Hi, guys, i have been looking around for new brake pads and rotors(mainly for the rear one, but i don't mind replacing all 4 wheels). I see a lot of debate on the a lot of the thread. some ppl say the hawk is good but it's bad when in cold condition. i see a lot of different rotors as well, the stoptech and the "rotora" rotors.

i also see this
https://g35driver.com/forums/brakes-...check-out.html

I can't really decide and be convinced that which setup is good. I want to know what do you guys have and how are they.

my car is 2003 g sedan with sports package. I just want something with equal or a little better than oem stopping power.

and it doesn't have to be last super long, regular is fine.

(i see a lot ppl mention dust when it comes to brake what does it do?)

help!
any contribution is appreciated. thank you very much.

 

First, when someone talks about a "cold" brake pad, they aren't talking about the weather. It's about the temperature of the pad itself. A Hawk pad works great once it's warmed up, like when you're driving your car hard and braking alot. It could be 10 degrees outside and your pads could be hot or 100 degrees (F) and your pads could be cold. Hawks are not very good when they're cold, which is what they'll be most of the time during regular daily driving. You'll see increased stopping distances if you switch to Hawks.

Regarding dust, one of the major complaints about the 03-04 OEM setup is the pads produce lots of brake dust, making your wheels dirty all the time. They also eat through rotors pretty quickly. G35's have truly outstanding braking ability. In 03-04 this was achieved with smaller rotors and very aggressive brake pads. In 05 they changed to bigger rotors, bigger, less aggressive pads, and a 2-piston front caliper. Same outstanding braking but without all the dust.

For regular driving, the best setup is still OEM. You can stick with your current setup and just get rotors and OEM pads, or you can upgrade to an 05+ OEM setup and still have great braking minus all the dust. A third option is to go with a BBK (big break kit). There's no advantage with a BBK for regular driving other than looks and less dust. Where they really shine is when you're driving really hard and hitting the brakes alot. OEM will start to "fade" under these conditions, but the BBK won't. Fade is when you start seeing longer stopping distances after repeated braking. The pads, rotors, and brake fluid get too hot to work effectively. A BBK has more surface area so they'll stay cooler for longer.

You don't have to go OEM on the rotors, but I would suggest staying with OEM pads. A solid or slotted rotor will work fine, but don't get a cross-drilled. They look good, but most are structurally weaker (they can crack), and have less mass so they don't cool down as well.

 

oh, man. thank you very much for you advice. BuckeyeInMI.

 

any suggestion on slotted rotors?

 

I got the EBC slotted rotors and hawk pads, I personally love this combo. the hawk pads suffer a little bit when cold, but they warm up quickly. Definite stopping increase over stock. I've have an 06 sedan

 

thanks pdald1. there is a of different ebc slotted rotors out there. are you using the black one or the regular one?

 

Centric makes very good rotors.

 

no problem, i got the ultimax slotted rotors (black ones)

 

can anyone provide a link to some decen oem replacement rotors for the 05+ sport package sedans? I'm having trouble finding them on teh webz and the sites that i do find are ambiguous about whether they are for the AWD or RWD or Coupe vs. Sedan

 

They're all the same, sort of. 2005 Coupe and 2005 RWD Sedan use the same rotors. 2005 AWD still uses the older, smaller 03-04 rotors. In 2006 every model is using the larger rotors.

 

now i need new rotor again. i went with ebc ultimax rotors and red stuff brake pads. now the front has been shaking at highspeed. i need to change some new front rotors.

i prefer other brand. i have been looking and looking. still not sure yet..

could anyone please list what brand their rotors are and roughly how long do they last. how much are they?

i most worry about the durability. then the look.


any contribution is appreciated. thank you.

 

I am currently running EBC Ultimax rotors and EBC bluestuffs pads. Rotors are ready to be replaced at about 20K. Previously ran DBA 4000 slotted with Project mu B-Force, rotors lasted about 15K. Before that I ran Centric Premium w/ Stoptech StreetPerformance Pads, rotors lasted about 20K. Before that I ran Performance Brake brand slotted rotors w/ Project Mu pads - about 20K. Before that I ran three sets of OE rotors, two on the stock pads and one w/ Project mu B-force, each set of rotors lasted about 15K. In each case the vibration got so bad that they were unusable, typically the rotors also had some heat crazing in the center of the swept area and the rotor were not able to be cut. One of the OE rotors cracked. The OE Pads faded very quickly and left major deposits on the rotors that were hard to wear through.

In most cases the rotors were pretty well cooked by about 13K and I stretched them out a bit before replacing. I have not yet worn out a pad. I have not found the perfect combination yet, but the OE and Centric premium rotors seemed to work pretty well and the Project Mu pads were pretty good - much better when hot.

My opinion is that the brakes are still undersized for the power and weight of this car. My wifes BMW has bigger brakes that outperform mine and are still OE at over 40K. I drive her car the same way I drive mine and hers is a bigger 5 series.

 

I'm running EBC slotted rotors and EBC red stuff pads on my '08 sedan. Didn't see much improvement over stock, and they warped after only 5k miles.
Didn't seem to be a good combo for this car...

 

If you're going through rotors that quickly, I'd suggest changing your driving habits or getting a different brand. OEM's from 05+ regularly last 60K+, you're getting less than 1/3rd of that.

And as far as the BWM comparison, it's somewhat inaccurate. "Outperform" could be a subjective term, meaning you liked how they performed better than the G35. But objectively, both cars stop from 60-0 in the same distance (an excellent 113 feet). And the G35 has always been closer to a 5 Series in size than a 3 Series. If you compare the weights from similar years and similar engines, they're nearly identical. And whether they're undersized or not is again, subjective, because objectively they're very good.

And mysoda, there are plenty of threads out there talking about rotors. I don't know why you went away from OEM, but that's still your best option.

 

RacingBrake slotted rotors and ET500 pads FTW!