Check online rotors most vendors will give a thickness choose the thickest .advance Auto,autozone,rockauto,pepboys etc .

 

If they turned them once and it's doing it again you can be sure that one of the hubs is bent. Ask them to do a lateral run out test on each rotor on the vehicle and any hub with atleast .001 inches of lateral run out needs to be replaced.

Or you can do it yourself, there are how-to's on youtube for a lateral run out test and you can get the dial indicator from harbor freight.

 

What are reliable "brand" rotors and should I stay completely away from anything other than "brand" rotors? Acura dealer has already said car needs new rotors-that's the dealer that resurfaced them originally. I have an appointment for a second opinion this coming Tuesday

 

Not sure which companies make rotors for your car, but the consensus is Brembo and Centric are two well regarded brands.

 

Over the years I've bought both Brembo & Centric & was happy.

I also got some from Napa which I can't remember the brand. They were missing the little threaded holes that you would use to push off a rotor that's stuck to the hub. But as far as pulsating I didn't have a problem with them.

 

Ok so it looks as though this is leaning more towards bad rotors than anything else. The Acura dealer who resurfaced the rotors looked at it recently and recommends new rotors. There was 43,475 miles on it when resurfaced and there are now 60,173. New front brake pads were also installed when the rotors were resurfaced. Acura quotes OEM Honda rotors are at $554.20 and aftermarket Akebono rotors are quoted at $339.20 so over $200 less than OEM.

Tomorrow I'm getting the car looked at again by the store where the new tires were installed. They also do brake work & alignment work etc. After that I plan to have the Honda dealer look at it and give me an analysis & estimate so that will be 3 opinions. I'm also asking all of these places to give me OEM and aftermarket quotes along with the name of the aftermarket company. I figure everyone here has a pretty good idea of what's ok - OEM or aftermarket and if aftermarket then what brand is best.

In your opinion are aftermarket rotors worth the $200 savings or am I asking for trouble. If you feel aftermarket are fine then do you have a recommendation for brand of aftermarket rotors?

Thanks in advance for your reply
Tim

 

There is no special Voodoo or black magic put into OEM replacement rotors, just good quality metal, errr, and even then it can be suspect compared to the factory original rotors. If anything, I think Brembo and the higher end Centric blanks (blanks as in not drilled and/or slotted) are a cut above the OEM rotors.

 

Akebono is a respected name; I don't think I'd hesitate using their rotors. I've got Akebono pads & Centric rotors on my Saab...

Burn the rotors in like the procedure I linked in post #2. Most likely the shop won't have time to properly do this. I'm lucky in that I'm not really in the "city" as much as suburban and countryside; so I can find roads to do that...

 

When a car vibrates when applying the brakes it is definitely the rotors. If you are hard on brakes rotors will warp quick which seems to be your issue.


I have used Akebono setup since my car had 12000 miles on it because the OEM setup was garbage. I drive a little faster than others and mine kept warping. I have not had one problem with the new setup and have been on them for over 150k. Brake setup is completely up to the owner. What suits them best. If you are looking for a faster stop search for more aggressive setup (Akebono). If you are looking for style drill and slotted which helps with heat distribution. If you are the normal everyday driver find a set not too cheap and reputable. When I do brake jobs for others (who are regular drivers) I use a set that I pay $250 for which gives me the brakes and rotors and have not had one complaint. I have used the company for over 10 years and they stand by there product with lifetime warranty.

 

Both my 99 Accord and my wife's 00Accord are running Raybestos rotors. Hers has semi metallic pads while the 99 is running Ceramic pads (Wagner TQ's). No complaints out of either set up. The Raybestos rotors were about 3 bucks more than the Centric brand. I have a pair of those on my Geo Prizm, and they're slightly warped after 4 years. It's used mostly in the winter, or as a back up car for my wife, but sometimes I'll make a beer run in it, just to excersize it.