheap rotors and keep a longer following distance. Are Brembos, that other ppl here consider good quality, also "krapen"?

4. I'm sure you did pay "full whack" for your brakes, and for that price, you darn well ought to be satisfied with them.

5. I never "claimed" that you were bought and paid for, read my post again, Einstein. But, on the other hand, why are you the local representative for HeelToe? "Liable and slander"? When I read this, first I laughed, then I looked straight at where your age is listed.

6. Thanks for the welcome, and you're right, I should have mentioned that all of my other cars were from the 19th century.

 

You better believe it! A stock TL's handling AND braking is downright sloppy in comparison.

 

Never had a issue beating them at Road America. The TL isnt as bad a handler as one may think. (now even modified miatas are in trouble with me)

 

IMO, the TL is a great car but it's not a great handling machine in stock form. It's more designed for cruising and tends to be nose heavy due to the front wheel drive and weight. And mine has 235 width 18 inch tires. But then again I drive a 99 M3 which in comparison makes the Acura feel like a tuna boat. I can't imagine taking the TL for a spin at the track. Unless maybe I at least modified the suspension (struts, springs, sway bars) and got some sticky tires to help overcome it's boaty feeling.

 

Strut tower bars and a lower frame brace get rid of the boat feeling

There are many things in life I paid full whack for and am not happy with at all- you make a lot of general statements and judgements

I get tired of answering the same questions a thousand times- do your own research - racing brakes news release page has lots of tech info on the pads-
I became the forum rep for heeltoe because he saw how much help and real world experience I share on this board- and he was getting 50PMs a day asking the same thing over and over- or worse- questions posted in threads he had no time to read.
Since I spend my time here anyway- its easy to link people to his tech article pages and save my fingers-

I also refer people to excelerate for the products he carries- i happen to like different brakes than he sells- but he has UR crank pulley, headlights and other parts that heeltoe doesnt carry.

Brembos are better than OE quality replacements and will be fine for average driving

 

I'd think those mods would be necessary to even be safe, driving a relatively heavy wrong-wheel drive car fast on a track. I too think the car is more about comfortable cruising, and that's fine.

If I do decide to try the RB one-piece rotors, would it be better to go w/ HPS pads, or one of RBs pads? To me, Hawk is of known good quality; RB, I know nothing about (except that they're a little cheaper). Also: If I go w/ such pads at all four corners, is it okay to leave the stock rear rotors in place, if there's nothing wrong w/ them? Thanks again. ...Hope I wasn't to harsh on anyone; this is all just friendly discussion.

 

RB has been using the Hawk pads while they spent the last 2 years making a pad compound that would stand up to their rotors
Since they are matched design parameters- they will outperform the hawks
Thats was RBs plan- to have all matched parts!!

If your just a casual street driver get the 300 series they will be fine for all 4 wheels-

track day- mountain runners- mental patients- the 500 series is for you

Interested members can PM me for a discount code at heeltoe

 

it actually is a great handling car. Learning to drive the car is a first thing, (and i personally think every one should have to take some type of driving class to actually have a drivers license). Track days are a great place to learn how to properly drive. All those mods arent necessary in order to make it handle good Yes its FWD but because its FWD doesnt mean its doomed as a good handling car. FWD cars handle different from RWD but they can and do handle good.

 

Another good option is the ROTORA slotted rotors combined with a good pad like ROTORA ceramics, Hawk HPS or EBC Greenstuffs.

 

my neighbor -desper-05TL A-Spec, has the Rotora slotted 1 piece rotors with matched ceramic pads. Rotora is the only one I know of (worth buying) with
the 1 piece rotors for Brembo 6MT cars

He dropped over yesterday to have me check the wear- I said he needs to use them harder, they are performance brakes and like to be applied with intent to reduce speed in segments...drop 20mph release a second, 20-30 mph more down- release- coast to allow cooling and stop, or on thru the now green light you go-
this works really well with all performance brakes- even OE brakes will like this method

His rotors still had crosshatch marks on them- looked barely out of the box and were working good.
Performance pads will cause some minor scoring of the rotor-as if a small rock or something was caught in the pad... thats just the friction of the compounds meeting- not a problem~

 

Agreed!

Okay, so stick w/ the 300s all around (500s being borderline-overkill, for what I need), and stick w/ the one-piece rotors up front and leave the stock back rotors alone. Roger. Thanks again.

 

Also check with our vendor Excelerate. He has Rotora brand rotors which are a forum favorite as well. I have them and like them

 

I have taken several driving classes as well as Track day day at Sears Point about 8 years ago with my then car 94 Ford Probe GT (front wheel drive) which BTW actually handled very good. But IMO rear wheel drive will in most cases offer better handling. And yes, FWD is driven different than RWD. We mainly bought the TL for it's Acura reliability, roomy interior and modest handling. If my main goal was handling, I would have bought a BMW 528I sedan.

 

After looking into a few options and doing the math, it seems that, unless you went the generic auto-parts store route (rolling the dice w/ rotor quality) the most bang for the buck might be had from ordering through RacingBrake, or TireRack.

With the help of you other members, I've concluded that, given the nature of the way the braking system on the TL was designed (marginal at best), it is better to upgrade with pricier, better parts, and that my experience using generic rotors on other cars' superior braking systems doesn't apply here.

Here's what I've come up with, assuming new rotors for the front, and replacement pads all around (and assuming I can get RB's advertised discount codes to actually work):

HeelToe: RB rotors (Fr) w/ HPS pads: $326. (minus [hookup]%). HPS pads (Rr): $58.16. Total= $367.18 (not sure of shipping charge, if any).

Exelerate: Rotors (Fr): $175. Pads (Fr): $75. Pads (Rr): $60. Total= $310. (Free shipping).

RacingBrake: Rotors (Fr) ($112.53 x2), w/ ET300 pads ($83.38), (minus 20% combo coupon)= $246.75. ET300 pads (Rr) ($53.12), (minus 10% pads coupon)= $48.17. Total= $294.92 (not sure of shipping charge, if any).

TireRack: Brembo blanck rotors (Fr): $59. x2. HPS pads (Fr): $91. HPS pads (Rr): $59. Total (including shipping)= $292.47.

--Just thought I'd share...

 

check your math again

Last I knew - excelerate does not include shipping- that could have changed..
you also have to figue paypal charges too

And ordering thru RB - you have to be an existing customer who bought rotors direct from them to get the upgrade discount + plus shipping charges

Heeltoe is the authorized dealer for RB and has the best price on them with shipping and everything figured in. His price will beat the factory listed prices

 

This is not a warranty item. You will have to pay for this yourself.

This is of course if they do it goodwill.

 

not to start a argument, but the TL would wipe the floor with a 528

 

I agree I think the TL handles very well. I have driven the new 3 series and it diffenently did have awesome handling but even after driving it I was still happy with my TL.

 

Were my calculations for HeelToe wrong? I certainly hope so, because I'm showing a BIG difference between them and the others I listed, and not for the better. I guess I'll check their site again, and re-post if I come up w/ anything different. BTW, I don't recall seeing RB ET300 pads listed on their site. Do they offer them?

PS: I suspect that this forum is the only place on God's green earth that a TL's handling would be compared in the same league as a BMW 3-series. It's not uncommon for one to drive a different car, then drive their own car again and feel more satisfied, because they're used to it and know where it's limits lie.

 

Yeah they do offer them , but they have not updated their website. Theses pads are new from Racing Brake.

 

Your going to get that on any forum you go to. But as for every one saying BMWs handling is superior to every thing out there is naive. For the average driver they cant drive their car at 90% safely repeatedly and all cars(in similar class) are pretty much equal there.

 

This is true, but with a BMW, the only thing you get for your sacrifice (and as a beyond-the-warrantee-owner, you'll sacrifice A LOT), is at-the-limit handling. Well...and prestige too, if that sort of thing matters that much to you...

I'm not one to sing BMW's praises, I personally think they've been dropping the ball with their cars for the past ten years now! You used to get superior (and genuinely expensive) engineering for your money. Now, more and more, you're paying for (cheap to produce) unreliable electronic gimmickry. BMWs still perform well, and have a certain "feel" to them, as per tradition and customer expectations, but otherwise, as far as great basic engineering goes, others have caught up.

 

The words great basic engineering ~ and German cars~ are not to be used in the same post lol

If you ever had the pleasure of replacing driveline coupler donuts or explaining why there is a $75 electronic sensor that made the low brakes warning light come on- and its mandatory replacement of the part along with a complete 600-800 brake job- soft rotors and hard pads make for good stopping but low chance of rotors lasting more than 1 set of pads...it was a service managers delight and a techs pain to have beemers coming into the shop for service~

 

"Beemers" is what you call their bikes. "Bimmers" is what you call their cars. --Betchya didn't know that.

 

I wil be the first to say that German cars for the most part are no where near as reliable as Japanese cars, that's why we bought an Acura. But I will say that I like the looks and and handling of my 99 M3. And it's very easy to work on being rear wheel drive, so that I can do most of the work myself. So if you are not mechanically inclined, I would not suggest ever buying a BMW because it will cost you a fortune to maintain it taking it to the dealer for work. Within the last 7 months I've had to replace the struts and shocks, water pump, thermostat, belts, O2 sensor, rear shock mounts, differential bushings and rear control arm bushings (done by a shop), and replace a capacitor in the Auto climate control. And it only has 65k miles on it. Thanks god for the BMW forum which has a wealth of infomation.

But simply put, BMW's don't age very well. So much for German Engineering and reliablity.