Don't see anywhere the topic of brake pads have come up on the Beasts.

Just wondering what some of you have done on yours. I have done more brake jobs than Abraham had sons, but I'm one of those who don't venture out beyond what I know works much.

I currently run about (7) 10,000lb E450 super duty buses and have been using Wagner severe duty pads for almost 10 years.

Without starting the whole trial and error process up; Anyone have any input as to which works best? kevlar/metallic, titanium/carbon, ceramic, or some other material.

Seems the brake system was the weak link in earlier 'madas and QX's

All I can tell you is on my '04 QX56 they replaced my brakes under warranty, after that I never had any problems. I believe the '07 (maybe '08) models and newer have a larger brake set up that doesn't have the issues that the older models had.

This is troublesome news because as the following article states Nissan began offering a 'fix' for the brake issue to dealers in 2005 and I would have hoped it would have found it's way into production by 2006. Here's the info I have so far:

Armada’s, Titan’s and QX56’s

Brake rotor “warping” along with premature brake pad wear lead to what is known as “brake judder” or “steering shake”. This is caused by the pads “riding” up and down on the warped rotors – transmitting this into steering wheel “judder” or “shake”. Severely warped rotors will cause the vehicle to shake so violently that the driver’s ability to hold onto the wheel and steer safely can be substantially impaired.

The “OEM” (original equipment manufacturer) parts used in factory production of the 2004 (and some 2005) year-model Armada’s, Titan’s, and QX56’s were found to have one or more of the following customer complaints:

Steering wheel shake upon braking

Vibration in the foot pedal upon braking

Excessive noise/squeal/grinding sound upon braking

Premature brake pad wear

Premature “grooving” and/or “warping” of the brake rotors.

The manufacturer released a “TSB” (Technical Service Bulletin) outlining a “fix” for what they called a “brake judder” condition in calendar year 2004. The “fix” was comprised of some new parts and various procedures. Not withstanding this “fix”, many owners continued to complain that the brake problem continued.

About May of 2005, authorized dealers starting receiving parts for yet another “TSB” to “fix” the problem with the brakes. The “newest” brake kit (and accompanying TSB) was meant to be a permanent “fix” for the brake problem. We do not yet know the long-term effect of this newest “fix” (TSB).

A consumer can evaluate whether their Armada, Titan, or QX56 has the newest brake parts by a very easy review of the dealers most recent repair invoice(s). Look for the part numbers which will be listed below the repair work performed. The newest parts will contain the letter “z” within the part number on the brake pads, and also the rotors (brake discs).

I personally am not having any brake issues; I was just curious to know what compound the oem pads used and or if anyone knew of an aftermarket setup that is substantially superior to oem perhaps in both price and performance.

I ask because my front pads are getting about to the point where ai want to change them and I don't trust anyone other than myself to do this. Everything I care about (wife and kids) are riding on these.

You could go with the dealer pads, or I have had very good success with the Duralast Gold pads from Auto Zone. They also have a lifetime warranty on them, use them up and return them for a new set.

Not bad.