I am in desperate need of some savvy advice- car: 04 TL -6SP (Brembo)

In the last go-around, I got RacingBrake slotted rotors and pads (the best they make for : garbage! Road noise went through the roof (slotted, as it turns out is terribly loud) and my beafy brembos ate through the rotors and warped them.

I think I need some really nice non-slotted non-drilled brembo rotors - but alas, every website i go to has slotted or drilled... plus i just dont even trust any other brands other than brembo as I have been burned by brands that other people have recommended on this community....

Is there a definitively absolutely BEST set of rotors that I should get? I need some advise from someone who really knows their shit. Please help.

P.S. I think a lot of people get trapped in the mentality that they need racing breaks and pads and then they end up driving their TL on the street 90% of the time... which is not even near optimal temperature for the brakes they buy... so the poor bastards pay for high performance, get loud breaking noise, and shitty breaking performance (because they are not on the track)...

 

I really need something thats gonna be very grippy, very quiet, and has an optimal operating temperature for normal driving... I do not take this car to the track at all...

 

Pads: have my eye on the Carbotech Bobcat 1521: http://www.ctbrakes.com/pads/acura.html

My brother-in-law knows his shit about cars and says that these are pricey but the absolute best....

 

You can get Brembo blanks (no slots, not drilled) from the dealer and from Tire Rack.

Exactly which Racing Brake rotor and pad did you have? Your's is the first complaint I've read and don't want to have the same problems as you.

 

I got the 2-piece: http://www.racingbrake.com/TL_Brembo...p/2108-311.htm

Warping aside, the road noise was absolutely terrible; I may be sounding like an amateur right now in that sure there is probably a lot more road noise with slotted than with non-slotted... but I really hated them... dont buy them its garbage.

 

the dealer fucks you on the price... i may just go with tirerack... thnx

I mean I would love rotors that do not warp (yeah I kinda drive it a little hard sometimes) but I want something that is no louder than stock, and has the absolute best construction/performance (and is not at all prone to warping)... does that exist? Cuz I would pay top dollar for that.

 

every dealer I go to they say "Yeah the brembo calipers in this car EAT through rotors like crazy... we end up having to swap in new discs for every other customer"

REALLY? Did honda put in calipers that are too beafy for their own good?

I dunno even what to think any more... Maybe the greasemonkeys that I had put these in overtorqued the nuts (im doing it myself this time around).... maybe these calipers just eat through rotors like crazy....

...maybe if I just bought a BMW instead of my glorified Honda, I would not have these and other problems... sry im just frustrated.... an kidding, i love my honda, but DAMN im annoyed!

 

I've had the RB 2 piece/ ET500 set up for about 10K on my 2005 6 spd. I'm absolutely pleased with RB. Pedal feel is great, stops on a dime, a lot less dust, no noise issue. Stopping distance is better than the OEM set up. I had 39K on my OEM's, no problems with warping, I could have pushed another 10K on the parts. I don't drive like a granny either, I've put the brakes to use a few times. But, I do not track my car at all.

The only slight issue I had was infrequent squeal with slight braking at 5 mph. Re-lubing the pads/caliper parts eliminated the issue about 10K mikes ago. I used a better synthetic lube the second time around. It's been silent ever since.

Just wanted to provide my feedback on the RB stuff since it's the opposite as the OP's.

OP: Try out the Brembo blanks.

 

OP, find some that are cryo treated. I have powerslot cryos on my 250 superduty and they are the best. I went through 3 sets of oe's rotors, all warped. The powerslot have 50,000m on them and are straight as a ruler.

 

For whatever reason, the TL is prone to warping rotors. There are a lot of threads on this.

One of the primary culprits seems to be over torqueing the lug nuts. I've kept mine at the recommended 80 lb/ft and have had no issues in 35k miles.

I've heard that 2-piece rotors might warp easier than an OE-type one peice. Not sure of the possible causes or if it is in fact true.

OP, based on what you've written, the Brembo blanks are probably as good as oyu ca do. You can get rotors that are less expensive and should have durability equal or better than OE (NAPA, for example), but you may give up a some stopping power.

 

Can you please explain what sort of "road noise" do drilled and/or slotted rotors make? I'm running D/S Rotora with ceramic pads and I don't notice any difference from stock setup ... other than MUCH less dust and better stopping. NO noise at all

 

I just bought and install Rotora slotted rotors and Racingbrake ET300 pads from Heeltoe. After a couple of days I'm very please with the look, braking power and low dust. My car stops alot smoother and quicker than before. I install these myself and made sure to put plenty of CRC brake quiet lube on the back of the pads.

I had the stock brembo front rotors and Hawk ceramic pads before. They were a bit noisey at times. My stock rotors were left pretty worn down by the pads.

Not sure about the two piece rotors, but I think you will be fine with any other set. Just make sure you get a proper install and break in, and you should be fine.

BTW talk to Marcus at Heeltoe; he seems to be the brake expert here.

 

i also need help and advice i just got my brembos with pads....now i need some good rotors to go with it...should i get the oem or should i get sum aftermarket

 

rotora or stoptech slotted rotors? and oem brake pads

 

I would NEVER go back to OEM pads ... too much dust

 

Rotora, Racing Brake or StopTech.

Get the pad recommended by the vendor (Excelerate or MrHeelToe).

I've run Racing Brake ET500 pads with both Racing Brake rotors and StopTech rotors with good success. There is also an ET300 pad which is slightly less agressive.

 

We've had great success with ROTORA rotors and ROTORA H2 ceramic brake pads. Many many Acurazine members run that combination. Good machining, low dust, low noise, improved performance, longer life.

 

Ok Guys this is what I did... so far, it has proven to be the absolute best combo for this car:
1) Centric (brembo) front rotors
2) Centric Rear
3) Carbotech (1521 Pads - these have optimal temperature for street

The carbotechs are key - low dust, AMAZING braking - they are grippier than ever at normal driving conditions...

DONT EVER GET:
1)RACING BRAKE SLOTTED ROTORS
2)HAWK HPS PADS

I made the mistake of getting slotted rotors and they were noticably louder during breaking than stock... besides, its mostly all about the pads.... and hawks suck, use carbotechs - i guarantee you will not be disappointed....

DONT OVERTORQUE the LUGS - 80lbs exactly - you will fuck yourself if u overtorque, u guys are right.

I'm still breaking these in but they are absolutely wonderful... the owner at THMotorsports.com is a cool guy named Eddy - he or one of his guys will hook u up with whatever u need - i found em through a legthy google search

 

Sorry but I think this is mis-leading or mis-information.

If you mean never get RB Rotors WITH Hawk HPS pads, that's one thing. A LOT of people complain about the Hawk HPS pads.

But I know that a LOT of people have run RB Slotted Rotors with no issues, including myself. I've had 'em on my '02 for about 18 months (iirc) and they are noiseless and vibration free.

(FWIW - 2G Brakes are practically identical to non-Brembo 3G brakes).

 

I'm with powerflow on this one. I love my RB!! They are just as quiet as stock and stop much better, etc, etc... Is there a chance you put them on backwards with the slots facing the wrong way. That would sure cause a problem...

 

^^^Yeah that's a good question.

This is misinformation, no doubt. Racingbrake rotors work great. That's really not right to bash a company like that. Especially when you don't know if the rotors were installed right, and the wheels properly torqued in a cross pattern.

 

Really I am thinking its the pads. I am in a similar situation where I need to do a brake job (front) also and I had the hawk hps pads and while the performance was good the rest left much to be desired. But I find myself looking for a setup exactly like the OP. The best solid rotors and pad combo that can be used with the stock calipers.

Thats my 2 cents anyways back to reading up on more brake threads.

D