Hey guys had a question.. Have around 22k on my 6mt coupe and sense its time to get new pads for the brembos. Want to go with a good pad that wont have so much dust and is a great pad. Any ideas?? Also for all you southern cali ppl living in the OC where is a good place to get this done.. Hate taking my car to the dealer cause they dont seem to understand that aftermarket wheels can get scratched if you dont carefully open them and use a F**kin impact gun...

All input appreciated.

I've heard good and bad about the Hawk HPS. Some say it's quiet, some say they squeek. Some say they dust, some say they don't. I don't know what to think.

Regardless, have you thought about DIY? There are good instructions on g-owner's.com by d_nyholm. Changing the brake pads is very easy. It would probably take less than 2 hours for a first-timer and less than an hour after you've done it once.

I would highly rec the Hawk HPS. I was cleaning my wheels every other day with the brembo pads, now with the Hawk's, I'm cleaning them every 7-10 days! They work great too!

My G has 1500 miles on it so I cant bother about pads yet... the only thing that did bother me was the amount of dust that comes off! Talking to some friends, they said that there are some "green" brembo pads? Dont quite know a better way of describing it, but according to my friends, these pads release little dust and brake better.

Hope this helps in some weird way.

i think the "green" pads your talking about are the "green stuff"pads.. I use to have some on my turbo civic.. they worked good, yet it seems that the Hawk's have a good reputation.. anybody else??

the greens are the organic compound pads.. they are suppose to squeek less and dust less. however, prob not as affective with the normal pads.

guys i just thought of something else... should i replace the rotors too, or just have them resurfaced?

the brembo cross drilled rotors look sick! gold with drilled holes + OEM gold calipers.. TEMPTING!!!

The Hawk pads are made from a Ferro-Carbon material. Its a carbon fiber relative. They have a real nice firm pedal feel and don't dust a lot at all. I'd say less than than stock pads do (I have the Brembos). I've used the HPS compound on another car and they worked well for aggressive street driving. I use the HP Plus on my G. They do make a bit more noise (as most more performance based pads will) than the stock but its not bad at all. They have an excellent initial bite to them. The HP's will dust more than the HPS pads.

The EBC contains a Kevlar based material. The backing plate of the pad is painted green, but the pad is black. They don't make any more or less dust on average than the HPS pads do. But they do dust in more of a reddish color than black like other pads. The Greenstuff is comparable to Hawks HPS, the Redstuff is similar to Hawks HP Plus.

When we compared the Greens and the HPS on our test cars (02 330 CI coupes) I was quite surprised. The EBC's didn't make as much noise, but they were really really soft in the pedal. The Hawks kept a consistent feel throughout their operating range, but EBC fell off quite a bit once warmed up. I've always used the Hawks and liked them a lot. For the little extra cost and noise they give I think its a good trade.

That's just my two cents...

You can replace them if you want but I would try to avoid resurfacing altogether if possible. The service manual says the rotors should be replaced after 1.4 mm of wear, IIRC. Turning them will probably take you close, if not past that limit.

Thanks al,

One question for ya.. when should i replace the rotors then.. (get out a ruler and measure to see if 1.44m??) There are no clear visible damage to them and my brake pads still have some meat on them.. My only concern is if I replace pads and leave rotors how they are will that be a good brake job (new pads will work at optimum performance?)

You can get/rent/borrow someone's micrometer and measure the rotor thickness. I honestly believe that you can go past that point unless you're putting in some serious track time. I'm thinking that the specs may be biased towards selling the customer new parts I think the dealer will charge about $400 for a pair of OEM rotors.

The only real reason to turn a rotor down (IMO) is if:
1. they're warped (bad runout, heat, etc.)
2. they damaged by the brake wear sensor
3. they have noticeable grooves in them.

You're rotors should look relatively smooth. A new set of pads will conform very quickly, especially if you bed them in properly. You shouldn't have any problems.

Just change to Hawk brake pads and no problem yet.

Hey g_man35,

If you do not mind the drive bring your car to US (Streetimage). We have worked on a lot of G35's and 350z's. So there would be nothing to worry about when you come to us. We treat your car like its one of ours. PM me for the prices for the pads and install. Thanks

--- Jimmy

I have 14,500k on my brembos right now.
I notice a slight squeeking occassionally.

How many more miles do I have left?
I too do not want to get factory pads if after-market ones are better and/or cheaper or same price!

Let me know what you decide on...!
For sure I want slotted pads!

BoBs

I think its less. The first time I ever changed my own brakes I did it in under 1 hour. The biggest pain in the butt is putting the bracket back on . Sometimes you just can't find the hole for the screw

As for the rotors, as it has been said before- a visual inspection should be enough.
When I looked at my rotors about a month ago, the break pad was worn out and the metal was cutting into the rotor. I'll try to post a pic soon.

Looks scary and funny.