larger rotors and calipers on 2004 quest

[madjusjor1]

I want to keep my 2004 Quest (don’t laugh) for a while longer. Does anyone know if it is possible to replace the calipers and rotors with larger ones to prevent rotor warp?

[artbasement]

I looked into the same issue, and gave up after a while. I can share my findings so far...

Compared to the Sienna and Odyssey, the Quest already has very large calipers, but the rotors are comparatively small. Even the other Nissans I checked use larger rotors and smaller calipers. I think they kept the rotors small so they would fit under all the smaller diameter rims the Quest came with.

It would be ideal to be able to fit the larger rotor (Murano, Maxima, Z, etc.) and keep the existing caliper. You would need an adapter bracket that moves the calipers radially further out. Looking at the caliper mounting, I didn't see how that was possible.

I don't think you'll easily find any larger floating calipers, and large fixed 4-pot caliper will not fit under the stock rims. That's as far as I got in my research and trial fitting. If you find a solution, please let me know.

[Quest2004]

I replaced everything. And I mean everything: rotors, pads, calipers, and rubber hyd lines (2004 with 130K). I couldn't find larger rotors available, so I went with drilled, slotted Power Stops and ceramic pads with new Centric calipers. The original brake set-up was SO problematic with SO many vans, I felt it best to go a different route. I couldn't pin it down to exactly what the cause was of soooo many brake problems..rotors?..pads?..calipers?...all of the above..combination of the above? All I knew is the factory set-up wasn't doing the job so I decided to try a different path...so I decided to start fresh against the advice of my local Just Brakes guy. So far, so good...but it is early...only 2K miles...but it is perfect so far...and no brake dust.

[hefftone]

Ceramic pads make huge difference in dust, and are supposed to be gentler on rotors at the cost of some braking performance.
I spent some time looking last night at brakes & rotors. I know that the 240sx guys and 1990s z-car guys upgrade their brakes, sometimes with a caliper relocation bracket.
Maxima's & Muranos use rotors with same dimensions but a 30mm increase in diameter. Buying loaded caliper is a quick easy way to get the right caliper and "torque member" (is caliper mounting bracket....then you may need the adapter/spacer as the suspension knuckle appears quite different.
An 1.2" increase in rotor diameter may necessitate 17 or 18" wheels.....but fortunately Nissan is consistent with wheel PCD,centerbores and even offsets.
I think without a whole lot more work than Maxima/Muranos rotor calipers, you could get to 4-piston Brembos but it would cost way, way more..... lol, but I have them on my Cadillac V1 and the pads changes are sweet!

[Quest2004]

Very true. I went the cheap and easy approach. I couldn't find anyone to mess with it (customizing) and I wasn't in the mood to jerk around with it myself. I wanted to find the best I could in a relatively cheap, quick, "off-the-shelf" solution. I have the 17" wheels on mine, so there probably is some room in there to get cute with it. Brembos would be nice, but the cost ran me off from further investigation.

[Quest2004]

Oh well ...back to the drawing board. These brakes are going to make me earn it.

It lasted maybe 2000 miles...shuddering again in the front. D*mn. That was with new lines, pads, calipers, AND rotors - and fairly high quality stuff too. We didn't do the brake booster, but I wouldn't think that would lead to this over time. Hmm...gotta figure this out...

[procycle001]

Please keep this thread going. I'm new to this forum and recently bought a 07 Quest with crappy braking that was described with shuddering and wimpy stopping power. Need a lasting solution to this problem. I'll do some further investigation and report back. Thanks.

[Quest2004]

I'm still debating what I'm going to do with this one. It stops OK, just shudders sometimes at higher speed stops. Very strange. I went with the higher quality rotors and calipers to avoid this. I'm wondering if the design of the booster contributes at all. Hmm. Debating whether to just redo the whole system - booster included.

[artbasement]

Shuddering is from warped, uneven, or contaminated rotors. It could be bad pads, uneven wheel bolt tightening, bad rotors, stuck calipers, or your driving style.

Compared to other vans (similar in power and weight) the Quest has bigger calipers and smaller rotors, so it is likely to warp the rotors more quickly. I did my brakes 3 years ago and have been happy since. Rockauto sold a cryogenically treated rotor for not much more than a standard one. I bought those with the van's warping tendency in mind and I drive conservatively. Hope this helps.

[Marcellus]

Ceramic pads deposit some dust and a layer gets baked onto the rotor itself. If you park the van for weeks, the pads might deposit a layer of this dust in the area where the pads rest on the rotor, causing vibration on braking as if the rotors got warped prematurely. You can usually drive a couple of days and it smooths out the ceramic layer on the rotor and the van will stop vibrating once again when you brake.

[far raf]

When I bought my 2005 van, the brakes were badly worn and I negotiated a deal where they installed the new Nissan OEM rotors and pads. 25k miles later the rotors warped. They still had some metal for turning, but I decided to install the new Brembo blanks and since then drove slower with milder acceleration and kept longer distance to the cars ahead. They did not warp since. Investing tons of money into an upgrade could probably get the same result, but this approach sounded cheaper and more reliable. This is a minivan anyway, though with guts.