Just checking what people have for brake pads? I still have my stock brake pads, which give off too much brake dust. What pads will reduce the amount of brake dust given off?? Is ceramic the best or is there something better??

 

all pads are gunna give off a lot of dust man. i have autozones right now, they suck. bad breaking and noisey. and needless to say, a lot of brake dust.

 

go look at options.

http://maxmods.dyndns.org/

 

whats up guys? i checked my brakes today and realized i need some new front pads and rotors. i know it doesnt make much of a difference w/ rotors so im just gunna get some autozone ones. but as far as pads go...i want to get hawk pads but i really dont have time to wait for them to get shipped to me since its pretty bad as is. i was wondering if anyone knew the price of a set of front pads from the stealership? i figure theyre gunna have a lot more breaking power than my autozone crapboxes ive got now, plus be quiter. and i can just take a drive, grab em, go home, and replace. thanks.

oh and i tryed calling today, parts department wasnt open, nor will they be tomorow. just anxious i guess...

 

Brembo Blank Rotors, and Hawk pads are hte best combination.

 

I say brembo blanks and stock pads. Get the pads from a discount Nissan dealer like worldpartsexpress.com

Dave

 

well cost is a factor, and rotors really dont make that much of a difference, thats why i was thinkin autozone rotors with oem pads. i only got like $90-100 to spend.

anyone know how much $$ oem pads are? less than hawk ide assume right?

 

factory pads = $50-$60 (same as Hawk with less stopping power)
you wont get rotors and pads for $100 unless you buy the cheap chinese pads that are prone to faster wear and warping.

 

best brakes with the least dust = Factory pads or Hawk HPS

 

I have Hawk HPS and they dont dust as much as people say. They do dust more then stock dont get me wrong but its not crazy. I didnt actually think just pads would make that much of a difference but you could notice the diff right away. After i broke them in the inital bite seemed way better then before.

 

autozone rotors prob is the same price as brembo blanks from importrp for $36. Shipping is a lil expensive tho i think.

how bad is bad? Is it grinding yet? It only costs $16 to re-surface rotors. but if u already did it once..then yea..u need new ones.

But i use semi-metallic pbr/axxis pads

 

i have bendix pads and powerslot rotors all around. russell steel braided brake lines. i'd just get a cheap set of pads and cheap rotors until you can save enough money to get some better equipment. stopping power is also about safety.

 

keep in mind that brake dust is also more visible on wheels that are not taken care of. if you have matte finish wheels it will be very dominant. if you have gloss or chrome finish and dont polish them, the dust will still show up no matter what.

 

All brakes, when functioning properly, can safely stop the car. Even cheaper ones. It's an all-too-common myth that upgraded brake components will stop a car faster on the street. There is no difference, performance-wise, on the street - you are limited by the grip of your tires.

If you want to improve stopping power, buy better tires.

Dave

 

resurfacing rotors isnt really the best idea...and mine are too thin to be resuraced anyway. ide rather just buy new autozone rotors for $4 more than resurfacing anyway.

still no mention of the cost of OEM pads??? edit: nevermind i lied...didnt see 2damizzax's post

 

I posted a link to a good, cheap Nissan OEM parts store. Look it up.

Dave

 

well, thats the thing...im going to be doing them this week cause they are prety bad (pads are worn past 'safety groove' thing and rotors are warped a bit) so i dont have time to really wait for things to be shipped. ive decided 2 autozone rotors $40 and set of hawk HPS pads from pep boys $64 = $104 + tax. that should do the trick til september when i sell her right?

 

Yes, that should work fine. The choice of pads and rotors really only affects longevity, resistance to warping, and initial bite.

 

Hawk's dusted so much I have to find new wheel plates. I would go with Raybestos Ceramics, remember OEMs are semi-metallic which are as hard as metallic on the rotors!!!

 

ehh..... no. All brakes will stop a car. But better pads will stop you FASTER. there is soething called a coeffecient of friction and it varies from material to material. And the limiting factor is the brakes, not the tires (although they matter too).

 

maximas are very sensative to having the right pads on. i highly recomend you run oem pads from nissan

 

^^^yea, i know....i just didnt wanna start an arguement so i didnt say anything lol

 

im sorry if this sounds rude, but if anyone is telling you that high performance brakes like Hawk or Axis/PBR Ultimates (or even metal masters) dont make that big of a difference they have NEVER COMPAIRED THEM TO STOCK!

Yes cheap pads will stop your car safely (otherwise they wouldnt be sold), BUT there is a HUGE difference to more expensive better pads. People, dont be cheap here its only a difference of 30-40 bucks!!!!

After personally trying out a set of cheap Raybestos on a previous car cause I didnt want to wait until the shop that carried my axis/PBR pads opened on monday, I WILL NEVER EVER EVER BUY CHEAP PADS AGAIN! When you have gotten used to how well a set of better pads stop you, and then go to a cheap set, you step on the brakes and wonder if you installed the pads at all! its down right scary.

DONT BE CHEAP, JUST SPEND THE 60-80 BUCKS FOR A SET OF AXIS/PBR Ultimates OR Metal Masters

btw...tires dont affect stoping to any degree near as much as your pads...just think about that.


http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=422679

 

My last set of pads was ebc green stuff on the front. They had next to no dust. No word of a lie. I then switched to axis/pbr and those things dust like a mad man. I have to clean my wheels every three days. But, the braking is better than with the ebc.
The factory pads were still on the rears and they were pretty good at not dusting.

 

hawk Hps Pads And Autozone Rotors For Me

/end Post

 

I was actually considering the EBC Red Stuff (just to try them out). Supposed to dust like factory but stop better than green stuff.

 

I agree. I heard the same about red stuff. Are you going to test them out?

 

Wrong. Push the pedal harder. Coefficient of friction only changes the amount of force required from the caliper pistons. I have yet to see a normal car with functioning brakes that can't apply enough pressure on the disks to stop the wheel. The friction coefficient will change the feel of the way the brakes grip, but it will not do anything to providing more stopping power.

The way to more stopping power is a tire with higher coefficient of friction. And that is the bottom line.

Dave

 

Well, seeing as you sell them, what else would I expect you to say?

Oh, I have thought about it. And selling brake parts and repeating the slogans of their marketing departments doesn't count.

If you can explain to me in terms of friction, torque, and other reasonably understandable engineering and physics terms, why a regular pad can't reach the traction limits of the tire, then maybe you're not a shill.

But the bottom line, is that for street driving, ONLY THE TIRES WILL STOP YOU FASTER. If your brakes are functioning, even an old lady can put down enough pedal pressure to lock up the wheels.

Dave

 

Anyone try teh EBC Ultimax brake pad? I'm using the Bosch ceramics
in front & when clean they're awesome, but when driving after a day there is so much brake dust build up that they start to grind when braking. Teh brake dust tends to stain my wheels! So, I'm gonna try EBC's Ultimax out.

 

Raybestos Quietstop ceramic pads. I've been very happy with them. Hardly any dusting at all. I got mine from Rockauto.

 

Sorry but I think you need a class in physics 101. coeffecient of friction is a physical property of a substance and changes with different substances. There is a reason Ceramic pads stop better than semimettalic. There is a reason wood is not used for braking purposes (aside from that fact that it would ignite). Coeffecient of friction has nothing to do with "feel". As I and other posters have said, all pads will stop a car (or you wouldnt be able to sell them) but different pads provide more stopping power. I would love to see a formula 1 race car using KEM brake pads on a track.

 

Thanks, I took that back in my first year of engineering school. I live it and die by it. I could be designing brake systems, if that was my chosen career path.

The friction coeffiicent of a brake pad only affects the amount of force required of the calipers. F_friction = mu * F_normal. F_normal is the force applied by the caliper pistons, mu is the coefficient of friction, and F_friction is the frictional force. In the case of brakes, the frictional force is what slows the rotor.

You can use about any material you want, with any coefficient of friction, if you apply enough caliper force. Definitely any brake pad sold today has plenty of friction for street driving. The only difference is pedal pressure and hydraulic pressure in the brake system. A racing pad, properly warmed to temperature, will definitely have more bite and require less pedal pressure to get full braking torque. Both the street pad and track pad will apply enough frictional force to stop the rotor and the wheel. THEY WILL BOTH REACH THE FRICTIONAL LIMITS OF THE TIRE, you just push the brake pedal hard enough.

The coefficient of friction that really matters is the one between the tire and road. This one is a little less newtonian, in that the contact patch size actually does affect frictional force. But let's neglect that for now. Again,
F_frictional = mu_tire * downforce

downforce is simply the mass of the car times the gravitational constant, so it becomes:
F_frictional = mu_tire * mass_car * g

Further,
F_frictional=mass_car*acceleration_car

"Stopping power" is the acceleration_car - the higher the acceleration, the faster the velocity goes to zero, according to v=1.2*acceleration*time.

Car mass is constant, and while it's not the same at all wheels, they always add up to the same total. So let's match up these equations:
mu_tire*mass_car*g = mass_car*acceleration_car = (F_frictional)

mass_car cancels out. In other words, if we tried to add weight to press the tire to the ground harder, it will add just as much time to the stopping distance. That leaves:
mu_tire * g = acceleration_car.

This tells us to improve the braking acceleration, we need a higher mu_tire. High performance street tires are the answer to that issue, if you can tolerate their weather, cost, and wear characteristics.

Sure it does. I determines how hard you have to push the pedal. Some cars have touchy brakes, others are mushy. That's feel, isn't it? The difference is the stiffness of the brake lines, brake pads, and if there is any air in the brake fluid.

It's one of the most oft-repeated and least understood pieces of car performance 'knowledge' on the Internet. Applied to street driving and safety concerns, it's wrong. Every person here with a functioning brake system has better brakes than tires.

That's a slightly complicated comparison, since formula 1 cars don't use cast iron brake rotors (which regular brake pads are designed to work with), and stop from tremendously high speeds with extremely grippy tires. The amount energy F1 brakes need to dissipate might cause the street pad to overheat on just the first full high speed stop. But that's not going to happen on a street car.

To answer your question, yes they will stop the car with a lower coefficient of friction pad, if the brake hydraulics can handle it. At least once or twice, anyway, which brings me to another important point.

The true reason for racing brake pads and performance pads is temperature. Brakes get hot, and on a race track, they get hot to the point of boiling the brake fluid and/or ruining the coefficient of friction of the pad. On the street, pads just don't get that hot, which is why for safety discussions it's irrelevant.

Well, not entirely irrelevant. There is definitely such as thing as too much brake pad for the street. Race pads are designed to work hot, and until they get hot the coefficient of friction is much lower. So low, in fact, that their coefficient of friction is much lower than a cheap street pad. There are many incidents where the driver had cold performance brakes, and when they went to panic stop, they didn't know they would need a lot more pedal pressure to compensate for the lower friction of the cold brake pads. The driver ultimately doesn't put down the pedal hard enough, and doesn't stop in time. In the best case, on a non-ABS car the driver will realize partway thru the stop that the brakes are cold, put down the pedal harder, and the result is an increased stopping distance. Personally I would never drive an aggressive brake pad on the street with a non-ABS car. At least with ABS, you can mash the pedal with all your might and the electronics will take care of all the excess braking force. This is why you see many track day drivers changing pads and rotors at the track - they are unsafe for street driving.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Dave

 

Dude your a moron!.....

I dont sell them i just posted my experience and gave the guy direction. this is why i hate this forum....no one helps only flames go over to sr20forum those guys actually know what they talk about.

You just left three different post tearing apart different people that replied to this thread...and left very little info other than taking the time to rip into those that posted before you.. PLUS you didnt even get your facts straight!!! DUMB DUMB DUMB!

you see there are two problems here...one is that this forum wants good info on it...but doesnt want anyone to post. having to pay to be able to search limits the usability and functionality of the forum itself so people continue to repost...THEN they get flamed. Just check it out..sr20forum is about a less expensive cheaper nissan...but their forum is so much more useful because you can actually find what you are looking for.

the second is people LIKE YOU that only tear into those that are trying to help someone figure out their current problem with their car.


btw....youve obviously never had more expensive pads...yes you need tires, but saying that they are what stops you is stupid....why dont you just remove your calipers for weight reduction and see how good you car stops!! and while your at it add a HUGE A$$ wing so it looks cool.....

knowledge un-applied is useless! so lets hear it...have YOU PERSONALLY ever gone from a set of raybestos to metal masters, ultimates or Hawks???? I dont want to hear about any degree or education you have...lets hear what your real world experience is. if you have not....then stop flaming people just to argue and boost your low self image. if you have not then go buy a par and do a comparison....then work your degree into it. back it with some science and engineering that the rest of us may not be up to par on and it will be an interesting read.


AS TO THE ORIGINAL POSTED QUESTION: YES ITS WORTH IT, ITS THE FIRST THING I DO TO ANY NEW CAR...I CHANGE THE PADS AND PUT SOMETHING BETTER THAN STOCK. YOU CAN FEEL IT AND ITS ONLY A COUPLE OF EXTRA BUCKS TO INSURE THAT YOUR CAR STOPS FASTER!

 

Man this is the same reason I work on my own car. Folks who have no idea what they are talking about giving the wrong information.

 

no doubt......

 

Are you saying you disagree with what I just wrote?

Step up - you definitely know what you're talking about with repairing Maximas, but so far when it comes to brakes you know nothing. I challenge you to find ONE error in what I've written. You asked for physics, so if you understood what you say you do, that should take a couple minutes.

The only thing wrong with oem or even cheaper parts store brake pads on the street is dust and wear. They will stop the car just as well. If you take them to the track, they will not work after a lap, but that's an entirely different situation.

Dave

 

Well then keep lying to your buyers. You can still sell upgrade pads and not be full of ****, you know...

Dave

 

Yes, yes, this is all fine.

And you finally got it wrong again. You will stop in the same distance. Tires will reduce stopping distance, not brake pads.

It's entirely possible that you're stopping faster with a grippier brake pad, but that's just because you haven't learned to maximize the braking ability of the street pad. That's a driver skill issue, not equipment.

Either you understand the nature of the problem and can refute my physics, or you have done stopping distance tests for a direct comparison. Clearly you have done neither. Give me any pair of fitting brake pads and new rotors and I will show you that I can lock the wheels at any street legal speed. That's proof of tire-limited braking.

Dave

 

I am not saying i disagree. I am saying that you are dead wrong. But going back and forth with someone who makes such an obviously wrong statement would make me as bad as them. Its like arguing with someone who says "you can run your car on vodka since it is an alcohol".

Oh wait. I get it now. He is right. Regardless of what pads you get, when you slam on the brakes in an attempt to lock up the wheels and come to a screeching hault it is the tires that determine how quickly you stop. (because we all know when braking you are supposed to slam on the brake pedal with all of your force).