Q45 Brake Pads

[jamesmost]

here is the scoop95Q ss brake lines syn fluid cross drilled rotorsi used to use stillin metal matrix pads they were allright but because of inconsistant manufacturing every few pads would gouge my rotors in one spot, stillen would offer me new pads at cost but do nothing for my rotors thus i stopped using them and switched to akibono which i think is what comes from the factory, they do not mess up my rotors but i deninitely have less stopping power, WHAT PADS WOULD U RECOMMEND OR DO U USE WITH GREAT HAPPINESSTHANKS

[Rex]

Here's a great thread on brake pads.

A couple excerpts

ALWAYS BUY OEM PADS as they are the only ones tested on the Q to optimize noise, and stopping distances [in both cold and under up to 600F]! No company can test their pad materials on all cars or any a few cars......they just buy oem style backing plate and slap their compounds on........no individual testing...........sometimes this works ok most times NOT...........because of the differing diameter pistons and variations in the pressure.

The problem shows up in heavier than norm cars like the 4300 pound Q vs the average 3300# FWD midsize.

The Currently available front oem pads [U91] are an advance CERAMIC design [as are the U85 rear pad set].

The oem pads have an FF friction standard on rear and and FE friction standard on the front...............but these are very broad Federal Standard numbers.......like 0.35-0.45 C of F that's a 30% variance in friction.

We would never consider using a non oem pad compound too many compliants and we have sampled at least 10 company's compounds............most have problems in COLD [below 50F] friction........some are down right scarey!

The 90-96 Q has gone thru 3 different oem brake compounds.The U90 were semimetallic and stopped in 129 feet or better dusty as hell and wore fastThe U91 are ceramic and didn't dust as much and maybe only added 5 feet to braking distance and added 10,000 miles to life.

The Q uses a lot more rear braking bias [%] than any other RWD car....[because it can with ABS/LSD] with oem style 170 treadwear index tires.The rear brakes are more critical and may even wear faster than the front [the pad thickness is the same].

Friction compound balance is the critical factor [over the pad temperature range].

Simple stopping distance tests are not very reliable since they don't report the foot pressure required to activate the ABS over the stop, nor do they record starting and stopping pad temperature changes.

Since magazines test 60,70,80 mph to zero single stops new cars are optimized to brake well in these tests........pursuit braking test are more reliable in seeing what you are getting in the long run.

Tires are the real variable and can change a 129 foot stopper into a 120 or a 150 foot stopper.

Study the pdfs on this site:http://www.nlectc.org/testing/brakepads.html

Note the burnishing proceedure on page 14 of 202 for each new pad/rotor prior to testing. Very important!

Some pads got 400F hotter than oem Ford pads and obviously took longer to stop. Some pads got 400F colder than oem [on rear] obviously misbalanced friction]].

Hope this helps

[Q45tech]

I still use the FRONT real [??] Axxis Metal Masters [not Stillen copies] or so the box says. They are around $30.

Lots of at stop groans and scraping with drilled front rotors but they stop when warm.

I use a new set every 12 months [15-20k] and throw them away half worn.

Reminds me almost time for my every 6,000 mile rotor retrueing indexing general tear down clean and relube.

There is no free lunch with rotors and pads, you just change both frequently and maintain them between replacements.

[jamesmost]

the oem people r mostly wrong i say cause the metal matrix from stillen were better just not consistrntrex what pads do u run??

[maxnix]

I use OEM on Stillen/Brembo drilled front. Nothing works better in normal street driving for cold quick stops than OEM pads.

[jamesmost]

is Akibono oem??

[jamesmost]

i had rotors from stillen and they were not brembo they were chinese

[jamesmost]

what is your take on the cross drilling it definitely looks good, i like them but lots of people tell me just bling

[jamesmost]

the answer to my question is yes akebono is OEM they have two different pads ProAct and ISD still working out which is better

[jamesmost]

Axxis metal masters is what stillen was knocking off?

[Rex]

I use OEM brake pads, as my tires are most likely the weakest link in my break equation. Dennis (Q45Tech) speaks well of the Axxis Metal Masters and I may try them in the future.

There are some interesting articles about the benefits (to the daily driver) of "upgrading" braking system pieces. IMHO, the Q's a heavy beast, but my maintained OEM braking system provides sufficient stopping power.

[jamesmost]

by the way oem is sumitomoi just ordered akebono ProAct putting them on w/ new cross drilled rotors in a few thousand miles

[diamondj30]

what about some some r4-s pads from porterfield..run about 200 shipped tho..i forgot to mention,ferraris and high end porshes use porterfield as oem,that tells ya something right there.

[AZhitman]

I now offer HAWK pads (superior even to the MM pads IMO) in my Q45 brake upgrade package (see sticky at top of Infiniti General).

Drilled / slotted? Personal choice. Most of us never get the chance to fully exploit drilled rotors, and for all intents and purposes, it's probably just as good to have the extra rotor material.

Slotting on the Q is not a bad upgrade...