theres no brake section here so i figured this would be my best bet

im about to step up from the OEM pads and rotors because two of them are warped. i think im leaning toward Brembo Blanks for rotors, which are on www.tirerack.com at 36 and 38 bux a piece. if some of you think i should go slotted or have any other ideas, let me know. keep in mind i dont want to put more than 300-400 dollars into the whole brake setup (pads and rotors)

about the pads, im not really sure which way to go. i understand that ceramic is the material of choice for most of you, so ive limited myself to that.
i wanted some feedback about specific brands of ceramic pads that some of you may have had experience with.

the best pad i can find (based on a combination of "consumer ratings" and the low dust/high stopping power indicators on www.tirerack.com) are the Hawk HPS street brake pads. they are 64 dollars per axle set, so $128 all together - im assuming an axle set is 4 pads, two for each side.

i have a 97 GLE and i drive it pretty hard, but i do not race, nor do i plan to in the near future. i just want a reasonably good and practical setup for a low price. obviously stopping pwer is the most important thing, but low dust is a close second. noise i can deal with (do ceramic pads tend to be more squeaky than metallic or composite??)

if any of you have experience with HAWK HPS pads, or have suggestions about other pads in the same price range please reply

 

http://forums.maxima.org/forumdisplay.php?f=68

 

yea the advanced threw me off - these are pretty basic questions

 

well, i went with brembo blanks, and I recommend them. i used PBR Axxis ultimate ceramic pads, and they dust A LOT! IMO, If I had to do it again, I wouldn't use ceramic pads (or at least not the axxis ultimates)

 

I'm a big fan of stainless lines, brembo x-drilled & slotted rotors off of e-bay, and oem pads. It's a pretty killer combination that will definitly impress you.

 

so you are saying dont get ceramic pads?

 

It's your call man, I can't speak for all brands of ceramic pads, but with the Ultimates, my rims would go from light grey to charcoal within like a week or less, gets old after a while

 

EBC dimpled & slotted rotors with EBC red stuff pads. Good equipment, little dust, not expensive.

 

i've been using axxis/pbr metal masters for years. good stopping, decent dust, can get a little noisy sometimes. brembo blanks ftw. the general opinion seems to be the hawk hps or metal masters.

 

i actually drove to my mechanics today to ask him his opionion. he said because the OEM pads are ceramic, he would stay with ceramic. plus he said hawk pads are going to be noisy and hes seen them scar the rotors.

then again he smokes crack pretty regularly. no joke.

 

I just did my rear brakes. My rear caliper seized and the brake pad was completely gone. (regular maintenance ftw). There is an ebayer selling powdercoated or epoxy coated calipers 90 for a set, so I got those. My mechanic said they were very good quality. Mine were gray epoxy coated.

 

that would be helpful if i was asking about calipers

 

Suggestion and opinion:

For street use : which you indicated is your only use of this car - i suggest just getting regular rotors and any ceramic pads.
Reason: Slotted or cross drilled rotors are over kill on street use and only decrease the life span of the pads.

From what i have experienced on cars i have driven (parents and my own) metallic pads make the most noise and highest amount of dust - ceramic pads have no noise but still produce moderate dust

If you buy regular rotors for the front make sure they are vented - thats what the max came with from factory, rears are plain regular rotors...just what i think thats all

 

If I'm not mistaken, I believe our pads are organic from factory. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

LOL ^^^^^

no they are CERAMIC (which is a form of metal)

If they were ORGANIC i would be able to grow a set on my back yard in the summer, just water and pesticide baby!!!! Hahahaha

 

I take it you have never heard of organic brake pads.

UP AE7318A
Brake Pads - Front, AE Organic $62.20

Comment: w/ Organic Non-Metallic Brake Pads (Pads Supplied w/ Shims)

From a catalog. United Products factory recommended pad material for a 95-99 Maxima.

I've had them for the past 3 years. Stop great, low dust, and 0 pulsation.

 

obviously i never heard of organic pads, but i am 100 % sure the car came with Ceramic pads from the factory

anyways im going to skip this topic for now , to the OP: what did you decide you wanna buy ?

 

im gonna get Brembo Blanks and Akebono ceramic pads unless someone has a serious objection. whole setup costs 298, 334 with shipping.

and andrei3333 all your feedback in the past months has been informed, helpful and straightforward. from my 96 GLE with 141k to searching for a new car to the 97 GLE with 41k. i appreciate it all man.

 

no problem man, thats why i come to this site, to just talk about stuff like that

i am not always right but i am always straight up and honest, enjoy your car man after all its not what me or anyone else here thinks, its what YOU think that counts!!!

 

I just got PRB/ Axxis Deluxe Plus brake pads. They are organic and produce no dust what so ever and they work great. I know many people that have them and have never heard anything bad about these pads. They are quiet as hell and only cost me $70 for all 4 of them. I definently don't regret getting them, I switched from OEMs which made **** loads of dust and these keep my chrome clean as hell now.

 

While your at it, make sure to check the slide pins mounting the calipers. The lower pins on both my fronts were siezed in the caliper mounting bracket.

I ended up getting Brembo blanks, Raybestos rebuilt calipers w/bracket and Raybestos PG Plus pad. Only two weeks, but seem good. Bedding the pads was fun.

Also took the oportunity to paint the calipers & brackets. I used Dupli-Color spray caliper paint in red. Came out pretty nice.

 

Where are you buying from? Check the group deal section for cheap rotors... I posted info about pads that ive used before on a different thread that you had... but now idk where it went, so idk if you read what I wrote on that thread...

 

remember the flaming i recieved when i said budget $500 for brakes? doesn't seem to far off now...

i think those akebono pads are fairly new. haven't really heard anything about them.

 

I have been using some duralast rotors and lifetime ceramic pads. They are quiet and virtually dust free. Had them for about a year now with no problems. Rotors were about 45 for the set, and the pads were 39.99. 85 bucks

 

the prices i was quoting were from tirerack.com.

brembo sport blanks (36/38 each) and akebono ceramic pads (74 per axle).

 

yea duralast i think is what autozone sells. am i right? i had those on my 93 SE as well as generic metallic pads. yea they dusted a lot.

 

Yea, its the one's autozone sells. I have these on my g/f mirage as well, no dust on the ceramic one's.

 

Rockart,
I have the same brake set up as you on my '97 GLE for all most a year now. They're much better than stock and generate less dust than stock. I've bought some Hawk pads for the front of my '05 SL for more stopping power with a little more dust as a trade off.

 

akebono and brembo? sweet dude.
this is what i like to hear.

 

with akebono did u guys pick tho theres 2 of them

 

yea good question. im talking about the YELLOW box....NOT the PROACT bluebox ones.

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...ar=&perfCode=P

the blue ones cost like 54 each. the yellow are 71-77

 

Akebono Street Performance Pads ?>

 

yea.

the brembo blanks are vented right? it shows it in the picture. has anyone ordered them from tirerack before?

 

The Brembo blanks are vented front, solid rear. Check out the group buy forum, you can get the Brembos plated which means they won't rust around the hub and outside edge. The ones from Tirerack probably aren't plated, not sure. I wish I got plated now. The PBR Deluxe pads work well too.

 

plated with what? a certain metal? nickel? steel?

i dont think they are plated either. in some of the customer reviews people complained about rust covering the sides after a week of use.

 

so i just got off the phone with a rep from PBR. i was askin him a bunch of questions about rotors/pads etc. he said that brembo do not make non-slotted/drilled PLATED rotors. in other words, if you buy the blanks, they will never have plating. he did suggest, for a plated rotor in the same price range, a company called MEYLE. it a german suspension company that has started making brake components in the past years. their rotors are vented as well as plated and cost within a dollar of the brembo blanks.

has anyone ever heard of/ had experience with MEYLE rotors?

 

Brembo blanks are an excellent choice. I would go with Akebono ProAct pads. You can order both from tirerack and save on shipping.

 

I perfer the Hawk pads over any of the others. I will always trade dust and noise for better performance and fade resistance. I bought a set of "ceramic" pads once, I don't remember the brand but they sucked at stopping but were quiet and clean. I like HPS for the street and HP+ for light track work, I run the HP+s on the Z for street and track.

 

word, i suggest brembo blanks aswell i used them on my last car and loved them, I have heard from a few sources NOT to use cross drilled rotors on heavier vehicles as they can crack easily. I have no idea wether or not there is any truth to this, maybe someone can clear that up.

 

yea ive heard nothing but bad things about drilled rotors