Hey guys,
It’s that time - time to replace my brake pads, parking brake, & potentially rotors! I won’t be certain on the rotors until this weekend, but I believe the are the stock rotors that came with the 2017 RC-F. This is my DD and every now & then I drive it about 4-6 hours (round-trip total) East for work.

Please share any part-specific recommendations and/or where you guys get your parts from! Thanks

 

OEM parts here. Tried other brands like project mu(pads), StopTech, Textar, centric, etc. previously on my IS-F.
I purchase a lot of OEM parts from Prestige Lexus of Ramsey in NJ.

 

My Corvette came with Brembos and I could not stand the dust and noise. I put on the Powerstop Z26 ceramic/composite and no more dust or noise. Probably will put the same on my RCF this winter. Price on these are very reasonable.

 

We've done a lot of Brembo OE Rotors, we have Centric ones too but they're more expensive.

For pads, Toms racing is our best seller.

-Josh

 

Use Toms Performer pads. Do not go original, those pads are so dusty and noisy. Check your rotors and see if they can be reused. They are hefty so they can withstand a few sets of pads. Have them resurfaced if they are not perfect. Always try to do your brakes before the wear sensor is sheered. The brake sensors can be reused indefinitely as long as your brake light has not been triggered yet. Gently pop them off and attach to your new pads. If you have a brake light you'll need a new set of pad sensors. I found a huge help and that is to order the brake parts kit from rock auto. It was less than $20 with shipping where a lot of sources can be up to $100! Very, very, easy job to do with the brembo sets. They are designed to be easily serviced on the track which makes them good for the DIYer. Pro Tip: research the jacking points before lifting the car, The RCF has specific jacking points.

 

Thanks for all this information dude, this was very awesome to read! So yes the brake light has come on - which actually means what? When you mentioned ‘replacing the brake pad sensors’, do you happen to have a part number and/or a link to the product from a third-party vendor?

Lastly - how does one actually go about replacing the parking brake? I didn’t even think about this until now.

 

Running Stop Tech Z23 like them and brake dust is so much less than OEM. Project Nu is good too I had those before my Z23 but they are more expensive. If daily the car with here and there spirited driving, Z23 is good

 

Toms Performer or Endless MX72 are the benchmark for quality aftermarket pads on this platform. These are both always highly recommended. The Power Stop pads are a favorite "budget" option if you don't mind giving up performance.

Rotors usually last at least 2 sets of pads, and depending on driving maybe 3 sets. Most usually go with Brembo rotors from your favorite vendor. If you're chasing performance though, both Figs and RR Racing offer nice 2-piece rotors options.

As far as the brake pad wear sensors, these are a super simple design where when the pads get worn down a small wire is physically cut by the rotor. The brake light basically comes on when there's no longer continuity on at least one corner. There's no way to repair them, you just replace them. Luckily these days they only cost $10-20 each from places like rock auto, so it's really not a big deal. Back when these cars were new, the only option was new sensors from Lexus, which cost $100 each, so it was a bigger deal back then when they tripped.