brake pad & rotor replacement / tire size

[lizardrocket]

Couple of questions... we have just been told that we need to replace our pads & rotors, for which we will be charged over 1500. We have always done this ourselves on our other vehicles, but I was wondering if there are any oddities with the infiniti that make this a difficult diy. Usually, rotors/pads are very basic diy, but all other vehicles are chevy, so I don't want to get in over my head. Second question is about tire size... we bought the car used and the previous owner had replaced the rims with momos, and instead of buying the stock size rims, which I think were slightly skinnier on the front, he bought all the same size rims. however, when he replaced the tires, he bought original sizes. the result is that the front tires look small for the rim. i would like to run the 245's on the front as well as the rear so they will look right on the rim, but am not sure about tire clearance. we previously went slightly too wide on our yukon front tire which resulted in a slight tire rub in corners, which was not awful, but I don't want to do that with this car. Any idea if there is enough clearance in the front to allow for the slightly wider 245's? thanks -- actually think i found the answer to the tire ?... since the 245's are slightly taller i am guessing this may confuse the vdc
Modified by lizardrocket at 5:39 PM 9/14/2006

[ezflow]

Couple of questions... we have just been told that we need to replace our pads & rotors, for which we will be charged over 1500. We have always done this ourselves on our other vehicles, but I was wondering if there are any oddities with the infiniti that make this a difficult diy. Usually, rotors/pads are very basic diy, but all other vehicles are chevy, so I don't want to get in over my head. Second question is about tire size... we bought the car used and the previous owner had replaced the rims with momos, and instead of buying the stock size rims, which I think were slightly skinnier on the front, he bought all the same size rims. however, when he replaced the tires, he bought original sizes. the result is that the front tires look small for the rim. i would like to run the 245's on the front as well as the rear so they will look right on the rim, but am not sure about tire clearance. we previously went slightly too wide on our yukon front tire which resulted in a slight tire rub in corners, which was not awful, but I don't want to do that with this car. Any idea if there is enough clearance in the front to allow for the slightly wider 245's? thanks

Is this a dealer giving you a quote? If so, an independent could be a lot cheaper. There are links as well as other steps on how to DIY on other G forums as well. I have not done mine yet, but the procedure looks straight forward. Not too different than most any other car near as I can tell.Order parts from http://www.tirerack.com, etc. and do the work could save you a good 50% off that quote. Depends on the grade of parts you want. But even one notch better than OEM should not be bad at all.

[Q45tech]

A QUALITY INDEPENDENT will only use oem pads and rotors so the parts costs should be the same with lower labor reflecting lower overhead.

The G braking system was designed to beat BMW [in magazine tests] as such it wears fast...........harder pads and harder cast iron rotors [noisier] may extend life at the cost of reduced stopping distance performance especially in wet conditions.

But even one notch better than OEM should not be bad at all. ??

Better in what way is the problem

[ezflow]

A QUALITY INDEPENDENT will only use oem pads and rotors so the parts costs should be the same with lower labor reflecting lower overhead.

The G braking system was designed to beat BMW [in magazine tests] as such it wears fast...........harder pads and harder cast iron rotors [noisier] may extend life at the cost of reduced stopping distance performance especially in wet conditions.

But even one notch better than OEM should not be bad at all. ??

Better in what way is the problem

With regards to the independent mechanic, that's simply not true. Many will allow you to bring in your own parts for installation. Does that mean they are not QUALITY mechanics? I doubt it.

There is a list at tirerack.com (using them for an example) of independent mechanics who install anything they sell, OEM or otherwise.

Only the dealer will typically not install anything but OEM, and the same is likely true for many chain shops.

And there are speed shops with independent mechanics who will install the exotic as well as stock hardware. Of course, and they charge based on a given rate for a given installation time. Nothing new there.

As far as the 'notch above OEM', I was only giving an example. You can purchase parts designed to last longer but give the same performance as factory (which in this case the performance is better than most production cars). But you pay more for it.

You just have to do the homework.