I use the #4 phillips from this set with my impact wrench to remove them:

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece...set-67881.html

With a 20% coupon, you can get the set for ~$10. You'll literally never have to dick around with these or any other high-torque screw again.

I always re-install hand tight with a phillips.

 

i have NEVER been able to get them off any of my hondas. they always strip and i end up having to drill them out
what a ridiculous and terrible design, and one that is guaranteed to ALWAYS end in frustration
my car had three thousand miles on it and they were rusted on and impossible to remove. had an impact, instanlt destroyed the screw head. f@#k these things. NEVER put them back on once you get them out. i can't because they have corrosion welded themselves into the hub holes. 3k miles, garage stored. awesome!

 

lol I was wondering if these damn things were really necessary. I always put them back but they always get ruined. Not this time!
My trick is 1. Heat the screws 2. Use dremel on the screw head making a deep straight line so I can use a flat head. 3 I have that impact screw driver you hit with a hammer and use that to loosen the screw by hitting the driver with hammer while forcefully turning the screw counter clockwise....(chisel idea works great if you don’t have the impact screw driver)

 

If ever there was a time to use anti-seize compound on the new screws.

 

while I've had factory screws rust and be difficult to remove , I've never had an issue with them once I got them out and lubed them with anti-sieze, they remained easy to service ever after on all of my vehicles. Don't let them get to the point where they are impossible to remove.

 

A vendor on Amazon sells stainless steel Honda brake rotor screws. Not expensive at all.

So if you want to keep these screws in place (you certainly don't 'need' them), antiseize is a good solution if the screws are still serviceable after their extraction. But if you need to buy new ones, might as well buy stainless.

 

They're kinda cheesy and difficult to properly tighten. But I do use them. I believe they are just philips head (not JIS).

In this case, stainless is advantageous, yes.

 

I've read they're only used on cars for the manufacturing process, assembly line, etc. ...for ease of assembly and so rotors don't fall off.

 

If that were the case, it would be cheaper to use some reusable method.

Putting on ONE lugnut to hold the rotor against the hub is faster (cheaper) than fastening using 2 screws.

The lug nut can also be re-used (cheaper).

They could also eliminate sourcing, inventory process, and warehousing and transportation expenses for the set screws (cheaper)

This method would allow them to eliminate the machined threads from each hub (WAY cheaper).

Even if Honda used 2 lug nuts for force distribution...its still faster. And its still reusable. And it still reduces their inventory. And it reduces machining processes.

Despite all that...they're still using set screws.

So...it would be a very strange decision to use set screws only for an assembly benefit.

The set screws are there for a reason. Maybe to prevent accidental piston pushback during brake work. Or for some other designed reason.

Honda sees them as being necessary enough that they've set up all their plants across the globe to buy, transport, quality test, and use the set screws. They probably bought robots JUST for the set screw install. And they've added a machining process to all their hubs.

In comparison...y'all toss them after 2 seconds of thought brings you to the conclusion that, "meh. these seem useless".

Lol. I'm not saying the car will fall apart without them. But...every part on the car is there for a reason. It's probably a good idea to find out what you're eliminating.

 

Disc runout would be fun to check without screws.