Anybody know if the larger rotors and dual piston calipers from the 2005 G35 will bolt up to a 2003/2004 G35? This seems like it would make for a good bang-for-the-buck upgrade vs. Brembo or Stoptech.

 

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing and I'm willing to bet you can. Just gotta swap the rotor and caliper. Problem is I don't think it would be worth it to buy the parts brand new from the dealer. For that price your better off buying Stoptech or Wilwoood. Would have to get it for a reasonable price from an '05 person swapping out their brake setup. Either that or get it off a wrecked '05 in the junkyard. I guess we just gotta wait till someone actually does this.

 

I'm actually curious about this as well. I have a G35x and want some larger front rotors. Does anybody know if you can keep the stock caliper and simply add the carrier and rotor from the RWD 2005 model?

 

I recently got my front pads replaced under warranty (20k miles) and I asked about whether or not the '05 rotors/pads could be fit on my 03.5 sedan. I asked since I would do this the first time after warranty these had to be replaced (or I would go aftermarket, which I think is more likely for me).

The service mgr. told me they could not simply be swapped, and there was no kit available for conversion - I could tell he's been asked before. If this becomes possible my guess is it would be in 2006, since that is when the brake warranty will run out for the first model year (unless due to mileage, of course). If it doesn't happen in 2006, it's not gonna happen. I'm not holding my breath - I am expecting to go aftermarket once I am out of warranty.

I also think it's a crime you cannot replace the head unit on pre-'05 models with the new one that plays MP3 CDs. Really stupid.

 

I think it would be better to just trade up to an '05, I can just see the conversion getting very expensive.

 

Not if an '05 owner is upgrading to a BBK and wants to sell his stock setup.

 

I thought the 04 G35 brakes were considered pretty strong. I haven't seen or read anything to indicate that 05 brakes would offer any improvement in distance/fade over the 04's. Is this a cosmetic upgrade? Reducing brake dust?

 

The upgrade is targeted at dusting and wear. From what I've heard the stopping is very close (identical?) to the old components. The rotor wear has me more concerned than the pad wear.

As far as the suggestion to buy an '05 to solve the issue, I assume that was a joke

 

No, that wasn't a joke at all, if I knew for a fact the brake wear issue was resolved, I would trade up to an '05!

 

I had a 04, and now a 05 with the bigger brakes. After looking at them I can tell all you need is new calipers, and rotors from the 05 model. It will work.

 

Is it just for the brakes that you would trade up? How much does a brake job cost? Seems a little harsh to take the big financial hit swapping a 04 (or 03 ) for the 05 just to get different brakes. Aren't the EBC Greenstuff pads supposed to reduce the dust issue?

 

I think it's well established that the 2005 sedans have less brake dust than prior models, but I'm not sure if the 2005 stops as quickly as the prior models. Motor trend tested the 2005 stopping distance from 60 to 0 and it was significantly longer than the prior models. The 2005 was around 122 feet, while all their tests for the earlier models were around 110 feet (I don't have the exact figures with me). I'm not that one test proves much, but I never saw a 2003 or 2004 with a stopping distance that long.

 

Infiniti is probably using a less aggressive pad than the previous years for the '05 to satisfy all those complainers out there about the brake dust. Sure the large amount of brake dust is annoying but I'd rather take shorter stopping distances and more brake dust than longer stopping distances and less brake dust any day.

 

The 05 has larger brakes on both coupe and sedan to replace the brembos. They are much larger than the previous year brakes. Just put better pads on a 2005 and it will be much better off than a 2003-2004. Larger rotors, better cooling = better braking.

 

Actually, I'd go with larger rotors = more swept area = better braking. But I totally agree with some of the earlier posts guessing that the '03/'04 pads are significantly softer and more aggressive, and are responsible for the routinely reported 110-to-115-foot 60-to-zero braking numbers. (Unfortunately for Infiniti's lawyers and accountants, a road racer apparently slipped that recipe to its pad supplier at the last minute.)

But as you said, for harsh street or track use, combining the larger rotors and calipers of the '05 with pads similarly aggressive to those of earlier years would make one hellacious braking system. At least on paper.