My wife's 2003.5 G35 Sedan automatic needs brakes (rotors and pads, front and back). The dealer recommended Stillen rotors (slotted) and pads. I heard some good things about Stillen but I'm not a specialist (by any stretch of imagination) so I'm looking for your opinions on this.

About one year ago, I had to change brakes on my car ('04 G35 Coupe 6-speed with Brembo) and I went with Brembo slotted rotors combined with Hawk HPS pads. So far, I'm very happy with the selection: extremely low tear and wear, same good braking power, not too much brake dust in comparison with the previous OEM parts, etc. I ordered them through the "Import Replacement Parts" (IRP)shop. In my wife's case, I'm not sure what would be the best rotors/pads combination given that hers doesn't have the Brembo package.


Currently, I'm checking "Ultimate Z", IRP sites for prices and information. Are there any other good places where I could order the parts ?

Any ideas on the overall approach ? I'm also very interested in what would be a good price to pay for these types of rotors and pads.

 

R1 concepts, ocautosport, and centric are good oem replacements. You can find them on ebay. Call IRP and see what they have for you too.

 

R1Concepts have their own slotted rotors (R1Concepts) and so does the IRP (EBC slotted rotors). "UltimateZ" has slotted Stillen but I wasn't able to talk to them on the phone.

What's a good price for those rotors/brake-pads ? I'm tempted to go with Stillen rotors. Does anybody else have experienced with these or other types of rotors (in general I'm looking for the slotted types) ?

UltimateZ has a set of four slotted Stillen rotors (for G35 with standard brakes) for $535.75. I can add the four-set Hawk HPS for $104.80 or the four-set Stillen Metal-Matrix brake pads for $87.98. R1Concepts promised an out-the-door price for their four R1Concepts rotors with a full-set Hawk HPS for $450. I don't mind paying a little (not a lot !) more for better rotors so, again I'm looking for your opinion. My overall objective is to have longevity and excellent braking (my wife is not taking her car to the track but, still I want at least as good braking power as the original equipment).

Any other comments (price, best buy, etc) ?

 

The Stillen rotors are apparently reboxed DBA brand rotors. Most of the other rotors that are lower cost are probably made by the same company. That doesn't necessarily make them poor quality.

 

i just got a set of Centric X drilled and slotted and they seem like a good rotor , i have done a few brake jobs and i think the rotors look good , i will post a review after i bedd them in.

BTW Centric is the same company that manufacturs STOPTECHS rotors.

 

R1 Concepts premium rotors = Centric rotors = very good rotors
Stillen sport rotors=dba, also very good rotors, but a bit pricier

Before you go with Hawk HPS pads, read the reviews on here...many don't like them, though since you live in a warm clime, it may not make a big diff.

 

Thanks everybody for their comments so far.

I'm getting a very good deal ($450 out-the-door) for the R1 Concepts slotted rotors and Hawk HPS (front and rear) and I'm tempted to try those out. This is about $230 less than slotted Stillen rotors with Hawk HPS from UltimateZ.

Are the R1Concepts rotors good ? Has anyone experienced with them (and with Hawk HPS as pads) ? Are those as good as the OEM rotors ? Should I go with R1Concepts for the better price or is Stillen a way better rotor that I should invest in ?

As I mentioned before, since I don't have to buy rotors and pads every week, I'm Ok with paying a little more (only if needed, though !) to get the best quality.

Any ideas or recommendations regarding Stillen versus R1Concepts (taking quality, longevity and price in consideration) ?

 

The R1 rotors are good. I have them on my sedan.

 

You can also get the dba/Stillen rotors a bit cheaper from www.autoanything.com

 

Thanks (Gilley and G35FromPA) for the information. I did a quick search an "autoanything" and found that 4 rotors (DBA 4000 series) cost me $500 versus the $537 Stillen from "UltimateZ" which, at least are advertised as Stillen rather than DBA (maybe it doesn't make any difference but I just wanted to point that out).

So far, R1 Concepts are by far the most affordable with a total of $450 to also include front and rear sets of Hawk HPS brake pads (which I also need to buy), tax, shipping, etc.

From comments before I understood the R1 Concepts rotors are pretty good but are they as good as the OEM rotors ? This is for my wife's car and she's demanding good brakes !

Any more comments on the subject ?

 

The R1 Concepts rotors are definitely as good as OEM rotors. I don't know if I would put the Hawk pads on your wife's car though. I have never used them, but I have read that the initial bite of the HPS pads isn't very reassuring when they are cold. Your wife may not appreciate that.

 

dba and Stillen are the exact same rotor. Stillen just rebrands them with their name. And dba's are very well regarded, especially in the motorsport world.

Here's a link to info on the Centric permium rotors (R1's premium rotors are these). They are supposed to be OEM spec with better vane design:

http://www.centricparts.com/prod02.htm

I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

 

Thanks a lot for both your replies (Gilley and G35fromPA). It looks to me that if both are good I may want to go with the R1 Concepts rotors based on the $200 difference in price ($450 versus $650 - including the pads). As far as Hawk HPS pads go, I have them with the Brembo slotted rotors (got the combo from IRP) on my G35 coupe and so far I'm quite happy with them. I don't know how the Hawk HPS - R1 Concepts rotors combo will do and I was wondering if anybody out there has used these two parts together.

Anyway, I'm leaning towards the R1 rotors unless I get some negative or not-so-goo comments. The dealer is willing to put the Stillen rotors in for me (because that's what they have in their stock) but I'm not sure if they will put in the R1 rotors (I may have to go to a different brake shop to have them installed).

 

Since you have the HPS, then you know what to expect. There will be more difference in stopping with the different pad materials than the metal of the rotors. I'm sure the HPS pads will work fine with the R1 rotors.