OK, My G does not have a long "stopping mechanism."

Now I had better check the level of my "stopping mechanism" lotion.

 

First off, the context of the C&D article referenced in the initial post was street driving, not track driving, so your remarks are out of context.

Second, the 03-04 G35 SEDAN brakes 60-0 in 112 feet, which is exactly the same as the 03-04 911 SPORTS CAR. True, on the track the ventilated big brakes of the 911 will resist fade much better than the G35, but you're comparing completely different usage situations, completely different vehicle types, and completely different vehicle price points.

Third, an aftermarket brake kit on a G35 sedan (which is what I did to mine) remedies the fade issues.

Fourth, the long braking pedal stroke is actually much better than the stock "grab" on the 03-04 G35 because it lends itself to much greater braking control and feel. My Stoptech discs, pads, and SS lines created a long stroke and it is so much better than the stock grab.

 

The problem with the Infiniti brakes is not their performance in stopping the car, it's their performance in longevity and consistency. I had to replace my front rotors every 30K miles, pads every 15K. They faded pretty bad against heavy usage. The rears were only slightly better. The solution is to replace them with a BBK. I did mine with the Nissan North America lawsuit money awarded to me against said crappy brakes.

 

JESUS-H-CHRIST people.... I own this car and willingly bought this car. READ what i wrote instead of reading part of my post and piling on.

"And I'm not talking about regular street driving. I'm talking about track events and actually USING my brakes. Brake fade, boiled brake fluid, warped rotors, etc."

I'm talking track events and sustained usage here. Who here tracks their cars on a regualr basis? I would guess very few. Who here has a BBK and tracks their car? Again I would guess very few. I'm an instructor for gosh sake. When I mention they are the worst OEM brakes I have encountered I meant it but from a racing standpoint.

Your 60-0 test figures may be accurate I don't know but try doing that test 10x back to back and then tell me the outcome. One stop or even two does not show the potential of the brakes. On most other "Sport Sedan" models, the results would be far better.

That does say a lot about Nissans/Infiniti braking systems. They can't withstand the slightest amount of abuse before they overheat and fade. Yes I'm aware that a BBK would fix this but I'm not intrested in that as I am leasing this car and it's only my daily driver.

I wasn't even going to reply as it seems everyone wanted to pile on instead of actually reading and understanding what I wrote.

Yes the standard brakes on my 05' are okay for regualr street driving and I have no real issues with them except for "feel" but when it comes to serious driving, I find fault with them as do 3 other people I know that track their G's.

And don't throw the Coupes into this as most guys I know that have G's that go to the track are coupes and they all have the Brembos. Why didn't Infiniti put hte Brembos on the sedan (sport model) is beyond me.

So sorry if I ruffled everyone's feathers. But feel free to pile on if it makes you feel any better.

 

bmw 3 has better fade resistance or audi a4 does?? O wait the cts (none V) has better brake resistance. Im still having hard time understanding ur analogy. No factory "sport sedan" is going to have brakes that are ready for the track.
Now go ahead and compare the brakes with 911.

 

Again... your reading comprehension skills need work.

I never compared the brakes from the Porsche to that of the G35. I was ASKED what I had been driving (“I can’t imagine what you have been driving”) and I replied. That IS NOT a comparison.

I’ll admit it was a bit of tongue and cheek as the brakes on the 911 are above and beyond that of traditional OEM brakes. I’ll apologize for anyone who didn’t get my sarcasm.

And again, I’m talking about braking performance on the track. NOT braking performance on the street where 95% of everyone on here drives. You would NEVER see the conditions and failures like I and other have experienced on the track.

By failure I mean the condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short; Nonperformance of what is requested or expected.

That means brake fade due to overheating of pads, rotors and/or fluids. The cause of these conditions are improperly ventilated rotors, improper selection of pad material and brake fluid with to low of a boiling point. Yes a BBK is a fix and a good one but we’re talking about the G35s OEM brakes and NOT comparing them to the aftermarket. Because after all, that is not comparing apples to apples is it?

And what I meant by a true “sports sedan” is that if a manufacturer is going to designate a model to be called “sport”, shouldn’t it truly have the sport built in? Give the G35 a true sport suspension (offer up NISMO parts as an option), give it a true set of brakes (Brembo from the other model lines), give a real set of sport seats (G35 coupe or better), offer wider wheels and tires as an option… I would bet that most of us would pay for it.

 

Which other sports sedan are you referring to that are better than the G35 on this topic?

 

The other sedans that I have owned and/or driven on the track that #1 had OEM brakes and #2 had zero braking issues. I would guess that more than a few of these cars could be compared to the G35 in size and displacement.

Audi B5 A4 and S4
Audi B6 A4 and S4

VW Passat 1.8 and 2.8

Legacy GT
WRX

Acura TL and TSX

BMW 3-series (non M3)
BMW 5-series (non M5)

IS300
IS350

Mercedes C230/280/350

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure I'm missing some others. Lexus owners (other than the cars I've listed) typically don't bring their cars to the track. And I typically see a lot of Euro cars more so than the Asian cars.

What's disapointing to me is that Infiniti tells me (this is the Infiniti USA rep) that they upgraded the brakes on the 05' and 06' Sedans but I think that was due more to the horrible brake wear issues of the older models. I told him that a Brembo option is needed and that people would pay for it.

And I can't exactly go in to the dealership to complain about my brakes when I track my car and you can do a visual inspection of the brakes/rotors and see the bluing that has occurred on the rotors due to the heat.

At one track (TWS) going clockwise, your typical speed for a car like ours is 120-120mph going from the banked straight into a tight right hander. So you’re slowing down from those speeds to around 60mph in a very short distance. Each session is 30 minutes. That’s A LOT of heat associated with the brakes.

My plan for my car is aftermarket rotors and pads as soon as I get a spare set of backing plates to send off to Carbotech.

 

Hoping to shift the focus away from criticizing each other's use of the Napoleon-complexed brake pedal...

I just wanted to throw out there that this article is a classic example of Car and Driver's bias towards BMW. I started taking C&D about 4 years ago now, and I was very new to the automotive industry when I first started reading, especially with regard to luxury vehicles. I'd like to think that this inexperience left me completely un-biased against BMW, but after four years of reading idol-worshipping articles about "BMW perfection" I don't think I can handle it anymore.

Not slamming BMW, obviously they make great cars. I just think C&D goes wwwaayyy overboard in their praise. Can't wait for that subscription to run out...

 

C&D last year ran a heads up comparo and the beemer actually came in second. I can't recall which car came in first, but like you i beleive they are biased to the BMW.

I looked at a 3 series before getting my G and I really don't like the layout of the new 3. Also seems you have to pay much more for less car with the BMW. They want to charge extra for normal options like cd player, power seats, windows that go up and down..... :-)

And lastly, I use C&D and other mags as info only, to get me a short list of cars to look at. I leave the final decision up to me, not let some magazine tell me the car is good or not. Consumer reports does not like the G because even with traction control on the tail slid out. I am sorry but my normal driving does not require me to make turns that can pull .8G to make the tail slide.

I really don't like the way manufacturers are going with the center stack, and integrating everything either, how the heck are we going to add better stereos....

Pete