I have an 08 G35XS Sedan.

Weighing the difference between upgrading my 2 piston calipers or just letting them be and replacing pads/rotors. Can anyone recommend a cost-effective option for a stock sedan owner who wants a little more bite? I would like to avoid high-dust pads or track-only applications.

 

Honestly you're going to be best off with the OEM pads/rotors, maybe vented/slotted rotors but what you asked for is nearly impossible (more bite without dust) those two options are pretty much mutually exclusive but the OEM pads do a very decent job of balancing the two.

 

Avoid rotors with holes in them. Oem or slotted aftermarket. I had a set of cross drilled break on me once.

 

Wow that sounds exciting! Was it a name brand rotor or was it maybe a blank that some company decided to dress up with a bunch of pretty holes? I've had good luck with stoptech drilled/slotted over the years, I've put a set on basically every vehicle I've owned with the exception of my 2500HD.

 

Thanks. At this point I'm really debating the Akebono upgrade if I can find a good set of used calipers around $600 then I may pull the trigger. I'll definitely grab some slotted rotors although I'm tempted to get the drilled/slotted rotor just for the great looks. Actually if I was going for looks I'd get the drilled and not slotted setup because I like the holes but they don't suit very well for mountain driving or heavy stopping or high heat from what Stillen says.

On the flip side with the Akebono and the 355mm rotor it sounds like I'd be decreasing steering response by adding unsprung weight and rotating mass (unless I fork out the $$$ for 2-peice rotors which I'd rather not do).

 

If you never plan to track the vehicle then the stock brakes will suit you just fine, when Stillen says mountain driving he's referring to extremely long downhill grade but you should be downshifting in those scenarios anyways. The reduction of mass by drilling/slotting means less volume of metal to act as a heatsink and for lower grade rotors with fewer vanes (and no directional vanes) they do perform poorly yes. A good quality drilled/slotted has a lot of mass added back via extra vanes and will cool better overall.

Thus why I typically stick with stoptech, I've had great luck with them over the years and never had a problem on Snoqualmie Pass in Washington.

 

So what size rotors do I have? 2008 G35X Sedan with sport badge (paddle shifters and suspension upgrade). I don't think my Sport model has any brake upgrades... it came with 18" wheels though.

Do I have the 330mm front Disc? 320mm front Disk? What about rear disc?

 

Take off your wheel and measure it, only way to know for sure.

 

I upgraded my car years ago! (5 or 6) and went with R1 concepts premium blanks, and Hawk hp pads one of the best upgrades the car has gotten in its life!! they can with stand the occasional track day, and autox,, and are super for daily driving.

 

I'm on stoptech cross drilled rotors, unfortunately one of the rears broke on a spirited ride, as determined by a regular brake inspection.

I use Akebono* street pads currently which make no dust, but they fade way too quickly for spirited driving and I need something more aggressive.

Blue dream cautioned away from the Hawk HPS, but HP + looks promising! I also had my eye on Stop Tech Street performance pads. I'm looking for major fade resistance, and I dont think dust is avoidable .

 

Yep I'm not a fan of the HPS. They seem to be a love/hate kind of part with a lot of complaints and a lot of support on here. Never tried the HP + so no comment there. From my experience you can't really find great performance without dust on G pads, sorry Urban.........

 

This doesn't go under the "Cost Effective" post you began with! Check out our Marketplace under vendor brakes then look for DBA slotted/drilled rotors. I've been using them for over 40K miles with excellent results! Along with the DBA rotors I'm running HKS HP pads for the same amount of time for great stopping power and near zero brake dust.
Warped Rotors? Never let anyone install your tires/wheels using a impact gun, that's the cause of warped rotors...fact! Your wheels should be installed using a torque wrench set at 80lbs and no other way!
Gary

 

It can be a cause but definitely not the only one I overheated the bejesus out of the stock pads/rotors on my truck towing a mini-excavator, only time I actually felt the exact moment the front rotor crapped on me, those long downhill mountain passes will kill brakes/rotors if you aren't paying attention.

 

If you are looking for a BIG BRAKE upgrade ,.look no further ,...
Your Welcome ,....


https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...sn=607&jsn=607

 

WOW! CHEAP AND COMPLETE KIT?

Those things are a steal of a deal if they will actually hold up to 60k of daily driving without making a bunch of awful noises or warping. Anyone else reviewed this product? The following review I pulled off of a youtube review video was not very promising.



Unique Hearing Aid Solutions
The reviews I saw prior to buying these must be a paid marketing company and friends/family because these brakes are terrible! I have had them on my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland for about 20k miles aka a little over 1 year and the sounds and squeals they make is down right annoying as hell. They were installed professionally, for the first 2 months they made noises with every stop. I read "that will happen for the first few weeks because they are ceramic etc etc) So I got over that hump... Smooth riding for 5 months and now they sound like complete crap with or without applying the break. So I learned the hard way even though I preach it daily "you get what you pay for" Gotta run, I have to drop my Jeep off in am for OEM brake pads and rotors. (this is a legit post) I hope others read prior to buying.
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