Need a smidge of advice...

[Loki]

So here's my deal: I've had a slight steering wheel shake for a long time, but it's seemingly gone down a TON in the past month. Decided I need new pads and rotors real damn soon. FR rotor has a bunch of tiny tiny what look to be cracks in it, and I imagine the FL does as well. Both pads need to be replaced, and the FR caliper might be sticking, unsure as my mech hasn't completely checked that out yet. Lowest quote I got for replacing the front rotors and pads was around 217 or something like that.

Now, since I'm messing in this area, I was thinking of finding myself some Q45 rotors and calipers to install, or possibly some Z's if I can find some cheap enough. Most Q45 fronts I've seen would come out to around the same as the mech's bill anyway. Since I'm so painfully newbish to this area, I'm kind of unsure which would be better, whether it be getting new parts installed or installing some old parts myself. Whenever I head to the mech's I'm going to inquire as to the pads and rotors they'd install, but which option would be better? I know the Q's have more stopping power and all but I'm real unsure about the new parts.

I was thinking of just having rotors/pads replaced and getting some Q/Z calips later, but that'd be damn near 3-400, and why bother if I can get it all with one purchase of some Q parts, eh?

Thanks as always guys. This may end up being my first real mod to my poor broke 240 :p

[AZhitman]

I'd say get OEM rotors, rebuild your own calipers, replace the pads, and save a TON of cash.

[Loki]

What would entail the rebuilding of my calipers? Taking em all apart and cleaning them?

[AZhitman]

http://www.240sxTech.com

[cmkelly]

I've also wondered about the "better stopping power" with Q45 or Z rotors and calipers. At some point aren't the tires going to lose adhesion to the asphalt and start to skid anyway? Will bigger rotor reduce this factor or increase it? I can slam on the brakes of my Pathfinder and never lock them up (anti-locks) but I can lock up my 240sx if I lay into the pedal.

What’s the evidence show for those who have swapped them out?

Thanks and Happy 4th of July. God Bless America!!!

[biggie]

On my coupe, I have the Z32 30mm on the front. It is a lot better and sometimes you do need to be your own ABS.

The ABS sized front caliper on the Vert is definately a little better than the stock S13 one, but with a lot of track/autox use I'd upgrade. For simple street use stock would be fine with good rotors/pads as Greg mentioned.

[madcowvert]

I've also wondered about the "better stopping power" with Q45 or Z rotors and calipers. At some point aren't the tires going to lose adhesion to the asphalt and start to skid anyway? Will bigger rotor reduce this factor or increase it? I can slam on the brakes of my Pathfinder and never lock them up (anti-locks) but I can lock up my 240sx if I lay into the pedal.

What’s the evidence show for those who have swapped them out?

Thanks and Happy 4th of July. God Bless America!!!

your brakes are only as good as your tires.

I did a full z32 brake upgrade it stops like a champ! Because i have good new tires .. But i have read somewhere that the q45 upgrade has the same stoping power as the z32's and there probelly 1/2 the price or less. but if your not going crazy with the motor you really would'nt need all that stoping power. you need to think of what you want and where your going with your car before you spend your money on any brake upgrade.

look around at your local junk yards maybe you can get some z32's or q45's for really cheap.

i'll be on the llok out see if i see anything cheap.

[cmkelly]

Yes, tires make a world of difference. I slid into the back of someone when I first bought the vert. It came with crappy tires. I've sense upgraded to Yokohama's that bite like crazy.

I don't do any autoX so I'll stick with the stock setup. Thanks for the info.

[ishkabibble]

Get rebuilt Q45 "friction ready" calipers and Wagner ThermoQuiet pads from a place like rockauto.com and then pick up some predrilled 4-lug Q45 Brembo rotors (i think fastbrakes or irotors sells them predrilled).

For DIY, you're looking at about $250 for all of the above parts. They'll stop your car fast and last longer than the stock setup.

Don't be afraid to DIY, front disc brakes are one of the easiest repairs you'll do to your car.

[Loki]

I'm not too afraid of DIY, I'm just afraid of spending what little money I have on something I'll regret. And my mom only makes me paranoid by complaining why someone would ever want to put on 8 year old car parts instead of new ones...

Edito: Ish, is this the kind of thing I'm looking for?

WAGNER Part # PD486 More Info {ThermoQuiet}Front

RAYBESTOS Part # FRC10373 More Info {PG PLUS}Front; FRICTION READY LEFT CALIPER ASSEMBLY

RAYBESTOS Part # FRC10374 More Info {PG PLUS}Front; FRICTION READY RIGHT CALIPER ASSEMBLY

These are 77 a piece roughly for Q's up to 96, and beyond that they are 107 each. Which do I want?

And all the rotors I see on irotor/fastbrakes are like 170

Ya know, there's a few people on NICO selling Q45 pads/calipers/rotors for 250, or even J30 calipers for 80, maybe I'd be better off just buying it from them? How much trouble/money would it be to drill the rotors myself?
Modified by Loki at 4:10 PM 7/4/2007

[ishkabibble]

You want parts from a 90-96 Q45, so those look to be the right parts. I think I have those exact same parts waiting to go on, actually.

The reason why I suggest the Thermoquiets is because they are cheap, recommended for truck use, and have the shims built-in. Also, I've never had them squeal on me.

The company which sold 4-lug Q45 Brembo rotors was sportsbrakes.com, and they look to be out of business. If you can't find another company which sells predrilled rotors, you'll have to get 5-lug and take them to a machine shop. It can be a PITA to find a shop that will drill rotors. You might want to look at Guardian rotors, too, as they are very cheap. Guardian is Wagner's overseas division.

[Loki]

Alright...dumb question...



What are those two extra smaller holes for?

[ishkabibble]

You can thread bolts in them to pop the rotor off the hub. Rarely needed; the rotors usually come off easily by whacking them with a rubber mallet.

[Loki]

Ah, I gotchya....but still, I just cannot find any predrilled rotors anywhere. Are there any other rotors compatible, like Altima's or something? There's a guy selling J30 calipers in the classfieds for 80 each i believe, I think I might just buy those, then get some rotors and have them drilled myself. Or just pay the damn mech and go Hitman's route.

[ishkabibble]

I'm not sure if anything else is compatible. I seem to recall someone using a J30 caliper/Altima rotor combo or something like that.

Why get used J30 calipers when you can get rebuilt Q45 calipers for the same price? Or rebuilt J30 calipers for $36 each?

[Loki]

Where do you see rebuilt J30s for 36 each? If I could get those that'd leave enough to easily buy some pads and Q45 rotors to redrill myself.

[ishkabibble]

rockauto if you don't include the core charge.

Not sure if you can mix and match J30 calipers with Q45 rotors, though.

[Loki]

I think you can. What's the core charge anyways?

[Loki]

Simple question....if I replaced my rear brakes with Q45s or Z32s, would I have to change some stuff around to make the ebrake work? I think you do on Z's but I am unsure on the Qs

[ishkabibble]

Yes.

[ishkabibble]

Core charge = fee if you don't return your used parts to the seller. They charge you initially, then credit you when they get the parts.

[Loki]

I'd say get OEM rotors, rebuild your own calipers, replace the pads, and save a TON of cash.

Is a rebuild kit necessary and, if so, do you think a NAPA/AA would have them without needing to order it? I'm planning on doing this whole business tomorrow.

[Loki]

Alright, so this isn't going as well as I'd hoped. I got the rotors and pads this morning and started on the left side wheel. Got the old rotors and pads off fine, but then I notice that the new pads I got are smaller than my old ones. I had to go to NAPA anyways to get a tool to push the caliper piston back in, and there they compared the old pads to some they had in stock. Our cars do NOT have ABS, right? Then why do we use the W/ABS pads? Ugh, more parts to order, more time to wait.

So for now I put everything back together with the old pads. I know some brake fluid was bled out in undoing it all, so I filled the brake fluid back up. 1% braking power! So I pumped the brake a bunch, trying to circulate everything, and I guess it's working cause the Brake light came back on. I'll put more fluid in in a bit and see if it makes a difference. If not, I guess I screwed myself somewhere along. Ugh, I feel like an idiot, this should be a simple operation but it doesn't end up going well.

[biggie]

Alright, so this isn't going as well as I'd hoped. I got the rotors and pads this morning and started on the left side wheel. Got the old rotors and pads off fine, but then I notice that the new pads I got are smaller than my old ones. I had to go to NAPA anyways to get a tool to push the caliper piston back in, and there they compared the old pads to some they had in stock. Our cars do NOT have ABS, right? Then why do we use the W/ABS pads? Ugh, more parts to order, more time to wait.

So for now I put everything back together with the old pads. I know some brake fluid was bled out in undoing it all, so I filled the brake fluid back up. 1% braking power! So I pumped the brake a bunch, trying to circulate everything, and I guess it's working cause the Brake light came back on. I'll put more fluid in in a bit and see if it makes a difference. If not, I guess I screwed myself somewhere along. Ugh, I feel like an idiot, this should be a simple operation but it doesn't end up going well.

We don't have ABS, but we do have the ABS calipers. Therefore the pads are the 'ABS' pads for the Vert. Nissan put the bigger calipers on to handle the extra weight of the Vert.

You might have an air bubble in the brake lines if you didn't bleed them. That could be a big issue if you are driving with that.

[Loki]

I didn't really bleed them, and I guess I should have? I just let whatever brake fluid trickled out drop into a bucket. I have absolutely NO brakes right now.

[biggie]

I didn't really bleed them, and I guess I should have? I just let whatever brake fluid trickled out drop into a bucket. I have absolutely NO brakes right now.

Yep, there would be an air bubble in there then most likely. Basically if you take brake lines off for any reason you should bleed them.

[ishkabibble]

I didn't really bleed them, and I guess I should have? I just let whatever brake fluid trickled out drop into a bucket. I have absolutely NO brakes right now.

If you are just doing rotors and pads, you didn't need to disconnect the brake line(s). There is air in the system now; you have to bleed the brakes.

If you were leaking brake fluid and didn't disconnect the line, you have other issues that need to be fixed immediately.

[Loki]

Oh no, it's not leaking. I did disconnect the line so I could bring the whole caliper off. Inexperience got the better of me so I just removed the line and let it trickle out.

I have a feeling bleeding the brakes will be a pain in the ***, will it not? I have no way of getting the car to a shop and no jackstands to put it on....

[biggie]

You can just jack it up one corner at a time and bleed them.

You may need a friend to help pump the pedal though, unless you have a vaccum bleeder.

Should be an article on how to bleed, if I remember correctly in order from 1st to last is Driver's rear, Passenger's rear, Passenger's front, and Driver's front.

[ishkabibble]

If you don't have a friend handy, you can get a brake bleeder bottle at an auto parts store or Harbor Freight.