DizzyEdge

or so I think anyway. So about a month ago I was downtown on a Sunday, and the downtown core on a sunday is pretty empty, so I was having fun on a one way street with synchronized lights.. anyway I was WOTing it between lights, of course almost immediately I was starting to catch up to the synchronization, so I would medium brake for 2-3 seconds each block until I saw the green.. Anyway the perhaps... 4th? block I was way ahead so I hit the brakes *hard*.. and nothing.. maybe 10% braking power, I basically drove through the intersection the exact second it turned green.. luckily there were no other cars in sight.. but I mean this was maybe a total of.. 3 seconds x 4 of braking during 30 seconds of time before this hard braking and complete fade? I'm pretty sure the firmness of the pedal was normal or close to normal, and after that braking there was a very very noticeable burnt pad smell, stunk up the whole car. Yet 20 seconds later the next time I braked, everything was normal.

This weekend my worn pad squeal has started so time to change, any suggestions? From what I read OEM is the way to go, but can anyone confirm if that bad of fade means something else is up?
Thanks

Crusher103

iTrader: (10)

buy better pads that is most likely the problem, if ur pedal didnt get soft, i have cheap pads from advanced auto right now and after one hard stop the start to smell

DizzyEdge

The pads on the car are the ones which came with it, all I know is the part number on the invoice (previous owner had about 5 yrs of invoices from "my buddy Elmo who is a mechanic") and all it says is "PD340".. so not sure what those are exactly, but I guess I'll go with OEM and likely upgrade the fluid as well.

DizzyEdge

Another thing might be that since my wear indicators are squealing a month later of 'normal' driving (and I don't drive to work so I only drive evenings and weekends), I'm guessing the pad thickness was pretty thin, and my understanding now is that the pad itself works to dissipate heat so probably cheap pads + almost worn out = overheating quickly.

Rob20

i recently changed my brake pads i bought cheap ones and were definetly worth the cost..i decided to buy akebono ceramics theyre OEM and a brake kit at schucks that had the brake anti rattle spring in it and switched out everything and it went great. took care of my squeals. anyways

OEM pads $60 for front
Rotors $60 for both
Brake kit $19
Labor 2 hours
Being able to stop with no squealing or very few squeals- priceless

B_Eaze

iTrader: (3)

while ur down there make sure ur caliper pins aren't frozen in the caliper. check both sides, ur anti seize generously on em

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

Bleed the brakes too.

Dave

ROCKART

iTrader: (23)

yea it could be something like a stuck caliper too. that would cause reduced braking power if one or two of them was stuckto the rotor.



i currently run akebono ceramics, and although i am not 100% impressed with the stopping power right-out-of-the-box, i have to say they are definetly great pads for the money.

they last a while (been driving hard on them for 11k and they show virtually no wear), they dont make noise, they dont dust and the stopping power is PRETTY GOOD, but not great.

obviously, as with any pad, the better stopping power its going to have, the more is going to dust, and the shorter its going to last.

nitromax

pd430 is a wagner thermo quiet pad number. they're ok, but you can do better. especially as far as pedal fade & feel goes. vgx pads work great for
me, firmer pedal with less fade compared to the wagners. just my .02

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

best pads I ever had were the ebc green stuff.
Next to no brake dustn and decent pedal feel.

Some others swear by hawk or by axxis/pbr. I have a set of pbr right now and they dust heavily.

AndrewR2442

iTrader: (1)

hawk or by axxis/pbr

ROCKART

iTrader: (23)

yea axis have a good bite, but shed crazy dust. generally all semi-metallic pads have these attributes.


better stopping power = more dust = better stopping power

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

wagner PD pads are a non-metallic pad , depending on the particular application it may be either organic or ceramic. a Semi-metallic pad will dust the most, and stop the best.

we'll see what I put on the I30t when i do it's brakes soon.

DizzyEdge

Any recommended online sites to get nissan OEM, or to get "real" OEM do you have to go to the dealer? I never quite knew if a part at a non dealer store listed as OEM means it is the *same manufacture* as the original part, or *built to the same specs*

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

unless they say it is Nissan, it's not necessarily OEM, the manufacture may be the same, but in the case of brake pads and tires the OE has their own specs that only they get. The exact same part in the aftermarket is different.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

If you want a good, cheap online DEALER go to www.worldpartsexpress.com

All parts I've received from them say Nissan, with Nissan part numbers, and ship from Morrie's Nissan of Brooklyn Park, MN. Real OEM.

ROCKART

iTrader: (23)

as long as were on the subject here, i have something ive needed clarified for a while...


are Nissan OEM brake pads on a 4th gen (the ones that come from the factory) CERAMIC, or ORGANIC?

ive heard both from several people. can someone give me the definitive answer?

DizzyEdge

Lastly, if say drivers front brakes are done, is it common to replace both front brakes anyway? or is there any reason to do that (obviously if the pass front brakes are pretty low it's probably a good idea to do both, but if not...?)

ROCKART

iTrader: (23)

i dont see how just the drivers front could be worn out, but the passengers front is not....

unless you installed used pads to begin with - which i would not recommend.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

sticky caliper will cause one side to wear faster than the other.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

ceramic is OE

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

Although there are those horrid "Key Value" pads that Nissan makes and those might be organic.

Anyone here caught buying key value parts should be slapped.