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In Jan 2017 I scored a Rotora 4-piston big brake kit from a 2003 Acura CL type S 6MT in a junkyard. I'd never heard of Rotora, but junkyard price was too good to pass up.
I needed to replace the brakepads, but I didn't want to pay the $175 for the Rotora brand brake pads, so I did a bit of researching. I found this helpful thread. I will now quote user 'TeamInnovative' from the mr2oc.com site:
RBK024.05 FC8 380X35 (front)
Replacement pad size is HB609, thickness .572
Hawk part HB609-CERAM-.572 or Hawk Performance HB609Z.572
RBK024.04 FC6 355x32 w/2 piece rotor (front)
Replacement pad size is HB109, thickness is .710
Hawk Performance HB109Z.710
RBK024.03 FF4 355x32 w/2 piece rotor (front)
Replacement pad size is HB105 thickness is .620
Hawk Performance HB105Z.620
RBK024.02 (front), RBK027.01 (rear) FC4 330x30 w/2 piece rotor
Replacement size is HB193, thickness is either .610 or .670 (check you pads for reference)
Hawk Performance HB193Z.670 or Hawk Performance HB193Z.610 (this should be double checked)
I then found a very helpful PDF by hawk performance "469_4.pdf" is the file name, you can google it, but I'll attach the PDF below. Here is the relevant information. I measured the old pads and this was definitely the match.
Comparing the information that I gathered by physically measuring the pads I had, reviewing TeamInnovative's post, as well as this PDF, I was able to narrow down the Hawk part number that I would need to one of two possibilities. HB193Z.610 HB193Z.670
HB193Z.610 is a slightly thinner pad. The only ones that I could find of these were made specifically for Rotora calipers, which means they were expensive at over $130/pair, and there were limited options.
HB193Z.670 is a slightly thicker pad. There is an OVERWHELMING amount of OEM vehicles that came with brakes that used these pads. They are much cheaper ($25-$40), there are many more options, compounds, etc, they are easier to find, and if you need them a pair right away, this may be an option for you -- HOWEVER, they are too thick to fit into the calipers with the rotors (I didn't realize this when I first ordered them).
I ordered $38 Centric 30808100 (308.08100) and Rockauto sent me Stoptech Street pads (Centric is Stoptech's parent company). -- These pads typically go for about $65-70. -- After carefully and thoroughly researching to make sure that the pads were Asbestos free (lol), I put an air filter mask on my face, a safety visor and trimmed them down with a bench grinder.
Ghetto, cheapass method? Undoubtedly.
I spent ~$75 for the rotors & pads from the junkyard. I wasn't about to spend twice that for replacement pads. -- At the time I put my new, hackjob pads only on one side of each caliper (1 worn pad, 1 hackjob pad in each caliper). A week later, I checked and they had worn evenly, so I replaced the worn pads in each caliper with hackjob pads.
2.5 years later, each pad wore symmetrically.
Note: I initially ground the pads with a bench grinder because my car was on a lift at my friend's shop and a more urgent customer's car came in. I had to get my car out of there and I was very, very, very pressed for time. -- However, since the pads wore so evenly, I'm probably going to end up doing the same thing again.
So, switching from Rotora brakes to RL calipers, buying the brackets, and a new pair of 350z rotors is still cheaper than buying replacement Rotora rotors. There's also the option of switch my 7g Accord Sedan V6's knuckles to the 2004-2008 Acura TL Sport / TL-S knuckles which can accomodate the brembo calipers. This requires switching tie rod ends and upper control arms (well, really just ball joints). Doing this for under $420 would probably require me to wait for the good deal to come along. Worse comes to worse I revert back to stock calipers until I find some Brembo calipers. This will be my plan B.
So, looking at my old Rotora rotor, here's what I was able to measure:
330 x 21.93 x 48.16mm.
5x114.3, with the same 64.1mm inner bore that's common to most 5x114.3 hondas. (note: 48.16mm was a relatively crude measurement made using flat edge + 'eyeballing' the measurement)
I ordered a pair of the Durago BR901658. $56/pair. The rotors are are 5x112 instead of 5x114.3. However they've got a larger wheel stud, and they are drilled 16.65mm. Honda rotors are drilled 12.7mm for the wheel studs. So, despite the fact that these mini / BMW rotors are 5x112mm, the larger holes for the wheel studs allow the rotor to drop right onto onto our hubs without having to redrill them, however there is a bit of play.
. They were about 9.8mm thick. I sanded them down to about 6.5mm (rotor hat thickness is 6.7mm). I tapped them onto my hubs. So now, the rotor will remain centered once I torque everything down.
The rotor is 45mm in 'height', as opposed to the rotora's 49mm height. I purchased a bag of Grade 10.9, M12-1.25 flanged hex head screws that are 35mm in length from McMaster-Carr (p/n 95735A117). These 35mm flanged hex head screws will need to be shortened, however for the meantime, I just stacked washers under the head (see pic below). They should be shortened to about 29mm. I then stacked two, additional 7/16" grade 8 washers (totaling about 3.8mm thick) and I placed them between the Rotora caliper bracket and my steering knuckle. This did moved my caliper 3.8mm "outward", however, my 07-08 TL wheels provide enough clearance where this is not an issue.
Also, the rotors weigh within 2 lbs of my used, cracked rotora rotors. I didn't bother trying to get a more precise weight, because, for me, I didn't really have much of a choice with how worn my rotora rotors were.
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The rotor is 45mm in 'height', as opposed to the honda's typical 47mm in height. I purchased a bag of Grade 10.9, M12-1.25 flanged hex head screws that are 35mm in length from McMaster-Carr (p/n 95735A117) I then stacked two, additional 7/16" grade 8 washers (to total about 3.8mm thick) and I placed them between the Rotora caliper bracket and my steering knuckle. I had to shorten the flanged hex head screws from 35mm to about 29mm. Fortunately, my 07-08 TL wheels provide enough clearance where this is not an issue.
The discrepancy here was bugging me. That 47mm in height that I mentioned is incorrect. I had actually measured 48.16mm on my worn, Rotora rotor, and I had assumed that it was 47mm, much like a lot of the other Honda rotors. I believe that one of these brand new Rotora rotors is going to be
330x23x49mm. So that sheds light on why I needed 3.8mm in washers to get the caliper positioned properly.
The Rotora caliper is about 27mm wide. The BMW / Mini rotor's thickness of 24mm is a non-issue.
So, even though the bolts are M12, the 7/16" washers had a better fit. If one were to pick these washers up from home depot, I would suggest buying a total of 12 and stack 2 between the caliper and knuckle and keep 1 under the head of the bolt. The 35mm bolts should probably be shortened to about 29mm. However, I wound up just stacking washers for now. Good luck.
I've been driving my car every day with the Countryman rotors for about 1.5 months now. I didn't record the milage, but I've been driving a lot lately because I've been moving and traveling. Over 1500 miles.
There's no news to report other than everything working fine.
The procedure that I went through using the Brembo website has proven to be very useful. Got some other stuff in the works.
I want to rebuild these Rotora calipers. I am planning on removing them for a little while so I can take them apart and see if I can find some seals. I'm going to be running some TL Brembos in the meantime. One thing that I really like about these Rotora calipers are that they're radially mounted, instead axially mounted. This means that you could step up to a larger diameter rotor simply by using washers and longer bolts.
However, the downside to these calipers is that Rotora deliberately made them so that you had to run a thinner rotor. This narrows my options down considerably because there's not many rotors that are large diameter, yet also thin. The ones that I've found tend to be rear rotors.
Rotora Big Brake Kit & Replacement pads
