Drew L

Drew L

BROlando

Brake lines should be fine unless they're bulging or cracked.

Buy the lines from Acura if you plan to replace them.

Nothing really badly wrong with the Z26 pads...but...they don't make that goodass down low friction at street brake temps.

High temp pads aren't an upgrade if you don't ever go beyond normal brake temp anyway. Especially if they're making less friction at the temps you DO use them at.

I would suggest blank rotors of any brand from Rockauto. Unless you want the drilled/slotted ones for LOOKS.

And I'd suggest some sort of agressive semi-metallic street pad. Centric posiquiet semi metallics seem decent. Or any good parts store semi metallic will work too.

Or maybe Akebono ASP if you're very worried about dust.

The calipers in your cart aren't upgrades. They're just painted/coated red.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

If you really want to upgrade your brakes, ignore the rears (they are already overkill for a FWD car), and buy the front end suspension and brake components from a 2004-2006 TL 6MT or a 2007-2008 Type-S (any transmission). This upgrade will replace the front single piston sliding caliper design with the 4-Piston fixed Brembo calipers used on the likes of the EVO.

Ossman14

BROlando

Within a factory supplied system for virtually any car...the only part that benefits notably from an upgrade is the PADS.

Especially for street use.

Brake fluid is a part of maintenance.

Rotors are just.... rotors. Drilled and slotted aren't upgrades (besides looks).

SS lines aren't maintenance free. And you should really be careful to buy teflon jacketed ones with DOT certs and factory mounting provisions. They will improve feedback slightly.

In comparison....keeping pins and pad ears properly greased and making sure everything moves properly is a FREE "upgrade" that can have massive results.

Drew L

Drew L

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

I haven't done the conversion as my car came from the factory with the Brembos; that said, I'm like 99.5% sure I remember running across a thread here last year which gave a full blow-by-blow description, complete with pictures, of the conversion process. Give search a try and see what you come up with.

Worst case, you can go to one of the online Acura dealerships which sell parts and look at the parts diagrams and part number lists; that will tell you which parts differ between the 5AT and 6MT models.

TacoBello

This upgrade does nothing for performance. It was tested and for a one-off stop, the stock TL brakes work better than the Brembos by about 1 foot.

The only place it starts to make a difference is if autocrossing the car... I doubt anyone here gets their brakes hot enough on the street, and if they do... They should stop driving immediately. The Brembos are good at dissipating heat and keeping the brakes working as they should, longer... But from what I remember, they didn't make the car stop any faster otherwise.

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horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Agreed, if the caliper/pad/rotor combo is stout enough to keep the tires to the point of incipient lock-up, then using brakes from a 747 will do nothing to improve stopping distance, errr, unless, as you alluded to, you're talking about repeated stops as in Auto-Xing.

BROlando

Semi metallics generally have better stopping power and are less likely to create brake pulsations. But they're dusty and lifespan is kinda short.

Ceramics are low dust and long life, but low performance also. Some are better than others...but...I tend to pass.

Incorrect. There is no mod that can keep you from falling asleep from boredom at an autocross....much less getting your brakes hot enough to fade them.

csmeance

the largest improvement will be with a better pad compound! EBC red or yellow pads would work great to help the bite and stopping distances! I'd highly suggest aftermarket rotors such as Racingbrake or EBC. No need for lines! Be sure to buy brake fluid and a one man brake bleeding tool and you'll be all set

TSX-S2000

Low performance? Really? I agree on the other two points (low dust and long life) but I don't agree about performance. I noticed less initial bite when I switched to Akebono ceramic pads but after that they grab hard. They've also been easy on the stock rotors.

BROlando

Have you tried a good set of semi metallic pads to compare them against?

Initial bite is the most noticable performance aspect for a street pad.

TSX-S2000

I have not tried comparing them against other pads other than the OEM ones. I actually like the lesser initial bite. In my opinion, the brakes felt too grabby and difficult to apply without lunging forward. The ceramic pads have a more gradual bite and feel much more linear (and easier to modulate). Normal stopping power feels smoother and panic stops feel much stronger.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

I suppose that is one way of looking at things; the first (and last) time I switched to ceramic pads I was driving on a cold day with intermittent heavy rain and then blinding sunshine. I had just come through a crushing and very cold downpour into the sunlight when the traffic in front of me suddenly went into panic stop mode. I slammed on the brakes, virtually no bite at all; a few feet later the discs and pads heated up enough to bite, but by then it was too late; I ended up rear ending the next car in front of me. Had I had the semi-metallic pads on the car I'd had on a few days prior, the accident would never have happened.

Jackass

I have never had my ceramic pads not bite....ever. I agree they don't have near the initial bite as semi's do...but if I smash that pedal down, the car comes to a halt as fast as the tire's traction limits will allow.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Have you ever tried mashing your brake pedal immediately after having the discs drenched in sub-40°F water? That's the scenario I described above, and there was literally zero bite for maybe the first quarter-second; that quarter-second (and the distance traveled) was the difference between having a minor fender-bender and a non-issue.

Jackass

Not discounting your experience...just chiming in with my own.
No idea if I have your exact scenario truthfully. Since I haven't experienced a loss of bite, I have never really paid attention.

TSX-S2000

Exactly. I feel that the ceramics provide more overall stopping power that I won't ever go back to semi-metallic. Plus, I really like the fact that my wheels stay cleaner. They are also absolutely quiet.

I don't know if there's a difference between brands of ceramic pads but I stand behind the Akebono Performance (not ProACT) ceramic pads.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

I would challenge their ability relative to over all stopping power; for most automotive braking systems, given both ceramic (when up to temperature) and non-ceramic pads are more than a match for the amount of grip tires have on the road, it is pretty hard to make a claim either way. That said, their initial bite, or lack thereof, especially when cold, is exactly why I will never willingly go back to ceramic pads.

BROlando

Well...Akebono ASP is probably the pad I would use if I was worried about the 2nd closest thing on my car to the ground getting dusty. They're *decent* pads.

But they're not as good in terms of feel or modulation or torque or stopping power as a good semi metallic.

A dyno graph would show that, in an apples to apples comparison...semi metallics virtually always create more stopping power and better ability to modulate.

Sure, you can mash the pedal and get the car to stop. You could probably stick two slick tiles in the caliper and, with enough pressure, lock the wheels.

The question was about PERFORMANCE, however. Not dust or pad life or giving milk to old ladies or being gentle on rotor surfaces.

My brakes are silent AF, they're way less likely to create rotor "warping", and they stop the car more confidently...and make the car more fun to drive.

The wheels get dusty...but the car also gets dirty at the same rate. Not like you wash JUST the body of the car....

If you have a base model, your OEM pads are ceramic. Not semi metallic.

If you have a Type S...you wouldn't say that those Akebonos were an improvement in performance over the stock semi metallics. You'd report a downgrade like 99.9% of people do.

BROlando

Btw, I'm not trying to beat you down with our differences in opinion.

Its just not factual that semi metallics are grabby and its not factual that ceramics perform better than a parallel semi metallic.

Akebono ASP are really good for ceramics. I'll admit. So maybe you're where you want to be on the dust/pad life/performance balance.

Most (all) people with a mind on braking feel/performance don't buy ceramics, though.

Try both out for yourself, perhaps.

Jackass

And to fill in more of my story here....my desire was for quieter and less dust. My OE pads squeaked when backing up no matter what I did to them. Never had a single squeak of or the CMAX pads and I am on my 2nd set now. I don't tend to wash my car as often as I should (once or twice a month...maybe) and the OE pads dust was just f'ing insane for me. I do drive my car in the winter here and have never noticed a lack of braking performance. However most of my driving is poking around town dropping the kids off at daycare in the winter. Most any other driving is in my wife's car.

Pretty sure we have beat to death the pad discussion before....like in the past month or two? We all have different reasons for our choices. Pretty sure multiple good options have been discussed....each has a trade off in one way or another. For the most part a normal daily driver should never "need" anything fancy to function correctly. Keep the fluid fresh and I bet most people would never know or care what pads are on there. I haven't pushed my brakes anywhere near the limit since I was in my 20s and drove like a madman all the time and could smell my brakes or feel my pedal go spongy on me.

We are also mucking up the OPs post...well...at least horseshoez and I are since we are talking about Brembos which the OP doesn't have.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Guilty as charged.

TSX-S2000

Sorry to the OP for being part of the hijacking.

I agree that all of my claims and comments are unscientific and I have no real data to substantiate them. I'd actually love to see real-world testing results.

I am where I want to be in terms of dust, pad life, and performance and I don't feel I've compromised on anything. I also don't autocross or track my car and the majority of my driving is on the freeway (which does involve the typical SF Bay Area panic stops).

I was also not aware that the OEM pads were ceramic.

BROlando

OP's original question regarded a pperformance upgrade.

I've stayed on track...but he's long gone. Probably decided brakes were a thing of the past.

Anyway...pads are the only tangible thing one can upgrade while retaining the factory system. So focus on pads.

If you're looking for pads that increase performance during typical street driving, I would recommend buying a decent semi metallic street pad. They're cheap and they work. But they do dust. But, most people don't turn back once they've tried them. So they must be worth the dust

Factually, ceramic street pads are on the low performance spectrum. So you're not "upgrading performance" with ceramics. Even if you buy ones that say EXTREME on them.

Also....high temp fade resistance isn't very useful if you're using your pads on the road. Pads that become active at higher temps usually feel like shit at low temps.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

I've heard anecdotal reports of folks converting their non-6MT and non-Type-S 3G TLs to the factory Brembo setup. True it isn't "the" factory system when came on the car, but it is in fact a factory system for the 3G TLs.

BROlando

Sure, a caliper and rotor upgrade works great. And fixed caliper brakes with properly sized pistons feel quite a bit better than plain Jane sliding caliper types. And you get the benefit of better torque from the larger diameter discs. And stopping distances would decrease from better modulation. And you'd get more heat capacity.

But yeah, I meant my comments to relate to just working with the system that came on the car.