UPDATE on ebay rotors and pads

[EniGmA1987]

As they are drilled and slotted, he says that they cannot be brought back into spec.

My dad's mechanic said that too, I took them someplace else and they turned the rotors for me and it was back fine with no more shudder while braking.

[MOWellsinVA]

Yeah, I wondered about that. I'll have to ask around to see who could fix them for me. Would rather not put on my rusty old OEM rotors.

[merlinq2]

Question,
Are you not better off to get another set and install them rather than taking them to some place that might not do the job right- time and cost of the turning of the rotors and the risk of running the discs if they shop screws them up?

About 15000 KM's ago I spent $285 bucks for a complete set of pads and discs. Did the work myself. I am not sure I could find any shop around here that could turn all four discs for less than $285 (labor and materials). So when mine are warped, I will just order another set or maybe 3 sets.

I know a few people who have taken cross drilled rotors to brand name shops who are happy to do the work but will not guarantee the work. The shops had to take a couple thousandths off over a very slow meticulous rate. I have been told that the real work is making sure the discs are properly mounted, and that the tech uses a sharp cutting bit. If they do this; these rotors will be no more difficult to re-surface than any others.

Having said all that, it is my opinion that it is cheaper and less aggravating to replace the discs than deal with trying to find a shop that will want to take the time to ensure they don't parts that you did not buy from them in the first place.

As a side note; I had a little wobble a while ago and went out and re bedded the brakes to lay out a fresh glazing of material on the rotors, that took care of the problem for me

[SchoonerVanHelmet]

I purchased a new set of front and rear cross drilled rotor with ceramic pads for $325 at : http://www.r1concepts.com/

My old front rotors were warped and shook the heck out the steering wheel when I braked hard. I replaced the front and rear just because I was already in the process of replacing my front brakes. The response of the the new set of rotors with ceramic pads brakes is great. No vibration and the rotors are not rusting so far with 8,000 miles on the new set. I am very happy with the quality of parts from R1 Concepts and will purchase another set for our Nissan Murano.

The brake rotors and pads are very easy to replace. Make sure you open the purge fitting on the brake caliper before you compress the caliper. If not, you could cause problems with the portioning valve for the brake system because of excessive back pressure. I would definitely suggest purging your entire brake system with a large container of new brake fluid. This will ensure you purge the excess air from your brake lines and flushes out the old fluid with new brake fluid.

As always, if are not knowledgeable performing the brake part install on your own correctly, consult with a certified mechanic. Just my 2 cents...

[szh]

I know a few people who have taken cross drilled rotors to brand name shops who are happy to do the work but will not guarantee the work. The shops had to take a couple thousandths off over a very slow meticulous rate. I have been told that the real work is making sure the discs are properly mounted, and that the tech uses a sharp cutting bit. If they do this; these rotors will be no more difficult to re-surface than any others.

Agreed ... I was told by a brake technician that cross-drilled rotors (and slotted rotors) are very tough to resurface and many places will also not do it because it can (a) damage their bits and (b)rotors can crack/fracture at the drilled hole. You can also lose the chamfer more quickly - this reduces the useful life of cross-drilled rotors ...

My experience with non-cross-drilled, non-slotted Centric rotors from Tire Rack continues to be very good. I am almost at 120k miles (total - not on those rotors ) and still doing well.

It has a lot to do with the quality of the initial install and proper bedding of new pads whenever they are replaced. The brake tech at Frontier Infiniti who did the work on my car did an outstanding job - my brakes are in great condition after many miles. Will need pads again soon, but the rotors are doing fine. No vibration or shaking or "warping" (often - albeit not always - vibration is a sign of imbalance in the tires rather than rotor damage) after many thousands of miles now!

Z

BTW, please read my final two posts in this thread: post6125351.html and my review of the Centric rotors many months ago in this thread: post5968931.html.

[SdotSdotS]

I just put the brakemotive D/S rotors on with Hawk HPS pads right before the New Year. I can't say anything really overwhelming about the performance other than they do what they are supposed to, which is stop my car. The burnishing process was fun though

My main reason for getting them was cosmetic. I also spray painted my rear calipers black and brush painted the fronts. They look a heck of a lot nicer than the old rusty OEM stuff I had. I had someone ask me if I got new rims the other day, haha. Most of my driving is stop & go, so I don't expect that they'll warp. As soon as they do, I'll get the G37S BBK though so it wouldn't exactly be tragic

[digimurda]

Any of these fit a 03-04 M45???

[WhoDey456]

The ebay package from the original post is up to $200 and he will not go lower.

I found this package and wanted to get everyone's thoughts?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALL-FOUR-4-F-R- ... es&vxp=mtr

[szh]

The ebay package from the original post is up to $200 and he will not go lower.

I found this package and wanted to get everyone's thoughts?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALL-FOUR-4-F-R- ... es&vxp=mtr

Never heard of the brand, unfortunately. Which is not say that they are not good, just that you should be careful of the actual quality of the rotors till you find some happy users.

FWIW, to me, "225 degrees cooler" due to drilling and/or slotting smacks of extreme hyperbole and makes the integrity of the seller a bit suspect.

As always, remember that weight in the rotor is the most important thing - they have to absorb and transfer a lot of energy to the hub and unless the iron used is sufficiently dense, you will get poor performance. So, the heaviest and densest iron rotor you can find - with the same exact OEM dimensions, of course - will give you the best braking performance.

And, of course, remember that when you remove rotor material in cross-drilled and/or slotted rotors, it is best to start with the densest blanks you can find. Something like Powerstop or Bradi or Brembo has that dense iron quality for sure (there are others, of course). Cheap casting material will not be good enough.

Z

[DaSerb]

The ebay package from the original post is up to $200 and he will not go lower.

I found this package and wanted to get everyone's thoughts?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALL-FOUR-4-F-R- ... es&vxp=mtr

That looks tempting....price-wise...
I heard good things about the rotors but not the same about the pads included.

I emailed the store for the price without the pads.

Waiting for response...

[DaSerb]

Got the response back....

"Yes, I can offer the rotors only for $130 shipped within the USA."

[digimurda]

do they have these for the 2003-04 M45???

[szh]

do they have these for the 2003-04 M45???

Here is an eBay ad for the 2003-04 M45 rotors and pads.

Again, I have no knowledge or experience with this brand, but at least they do state in the ad that the iron is of a better quality - means they understand the issues. I'd not get these pads though - I prefer the OEM ones).

But I wish they had said "Split Vane" instead of "Split Vain".

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PREMIUM-SERIES- ... 436wt_1396

Z

[WhoDey456]

Well the original ebay set is on sale today for $180 and I purchased them, $20 more than his original price so I decided to pull the trigger.

I will update once I install them!

[digimurda]

why are they cheaper for the newer m45 models?

[szh]

why are they cheaper for the newer m45 models?

Perhaps because more of the 2006+ M have been sold, so the market is larger, so the volume is more, so the cost is lower, etc.? This is a complete SWAG, of course.

Not many people spend any time making after-market parts (like a Turbocharger ) for the 2003-04 M45 because the "Total Available Market" is about 7500 of those cars (that were sold in the US). So, simply not enough buyers to make it worthwhile to do the research, development and manufacturing, etc.

Z

[Poirot]

Can somebody recommend a good shop in the DC/Va/Md area to install and do a flush fill? I am not so inclined to do this myself anymore due to lack of space and time. There used to be a shop in Silver Spring, Md back in the day, but I think they went tits up. My local dealer will do it but I don't want to be bent over the service desk and have a train run on me. I am sure it would end up on YT.


Poirot

[WhoDey456]

I have been searching for a good hour and cannot find a write up on the forum for how to install these brakes...I swear someone did a good write up on the install. Not that I dont know how to install brakes, but I've never done brakes on an Infiniti....Any help?

Also, do I NEED to bleed the brakes?

What about grease for the pads or do they have a break-in layer on them that doesnt require grease, maybe just need to wipe the rotors down with some brake cleaner real well?

Thanks in advance...

[merlinq2]

I did mine in a few hours, ran into some problems with the lower rear caliper pins, they are very soft metal and will strip easily. I recommend hitting those pins with some penetrating fluid - let it sit and then hopefully they will break lose easily.

I did bleed the brakes just because I wanted to, I did not have to but I did it anyway. If you need help go to the factory service manual section and browse through the collection. I used that section of the forum to get the detaile procedure. I wish I could recall which specific PDF to look at, but I know it is there.

Try this link, it is pretty fundamental and should get you going.
bbk-wheel-spacer-information-t520363.html

By the way you will need a clamp or a piston compression tool to force the piston into the caliper block. What ever you do, do not pump the brakes when you have the caliper off the rotor.

For the life of me I can not find the link to factory service manual. Anyway look it up on youtube, it is there as well.

Found the link to the FSM

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/M/2006_M45-M35/

Good luck, take your time and be safe

[WhoDey456]

I did mine in a few hours, ran into some problems with the lower rear caliper pins, they are very soft metal and will strip easily. I recommend hitting those pins with some penetrating fluid - let it sit and then hopefully they will break lose easily.

I did bleed the brakes just because I wanted to, I did not have to but I did it anyway. If you need help go to the factory service manual section and browse through the collection. I used that section of the forum to get the detaile procedure. I wish I could recall which specific PDF to look at, but I know it is there.

Try this link, it is pretty fundamental and should get you going.
bbk-wheel-spacer-information-t520363.html

By the way you will need a clamp or a piston compression tool to force the piston into the caliper block. What ever you do, do not pump the brakes when you have the caliper off the rotor.

For the life of me I can not find the link to factory service manual. Anyway look it up on youtube, it is there as well.

Found the link to the FSM

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/M/2006_M45-M35/

Good luck, take your time and be safe

Good stuff! Thanks Merlinq

[jayfox911]

I put a set on my 06 M35 Sport, fit perfectly and no issues so far. Zero rust

It has been over 6 months now for the rotors on my 06 M35.
Quick update: They are still looking great and breaking well.
However one rotor is starting to show some rust but only minor and only on one rotor.

[MOWellsinVA]

I had been told at the tire place near my office that my Brakemotive rotors were warped at less than 14,000 miles. I've since discovered that one of my wheels was bent, and I think the slight wobble made the mechanic think the rotors were warped. Had the wheel straightened the other day and the car feels much better to drive and ride in. I've been looking for signs of warping, and I don't really think it's a real issue. I do think that the slotted and drilled rotors have a slightly different "feel" than a straight OEM rotor, and this may have led him to believe that they were warped. I'm happy to find that the brakes seem to be working fine, as they still look very good, with no rust.

[EniGmA1987]

All rotors will warp on these cars, its unavoidable. The best you can do is get rotors for a price you dont care about throwing away.

[merlinq2]

Agreed, that is the only real solution.

[azeiler]

I also have R1 Concepts drilled and slotted rotors all around with their ceramic pads. Have had them for years and they work great. Just had the front rotors resurfaced yesterday using a Pro-Cut machine. I was in the shop watching - it was so easy and the rotors cleaned up with 2 passes. The neat thing was that after the first pass, you could see the severity of the run out (over .005 on one side). People that say it can't be done or that's it's very difficult, either don't know what they're talking about, or don't have the right equipment. The rotors were resurfaced while on the car, something about it matching the hub-specific rotation. Took about 30 minutes and cost me $69.

http://procutusa.com/

[axefire]

I buy and use strictly brakemotive. Best bang for very little bucks. I put an easy 30k on rotors without any wear at all. Just change pads every 15 to 20k and bed them properly the first time....they are great.