I have an 07 G35 coupe, with 19" Rays. I know that Brembo brakes will fit, but the question is what's the best/cheapest way of getting the gold Brembo calipers? If I get a used set will I have to worry about how long they will last? Getting the rotors, pads, brake lines and fluid shouldn't be that hard but these calipers seem pretty rare. If there are any other calipers that are similar from different brands that perform as well feel free to recommend, I just am in love with the gold

 

Hi Ryan.

If you don't want to have to worry about the condition, you could buy them remanufactured from Rockauto! Great deal there. I think someone here is selling them on the forum, but he hasn't replied to his listings in a minute.

 

Personally I would just buy the least abused OEM set you can find at a good price then order front and rear rebuild kits for them, it's like $80 total for the entire master rebuild kit, then you basically have brand new calipers.

 

I've done a lot of research and still can't find a good used set of brembos anywhere. I saw one on ebay but the seller was asking around $900 for all 4 calipers and they were used. In your opinion how do the Akebonos compare?
https://conceptzperformance.com/akeb...z33_p_3118.php
My car is a daily driver and won't be tracked at all so I'm basically looking for brakes with better bite, I don't think brake fade will benefit me as much (which is what I hear the brembos are good for). I also hear that the Akebonos are weigh more than brembos, which can be another deciding factor for me.

 

Pad upgrade IMO before brembos, Akebono over Brembo every time.

 

I use the stock 2006 calipers, with cheap R1 rotors (the cheap ones not the expensive ones) Hawk HP+ for street (about the loudest I would want for the street) and now I use DTC-50 for track use, no fade WHATSOEVER and excellent consistent brakes no matter how hot you get them.

HOWEVER! those DTC-50 are some serious rotor-eating track pads so I definitely do NOT recommend them for street use.

The Brembo's are great, don't get me wrong. But unless this is a dedicated TRACK CAR you really don't need them, they look fantastic and have a larger sweep area and thus can get by with a less aggressive pad which = cheaper for budget racing TYPICALLY since you won't be destroying rotors quite as frequently as track pads on a slightly smaller diameter rotor with less consistent grip like a slide-pin caliper from the 2006 year but these things really only come into play on aggressive track use. I compensate with a super aggressive pad and expect to wear out rotors quicker, but I'm fine with replacing my rotors more frequently, I think I paid exactly $245 for all 4 rotors from R1 last time, I use drilled/slotted even though they're "technically" not as good as a slotted-only.

As for Akebono vs. Brembo... from a performance standpoint I don't think it will matter either way unless we're talking some serious autoX abuse and even then I don't think there would be a measurable gain from either setup since pads (EDIT: and racing brake fluid) is everything.

Here's a nifty Hawk comparison chart so you can pick the correct pads for your abuse/use level, most other manufacturers offer some kind of temperature graph like this so do some research and decide how much you're willing to sacrifice for noise/dust.'

 

If you have the non-brembo 2003-2004 then you probably want to upgrade your calipers to at least the 2005-2006 ones.

 

I have the stock 07 calipers. The consensus on this forum seems to be they are not that bad? Another reason I've been considering upgrading my brakes is because when I brake sometimes I hear I high pitched squeal, don't know if the culprit is the rotors/pads/calipers? I would hope there is some considerable performance upgrade from the stock brakes to the 14" Akebonos in terms of stopping power.

 

Again, it totally depends on pads. My stock calipers with those DTC-50 will outrace the OEM Akebono pads 100x over. You'll end up with NO BRAKES on the stock Akebono pads long before I ever will but the Akebono has a much larger sweep area so they would probably only need to run MT-4 to get the same bite as I do (up to a point, heat removal gets to be a problem eventually and those colder pads won't perform) for a typical 6-10 laps. Plus it's not going to eat rotors as fast on the track because it's just got more metal surface area.

Another huge benefit to running Akebono or Brembo calipers is you have access to 2-piece rotors, however those things are REALLY spendy.

 

Don't forget that people raced using DRUM BRAKES for a very long time and did it very successfully. Pads pads pads.

 

Yep ^ pads all day.

 

ryan,

there are usually two reasons to upgrade to big brakes. #1 for looks. #2 you require more heat capacity/dissipation than the stock brakes can provide.

your dual piston 06+ brakes are great, just good pads (exactly what pad you go with depends on your level of driving) and fluid will get you VERY far and that's what you should do first if you are looking to improve stopping performance (initial bite, pedal feel, fade resistance), assuming you have grippy tires. Just slapping on a bbk will not improve your "stopping power".

If you need a little help deciding between brembo vs akebono, keep reading.

i've gone down this path before when it came to brake upgrades and was between brembo vs akebono.I lapped the car around laguna seca and thunderhill on stock calipers until race pads (carbotech xp10) + race fluid + brake ducts were no longer enough and finally went with the akebono bbk. the main reason I chose the akebono kit is that the 06+ rotors and brembo rotors are actually similarly sized, so there isn't much gain too much in terms of heat capacity from this upgrade. the fixed brembo caliper will improve pedal feel, but you're still dealing with a tiny rotor on a 3600lb car.

Like you've seen for yourself, used brembo calipers without everything else go for nearly a thousand dollars. Pricing is another point where the akebono shines. you'll need to do a little digging around online for deals, but the total for all my akebono calipers, slotted rotors, SS lines, track pads,adapter brackets, p.mu brake fluid came out to be ~$1350. There is a downside to akebono bbk upgrade, and that is rotor weight. these things weigh about 28lbs each in front and are A LOT heavier than the stock rotors, however the caliper is actually a few pounds ligher than the 06+ caliper so the net gain is ~10lbs in each front corner iirc. None of this matters in street driving, but 10lbs in the front corners are noticeable in both steering and suspension response.

I see that you're local to me in cupertino. feel free to PM if you have any questions about brakes, suspension work, tires, track days, etc.

 

Okay, sounds like its not time for the Akebonos yet, but one more question... when should I change the rotors? Im currently sitting at almost 59k miles and if they are whats causing the high-pitched squeal when braking I wouldn't mind shelling out some cash for some bigger/better drilled or slotted rotors. Theres also some discoloration to them (rust maybe?), how long do they normally last?

 

Under what conditions does this squeal happen? Does it make noise under both light and heavy braking? It could be the pad feelers making noise, could be that your pads were never bedded properly, could be that your hardware needs some grease. I've never heard of noise being caused by the rotor itself.

As for your question about when replace rotors, I get new ones when they are down to the minimum thickness or if they develop heat cracks. Get a cheap caliper from Amazon to find out how thick they currently are.

 

Hard to say specifically but normally when I'm cruising at a relatively good speed (over 40 mph) and begin to brake I hear that noise. Maybe starting by replacing the pads would be a good idea and I can figure out what exactly is causing the noise by process of elimination. Will also check the thickness of rotor and look for any cracks. I know I have sticky tires because I just had some Bridgestone Potenza 980 A/S installed like a month ago. I work at a body shop with access to a lift and friendly co-workers willing to help me so a lot of these mods won't break the bank since the cost will be mostly only parts.
Thanks for the advice