Hi, so i researched a bit on driver before making this post, as this has been brought up so many times.

I've sorta decided to get Centric Premium Rotors, everyone seems to like them and i've decided to only DD the car and not track it. Tirerack also has Brembo Blanks, for a similar price for the front, so i might go in that direction as well.

also at the mean time I'm only replacing the rears as the fronts are decent.

As for the pads, I'm thinking about getting the Akebono ACT pro Ceramics OR Hawk PC pads. For the pads i don't care for higher performance as this will be a street car, but i don't want it to perform less than OEM, but i don't want to get OEM because i believe there must be something that performs as well without the dust and the price.


anyways, what do you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance

Centric Premium is a good choice. However I personally like the Raybestos Advanced Technology better. The Raybestos Advanced Technology rotors are equivalent to the Centric Power Alloy rotors in terms of metallurgy. They are more resistent to heat soaking and hot spotting, while being only a few dollars more expensive than the Centric Premiums. Also, their platters are noticeably thicker than the Centric discs.

Nothing wrong with the Centric Premiums, I use them on my Maxima. It's just that for the Brembo brakes the Raybestos Advanced Technology rotors are a better rotor for only slightly more.

Akebono ACT Pro is a good choice in my opinion. People generally claim that these pads do not grab as well as stock in cold weather. Just make sure you bed them in properly and warm them up in the morning and you will be fine.

^ what about HAWK HPS'?

i'm wondering if it'll be soft enough for the new rotors so i don't lose performance.

seems to go back and forth on this forum.

The HPS is very gentle on rotors compared to some performance pads. Their quality seems to vary from set to set. I used to say that the HPS don't squeal, but I was wrong. I just installed a set that squealed no matter what I do to remedy the problem. Other than that they are decent pads that are heat resistant with good grab in a wide range of temperatures.

what's your set up?

My sedan has EBC slotted rotors and HPS pads front and rear. The Z has ProjectMu pads front on stock Brembo setup.

Since you live in a northern/cold climate, you should stay away from Hawk HPS. Even though they dust a bit less than OEM, they have poor bite when cold. In the winter or rainy weather, they're downright scary.

I replaced my front pads in November w/Project Mu NS for my '04 w/Brembos, and I am extremely pleased with them. They perform just like OEM but dust a whole lot less. They are not cheap, but they're not as expensive as OEM. I am running them on Centric Premium rotors, which are also excellent so far.

I've actually done some more looking into it

thanks so far for all the replies


i'm going with front and rear R1concept Slotted rotors, and haven't decided on the pads

r1concept sells the oem pads for $125 for all four, can't decide to get OEM, Stoptechs ($112) or Akebono Ceramics ($89)

If those are really Brembo OEM pads for $125 for all four wheels, that is an amazing deal. I'm a little suspicious of that though. That's about 1/2 as much as I've seen them sold for elsewhere, like mynismo.com. But if they are really OEM pads, I'd say you can't beat that.