ROTORS and some PADS

[Norg]

has any one used autozone rotors for the GD3? Or what brands do you guys think I should look into. The least expensive the better:D

[ekonetics]

It really depends on what kind of driving you do. I've always heard good things about hawk pads for daily driving. Another one for a little more aggressive driving that would be good are Ferodo DS 2500 brake pads.

http://www.ferodoracing.com/it/car_racing/ds_2500.htm

[manxman]

has any one used autozone rotors for the GD3? Or what brands do you guys think I should look into. The least expensive the better:D
Sorry that no one has any info. on the quality at Autozone. I have never even seen one of their stores in my area, but I know that there are some.. In this area, there are Kragen stores within a mile or two of each other. FWIW, I would NOT buy my brake rotors from Kragen.

[ekonetics]

I misread your question and just saw the pads part. I would go with stay away from Autozone rotors and pads.

Some good brands to look for are Powerslot, Brembos, Stoptech and DBA. Blank rotors shouldn't be too expensive.

[claymore]

My new honda pads from a local dealer were only about $30.00 so that's not too bad.

Check this forum there is a DIY on replacing them yourself an d how to remove the rotors in painting your rotors post.

[Norg]

Guys is there any truth to this, a person on another forum is selling Slotted rotors from an integra and says they interchange with the GD3?

[manxman]

Guys is there any truth to this, a person on another forum is selling Slotted rotors from an integra and says they interchange with the GD3?
I can't tell you "yes" or "no", but it is certainly possible. Most car makers share a lot of the same parts between various models in their line. I would ask the seller for all dimensions of his rotors, and compare those with the dimensions of the ones on your car. Also, the seller should give you a money-back guarantee based on his "interchangeable" claim. And remember that good new rotors really aren't that expensive from Honda or good parts stores. So your Integra guy should be offering a deal that is worth a little risk, and you have to force him into an agreement that presents as little risk to you as possible.

Buying anything from a forum member based on his description is the riskiest form of shopping. All brake rotors have specifications for the minimum rotor thickness allowed for use on a given car that is issued by the D.O.T. Brake mechanics routinely machine the surfaces of rotors during service to remove run-out (distortion). A rotor can only be machined a certain number of times before it becomes too thin, and unsafe.

So, is Mr. Integra selling used rotors? If so, how used? If you buy them, you will need to measure their thickness with a micrometer, or pay someone else to do it, and compare the measurement with the chart specs. for the car that they came from, just to find out if they are usable at all.

Does any of this really sound like a good deal?

[Norg]

Thanks for the reply, and seems like its not worth the risk. I will be replacing the rotors and pads tomorrow but OEM parts

[manxman]

Thanks for the reply, and seems like its not worth the risk. I will be replacing the rotors and pads tomorrow but OEM parts
Good choice! The Integra rotors might have been a good deal if your neighbor offered them for free because they were new, and he just wrecked his car. But buying from a forum member leaves so many things that can go wrong that it really isn't worth the effort on safety items like brake parts.

And my advice comes from someone who has been swindled in a buy from a forum member.

[Norg]

What product was that?

[manxman]

What product was that?
It was a DVD Camcorder sold by Dank on fitfreak. Information was intentionally withheld that would have prevented me from buying if the seller had been truthful.

More free advice- PayPal will only refund your money in a dispute if the merchandise did not arrive. If the seller lied about it or hid negative info., and you actually received it, too bad, it's yours now.

[Norg]

I'm very sorry to hear that, I never understand how people go about their day being a DIk!

[manxman]

I'm very sorry to hear that, I never understand how people go about their day being a DIk!
My experience wasn't that big of a deal- I just had to spend more money in buying the missing instruction book. The cost of the book and the camcorder came to more than the same device being sold new and complete on Amazon, so I got a small life lesson. And I was able to warn several people away from buying the motorcycle that the same guy advertised later on.

Worst part was, the mods and admins on fitfreak couldn't care less about misleading ads on the forums.

Around here, WE DO CARE.

[MzFiT]

brakemasters
07-09 Honda Fit front brake rotors and ceramic pads w S/H 85.00
these were cross drilled but they have C.D. and slotted for the same $
e-mail to kthai786@hotmail.com

since i put them on the Fit stops alot sooner with less pedal effort

[manxman]

Thanks for the info. MzFit-
Good illustration that you don't have to risk a forum buy on stuff from another car model.

[claymore]

$85.00 for pads and rotors that sounds like a real good deal. Do you get any squeaking from the ceramic pads?

[Norg]

:( I cant seem to get these 2 screws off to remove the rotor any suggestions?

[manxman]

Norg,
I don't remember which you have- GD or GE. If it's a GE, I will look up the front brake assembly in my Helm Service manual and see what it says about screw removal. LMK. This may be the same for both generations, since a lot of the parts are interchangeable.

[manxman]

Sorry man- the manual merely says "remove the brake disc flat screws" then "remove the brake disc from the front hub".

I am assuming that the screws are "stuck" and won't turn with a screwdriver. Probably glued in with something like LockTite to prevent vibrating loose in normal operation.

Suggestion- go to Ace Hardware and buy an Impact Screwdriver set- costs about $25. IIRC. These are hardened steel industrial driver bits with a holder that you smack with a big hammer to either loosen or tighten industrial fasteners. This is a kit with the driver and several sizes of Phillips and flat bits. I bought mine about 15 years ago and have had many occasions to use it on rusty or otherwise stuck fasteners.

[claymore]

For sure 100% you need an impact driver (or can borrow an impact gun)to get those screws out. Or if you have a dremel tool grind the heads off remove the rotors and they should be loose enough to take out by hand.

A tip on using the impact driver use the largest tip that will fit snugly into to screw head then use the impact driver to try and turn them in the direction to TIGHTEN them first. I know it sounds crazy to try and tighten them but it will break them loose. If you try loosening them the correct direction it may take a bunch of rapping on the driver to finally get them loose. I found this out by accident doing mine and tried it on the other side and it works a charm I must have hit the driver 20 times and still tight then hit it the wrong way and only two more hits and they were loose.

I'm not sure if you can access this but it has some more info in a DIY for them

http://wawa.net.au/ausjazz/viewtopic.php?t=38&sid=478486dc65e579660e0decc9821a8df6

[VillageIdiot]

brakemasters
07-09 Honda Fit front brake rotors and ceramic pads w S/H 85.00
these were cross drilled but they have C.D. and slotted for the same $
e-mail to kthai786@hotmail.com

since i put them on the Fit stops alot sooner with less pedal effort

That is good info.... I have had bad experiences with ceramic pads and even high performance pads that weren't ceramic.....On one car the pads were of much harder material and required more pressure than the rear drums with softer material causing me lock up the rear brakes and slide into the biggest buck deer I'd ever seen and down a steep slope and bend the lower A frame on a pristine Lincoln Town Car..... My guess is that the weight reduction of the drilled rotors is the reason for the lighter pedal pressure..... I have read test comparisons between stock performance cars and the same model that had been set up with ceramic brakes by a tuner and the stock brakes stop in a shorter distance than the ceramics.....The ceramics stopped shorter when hot after repeated stops while the stock pads faded..... You are the second person that has said the same thing about Brake Masters pads and rotors.... That is who I will get my brakes from if I ever need them.

[manxman]

I have the impact driver, but have not tried to remove my rotors yet. More good advice from claymore, who HAS done it.

Can't sleep John??

[VillageIdiot]

I haven't on the Fit but have done lots of others. What do you need to know?

[Norg]

got them guys drilled them out

[manxman]

got them guys drilled them out
Norg,
The following is not criticism, just a suggestion. The car was built with the screws holding the rotors on for a reason. I don't know that without the screws that you drilled out, you will have a problem, but if you do I won't be surprised.

This has been my philosophy about tools in 40 years as a mechanic and Mechanical Engineer: if the job that you are doing requires a special tool or tools to be done properly, and you are likely to need that/those tools again sometime again in your life, buy the tools. Yes, it increases the cost of the first job, but in the next job, the tools are free because they are yours. You can even loan them to friends to do the same jobs, and you won't have to buy them again. Main point: the job was done right. You didn't take the cheap way out, and leave your car in worse condition than it was in when you started.

Again, no criticism was implied, and I'm glad that you got the new brake parts on the car. I do hope that the missing rotor (disc) screws won't cause any future problems.

And after 40 years of this philosophy, you wouldn't believe my tool collection.

Claymore's suggestion to grind, or cut off the screw heads would allow you to remove the discs, and use Vise Grips to remove the screws, leaving the tapped holes ready to receive replacement screws. Of course, to follow that suggestion you would need a Dremel Tool. You will use that hundreds of times in the future.

Just take the remaining studs that you screwed out with the Vise Grips to a hardware store and buy replacements for a few bucks. It's too late now, and you will probably be OK without the screws. Just expect the unforeseen every time you do an automotive repair for the first time. Try to leave the car in the same condition that you found it, and left-over extra parts mean you screwed up.

Once again, no criticism is meant- just friendly advice. Commendations to you on being willing to do this work yourself rather than being a doormat for a car dealer's service shop.

[manxman]

Dang!! Am dese forumz helpfulll or whut?

[MzFiT]

i used a hand held spring loaded impact with #3 or #2? phillips head and a 2lb. hammer 2-3 hits and they unscrewed by hand no prob.and were able to use to reinstall the new rotor. the bolts on the back were also challanging (12mm i think) 3/8 dr. with a 12" pc. of conduit worked nicely!! keep in mind the hub and were the yellow paint dab is for reinstallation. I use my digital and take pix now especialy on a proj. that is complicated or taking longer than a day or two.

Manxman is right though about tools if you do not have the correct tools you can not do the job correctly. And it's less aggrivating, time spent on it.........

[VillageIdiot]

You wouldn't believe how small my collection is from loaning tools to friends..... I hate having to go out and hunt people down, but have no trouble telling them no after having to do so..... Of course in their minds I am the bad guy..... I did business with a fastener whole seller and replaced all of the chromed bolts and cross head screws on my old Harley with stainless steel allen head fasteners... They polished up and looked as good as chrome, didn't get scarred up, and the allen wrenches took up less room in my tool bag.... That may be the way to go when Norg replaces his screws.

[claymore]

Yep I was surprised at how cheap the impact driver was to buy if I remember correctly it was about $7.00 and came with about 10 different tips.

With or without screws have been debated to death on a bunch other forums and the majority feel that going without the screws is OK because the back of the rim holds the rotor in place and the screws are just to keep them there while the wheel is off.

If I had to destroy the screws to get the rotor off I would be OK not having them. But since they were still ok I put them back with a dab of anti-seize and just tightened them with a philips screw driver just snug and now they come out nice and easy and no worry about loosing them because the wheel holds them locked in.

You USDM guys are lucky only 4 to do but on ours with rear discs we have 8 of those little buggers to deal with. It sounds weird doing a few hits in the tighten direction first but lucky I found that out by mistake or I would still be there banging on the impact driver trying to get them out. It wasn't a fluke because I did it on the other 7 and two or three bangs wrong way then only two or three strikes correctly and they were out.

[VillageIdiot]

Prices for tools have sure dropped, I paid $15.00 for one in 1966 and tips were sold separately.... If you are to read post on other forums about what people don't like about Fits, the lack of disc rear brakes always comes up and I think you are the first person that has ever said anything negative about rear disc brakes.... I am OK with the performance of the drum but I have always preferred disc brakes to work on and hope I don't have to change the shoes on mine for a long, long time because the last time I worked on drums it was a bitch.... Maybe because it was on a one ton truck and expensive to buy parts for but I remember it as a frustrating experience and disc replacement is like falling of a log in comparison, it is easy and fast to do and when I hear what people are paying at dealerships and auto service centers for brake work it just astounds me.... When you need an impact driver there is nothing else that will do... There were Japanese motorcycles all over the place in the 60s with boogered up cross head case screws because people were trying to work on their own bikes with out an impact driver.

[Norg]

You wouldn't believe how small my collection is from loaning tools to friends..... I hate having to go out and hunt people down, but have no trouble telling them no after having to do so..... Of course in their minds I am the bad guy..... I did business with a fastener whole seller and replaced all of the chromed bolts and cross head screws on my old Harley with stainless steel allen head fasteners... They polished up and looked as good as chrome, didn't get scarred up, and the allen wrenches took up less room in my tool bag.... That may be the way to go when Norg replaces his screws.


Thats weird I replaced them with allen screws before I read this. Thanks guys for the help. I never had any problem with the screws in my Bmw before, the rotors would just come out.