Stillen Big Brake Kit aside... what is the best cost effective upgrade for our brakes? I hear that 2004+ Maxima brakes will fit without any issues (with 17+ inch wheels), but what I'm really hoping to hear that the 08+ G35 caliper will bolt up to our steering knuckle... anyone with experience in this department care to chime in? Thanks in advance!

 

**** stillen...and i wouldnt consider any maxima caliper part of a BBK. In my opinion Z32 calipers/spacer or redrilled 13" cobra rotors with brackets...

 

my vote is for the z32/04 max rotor setup, it not too $$$, u can get the rtp rotors thru the group deal as well as hawk pads. and the brackets and lines are on sale here quite often. i think my setup ended up running a bit under $400. ive had it for a while.

the best part is being able to still fit into 17s, i had the 13inch setup but i couldnt fit most of my rim selection over it.

i ran the a34 12.6inch setup with the stock caliper, i didnt notice a huge difference, a bit less fade but nothing too exciting

thats was for my 00 for my 95 i had a problem since its drivin all year round, i was gonna go with the j30 setup, but decided to just try the basic rtp rotors hawk pads and new fluid, and its no bbk, but im amazed at how great it feels , i know the stock setup was aging, but theyre isnt a huge difference when i drive the 00 back to back with the 95. just food for thought

 

Check out the BBK sticky on the dedicated forum...

How much time you want to dedicated on the project and money will/should dictate your decision.

 

Yup. There you have it.

 

The 13" cobra Z32 combo fit under my 98 cobra 17x8 w/ no spacers. Or use the J30 2 piston combo to gain even more clearance and wheel choices.

 

What are your goals for the car?

What activity were you doing that overworked the stock brakes?

 

Actually for the maxima except maybe for the 6th gen, any upgrade is good. Considering the maxima is the largest car Nissan put the single piston/tiny 11" rotors on.

 

Well basically I got a good deal on some 18 x 8 chrome wheels with khumo ecsta's and before I slap those suckers on I want to upgrade the brakes so that their added weight doesn't mess with my stopping distance. I am definitely a "spirited driver" and I spend a lot of time in the city, so lots of stop and go, and I don't need any fender benders, but I also don't need to spend a lot of money on the car at this point.

I know a lot of people are fans of the z32 w/ cobra rotor combo but I can't find a good deal on that package, so I was wondering what my other options may be... so the J30 came with a 2 pot caliper up front, really? Btw, my car is an I30 not a Max so that piques my interest... ideally I would like to upgrade the front calipers and rotors for preferably about $300 max...

 

ohh lord.^^....bro with 18"s your hardly gonna notice anything.Get some hawk pads and be done with it.

 

$300 might be just about the cost of some 13" rotors, J30/Q45 calipers and some of my bbk brackets.

 

(double post)

 

Putting on big brakes without a big master cylinder is not going to improve matters.

I recommend a good set of performance street brake pads. They will have good bite from high speed without becoming slick when it's cold out. Stock brakes with good pads can stop the car in a hurry from highway speed. Bigger brakes only do it several times in a row (on the track) without losing grip.

If you really want to cut down stopping distance, invest in some good tires and don't buy cheap heavy wheels. There are several Ecsta's out there. They range from outstanding to crappy. For summer tires I'd consider the Ecsta XS, although hydroplaning resistance is an unknown. For all seasons the ASX isn't bad but there might be better ones out there.

Big brakes aren't really worse, but you won't getting any real benefit from them. If you invest in better pads, wheels, and tires, you'll get the same stopping power or better and many other benefits.

Dave

 

I've run front/rear bbk just fine with my oem master cylinder. slightly more pedal travel but no big deal.

If he uses the 2 piston calipers, his pedal travel probably wouldn't increase at all. And the 13" rotors will give him a nice torque arm improvement. (pedal travel is a function of piston area)

But good point on tires. But I always ran Michelin pilot sports or RE050s etc.. so I had that covered.

Even if the 60-0 brake time doesn't improve much, the better brake feel/modulation would be worth it. Being able to lock the brakes up doesn't do that much good when you have to be close to standing on them to get them to do so.