My low mileage ’03.5 sedan will soon be ready for its first front brake job. I was thinking about upgrading the fronts to the ’05-’06 rotors as I seem to recall they are a larger diameter. I believe people were performing the swap a couple years ago but after doing some searches on the forum, I didn’t find any details. Can anyone tell me if the swap is feasible and economical? I hope the calipers and master cylinder are the same between the ’05 and earlier cars and I only need different caliper mounting brackets. Am I dreaming?

 

i know for a fact that the calipers are different, along with the brackets. i believe you would need a 05-06 steering knuckle also.

 

You can't just upgrade the rotors. Think about it. They are larger in diameter. Where is the caliper going to fit? I've done the swap. Here's my thread about it.

https://g35driver.com/forums/brakes-...-z-brakes.html

 

The performance difference is negligible;
especially for the amount of work required to pull it off, as stated^

 

but the maintenance benefits more than make up for the cost and time. The new pads wear much better, and last much longer

 

^ I had good luck with aftermarket pads.

JMO, but if I was changing out... I'd take it a step further.

 

The swap is easy. The hardest thing was bleeding the brakes or swapping out the SS lines. Which isn't difficult at all.

The fact that the difference is neglible is a good thing. It's exactly what I wanted. The same great cold world class 60-0 performance without all the rotor eating dust that the old setup requires (to get the same performance)

I haven't read about one aftermarket pad that can match the oem cold brake performance and not dust. My experience is limited though.

For the record, very few aftermarket BBKs can improve on the oem 60-0 brake spec anyway. I think StopTech had 1 or two setups that did that.

 

^ good point...
I suppose the other thing to consider if going to a Brembo upgrade or BBK of some sort... is wheel size.

 

Make no mistake, I'd love the brembo swap. I'd do it if I could find a set that didn't cost it's weight in gold. But you're right. After the swap my oem 03 sedan (premium) wheels still clear the bigger setup. So in that respect, it's nice that you can keep your oem wheels for winter use.

If you go brembo, you have to find wheels that clear your summer wheels and your winter setups. Not a big deal but certainly something to consider.