2004 G35 6MT Coupe w/Brembo

I recently found that the inboard brake pads on both rear wheels have worn an excessive amount compared to the outboard. I've read many posts where others have experienced similar uneven wear and consider it "normal." Both of my inboard pads were worn down completely to the backing plate (and scored the rotors), while both outboard still had at least 5.5mm of pad left (and no, that does not include backing plate, etc. just pure pad).

I called the dealership and they tell me that the normal discrepancy in the rear is about 2mm difference and mine sounded outside of "normal" but couldn't comment on whether or not they would fix it under warranty until they took a look at it. I assume they're looking for a frozen caliper piston, which it isn't as I was able to easily push the piston back when I removed the pads.

So I have a bunch of questions for everyone.
1) How much uneven wear in the rear has everyone else seen - how much is considered "normal?"
2) Has anyone had their pads and/or rotors replaced under warranty due to excessive uneven wear (and subsequent rotor damage due to no wear indicators)?
3) What causes it to be so uneven?
4) Why don't the inboard pads have wear indicators and can I swap the new pads to put the wear indicators inboard? (I know I can't see them easily, but it seems a given that the inboard will wear out faster, so I might as well.)

I've been happy enough with the stock pads and rotors but they cost an arm and a leg from the dealer.

5) Who actually manufactures the OEM pads, and where I can buy them the cheapest outside the dealership?
6) Same for the rotors, where is the cheapest for stock Brembo rotors, no cross drill, no slots?

I've read a ton of great info on this forum and I'm sure someone out there can enlighten me on this problem!

 

I can't speak to items 1-3, as I haven't experienced this on my 04.5 with Brembos, however:

4) I believe the rear Brembo pads are symmetrical aside from the wear indicator. See attached from the FSM:

5) Ferodo manufactures the OEM pads (which I also like a lot) and you can get them from various other sources, like mynismo.com, everythingg35.com, and Jason at Riverside Infiniti. I believe both sets, F&R, will cost around $225, and they are very easy to swap yourself, though it seems like you already knew that.

6) The OEM Brembo rotors are not cheap from any source, usually at least $400+ each . That's why some folks go to aftermarket slotted and/or x-drilled. There are also the Centric OEM equivalents (Centric is the company that bought Stoptech) that are much cheaper, and seem like good rotors:
http://www.g35parts.com/9083/osc/pro...roducts_id=632
Here's some info on those rotors:
http://www.centricparts.com/prod02.htm

Good luck.

 

G35fromPA, thanks for the info. I'm taking the car to the dealership tomorrow hoping I can get them to replace it under warranty. If not, I'll probably just go ahead and replace all 4 rotors and pads as it's that time anyways. I'll check out those slotted rotors as well, I had assumed plain rotors would be cheaper, but I guess not.

Any tricks or words of wisdom of replacing the front and/or rear G35 rotors?

 

I haven't actually replaced the rotors yet, as I'm only at 18k miles, just the front pads. But it should be pretty straightforward - just unbolt the calipers, hang them out of the way to avoid damaging the brake line, and remove the rotors. You may need to spray a little PB blaster and use a rubber mallet to tap them off. Other than that, it shouldn't be too bad. Do a search in the Brakes & Suspension forum - I believe there is a recent DIY writeup from someone who did all four corners on their Brembo-equipped G35.

 

Thanks. Got the car back, dealer said despite it being so different inboard to outboard that it was normal. The pads wore flat and the pistons weren't frozen...nothing I didn't already know. Anyways, now I'm off to replace all 4 rotors and pads front and back...who out there wants to sell me a cheap package deal? PM away...

 

Check out www.autoanything.com and tirerack.com for rotors - they carry the slotted dba 4000's which are supposed to be excellent rotors. They have a unique design that provides more rotor cooling, are a bit lighter than OEM, and should last a long time.

 

i had this problem on my car, havent had any problems since i changed pads. by the way... tirerack has satisfied pads.. 25 an axle, so 50 bucks for the whole car. oem stopping power (or better) plus hardly any dust!

edit i have the dba rotoras as well on my car. they look awesome, and no complaints on stopping power

 

Thanks for the heads up, have you tracked your car with the satisfied pads and dba rotors? How's the fade characteristics?

 

no i do not track my car. there is a guy that reviewed on tire rack and tracked with the satisfied pads and said they were great

 

I have an 04 sedan, but I just started getting terrible scrubbing yesterday. Outside of rotors look fine, and I heard no squeaking. Are the wear indicators on the inboard side of the sedan rotors also? That friggin sucks if my rotors are screwed up and I never got any warning.