I'm not much of a brake guru at all and I've never replaced brakes on any of my cars in the past. I just called Acura and they quoted me at 280 for fronts, and 180 for rears, if I don't need my rotors serviced. I checked the rotors and my passenger rear has a metallic surface to it but its texture isn't different than any of the other rotors. Is that a ridiculous price for this or is it common? I installed suspension, exhaust, and cai myself so I figured brakes should be cake but if the job is only a few bucks more than what the pads cost then I'll let a mechanic do it. What do a nice set of rotors and pads cost? Not a set of spoon brakes or anything, but a decent affordable upgrade set. (I'm a poor college student). Sorry for the long post.

Cliffs notes: Acura wants 280 for fronts, 180 for rears. Cheaper to buy pads and do it myself or will other shops do it for much less? How much do a nice set of rotors(performance) and pads cost?

 

the price from acura sounds about right, a nice upgrade would be some brembo rotors and some ebc green or hawk pads depending on how much you want to spend.

 

If you've done suspension, brakes are even easier. Acura is trying to rip you off at those prices. Normal street pads should cost no more than $50 for each end (front or back). Replacing them is as simple as undoing the caliper bolt, pulling the pads off, and using a c-clamp to push the piston in (it should be out pretty far if your pads are worn down). Put the new pads on, torque the caliper bolt down, and you're down. Only cost is $50 for some pads and about 10-15 minutes of labor. You'll laugh once you do it, see how easy it is, and get mad at yourself for paying people to do it in the past.

If you need to replace your rotors, just get some AutoZone rotors for $30 a piece (or Brembo solids, but they're pretty much the same on the street). All you have to do to replace those is undo the caliper bracket. If you need the rotors turned, take them off, and take them to a machine shop to be turned. That should cost no more than $20 as well.


[Modified by Aron Parsons, 12:46 PM 2/20/2003]


[Modified by Aron Parsons, 12:47 PM 2/20/2003]

 

The rotors look ok but is it good to always resurface the rotors or will I be ok just slapping on new pads and doing nothing to the rotors?

 

brembo blanks --- $60 for front $50 for rear (if they even need to be replaced)
good pads --- $50-60 front $40-50 rear (will make the most difference)
Impact screwdriver ----$9 (for rotor removal)
can of brake parts cleaner --- $2.50
Do it yourself and spend the money you saved on some new brake lines. I think the most time consuming part of the whole operation is removing/replacing the wheels.

who got really pissed and laughed when I found out how easy and cheap it was(a shop wanted $360 to do just the fronts)

 

1/4" cobalt drill bit ---- $5 (in case the impact driver won't cut it)

Of course, I also managed to strip the threads on one of the 12mm (80 lb-ft) caliper bracket mounting bolt holes, and had to buy a whole reman caliper...

 

I did brakes and it is simple. I got 4 rotors from cobaltfriction and they are excellent quality. a little over a 100 shipped to me. If you think your rotors are still good you can always call places and see how much it would be to turn them. Just do all the work yourself so you don't get charged labor. Get the pad at autozone or something for like 40$ for all.

 

Breaks are difficult your first time since I had no reason being under the car not knowing what I was doing...I got it done though...Yeah its easy..

My total cost.


Rotors front and back...brembo...=$120.00 shipped for me..
Pads front and back=$70.00(they stop faster than a fatkid getting chased by police)

Trying spending a lot on the pads and less on the rotors...The rotors look great with my skinny *** falken rims..Slotted and drilled look great...

 

I just bought honda OEM pads for 120 for front + rear. I'm gonna get a price quote for the install from this local shop down the road. If I find it too pricey then I'll do it myself, its just hard to find time to work on the car. What are the repercussions of not doing anything with the rotor and just slapping the new pads on? Is it done at all shops when having a brake job done or is it extra $ on top of the standard job?


[Modified by 97RedTegGSR, 6:19 PM 2/20/2003]

 

took me 45 min to do the front. just get some nice pads, new fluid and brembo blanks if u need rotors. youll be happy with how much u save and how easy it is to do.

 

You might wanna upgrade your brake lines to.

 

If the rotors are not warped or grooved terribly, just swap the pads and be done.