Seems you don't care for stopping distance and you just want brakes to last. I have read stopping distance is a couple feet shorter with the 03/04 brakes. Not enough to feel a difference after I switched the 07 brakes. I've noticed the rotors don't warp or groove quickly. And barely any dust with the large stock Akebono pads. Dual calipers really makes a difference!

You have to be right, that is why a lot of us don't have the stock 03/04 brakes anymore. And I give credit to the people who found the 05/06/07 brakes fit on 03/04.

I bought a pair of front 07 calipers for $150 shipped on here
StopTech rotors drilled and slotted are ~$300 for a pair
Stock pads are ~$100 for the front set

Once your brakes wear out, you have to buy pads and rotors anyway. Why not spend a little more money on quality rotors. You are really only spending extra money on the calipers.

 

you have it backwards. I do care about distance, but i don't really care TOO much for brake life.. that's why I use OEM pad with OEM rotors.. you gotta pay to play... i would love to have an upgraded setup like you, but I can't afford it.

and when you say "lot of us"... what's the %? like 0.0005%?

 

You can keep spending money replacing your pads and rotors every year or upgrade to the same stopping distance and better brake wear that lasts at least twice as long.

 

according to my log book, i've changed my current OEM pads a year ago.. i drove this car for 130k and over 9 years.. and i've changed the front pads 4 times and the rotor once.. the rear pads once 6 months ago and never changed the rear rotors... you SERIOUSLY must be tracking your car if you are replacing your pads every year or tailgating the hell out of the car front of you..

slow it down speed racer..

i am just saying that cost/performance wise, it would be better just to keep the OEM setup.. if the upgrade was free, it's a no brainer..

 

PFT guess you're used to a pulsating brake pedal, when your due for rotor change it will be a no brainer to spend an extra $150 on better OEM calipers.

 

oh yea.. i forgot that OEM brakes are designed to pulsate..
i completely forgot about it.. sorry.. my bad..

but if I could add, worn brakes don't necessarily pulsate. In fact, I've NEVER had the problem on my car. I only change my pads when it hits the indicator or it's at its minimal measurement.. same goes for the rotor.. I never had the rotors warp.. I only replaced them because they were getting grooves on the edge and went below their minimal measurement.

Like i said.. i have nothing against the upgraded brakes, but you make it sound like this guy is going to run into a wall next week if he doesn't change his setup.. I just want to make sure other newbies don't get false information from this site.

Anyways.. you win, I just ordered my BBK.. you scared me half to death..

 

You shouldn't have let him scare you, you were right.

BBK WILL NOT improve stopping distance. The OEM setup is good enough to get it to the tire's limit for one emergency break without warm up, which is exactly what like 99.9% of drivers need. In fact the g35 with OEM brakes stops better than porsches, because FM is better for braking distance than RR.

Similarly, the bling-bling multi-piston fixed calipers will not improve your stopping distance either. It is mostly for break feel and reliability/consistency.

Some magazine tested the stoptech or brembo or something vs stock to prove this i think on 350z or g35 coupe.

The big rotors and brake pads really are only for heat dissipation.

So, IMHO, unless you have noticed brake fade, you are throwing away money when you upgrade your brakes. (and adding extra unsprung weight to boot).

And even then, unless you are going to the track, you can probably solve your brake fade issues with new brake fluid and decent brake pads.

And back to the OP, what direction are the grooves in? like, circular grooves running the whole surface of the rotor? Sounds more like dirt or pebbles stuck between your rotor and pads. If it's really bad on one rotor, you can take out the pads and make sure nothing is stuck. They should go away as the imperfections get ground up when you brake, and the rotor face gets ground down by use.

 

I feel like maybe brake performance would be different on a manual than automatic.
That said I took the car in on Wednesday and they said everything was fine, so whatever I guess.
Now my brakes started squeaking again though.
Oh well, I'm not sure I feel like taking it back in.

And yes, they are circular grooves running the whole surface of the rotor. I'm starting to think it's mainly from the brake dust..

 

You can try bedding in your brakes to get rid of the squeak, though it's not really a permanent solution. Or you can get the brake noise reducing gel things. Or you can get different brake pads, ones that focus on less noise.

 

Nissan has a good paste to reduce brake noise that's why last time it did this I just took it in. Brakes stopped making noise for a while, but I'm not too worried about it

 

In hindsight, the OEM pads and rotors did only last me a year. I didn't think I drove too aggressively but everyone seems to agree that this is the only logical explanation.

I got caught at the dealer during inspection, so I'm on a new set of OEM pads and rotors since I had no choice. (My sticker was expiring that day.)

Now I will definitely keep a close eye on my pads and upgrade as soon as these wear out. I don't see myself driving like an old grandma anytime soon so i guess pay to play, blah blah.