Hey guys so just to start off I don't know much about this stuff. I need some new rotors for my 03 G35 Sedan and was wondering if you guys could give me some advice. There are three rotors I've come across (please feel free to recommend any other rotors or BRAKE PADS)...

I'm assuming #3 is much worse compared to 1 and 2 but I have no idea haha. I would REALLY appreciate some help and guidance here.

Thanks

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1) OEM G35 rotor is about $90 for each (non sport suspension.. I think I have this) (http://www.infinitipartsusa.com/2003...ts-s/11371.htm)


2) StopTech Sport Slotted Cryo-Treated Rotor- About $130 each (http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...3&autoModClar=)


3) BrakeBest Select Rotor - $50 each (http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...word=980115rgs)

 

You should really check out RockAuto.com. They have a large number of brand rotors and such to choose from.

I personally run Centric rotors on my '06, and have had very good luck with them. No cross-drilled or slotting, just the plain-faced solid rotors.

On rockauto.com, these are about $40 each for a 2003 Sedan.

 

Cross drilled slotted centric here and no problems at all. Great quality rotors.

 

They make good rotors overall. I've started using that brand for other car makes I've been suckered into doing brake jobs on.


I can't say i'd recommend the OEM pads for 03-04 models though. They are aggressive and offer good stopping performance, but they dust like crazy.



The OP could also go a little beyond the scope of a brake job and just swap out the brakes to 05-06 sedan brakes (except 05x). Would be a bit more pricey though, and no real significant improvement in performance, but the rotor diameters are larger and would fill up any wheels he had.

 

I tend to stay away from cross-drilled/slotted. They look nice, but I've never noticed a huge performance increase. At the last track event I was at, people were joking about how it doesnt matter what kind of rotors you get, they'll all crack so might as well get the cheap ones.

I dont fully subscribe to that philosophy, I still buy Brembo rotors, but I just get vented. I've seen a fair amount of people at the track getting slotted StopTechs (Centric I think is the same company) and the like. I find that people at the racetrack usually know whats up when it comes to best bang for the buck.

Get slotted and cross-drilled for looks if you want, but you're probably not going to need to cool your rotors that much if you're not on a racetrack.... unless you live in an area where you can repeatedly get up to +125mph and back down to 60mph every minute or so for 30 minutes, then you'll want to get racing brake fluid and some semi-metallic pads as well (very dusty).

Pad Recommendations:
EBC Redstuff for street (I tried Hawk HP-S's, have always been a fan, but they sent me the wrong size so I tried someone else)
EBC Yellowstuff for track (Hawk HP+ were great on my other cars)

The Redstuff pads faded after 2 laps, I would slow from 125-80 at a decent pace, but the 80-40 took WAY longer than I wanted. Switched to yellowstuff and everything was lovely. The Reds are ceramic and low dust, perfect for the street. They stop you pretty well, just dont try to do a ton of 100-0's in a row. Yellows are semi-metallic and that means brake dust, plan on cleaning your wheels a lot, I didnt find a real need for them off of the track so I went back to the reds for the street. I'll throw the yellows back on at the next track event though.

 

While I don't have slotted rotors, I've had success with the Centric brand rotors on Tire Rack. I recall cross-drilled and slotted varieties available at Tire Rack too.

 

Centric premium rotors are popular here and have been discussed a lot. Stoptech and centric are the same company

 

I've taken quite a few different cars out on road courses. The consensus there is that all rotors crack eventually (this is in reference to quickly going from 120-40mph dozens of times within a 30min period). Most of the people I knew at the track would use either solid vented rotors or slotted rotors. Not many used cross-drilled except for on the extreme high end cars and thats mostly because they are the stock brakes.

Thats not to say there is anything wrong with cross-drilled, especially on the street. IMHO you dont even needed slotted rotors on the street unless your tearing up canyons/mountain roads on the weekends. In that case, maybe, but if you're only looking at 1 heavy deceleration (emergency braking), it doesnt matter. The slots/vents/holes are only there for prolonged periods of braking where the rotors are heat soaked and your pads start to fade. Otherwise they just look cool. As for brand, I've seen tons of ppl use no-name for rotors and been just fine. Pads are a different story.

Seriously though, the pads you choose have a larger effect on brake feel/fade. For instance, both EBC reds and yellows perform well if you need to stop quickly. If you need to slow down quickly a bunch of times, the reds will fade and the yellows wont. Not something you'd notice on the street though unless of course like I said above, you're tearing up canyons/mountain passes for a prolonged period of time.