Ok, so I noticed my brake pads squelling like crazy recently. I assumed it was either the pads or that one service bulletin I have read. They check it out and tell me I need to change the brake pads and tried to charge me $400 dollars for it. Keep in mind I had just bought this car used (acura certified) just 13k miles ago and I already have to change the pads!! I politely decline and am going to change them myself. Ok, so the deal was I bought this car used from the dealership and have no clue what pads I have. I don't have an A-spec TL, I have a 2004 Manual transmission tl w/ navigation. The dealership told me I had upgraded sport brakes w/ bigger rotors than normal. Does this mean I need to buy A-spec pads? If so where can I buy cheaper pads, I noticed the A-spec front pads were like 170 from the dealership. I am not looking to Auto X here or anything, I just want to use my car for daily driving. If there are good aftermarket pads for cheaper I wouldn't mind getting those instead. Anybody have a link on where I can get some replacement pads? Thanks!

Eric

 

Ok, so I did some research on this forum and also called the acura dealership. I found out that the manual pads are different from the automatic pads and that the A-spec pads were the same as the normal manual TL pads. The dealership priced them at 200.07 dollars for just the pads, is there anywhere I can get these for cheaper? According to the acura dealership there is no aftermarket pads, but I think that is just B.S.

 

Contact Tim at 1-888-RAY-LAKS or hondacuraworld@aol.com. He's also availabe on the instant messenger.

http://replacement.autopartswarehous...%20Set&dp=true

Just a 5-second quick search on Google shows that Bendix has a couple of different types of front pads for the Brembo calipers. An extended search would turn up more, I'm sure. But that's your job.

 

Thanks, I called them up and they quoted me 139.33 which was the cheapest I can find so far, but still rather expensive. Are there no decent aftermarket pads I could get for under 100? Thanks for the help guys!

 

How many total miles on the car? If it's 30000 miles or more, it seems normal to need new front pads. Acura certified-used doesn't cover wear items.

Good for you. If your handy the job should be easy enough as long as you are careful about spreading the calipers with a makeshift tool such as a C clamp. If your car needs the rotors turned, you're better off having a pro do the job, and the pro doesn't need to be Acura.

Chances are that you have the Brembo rotors/calipers/pads just like every other manual TL. It's highly unlikely that the previous owner upgraded to an aftermarket big-brake kit.

No. The manual TLs all come STANDARD with brake pads specific to the Brembo rotors/calipers. Upgraded brake pads are NOT part of the Aspec package for a manual TL.

Aspec pads are ONLY for automatic transmission TLs. Aspec pads are basically upgraded/scorched pads for better bite. Aspec pads are not appropriate for your car.

Search on "Hawk HPS". They are cheaper at around $100 for the front set. Some (most) report that they squeal, though. I think you can get the Acura manual TL brake pads for less than $150 if you search online. Beyond those recommendations, I'd be interested to hear input from others, too.

 

Thanks Chuckdu for the response. I just went ahead and bought the oem pads for 139 from hondacuraworld and will do them myself. I am very impatient, hehe. If there are other cheaper alternatives out there please let me know. I don't think I would like the hawk pads if they squeal and according to a couple of people that I have talked to, they say that the Bendix pads wear out real fast.

Eric

 

I have seen a few different pad types on the web,

http://www.partsandaccessories.com/a...12&brandid=478

ebc makes a bunch, starting at $25.00.

http://www.brakeworld.com/catalog.as...=items&catid=2

Rotex gold kelvar, $125.00.

I would want something that gives less dust then OEM pads, I have not heard great things about ebc, but have not tried them.
I like the pbr/axxis deluxe pads, but I do not think they sell them for he brembo's.

Brett

 

Well, keep in mind, those are actually Brembo calipers. Thus, the pads for them will cost significantly more than your ordinary 1-piston calipers on most production cars today.

I have Rotora 4-piston calipers on my '03, and the cheapest pads are 160 bucks and last only about 10k miles.

Welcome to the world of big multi-pison calipers.