I've had the Akebono set-up on the car for a little over a month, or roughly 1700 miles. It's all OEM, including pads, the only difference is the braided SS lines. I will be comparing this to the standard S brakes on the '35 sedan.

After the pads were properly bedded in (and re-bedded, after i fixed the 2pc rotor issue where it was turning the wrong way) I've come to appreciate the kit quite a bit for its good modulation, feel and bite.

Even after this many miles, I'm still adjusting to how the brakes work. For daily driving and traffic stops, braking even later than i normally do after coasting is a frequent occurrence. I'm not talking about hard stops either, but rather gradually coming to a stop in a comfortable manner. Yes, late gradual, comfy braking.

I have managed to do quick 70-0 stops and it will without missing my mark and without having to push the pedal all the way to the floor . I tried it to the floor as well and obviously that worked even better.

Compared to the standard brakes, these are much better in almost all regard.

The bad? The Akebono kit front pads seem to dust quite a bit more than the original S pads. It's a non-issue for me, however, but may be for some of you. Also, although some attribute the 2-pc rotors for it, i think the bias tuning for our G35's are not the same as that of the '37s since moderate/hard braking seems to cause a bit more nosedive than with the standard brakes.

Once i hit the 3k mile mark this is going to the track to get a better feel for it. Since i've had the G on the track with the standard brakes having similar mileage on pads, i can better compare the two. I will update this thread then.

Just thought i'd share.

 

Thats really nice to know. I will be buying my Akebono BBK by the end of summer, but i will be getting them with the stoptech rotors and Hawk performance pads. I know that these will perform much better overall but do you know if the 60-0 distance has decreased significantly or just a little bit because i have the option of doing a 8 piston front and 4 piston rear Rotora combination, but i want to know because spending $1500 on these would be better than spending $5000 on those

 

Sadly that's one thing i was not able to do. But going to the track will help determine if it's actually doing anything for performance as i'll be able to relate where i used to brake on turns before and where i'll be now.

Although, to be honest, once you reach a certain threshold with your 60-0, your tires will likely play a bigger role. The calipers may clamp down, but the tires will eventually just slide or kick on the abs.

 

if the ABS kicks in during your 60-0 test then you need to upgrade your tires first. Brakes will almost always lock up / activate ABS when fully pressing the brake pedal.

 

I hear a lot of bad things about infiniti/nissan brakes in car magazines, basically stopping really well, till a certain point, then not being able to stop once it surpassed that breaking point. I believe motortrend wrecked a 370z, and another car mag had a 350z (HR motor) go off track, and in another issue, the FX's brakes would just bottom out.

I Love how my G brakes... but i kinda don't want to worry about running my car hard, and it not being able to stop w/o notice

 

Every single brake system, regardless of manufacturer, from non-high performance vehicles will do that since OEM brakes are designed to brake well cold and repeat that after a few high speed stops (typical scenario's for daily driving). Anything more than that and fade will come.

The tests from various magazines were done at the track and i'll bet they flog the daylights out of these cars more than the typical sedan or compact just because they can and they want to make a point (it is a "sports" car they're reviewing after all).

That said, even on the track the stock brakes work admirably on a track that's admittedly relatively easy on brakes. (Then again, these are on the track where one needs to slow down from speeds much higher than is normally experienced on the streets.) I suspect the Akebono's will work well or better in our vehicles given the fact that they're not hauling down as much weight as those in the G37 coupes.

 

I agree ^^
Plus, better rotors, pads, lines and brake oil really help at the track.

soundmike, what brake oil are you running and why did you go with stock pads over aftermarket? Also, which 2pc rotors are you using again?

I'm really anxious to hear how they do on the track

 

Subscribed! Definitely let us know how it goes on the track.

I just had my OEM rotors turned and the braking feels much better.

I would probably consider a new braking system sometime next year. I'm considering tracking the car this summer to get a feel of how it handles.

How was your experience at the track with OEM brakes? Did you upgrade your lines or fluids?

 

I'm thinking switching to a higher DOT grade brake fluid will help many of the problems...

 

I'm using Valvoline SynPower fluid (still have a couple of bottles left from when they still sold these --- one of the best values for OTC fluid). They've so far held-up just fine, although i do change out the fluid after a session (i.e. day) or two. Got the RB 2pc right now. I've considered getting the new 2pc front/rear set-up from one of the other vendors here but with the minimal weight savings on the rears, i feel it's counter-intuitive. So i'll likely just stick with these for the long-term.

I kept the stock pads for the Akebono's for two reasons -- it's a good pad for daily driving and i wanted to see for myself how much of a difference the upgrade really makes.

The standard (non-Akebono) S brakes worked just fine for my skill level. I really haven't heard or read of anyone complaining of the stock brakes on the track. Oddly enough, i hear more problems from daily drivers which again tells me all these complaints of "warped" rotors is nothing more than uneven pad deposits on their rotors. (It's hard to get uneven deposits with high speed braking since everything is always hot and you're never standing on the brakes for extended periods of time like one would do in traffic.)

 

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of problems are you experiencing?

 

I don't have any problems with my brakes.... I was just thinking about things to do for "insurance" sake...

 

I had the Stoptechs & HPS pads on mine with SS braid lines & Motul 600 fluid.
1st, no BBK is going to give you "significantly shorter 0-60 distance"

It's more about the feel & modulation as soundmike mentions AND
the fade resistance the extra mass provides.

That said, my impressions were very similar to soundmike's but the HPS Stoptech combo did not produce extra dusting, they were great!