Brake Upgrade - Opinions?

[Ilya]

So, it's time for me to upgrade my brakes. I'm still running (I think) OEM equipment and my car just hit 58k and my rotors are warped or warping.

I will be going with a slotted rotor for sure to try and bump up performance a little. I haven't heard good things about drilled (heard they tend to crack more, etc.) so I will be avoiding those.

My plan is as follows:

Rotors - Not sure...I initially planned to get PowerSlot Cryo ones but they are like $700 for the set. Is there any good performing ones that are cheaper?
Pads - Hawk Performance Ceramic
Other - May some stainless steel lines (Goodridge)

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So, what is everyone's recommendation? I'd like a little bit more performance (I drove a G37x for a week while my car was in the shop and the factory breaks on that were great). I'd also like as little brake dust as possible from the pads.

What do you guys think? I'd be doing the work myself, so I'm willing to pay a little more for a good set.

[a.blanco0905]

Well, I'm going to try to save you some money by providing a link for a full set of rotors and pads (rears and fronts) for $169.00. Craig (pedsemdoc) says he likes them, Bodyguard has'em n loves them... pretty much everybody but Enigma loves them... I got me a set and I love them... lol...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0298786597

If you're not going to do this yourself, the going rate per axle to do this should be around $50, so about $100 to install everything. Don't let them rip you off. I paid $60 to have everything done and at a good shop!!!

Here's a lot of reasonably priced goodies from Tirerack along with the centrics "Z" uses on his m...

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/results. ... toModClar=

There's some "frozen" rotors that some members use, but they're like $150 each or something along those lines, but they're supposedly the best, save the G37 bbk. The G37 kit retails for around $1,500, good luck man.

[Ilya]

Thanks Blanco.

I have my own lift at home and such so I do this kind of work myself. Thanks for the link.

I just picked up that set. We'll see if I'm a lover or a hater lol.

[a.blanco0905]

No prob...

About the rumors, I really have no idea... since I know a lil' bit about cars everybody says the drilled rotors breathe better and the slotted rotors displace water better (or something like that) cant be that truthful (the rumors) if real expensive racing rotors (at $5k a set) from Brembo are drilled & slotted as well... I think it may be somethng like someone probably purchased a cheap set of crossdrilled/slotted at $169 (like some of us ) and installed them in a car with crazy horsepower, tracked them and obviously broke them, duh!?!?!? On a side note, like I told everybody, if you're not pushing crazy hp in our cars you really dont need those very expensive things, unless you dont mind paying for them and given the cars that we drive I know for a fact that most of us are able to afford "good" brakes but it really isnt necessary, it's more a subconcious mindset about driving an expensive car thinking you need X set of brakes... imo the ebay brakes (so far) are very good... if Craig hadnt found them, I would've bought the Centrics or looked around for some Raybestos which are good quality and have a rotor for everybody... from Civics to racing cars.

[Ilya]

I just picked up the set you linked. Thanks.

[a.blanco0905]

I just picked up that set. We'll see if I'm a lover or a hater lol.

Really? The ebay one?? I think you'll see the best bang for ur buck then.

[Ilya]

Yeah. That's all I'm looking for. Infiniti didn't do a good job on the OEM stuff. They are pretty weak. Hopefully this bring my braking performance closer to that of the G37 I drove last week.

[1M2NV]

I've had this set for a few hundred miles and absolutely love them. I did research and it seemed all but one person felt highly about them keep us posted

[pedsemdoc]

Ilya,
at my last oil change (around 45k) the dealer said i had a warped front rotor so i started looking...

i looked up the brakemotive set on several different car enthusiast sites as well as several of their eBay feedback notes--they have supplied a number of sets to a variety of makes and models--from domestic to BMWs, Mercs, etc.

i've been really happy with them thus far--got about 3k miles on them. they have stopped straight and true, even in a hard brake situation a number of times. No whirring/whooshing/squealing sounds + none of that nasty rust which plagued the oem rotors--they are still lookin' shiny!

i am not a crazy driver since it is my daily, but i ain't no p*ssy either so i can get it up to some decent speeds and have to do some occasional hard braking.

i think it is important to bed in any new brakes in, so after i installed mine i went out at night and took a long stretch of feeder road and did the break in procedure about 10-15 times.

i was little skeptical that something this cheap could be of a decent quality, but i have been pleasantly surprised--so i thought i ought to share my "find" with others. I hope these work out for you too.

Craig

[bbs350z]

my rotors are toast, theyre warped. imho such a small brake on such a fat assed car. im getting the g37 bbk soon

[a.blanco0905]

my rotors are toast, theyre warped. imho such a small brake on such a fat assed car. im getting the g37 bbk soon

Hey man, I really really thnk you should give these brakemotive brakes a shot... at $169 (SHIPPED) they're at least worth checking out, they're way heavier than OEM rotors btw and I just went to Houston where I had to do some hard braking in heavy traffic and they performed excellent... no feeling of cheapness, judder, pulling to one side, none of that... good straight stops. As time goes by I like these brakes more & more... oh ya, it finally rained when I was driving since I installed them and there's no rust on them... very clean & have an expensive look to them.

[Ilya]

I still think eventually I might end up going back to the old bread and butter. I found Brembo blanks for this car and I used to use Brembo blanks on the Maxima with KVR pads (man I wish they made pads for the M).

The reason being that slotted/drilled rotors wear the pads faster because when you brake, the rotors 'clean' the pads (hence the good stopping) ALL the time (each time they pass over the slots/holes). I don't know if pads will last long with these particular rotors.

Here are the Brembo blanks:

Front - http://www.importrp.com/product.php?pro ... =38&page=1
Rear - http://www.importrp.com/product.php?pro ... =38&page=1

Pair those with some nice quality pads like the Hawk Ceramic's and I think you might even have better braking, or at least same quality with improved lastingness (compared to this $170 set which is probably great but might not last a long time for reason above).

[fooitm35x]

The link to the front points to MS website - Microsoft Rotor 2011 Ultimate edition?

[Ilya]

Haha. My bad, I was doing work before. lol. Fixed.

[Firebirdv8350ci]

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/tech_ ... pers.shtml

Some very helpful info as far as brake upgrades go. They also offer kits for brake upgrades - pricey for my taste though.

[a.blanco0905]

^^^^The problem when buying "cheap" stuff from reputable places that usually deal more with higher grade stuff, is that sometimes they outsource the job to lesser quality companies and stick their name on the product... I'm not saying Brembo does this but many companies do this in order to get a share of that market... You know what I mean? and I want to re-iterate that I'm def not saying Brembo practices this but it could be a possibility.

About our ebay brakes possibly not lasting long, definitely a probability... After reading everybody's inputs on them that was my only beef with them, nobody really knows how long they're going to last. Hopefully they last long, if not I still think it's a good deal for the rotors alone (based on the quality of the metal)... push comes to shove & the pads end up being pieces of shaize and it's an easy fix: get this brake kit for the rotors only and get some name brand quality pads such as hawk or what have you... but let's not jump the gun yet...

P.S. Is "lastingness" really a word? lol...

[Ilya]

Dunno, but I'm putting a trademark on the word lol.

Yeah I agree. We will see.

Going to install this and see how it goes for sure. I do a lot of back road/spirited driving (especially in the summer cause I LOVE to drive with my windows down and out in the country the air is so fresh lol) so I'll definitely post a review.

[fooitm35x]

1. Who makes OEM rotors for our cars?
2. Brembo doesn't have M35x on their website - so how can we make sure their stuff will fit?

One of my rotors is warped - the car shakes when I break, especially on highway speeds... doesn't feel safe for sure...

[fooitm35x]

What about Wagner rotors and their ThermoQuiet pads?

[Ilya]

Got my brakes and going to do the install on saturday I think (just had my wisdom teeth taken out last week and recovery has been slow). I was told not to lift anything heavy till I'm healed cause lifting could rupture the sutures or what not and after bringing these brakes up to my room my jaw is hurting...hopefully I didn't set myself back. Anyway...



Is there anything I need to know about a brake swap on an M? How do the calipers work on these cars?

I haven't done a brake job in like 1.5years (1yr of this car and last 6 months on the Maxima). On the Maxima, the front caliper piston pushed in with pressure. The rear you had to twist and push in. How is the M?

[MOWellsinVA]

My brake kit from BrakeMotive arrived today. They were ordered on Saturday. Pretty quick shipping, considering the weight and that the shipping is free! I've checked with a copuple of shops that I use and both said their "policy" is not to install owner=supplied parts. I guess I'll keep looking for a shop that will take my money. It's been many years since I replaced a set of brake pads (on a 1973 Volvo 144), so I a little leery of doing it myself. I wish I knew a gearhead buddy who would help me for the price of a dinner, like Craig (pedsemdoc) did!

[Double E]

I've had luck with the dealer installing all parts I bring to them. Brakes included.

I'm in the camp of "don't spend the money" for the frozen rotors. I say so because I've got a set on there now that are warped.

A high speed to stop event isn't becoming wobbly (yet) but everyday driving is just an annoyance from warpage.

I'll be up for a new set in about 15 months, I think. I got about 2 years from the Frozen Rotor brand. I drive it pretty hard, but I did expect more life for the cost of them.

[a.blanco0905]

That ebay seller owes Craig and I some money yo... or at least a free kit, lol.

[Ilya]

lol.

So anyone got any tips for the install? I think I'll be okay, just wondering how to push the caliper cylinders in on these calipers.

[a.blanco0905]

lol.

So anyone got any tips for the install? I think I'll be okay, just wondering how to push the caliper cylinders in on these calipers.

I know u got a lift and everything but check about for some shops, who knows maybe you get $60 deal on the install like I did, especially in your condition...

[Firebirdv8350ci]

i'll pull up the procedure on AllData for you at the shop and post it here.
-V-

[Firebirdv8350ci]

Your vehicle has ABS/ Traction control therefore you want to be carefull compressing the caliper back and driving the fluid back into the ABS unit. Sometimes it results in a lot of money leaving your wallet and landing into mine. I don't want that to happen. I'm not 100% right now on the material your caliper piston is made out of and proper bleeding sequence right now, but will be sure to post it tommorrow (did i spell that right? ASE does not have a spelling certification..lol)

-V-

As far as brake upgrades go make sure that ABS/Traction/Stability control system is compatible with big brakes you are putting on. If it is not, it can become confused and sometimes unsafe in some instances. With big brakes the parameters loaded in to stock system might not be right.

[pedsemdoc]

lol.

So anyone got any tips for the install? I think I'll be okay, just wondering how to push the caliper cylinders in on these calipers.

you need about a foot long 1x6 piece of wood so that you can apply even pressure across the cylinders
you can use a big pair of channel lock pliers or a c-clamp to push them in

midway down this thread is a good picture of removing the calipers--with a piece of wood covering the pistons
post5573362.html?hilit=brake pad#p5573362

This thread has pretty good details about what tools you'll need and a few tips:
post5123765.html?hilit=brake pad#p5123765

Craig

[Ilya]

Yeah that's what I used to do on the Maxima. Big block of wood + C Clamps. Sounds very similar to the Maxima so I think I'll be okay.

I will call around and see if any shops will do it for $50 or so if I bring my own parts in.

[EniGmA1987]

lol.

So anyone got any tips for the install? I think I'll be okay, just wondering how to push the caliper cylinders in on these calipers.

the right size C-Clamp works wonders. Ive always used them