2002-2006 Acura RSX Brake Job Tools and Torque Specs

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

A brake job on a 2002-2006 Acura RSX needs nothing exotic: a floor jack and stands, metric sockets, a torque wrench, a caliper piston tool and a micrometer. The numbers that matter are published for the base car: the front rotor is a 262 mm vented disc, 21 mm thick new, with a 19 mm minimum thickness, and the wheel nuts tighten to 108 Nm (about 80 lb-ft). Caliper and bracket bolt torques are not the same as the wheel nut value, so take those from the factory service manual rather than guessing.

How the RSX brake system is laid out

Every RSX runs four-wheel disc brakes. Up front is a single-piston sliding caliper over a vented rotor; at the back is a smaller single-piston caliper over a solid rotor. Brembo's catalog lists the rear calipers on the 2.0 as Nissin units with a 34 mm piston, and the master cylinder as a 15.9 mm Nissin unit. Brake assist comes from a conventional vacuum booster.

The important split is Type-S versus base. The two trims do not share front pads. The base RSX front pad is the same shape Hawk sells as HB418, which also fits the rear of the 2003-2009 Civic Hybrid and Civic Si. The Type-S front pad is the HB361 shape, shared with the Civic Si and S2000 fronts. The Type-S also carries a larger front rotor than the base car. Check your trim before you order anything: a base-car pad will not fit a Type-S caliper, and the other way around.

RSX brake specs at a glance

The Type-S front rotor and pad dimensions differ from the base figures above, so measure your old parts or match by trim when you shop.

Tools you need for an RSX brake job

• Floor jack and two jack stands. Never work under a car held only by the jack.
• Breaker bar and metric socket set. The caliper bracket bolts are often tight after years of heat cycles. A six-point socket is less likely to round them.
• Torque wrench. One that covers the wheel nut value of 108 Nm, plus the lower caliper bolt values in the service manual.
• Caliper piston tool. A C-clamp or spreader pushes the front piston back. If a rear piston will not push straight in, it has to be wound back with a cube-style wind-back tool rather than forced.
• Micrometer. The only way to know whether the front rotor is above the 19 mm minimum.
• Wire brush, brake cleaner and high-temperature brake grease. Clean the bracket abutments where the pad ears sit and lube the slide pins.
• Impact screwdriver. Honda rotors are often held to the hub by small screws that seize; an impact driver backs them out without stripping the heads.
• Bleeder wrench, clear hose and a catch bottle if you are flushing fluid. Use the fluid type printed on the reservoir cap.

Step-by-step: front pads and rotors

1. Loosen the wheel nuts on the ground, lift the car, and set it on stands.
2. Remove the lower caliper slide bolt and swing the caliper up, or remove both slide bolts and hang the caliper from the strut with wire. Do not let it hang by the hose.
3. Pull the pads and shims. Note where the shims and wear indicator sit so the new pads go in the same way.
4. To replace the rotor, remove the two caliper bracket bolts, take off the bracket, remove the rotor retaining screws and pull the rotor.
5. Clean the hub face of rust so the new rotor sits flat. Rust on the hub is a common cause of a pulsing pedal after a brake job.
6. Clean the bracket abutments, fit new pad clips if supplied, and lightly grease the pad ears and slide pins.
7. Install the rotor, bracket and pads, push the piston back, and refit the caliper. Torque the bracket and slide bolts to the service manual values.
8. Refit the wheel and torque the nuts to 108 Nm in a star pattern with the car on the ground.
9. Pump the pedal until it is firm before moving the car. The first press after pushing the piston back goes nearly to the floor.

The rear is the same idea with a smaller caliper. The difference is the piston: if it does not retract with steady pressure, stop and use the wind-back tool. Make sure the parking brake is released before you start on the rear.

What to replace together

Pads always go in axle sets. If the front rotors measure at or under 19 mm, or have deep grooves, replace them with the pads. Hawk's install guidance says to resurface or replace a rotor with scoring deeper than .012 in, and never reuse an undersized rotor. For a base RSX, the Hawk HPS street pads for the base RSX front are a direct fit, and the EBC BSD slotted front rotor pair for the RSX 2.0 pairs with them. Type-S owners want the Hawk HPS 5.0 Type-S front pads. For other options, browse our brake pads, brake rotors and brake hardware kits.

Track-day RSX owners who need more rotor and caliper than stock can step up to the Wilwood Forged Dynalite front big brake kit for the 2002-2006 RSX, which uses a 12.19 in drilled rotor. Check wheel clearance before ordering a big brake kit.

Bedding new pads

New pads need a bed-in to lay friction material evenly onto the rotor. Hawk's procedure for its HPS and HPS Plus street pads is 6 to 10 consecutive stops from 30 mph with moderate pressure, without dragging the brakes, then 2 to 3 minutes of driving to cool. Follow that with 2 to 3 hard stops from 40 mph, cool while driving, then park and do not hold the brakes on while they cool fully. Race compounds such as DTC-60 or DTC-30 use a separate, higher-speed procedure meant for the track. If the old pads were a different brand and the rotors are not being replaced or resurfaced, Hawk suggests sanding the rotor faces to remove the old pad deposit first.

Recall note: 2006 RSX brake booster

Before blaming a hard pedal on pads, check the recall. NHTSA campaign 13V-246 covers 2006 Acura RSX vehicles built from January 18 through August 12, 2006. The brake booster may not hold vacuum when the pedal is pressed, which reduces brake assist and makes the pedal feel hard. Dealers inspect the booster and replace it free of charge if needed. Acura's recall number is JA5. Run your VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup if you are not sure it was done.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the lug nut torque on an Acura RSX?

Brembo's catalog lists 108 Nm for the RSX 2.0, which works out to about 80 lb-ft. Tighten in a star pattern with a torque wrench, not an impact gun.

What is the minimum front rotor thickness on an RSX?

For the base RSX 2.0, the front rotor is 21 mm new with a 19 mm minimum. Replace the rotor once it measures at or under 19 mm. The Type-S rotor is larger, so check its own spec.

Do base and Type-S RSX use the same brake pads?

No. The base RSX front pad matches the Hawk HB418 shape and the Type-S front pad matches the HB361 shape. Order by trim.

What are the caliper bracket bolt torque specs?

Use the values in the Acura factory service manual for your model year. They are different from the wheel nut torque and different between the bracket bolts and the slide pin bolts, so do not use one number for all of them.

Why does my RSX brake pedal feel hard after a brake job?

A hard pedal is usually a booster or vacuum problem rather than pads. On 2006 models, check whether recall 13V-246 for the brake booster was completed.

Sources

1. Brembo Parts catalog - Acura RSX Coupe 2.0 - front rotor 262 x 21 mm, 19 mm minimum, 108 Nm wheel torque, pad dimensions, rear caliper and master cylinder sizes
2. NHTSA recall acknowledgement 13V-246 - 2006 RSX brake booster recall, build dates and remedy
3. Hawk brake bedding procedures (Maximum Motorsports) - bed-in steps, .012 in rotor groove limit, rotor sanding