gold2003tl (90)

wait you were doing laps with.... Green stuff pads???

fsttyms1

them and reds. Work great, handle heat and dont kill rotors. For larger tracks that have higher speeds i will run the yellow.

gold2003tl (90)

wow i wouldn't have guess that, i know from my experiences the Red stuff pads can hold up to some serious heat, but its good to know Green stuff can also take a good beating too.

Edward'TLS

Does the EBC Reds need to be heated up first before it will work effectively ?

I've heard that cold racing pads have no braking ability, until they are fully heated up.

Skirmich

I Can say that for the Yellow Stuff, They do need to be pressed a little before they start to brake efficiently. But thats i Suppose normal for a Brake Pad intended for Track.

Skirmich

Dumb me I was thinking of the 3G TLS Brembo Caliper!!

bonknhead

Not in my experience. I've had the redstuffs for almost two years and they work great in all conditions - hot, cold, wet, etc. My EBC setup and SS brakelines are the best I've used.

bubblenuke

I have tried 2 sets of rotors and the fronts all warped after about 40K; now using Frozen Rotors w/ Hawk HPS pads. Rotors have about 40K on them and are starting to warp but not too bad.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

If you keep warping rotors there are 1 of 3 things going on:

1. You or someone is installing the parts incorrectly, i.e overtorqueing the lug nuts or not in the right pattern. Lug nuts should be torqued to 80 ft lbs of torque on most Acuras and in a star pattern.

2. The pads aren't being be in properly. You need to transfer a layer of material from the pad onto the rotor. Use this link for the procedure:

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedinstock.shtml

3. You're just one crazy brake animal. If this is the case I'd recommend getting a Powerslot cryo-treated slotted rotor. Firstly, the Powerslot slotted rotor has a curved vane and a power alloy composition. Secondly, the cryo-treatment makes the rotors significantly more durable.

When you need something tougher than a Power Slot rotor, but you’re not quite ready for a big brake kit, try our new Power Slot Cryo rotors. We’ve invested in the latest state-of-the-art equipment to offer cryogenic treatment on our Power Slot rotor line.

Deep cryogenic treatment is a one-time process that permanently improves the performance and service life of metals from brake rotors and engine parts, to machine tools and gear sets. Using a proprietary computer-controlled process, the metal is cooled gradually to -300°F and then slowly returned to room temperature and heat-cycled as the final step. Although not apparent to the naked eye, the improvements to the rotor are significant. The cryogenic treatment process redistributes residual stress in the rotor giving it an extra level of protection against warping.

01tl4tl

Josh- you are doing this in house?
cryo done right on good parts is an awesome thing
back in the day - they tested everything,,a bic throwaway razor stayed sharp for a year of daily use!,,motorcycle engine parts lasting double expected life,,imagine what it will do for bigger pieces of steel like rotors
And--starting with quality is key

junteschan

Sounds like the best rotor yet to install.
Yet still goes down to how good does the product serve the interest of the customer and for how long?
Assuming these rotors were torqued to specs, even manually with a torque tool rather than from an airgun and yet it warps after 20,000 miles from an installation date receipt, what will your company do ...is it covered on a product warranty... replace it at no charge (shipping at customers' expense), prorate it by mileage or replace it at full price/discounted price? How will you help your frustrated customer?

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

After a 300 mile trip from NY to DC yesterday through literally 150 miles of heavy traffic, I believe my hellow stuff pads are cooked. They bite less, smell burnt, and squeal in pain. I still have a 300 mile trip back tomorrow. Hopefully I wont hit too much traffic

Looks like ill have to change the brakes sooner than I thought.

Skirmich

Thats really wierd dude really, I have done risky braking driving downhill and I mean a Mountain at about more than 60mph and they have never even start to fade (I can Breath they are being cooked) but they never really start to fade until I start to drive normally. I can feel a little fade once they Start getting Cold after being Cooked but pressing them a little bit harder than usual make them back to shape even after they are completely cold they would brake normally again.

Thats with about +10,000K they are about 45% Life Left.
Normally Traffic Business never Raced only pressed In some winding roads or Downhill.

If the Yellow Tops are failling you in Traffic I mean TRAFFIC??? there must be something wrong in your braking habits, I cant even make them get Hot in Heavy Traffic you can literally hop down and touch the rotor and it will be Hot but not Touch-Burn Hot.

And thats the Race Pad from EBC you can only get more life out of the Blue-Stuff but they have horrible Dust, Bite is the same more or less. Heck Yellow Stuffs got Horrible Dust but I would never change the confidence I now Have in braking for Less Dust.

Im only Wondering how much difference it will Make the Legend Caliper stupid Monday Cant Wait!!!

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

Yeah I don't deny that my situation is out of the ordinary. Something is def wrong with my specific pads. My rotors are always burning hot to the touch. And the dust on my wheels after the trip down is unbelievable. Im not wasting money on expensive rotors and pads again. Im replacing these with brembo blanks, ceramic pads, legend calipers, and stainless steel lines.

01tl4tl

stop and go from 30-45 mph can get the rotors really hot-
then they get no cool down breeze by driving above 40mph for a few/several minutes

use them hard when traffic suddenly stops,,and then sit stopped with you foot on pedal -thats going to cause a pad material transfer and buildup on one spot of the rotor..makes shake under braking

squeal noise- is it the low pad warning tab you are hearing?
worth pulling a front wheel off and cking pad level visually thru the caliper before your trip, and drive gently if they are low
May be able to look inside part of rotor to see pad warning tab touching rotor

they dont stop as well or shed heat,,,leave extra stopping room
ck brake fluid level- pads low= fluid low

01tl4tl

the legend calipers will improve your brake torque= effective braking force
Not one person has come back and said- what a suck idea!,,
no,,,they come back and say- wow I didnt know my car could stop like that
Its better pressure across the entire pad, more of the pad has contact with a piston,
and an extra stabilizing `middle finger` for the outer pad, so it doesnt flex under high pressure

IMO acura went cheap and stopped using these,,they should have come stock on the car

funny that parts stores are happy to get the TL calipers as cores!
they can rebuild them and sell to a much larger user group of gen2 TL,(and more)
than the low number of people coming in for a ~95 legend~

01tl4tl

remember if the legends come with a giant metal clip in the center of caliper- throw it away
not for use on the TL
TL pads TL rotors TL bracket for caliper to car
use the new hardware- bolts and slider plates where the pad end tabs fit- where all the inward motion occurs to make braking

use synthetic CALIPER grease, not some other grease you have laying around
a little where the pistons will touch the pad backs,,see wear on old pads for why
they need to move freely

high brake area temps dictate synthetic- the 2 buck tubes are plenty for one end of the cars brake job

01tl4tl

Skirm -want to make sure you understand about prefilling the calipers using a small $3 squirt can and new brake fluid thru the line hole..open bleeder during this
getting as much new fluid in them as possible displaces air- reducing your workload bleeding them
and !Important! protects the pistons new rubber oring seal by having fluid on it before pumping movement occurs...dry is no fun for the parts

reminder to all: if using buddy/helper to manually pump and hold the pedal,
place a piece of 2x4 wood under the brake arm, so pedal is limited to its normal 3/4 way to the floor `range of travel`
If they push brake pedal to floor - especially several times when you open the bleeder- it `can and will` destroy the oring seal on the master cylinder rod,,

pushing the seal into unknown areas not meant for it,,may have rough edges to the bore etc. Seen it happen more than once = is why I mention it for all
be careful your upgrade doesnt cause other issues
a vac brake bleeder you are in charge of is the safest way -in my opinion- harbor freight tools to the rescue $25

fsttyms1

Red really isnt a racing pad. Its aggressive though. When its cold and they are cold and leaving the neighborhood i can tell it takes more pressure to stop, but after a few times braking normally they are fine. Ive never had a lack of it while driving.

junteschan

I was curious on those brembo blanks you have.
Is the word "Brembo" actually inscribed on the rotor itself or
just from the box it came with;
and also inscribed made in what country?
Many thanks as this should be a good reference.

junteschan

Under ordinary driving conditions including 6 hour freeway drives on a 90F temperature, rotors should not warp I think.
But I remember having installed premium slotted ones a few years back and they warped after well within 20,000 miles.
Its probably the kind of metal they use is just made from less quality material such as those G3000 or G3500 currently in the market.

junteschan

This is an update on the drilled rotors I just installed after a trip to Vegas. This was about a 4 hour day trip plus a few stops along the way.
The highest temp was about 94F and I wasnt surprised. On the downward portion of the freeway, upon applying the brakes, the pedal was vibrating ugly....likewise was my steering wheel.
With such disappointment I called up the vendor and explained my situation and asked them to cover it on their 1 yr warranty on warpage. It didn't take long but they offered to ship me another pair at no charge whatsoever.I just need to return the old ones. I was happy to learn that they honor their warranty with no excuses whatsoever. Am currently waiting to install them.

gold2003tl (90)

Did you follow correct bed in procedure before taking an extended highway cruise? If not that can explain vibrations. also improper torquing of lug nuts.

01tl4tl

if they were brand new - you have to bed them in properly,,many will shake in the first 500-1000 miles

Ask maker for bedding directions if not supplied with parts

new pads and rotor surfaces are mini mountains and valleys that have to grind together and mesh to make a good full surface contact under use
Plus conditioning the rotor mettalurgy itself adds life and abilty to both pads and rotors

Unkn0VV17

Flame on! I had RB and Hawk pads (before the NT300/500 pads were out) and did not have a good experience with it. Yes, at first I enjoy the stopping power from it, but after a year or so it was starting to warp. Steering wheel was shaking at all speeds and I contacted a couple members on there to assist me with the problem. I was told to rebed the pads, and i did that a few times. It still didn't work so I went to the last resort and having the rotors resurfaced (i know i wasn't suppose to do this). After the resurface it lasted me another year and started to warp again. I also tried contacting RB itself and no response from them at their part. Yes, i did tighten up the lugs to spec at 80lbs. When i took the rotors and pads off, there were deep groove lines and i don't think thats normal.

So, i looked into EBC black dash slotted rotors and greenstuff pads. This set up has been good to me for the past couple years. Theres minor squeeling from it, but at least for the past 2 years theres no warpage or anything. Probably need to replace the pads within the next 6 months. Overall the EBC set up has been good for me and only spend 266 dollars.

RB and Hawk pads.....3/5

EBC Slotted and greenstuff pads...4.5/5

Sorry for the long write up, but thats my story.

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

seems like it doesnt matter how good the rotors/pads are. someone is going to have a bad experience.

it could be because of the driver's braking habits. but i dont think mine are out of the ordinary

i mean if fsttyms1 is tracking his car and his brakes are still lasting a long time, and people like Unknown and myself are warping rotors on normal street use....i dont know whats wrong.

junteschan

I installed new ceramic pads with those new drilled rotors weeks before the Vegas trip. The brakes were powerful and perfectly quiet so I am sure they were bedded properly as the car is care driven and well maintained since it was new. Its probably the long sustained trip on a hot day that distinguishes metal quality among rotor manufacturers
I think.
I was just glad about the 1 yr warpage warranty and the free replacement including shipping the vendor honored without so much fuss about it. That really impressed me as a customer.

junteschan

I was also hoping to hear from members who installed the brembo brand front rotors....blanks,slotted and/or drilled. Maybe they would want to share their experiences on these rotors pertaining to warpage and/or cracking to steer us into looking for far better ones on our cars and to all our benefit of course.

Edward'TLS

In the event that no one has tried the Brembo rotors, why don't you venture out to give it a try, and then you too can share your experience with all of us.

junteschan

Just received my replacement drilled rotors last night from the same vendor. That was a fast corrective action on their part and I am impressed.
So I need to have them installed and comments to come hereafter.
Re the Brembo blanks, some members already installed them and
hopefully would find time to post some helpful comments.
What rotors do you have installed on your TL?

Edward'TLS

Please reread post #12 on page 1 of this thread.

But I'll repeat myself here. I'm currently on my 2nd set of Rotora slotted fronts. My 1st set of Rotora slotted fronts had warped.

junteschan

Thanks for reposting... I should have turned back the pages.
I will have to try my luck on the replacement ones I just received
and go from there.

Edward'TLS

Some members here suggest "bedding in" new aftermarket rotors. I don't know if you did the same thing for your previous pair that has warped. Maybe this time, try prepping the brand new rotors differently from what you did last time.

junteschan

Which I did on the first set and this second set as it came with bedding in instructions that I followed by the letter. As I mentioned in my previous posts, in the of first set of rotors, the brakes were perfectly strong,smooth and quiet weeks for about 400 miles before that Vegas trip. It was on the last 2 hours of a 5 hour noon trip where I felt the brake pedal pulsations and my steering wheel vibrating real ugly upon brake application. Still on the bedding in with my second set.

junteschan

Currently I am not happy with these rotors...given socal summer driving temperatures of low 80s to high 90s F. The G3000 iron grade front rotors with the straight vane design just cannot sustain these kinds of heat without warping. Searching for much better rotors on my next replacement. So Ill give it a 2 out of a perfect 5.

CHISOX1

For what it's worth...my first set of Rotora rotors and greenstuff pads lasted two years without incident, 10,000 miles before my driver rear pad broke apart and ruined the rotor. I changed all four rotors and pads. Second set of Rotora rotors warped after 1000 miles. I replaced the front calipers and rotors and pads at the dealer this time with vendor recommended powerslots and ebc greenstuff pads and after 800 miles same f'ing issue, shaky steering wheel. I am so done with aftermarket rotors, I've spent too much money already. I followed the bed in procedure the same way everytime. OEM here I come. I barely put any miles on my car and never brake hard and never even got close to a race track. Perhaps they are just not for me. Two sets in a year is ridiculous. I replaced both of my other TL's brakes at the same time with OEM rotors and pads, no bed in, and they are perfect.

01tl4tl

sounds like more than a rotor issue at the heart of it
could be the lug nuts are installed wrong and incorrect torque
or crud on hub prevents rotor sitting flat

Bedding may be too much for your brand rotors, or too soon or too little!
Its an art form

driving around slow in town -dragging the brakes to a stoplight- will cause hot spots and pad transfer you dont want = shakes
Have to go use the brakes good in an extended bedding session
that will often cure the problem

not all aftermarket are bad, plenty of us on quality stuff and running good
OE is the last thing to run (in my opinion)..lower quality= less cost= more profit overall

Had the front end ckd by an alignment shop?

Honda-san

Replaced stock rotors front and rear on an 02 Acura TL-S using Acura OEM brake pads. Very satisifed with the rotors and overall braking performance. After 3 years, there is no brake judder and the rotors have minimal or no corrosion on the rotor hat or edge surface (cooling ribs). The built-in wear indicators on the surface of the rotors are a nice added feature although they did impart a bit of low frequency rubbing noise when braking at low speed when the rotors and pads were new - not as noticeable upon wearing. Rated a 4.5 out of 5.

Tomb Acura

Rotor slotted and EBC Green have been great brakes for 4 hrs and many miles. Thanks Fsttyms.

neptune07

i have discovered replacement pads for the honda brand for my tl ebc ceramic and kevlar particled, possibly brembo rotor for the front as the back are fine now (i hope) i do not wish to tie up a bundle of cash yet get better than the dealer items, what parts for this purpose would be a good fit cash wise and quality wise, does not have to be supercheap but it would work, i drive my tl hard and some stops are virtual panic stops due to assclown drivers where i live that do not signal, look, or get off their phone before entering my lane as i am passing them. thanks guys