Cross-Drilled and Slotted Rotors, Akebono Pads

[Lokim]

Hey everyone. I will need front brakes on my 94 Q in the next few months, and was checking out my options for performance brakes. I was thinking 300ZX brakes, but the guys on the forum here talked me out of it. I do plan to drive the car kinda hard, though, so I am still exploring my options.

I can get a set of 4 cross-drilled and slotted Royalty rotors and front and rear Akebono ceramic pads (the Benz crowd loves 'em) for around $350. The calipers are fine, but the pins and bushings need replacement, and that will cost another $40.

I was curious what everyone thought about the setup I have in mind. Those dual piston calipers can sure put the squeeze on! I do realize that I lose friction surface by getting the drilled and slotted rotors, but with as well as the factory brakes perform now my concern lies more in how many hard stops I can make back-to-back rather than getting the absolute shortest stopping distance. I would rather have a 10ft increase in stopping distance and make a 100-0mph stop 15 times in a row than have my brakes fade after 5 or 6 really hard stops.

Let me know what you think...

[qship96]

I would skip the drilled/slotted rotors and purchase centric premium rotors{ cheap at tirerack.com or get the factory rotors.......difficult to impossible to have the drilled/slotted rotors machined{turned} when they eventually warp

[Q45tech]

Drilled and slotted are do it yourself [if you want perfection].

Giving up the metal [weight-mass] of the drilled and slotted just wears pads faster [significant] and allows the warp to occur faster [not very significant say 5%].

[Lokim]

Drilled and slotted are do it yourself [if you want perfection].

Giving up the metal [weight-mass] of the drilled and slotted just wears pads faster [significant] and allows the warp to occur faster [not very significant say 5%].

I've heard the ceramic pads last considerably longer than semi-metallics do, so I was hoping that would offset the additional wear of the slots and drilling. The real question is, will this improve my braking performance by an appreciable degree? I would rather have 20% better braking and do my brakes every two years...

[Infinitiguy19]

Sometimes faster wearing brake pads and tires are the best as they provide the best grip.

[Q45tech]

OEM pads are the best compromise and the only pad compounds that are actually tested to minimize noise and stopping distance on specific models.

After market pad companies just slap on their secret sauce pad compound to an oem purchased metal backing plate [size, shape to assure fit].

Every pad contains a MIXTURE of metal particles [floor sweeping scraps] and ceramics.

The question is which company sell enough to pay for unique million testing, not to mention 1/4 million just to design and optimize acoustics of shims.

[Q45tech]

Every aftermarket compund starts life as a proposed product for an oem model, Since only one is selected the other 9 are repackaged and sold as aftermarket [aka performance pad].

Luckily matching wheelbase and weight works ok except for noise and the finer points of braking.

[djwarner]

I bought a new 2005 Ford Escape and was delighted when no brake dust appeared. 62K miles later, the service tech caught front brake pads were approaching the wear limit. When I okayed the brake job, they found the rotors were worn below turnable limit and needed to be replaced.

Whenever things are designed to rub against each other, standard design practice it to have one surface significantly softer than the other. By going to a ceramic brake pad, the hardness was too close to the rotors, wearing both.

[qship96]

I currently have 54,000 miles on front oem pads, and 78,000 miles on rear oem pads, and both still have plenty of life left..........obviously the factory pads are well matched to size/weight of car and I anticipate traffic well.

[Q45tech]

Unfortunately the newer oem pads for 95-96 [no sensors] are no where near the stoppers as the 90-93 or 94 compounds. But even the 90-93 pads last TWICE as long as the oem new series 90 compounds. [Which haven;t been available for 10 years.
We used to be proud when our front pads wore out in 16,000 miles, a mark of really good dusty compounds that matched the 160 treadwear index of our performance tires.

That way you got to replace tires, rotors, and pads all at the same time.

[DeatschWerks]

If you are looking for improved braking performance, I'd forgo the cross-drilled or slotted rotors. ...unless you like the bling, then by all means! I have had good luck with the TireRack centric premium rotors that were mentioned previously, but this is on a light-weight race car. Still, I'm quite hard on the brakes and use an aggressive, high temp range pad.

The benefit of using a good ceramic pad, is they do dust less, the dust they do emit is less corrosive and they are generally a more comfortable pad (smooth initial bite and quiet)...but you get those benefits by sacrificing stopping distance. Not a lot, but noticeable if you are ever in a situation where you need to stop 15-20 feet shorter.

Also, just because a pad is semi-metallic, doesn't automatically mean it is going to outperform a ceramic pad. Like many parts, there are quite a few options out there. If you are happy with the OEM pads (or wanting to try the OEM pads) and they aren't that expensive from Infiniti, stick with them. If you want a little more bite, try the Hawk HPS...but you'll have to brake out the soap and bucket every couple of days if your commute is more than a few miles.

[elwesso]

Ive had a lot of people drive my Q and say how impressed they are that I "only have hawk HPS pads" on my car...

Probably 20k miles so far and they probably have half life left, and thats multiple track days.

[Lokim]

It seems like the consensus here is that the Hawk pads are the best performance-wise, and the Centric Premiums are the best rotors as far as longevity. I think that is a fair compromise, as turning the rotors even once will save me lots of dough. Thanks for all the input! I still encourage discussion on the topic, however...

[elwesso]

i would actually say the brembo blank rotors are probably the best for longevity.. I have about 40k on mine, have only turned them once and I have not had any vibration or anything negative in the last 20k easily.....

[Lokim]

At the risk of sounding cheap, the Centric Premiums are $25 less per rotor and have had good reviews, so I think I'm gonna stick with the Hawk HPS pads and Centric Premium rotors.

[Q45tech]

What I use: Premiums and oem pads [for noise and cold/wet stopping].

Always remember to replace shim kit at least every other pad replacement as the acoustic properties change with age.

[qship96]

unfortunatly, Nissan really puts the screws to you with the price of the shim kits........$60-70 for a few tin clips and rubber coated alloy shims{which should sell for $8-12 MAX|.....funny that this junk actually costs more than the brake pads!!!!! PURE profit for Nissan!

[Lokim]

Anybody have an opinion on irotors? I found a new set on craigslist. The guy is taking bids for the set of 4, and if I can get 'em for the same price or less than the factory style, I might snag 'em... Quick, before they get away!

[DeatschWerks]

Anybody have an opinion on irotors? I found a new set on craigslist. The guy is taking bids for the set of 4, and if I can get 'em for the same price or less than the factory style, I might snag 'em... Quick, before they get away!

I might be a little late to the dance, but if you can get them for a decent price that compensates you well enough to try something new, it wouldn't hurt to try them. You wouldn't be out a lot of money if they aren't satisfactory and you'll know for the future (and the rest of us!)

[Q45tech]

Shims are designed to match oem pads and oem GRADE of cast iron used in rotors.
Unfortunately the million of engineering time gets added to shim cost divided by 50,000 units of production so shims get assigned an extra $20 per set over and above cost + inventory and profit.
Everytime they change shims the process gets to start over. Luckily the backplate is the same 90-96.

http://www.wolverine.cn/files/pdf/shim.pdf

[Lokim]

Well guys, I found these (http://www.irotors.com/storefrontprofil ... =232919715) on CL by my house, and they were brand-new, still in the box. I paid $130 for them! Now to get pads...

I'll let you guys know once I get 'em on the car.

[Justin88na]

I have used iRotors and they are fine. Just take in mind, that they are just drilled blanks. Their prices aren't bad either. After a lot of research and use, other than the standard rotor, I would recommend a slotted rotor. Drilled only reduces the strength of the rotor and reduces the life of it due to warpage.

When it comes to pad compound I would either go with Hawk's or Axxis pads. I have had amazing results with the Axxis Metal Master pads (which are now PBR) on both my Q45, Z31 and BMW 525it. They will dust with the first couple hundred miles but after that, the dust reduces a bit.