Hello all - I have an '04 G35. I have experienced all the typical brakes issues including brake dust and horrific squealing. The dealer replaced the brakes at 23K miles the squealing was gone temporarily. At 41K miles it was time for new brakes again (and front rotors), and I took it to someone other than the dealer for the first time. I told them of my woes, and when I picked up the car and drove out of the lot I noticed a huge difference. The car felt heavier and the brakes were NOT as sensitive as they had always been. I revisited the shop and they informed me that they used ceramic brakes, which would alleviate the dust and squealing (and would last longer) - the trade off would be less "sensitivity" as the metal pads on metal rotors would provide. Has anyone heard of this "remedy" before?
I'm not sure I'm willing to live with the trade-off. (They did my transmission fluids - I'm not sure if anything they did could contribute to the "heaviness" of the car...it just doesn't feel as nimble.) Also, when I brought it back they said there was no air involved in replacing the brakes, so it had nothing to due with air. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated...

 

If they did your transmission fluid, they should have used Nissan Matic S fluid only. Anything else and you risk part of your powertrain warranty. I'm assuming you have a 5AT. And that heaviness could definitely be related to the fluid they used in the transmission. Put a 50W oil in your engine and it will run, but I guarantee you'll feel a big performance difference. Find out what they put in there.

As for the brakes, yes the ceramic's will not be as noisy, but they also won't stop your car as well as the dusty, squeaky OEM's did. That's the tradeoff. The G35 has one of the shortest 60-0 stopping distances out there, something like 110-113 feet. That's borderline super car territory. So most "fixes" won't be as good as what the car came with, or Infiniti would have already done it.

 

I have Raybestos ceramic and hate them, no bite, they are coming off the car
as soon as I get the OEM pads with Centric Premium rotors.

Anthony

 

"Hate" is a pretty strong word to describe Raybestos ceramics, which are the very brake pads that come in the Delco box at GM dealerships for Corvette Z06s.

Infiniti OEM pads actually have some ceramic compound in them, particularly in the rears. Furthermore the OEMs probably aren't going to have a higher heat dissipation rating than aftermarket pads with higher ceramic content. So you won't get any greater fade resistance which is more important than the greater initial "bite".

 

You can't say which is more important without also describing the scenario involved. Greater fade resistance is more important if you're tracking your car, but initial bite is more important for regular day-to-day driving. You simply aren't going to have multiple hard braking situations during regular driving, so better fade resistance has little value. You are, however, going to have singular emergency hard braking situations during regular driving, so that loss of initial bite will definitely come into play. It could be the difference between stopping short and putting your front bumper into someone's back seat.

This is why many people who track their cars have 2 sets of pads, one for daily use and one for the track.

 

I'm driving an 03. I replaced my OEM fronts with Akebono ProAct ceramics and I couldn't be happier. At first they didn't stop as well, but after a little break-in period, I can't tell much of a difference from my OEM's. The dusting is much less as well.

 

+10000, I too have Hawks Hps pads, which I regret, chalk my bad purchase up to the consensus of Hawks Hps being great on most forum.

I am planning on removing these pads and returning to OEM. The OEM pads do have their drawbacks, but for day to day driving, I'm assuming no other pads are comparable in the above said category.

Also, will my slotted rotors fare well with the OEM pads???

 

/\+1

What he said.

 

i got the autozone duralast gold c-max pads! Love the pads with no sound coming from them and little dust!

 

Hawk HPS pads are crap. I don't see why so many people recommend them. They have terrible initial bite and aren't great when up to normal operating temperature.

 

^ I concur!

 

Are you guys serious? Hawk HPS have given me no problems on 2 different cars. I'm running them on the G right now. Never once had initial bite problems. Not once. It's all about the proper bed in. You don't do it right and they aren't gonna work for you. In case you didn't know, HPS pads are street pads, hence the S in the name. They are a pad centered on doing great on the street and well at the track for the weekend warrior. If you hardcore race, they aren't the pads you want. But if you are a spirited driver these work great. No I don't work for them or get paid by them either. I don't even wear their decals. I've used OEM's, off the shelf pads, and ceramics besides these. None have felt more predictable than these.

I'm not saying the OP needs to get these. The OP is correct that ceramic is not a good choice for the street. I know the Vette comes stock with them as do many other brands of cars. But their suspension and brake systems are engineered with them in mind. Different rotor material, different caliper designs, etc.

 

Although the proper bedding of these pads factors in their performance, I do believe Hawks Hps are advantageous to those that live in warmer regions, such as yourself. Hawks are not best suited for individuals, such as myself that deal with snow, and temperatures that can dip well below 30 degrees. These pads greatly rely on being heated up to temp for optimal performance. One shouldn't have in the back of their minds, "hey this is my third stop light, my brakes should be ready for use". A side from the colder temps, I even noticed that these pads under perform in wet conditions; it just does not grip confidently.

The lack of a thorough review on my part, and getting caught in the over hype of these pads is the reason why I ended up with them.

I would really like to find out the stopping distance numbers of Hawks vs.OEM, since so many people feel Hawks stop their cars better.
Maybe some factual numbers would end the mass placebo effect with Hawks!

 

Fair enough. I can understand the climatic effects on pads. Instead of these people either loving them or hating them, how about an objective opinion, such as "These didn't work so well for where I live" or "These didn't do what I needed them to do under the conditions I put them through". Purely objective and accurate for their perception. I don't feel these perform any better than OEM in regards to stopping distances. I do have visible proof of them not polluting my wheels with dust and there is no squeal at all when applied as opposed to OEM pads. I have no proof at all that these stop sooner, bite harder or anything of such claims. You get some of these yahoos (not calling anyone here that since I know none of you) that automatically go fanboi on a product or go complete hater on a product. Can't people simply admire something purely objectively yet explain reason why they don't prefer them? Such as I purely admire some of the world's finer sport bikes, but sport bikes aren't my cup of tea. I drool over the Audi R8 but can't see myself driving one. I love the awesome factor of the Barrett BMG .50 rifle but it's overkill to own one. I never hated on any of these. I just don't find they suit me personally. Catch my drift?

Hawk pads do exactly what they were designed to do. I guess I live where the input conditions for these pads are near optimum and serve me well for what they can handle.

 

I actually do hate them, too many times I have almost rear ended someone.

I cannot lock up my wheels if need be..

They are coming off next week, one thing I do give them is no dust and no noise, but I'd rather be safe so going back to OEM..