Hi, I'm pretty new to the forum as this is my first post, but I've been browsing here quite a bit, and from the gist of everything, I'm guessing when it comes to brake pads the Hawk HPS' are the way to go. My '06 G35x is a family car 80% of the time, but when I drive...let's just say I give my G a good cardio workout. I've been using stock pads all along, till I came to this forum, and now I plan to order the HPS' at Tirerack (unless there is a cheaper place I can get in Canada). However, before I do I have a couple of questions.

Are the brake pads for all G35's the same size across all years? Meaning can I buy pads for the '03 sedan and they should fit on an '06? I am asking because at the Tirerack website, when I choose a vehicle to select brakes for, nothing comes up for a 2006 Infiniti except for the Q45 and the QX56. However, when I choose a 2005 Infiniti and older, I get options for the G35's. Can I go ahead and buy HPS pads for the '05 sedan and not worry about it not fitting on my '06? My car is AT and bone stock, so I don't have brembos or any aftermarket rotors.

Also, are the Hawks recommended for the stock rotors, and is there anything I should do before slapping them on the old rotors?

Sorry for the long first post...but thanks! I also plan on ordering the Valeo ultimates since they have that buy one get one free deal...can't wait!


Acemanic

 

Be sure you understand the cold stopping trade offs anytime you substitute oem pads. Almost all aftermarket are seriously worse in cold stopping until the pads get heated up to 100F+..................the can be after a panic stop when it is below freezing outside........a little late in an emergency! to have to wait a few seconds.

 

A limitation to factory brakes, is cost. Trade-off is more brake dust and less performance under more severe conditions.

While freezing temps could be a foreseeable condition, more caution in allowing greater distance from the car in front could certainly help, and is advisable under such conditions anyway. As well as testing/warming the pads at very low speeds as you drive off.
But there is nothing you can do in advance to reduce fade or decrease braking distance for brakes that do not perform well when descending a mountain grade, or stopping from high speed in an emergency.
It's only an opinion, and would like to see data to support it or counter it.

 

Brakepads are not the same for all years of G35s. Hawk HPs are far
superior to any factory pad offered by Nissan. The best part is you
won't have issues with the dreded factory brake dust. Plus, you won't
notice "any" diffrence in the way your car stops...morning...noon or night!
Hawk pads are available right here at www.everythingg35.com and at
a good price......good service and nice folks to deal with.

 

I'm on my second set of Hawk HPS pads on my 04 sedan. They're a very good all around pad. You'll notice they do bite a lot better with some heat in them, but I've never had a problem with cold performance.

 

Awesome! It's great getting help from everyone here and hearing all your opinions. I will definitely keep that in mind, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to adapt to them. It still seems Hawks are the way to go! Thanks!

 

Besides no reputable manufacturer is going to produce products not meeting OEM at a minimum when it comes to safety. The liability is way too big.

 

I hope that was not directed to me, I support what you say.

 

"Besides no reputable manufacturer is going to produce products not meeting OEM at a minimum when it comes to safety. The liability is way too big."

Why is it that SEMA lobbies [the government] to prohibit any rules or tests on aftermarket components?

"Jim Lawrence of the Brake Manufacturers Council (BMC) said their "Brake Effectiveness Evaluation Procedure" (BEEP) is one way brake suppliers are making sure that their aftermarket products meet essentially the same requirements as the OEM linings. The BEEP test uses a single-end brake dynamometer to measure the friction characteristics, fade resistance and recovery curve of brake linings or specific vehicle platforms.

Currently, the test procedure covers about 30 to 40 percent of the vehicle applications that are on the road. The goal is to develop test procedures for about 70 percent of the vehicle platforms - a process that takes a great deal of time and engineering effort to measure and calibrate specific vehicle applications."

"4. A company would not sell an unsafe brake pad?

Not true, some inexpensive brake pad manufacturers are constantly playing the odds game by weighing profit against braking performance. Their pads may perform well during normal operating conditions like city and highway driving, but if the pads encounter a situation like a panic stop or steep hill decent, they could fail or have longer than normal stopping distances. This is because they might not have spent the money for testing or on quality raw materials. They are betting that you might not encounter extreme conditions. Would you really want to “call their bluff” when you have to go “all in” during a panic stop?

In the United States, there are no federally mandated laws that regulate the performance of replacement brake pads. The burden of selecting a safe replacement brake pad is up to the shop and driver."

http://www.brakeandfrontend.com/

Use the search function to interesting articles from this trade magazine which as the title indicates focuses just on brakes and suspension.

 

Brands like Hawk and several others have been around quite a while. I am sure if they were unsafe we would know about it by now.
Many are used at events and under conditions far exceeding normal street driving with no complaints from the drivers.

No one is saying there are not inferior products out there, but that in itself does not make OEM the only or the best answer. For those uninformed who have not done the research, it could certainly be the case. In much the same way no one should rely on OEM brake parts if they plan to participate in track events on a regular basis. That would be just as foolhardy as purchasing after -market parts of unknown quality.

It is interesting that the link leads to a website (interesting info by the way) with links to after-market brands on the webpage.

Do you really believe the SCCA and other reputable agencies have been backing inferior products all these years?
No, they support products SUPERIOR to OEM.

http://www.hawkperformance.com/motorsports/links.php

 

Fortified, while I haven't had experience myself the Hawk Pads sound like a reputable product for the G. The comments on reduced cold stopping power would concern me however. I do agree there are many products out there that are superior to OEM however there are a lot that are inferior too, especially with brakes (rotors and pads). It's buyer beware.


On your comment above isn't that what you meant here?

 

I think the statement speaks for itself, the operative word being "reputable".
I think Hawk is an excellent example, but far from the only one.
In support of what Q45Tech is proposing for the 'average' driver is fine, but when it comes to upgrades decisions have to made with more research, and selecting the right product for your application. If you don't have that knowledge, then OEM IS your safest bet.
There are excellent mechanics with many years of experience with after-market parts as well as competition vehicles who could provide useful information for those seeking something better than OEM. Just don't rely on hype is what I think we all agree on, or believe a race pad will work for the street since it works on the track, etc.

 

The " better than oem blanket statements" are what bother me.

The assumption that everyone is willing to put up with racing pads is false.
It takes [4] 60mph to zero or [3] 70mph to zero panic stops to heat up oem to 650F............this is good enough for 90% of those owning a G/Z

No doubt their are better HOT pads available just unlikely that there are better COLD or under 150F pads than oem or they would have to dust MORE than oem and wouldn't last much less than 10,000 miles.

Rotor cast iron comes in 5 grades, the denser harder, stronger grades are more noisey than the lighter less dense and softer fast wearing grades.

We have one customer who has tried 5 different brands of pads [in just 3 months] and finally returned to oem as the best compromise. Yes he bought the greatest Japan pads and the greatest German pads and we threw each away and tried the next great pad.........lucky he was rich to pay for these experiments.

Like me with tires I frequently buy experiments and give them away to friends after 5,000 miles of agony........always returning to Michelin........life is too short to put up with garbage!

 

Who ever said that? I don't think anyone is promoting using racing pads (unless you race for real on a track) for a street vehicle. And no one is promoting going to a chain store and having them put on their $19.95 weekly special either.

Most major brake pad manufacturers put out a full line of brake pads, for different applications. From street through competition. That includes Porterfield, Raybestos, Axxis, Hawk, just to name a few reputable brand names.

Maybe if cost was not a consideration, then Infiniti would use a more premium pad with the same or better performance and a lot less dirt.
Be nice if they used cast instead of stamped aluminum on some suspension support brackets too. But sometimes the bean-counters win out over the engineers.

Better that OEM is not a blanket statement if you do the research and know what you are buying.