aftermarket rotor/pad recommendations

Shocks, springs, sway bars, coliovers, bushings, brakes, wheels, tires - This is the place to discuss G-Series suspension modifications!
levrac13
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2006 2:24 pm
Car: 2003 G35 sedan

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I have a 2003 G35 sedan and am about to replace the rotors and pads. Does anyone have any recommendations for longer life of these parts? I am considering going with Frozen rotors and Hawk pads. Any other brand I should be looking at and should I expect a significantly longer life with these changes? The car is not driven hard. Thanks in advance for any advice.


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infinititech1
Posts: 833
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2006 1:47 pm

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well first off the front brakes on the 2003-2004 sedans sucked...they wore really really fast. we have cars come in with 16k on them and have the replace the rotors cause they are already out of spec. pretty much anything you buy will last longer than the pads and rotors that came on it.

zippysedan
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2006 6:03 pm
Car: 2005 G35x sport tuned suspension

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Infiniti, or rather Nissan, has really left us hanging when it comes to brakes. Cheaper to litigate. They settled a class-action lawsuit covering '02-'04 G cars because their pads wear out very quickly. The owners of those model years merely got the factory warranty (36K miles) extended to their pads and rotors. Guaranteed crap. Our part numbers are the same, we just don't get the guarantee. Idiots. They sold sooooooooooooo many G35s (half their cash volume, right?) and I dont think they can afford to piss us all off like that. Notice your rims, esp. the front, are always dusty? Yeah. My car has 13,500 miles on it and the pads are paper thin. I also had to get my rotors turned because of the taxicab squeal from their crappy, chalk-like pads.

Rather than fight "city hall" to get my crap guaranteed too, I tried a low-cost option, shot in the dark. I figure they can't really get much worse than they are right now, the guy on eBay I got them from has a good reputation, and they cost a little over half the stock front system cost for 4 wheels of slotted drilled rotors and pads. They are called R1, and there's a couple similarly priced competitors too. They all use the stock rotors too btw.

Like the man said, I think pretty much anything will work better. Oh yeah these are zinc coated too.

Q45tech
Moderator
Posts: 14365
Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2002 3:19 am
Car: 1990 Q45 342,400 miles 22 years ownership with original engine
1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl

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In order to get an extremely fast ramp up in friction during the first 0.5* second of application and to try to compensate for the weak leg muscules and slow reaction time of typical average male/female owners they used brake assist pads.* 0.5 sec composed of 0.2 to lift foot off throttle and 0.3 from the instant brake pedal is touch until the brakes respond!These type pads wear fast to do their job. IN REDUCING BRAKING DISTANCES BY 10-20 feet compared to convention slope pads.

When you are traveling 88 feet per second [60 mph] you may travel 26-30 feet before conventional pads are fully engaged at maximal friction.

Luckily changing pads usually doesn't lengthen panic stops by more than 15-25 feet.

Not sure the average owner can differentiate in 20 feet braking without actual measured tests............they feel ok but they never bother to test until they rearend someone or a tree or just run off road..........luckily the mind adapts eventually.

OEM pads must not require more than 40 lbs of pedal pressure to certify whereas aftermarket may require more 50,60,70........less important if you have strong legs [light women?]

"Total stopping distance consists of three components:

Reaction Distance. First. Suppose the reaction time is 1.5 seconds. This means that the car will travel 1.5 x80.67 or 120.9 feet before the brakes are even applied. Brake Engagement Distance. Most reaction time studies consider the response completed at the moment the foot touches the brake pedal. However, there is an additional time required for the pedal to depress and for the brakes to engage. This is about .3 second, adding another 24.2 feet. Physical Force Distance. Once the brakes engage, the stopping distance is determined by physical forces (D=S²/(30*f)) as 134.4 feet.

THIS IS WHERE THE G35 FAST WEAR PADS EXCELL IN SAVING 15-20 feet!

Total Stopping Distance = 120.9 ft + 24.2 ft + 134.4 ft = 279.5 ft Almost half the distance is created by driver reaction time. This is one reason that it is vital to have a good estimate of speed of human response. Below, I give some values which I have derived from my own experience and from an extensive review of research results. "

http://www.visualexpert.com/Re....html

Don't make the mistake of assuming racing/performance pads will shorten the 60-80 mph single panic stop braking distances!


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