I just took my car to get a service at the dealer and was told that I need new brakes & rotors as well. $790 total for service & brakes...Im definitely trying to find them for less if possible. I cant kick that amt everytime the G needs brakes! So, has anybody gotten brakes outside of an Infiniti dealer? If so what was your price and was there any performance/ warranty isssue later on?

 

upgraded cross drilled slotted and axxis brake pads

 

Since you have an 03 you should be covered under the brake warranty. The warranty is 3yrs/36K. Most likely you are past the 3 years, but it doesn't hurt to check. Is this the first time for brake replacement? Anyways, there are a lot of threads on aftermarket brake pads and brake systems. I think Hawk brake pads are mentioned frequently. I went to an independent shop and got some akebono pads. Love them! No dust...No squeal...I think it cost me around $500 for pads and rotors. But these pads should last a lot longer. Do a search and you will find many posts on this topic. Good luck!

 

Thanks...No Dust?? Im gonna go with the akebono its a wrap.

 

I replace mine with Power slot drilled and slotted with Hawk HPS pads. DOn't know how long they last because I haven't had to replace them. No dust, no squeal and great performance. I'm happy.

 

I forgot to say that the performance is a little different than the OEM pads. The akebono pads aren't grabby at low speeds like the OEM pads. The akebono pads are more progressive and gradual. They still stop well, they just don't grab. Just got to get used to them.

 

I needed more out of mine; they would start to fade under hard use so I went with a BBK.

 

I purchased Brembo blank replacement rotors for my 03 for $50/ea from the Tirerack.

 

I just installed Akebono pads on my 03.5 Sedan last weekend as a DIY project and my initial impression is the same as yours. It is not a LOT different, but at low speeds it is just a touch different. I've had my car 3 years so I could notice a difference. If you had an 03, which I hear were more grabby, you could probably tell the difference more. For those who complain about the G35 brakes being grabby, they would probably really like these pads. I had definitely gotten used to the touchiness at low speeds I must say.

They seem to stop about as well as stock, but I am still babying them so they have not had any moderate to high pressure yet. Curious to see how they are in the rain too. So far I am quite happy with them - and not a spot of brake dust! It is going to be hard to get used to looking at my wheels 5 days after I washed it and they are still clean. Somehow I will manage

I kept the stock rotors on, no reason to change them.

 

One needs to be more specific [scientific] than more or less grabby.

Brake pads are usually specified in coefficient of friction vs pad temperature and a rotational component is added as the friction changes with application speed also.

An important parameter is the exact amount of foot pressure required [how many pounds must the foot exert] to decelerate to a specific G.

It is easy to make a non grabby pad and very hard to make one grab at the very instant of application........this is a very abnormal curve to have instant friction..........this ability is what gives the OEM PADS the exceptional stopping distance.

The problem is that everyone is shy in the first 0.3-0.5 sec of application they don't use enough foot force and have to build up to enough to lock ABS into action. When you are travelling 88 ft/sec you travel 26-44 feet before your foot is applying enough force for maximal deceleration...........you can never recover lost deceleration............some drivers lose 42 feet some only 10 feet all depends on leg strength and muscle ramp up. REACTION TIME
Don't confuse magazine tests where the stopping distance is stated from the distance once the brakes are applied by EXPERT DRIVERS [who get to practice on each car] with real world women drivers who have delayed reflexes and slow ramp up leg strength.

As a side note, what do you think the time to force curve is for high heel shoes, clogs, vs tennis shoes vs leather shoes vs bare feet or special racing shoes?

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/proble...rt.html#TASK_4
http://www.csgnetwork.com/stopdistcalc.html
"the degree of increase differed for the various RTs which correspond to vigilance (T0–TA). transfer time (TA–TB) , and braking force (TB–TS)."

 

I replaced my OEM front pads with Ceramic brakes from O'Reilly auto parts. about $40 for the set. I also replaced the front rotors with cross drilled Stoptech rotors.

^^^^^^^
My brakes are much less grabby now at low speeds.

 

And you may have increased braking distances is my point. Not many studies that are accurate [scientific].

An interesting study was on Police vehicles where they tried a dozen different performance pads [metallic and ceramic] and NOTHING BEAT THE Ford or GM oem pads some came close in some individual tests but none exceeded oem. Many of the pad which stopped longer heated the rotors to higher temperatures due to mismatched friction coefficients.

http://www.nlectc.org/pdffiles/brakepads_epr2000.pdf

The above has 202 pages of scientific detail showing each pad under dozens of tests. Shows the fallacy of trusting advertising.

Not sure trading stopping distances for cost or dust is something wise but that is between you and your insurance company or the courts.

If you redesign the braking system by changing pads [brands] or rotors the car manufacturer is safely out of the litigation loop and you may have to disprove an experts charge that you were negligent in modifying your vehicle in case an accident hurts someone.

After all all the braking parameters [before the accident] are stored inside the ABS system computer memory!