get this.. when I brake hard I get the initial bite, then in about a second or two, with no change in pedal feel or position, I feel alittle acceleration and I have to readjust. No spongy feel or anything.. just that it seems to only bite well for the first second or two. I know my pads are getting alittle thin, but thats kinda of an odd sensation. Its not really dramatic, I doubt most people would feel it.

Think they have been 'glazed' or cooked? My rotors arent blue or anything.

The point is moot, 'cause I'm ordering Porterfields.. but I've been stalling because I dont know how I feel about buying new rotors when I'm under warranty.

 

Any chance you are feeling the antilock kick in for a second? It feels kind of like that.

 

It could be that you're braking hard enough to fade the thin pads just a little after a few seconds.

 

nah, this is like stopping for a stop sign... 40mph to 0. I just started feeling it a week or two ago. no hinderence in braking. Its very subtle.. just has my curiosity up.

 

You know what Timmeh, I been feeling like that is the same problem with mine. I do think we might have glazed pads. Let me know which ones you think about and what price, I will buy in from the same place.

Dixit

 

How does Metal Masters sound for $23 shipped? I have these for 1995-2001 Maximas, and as long as nothing changed for 2002, then I have pads for both of you. Let me know.

Shaun Ladd

 

I think those are great/best pads but not what I'm looking for.

I have heard some good things about these:

http://www.raybestos.com/quietstop.htm

Not sure where to find them or what they cost. But I've heard they are good, even for alittle autocross... Wilwood uses them in their kits..

If I cant find them or the price is too high, then its definately Porterfield.

 

Advance Auto Parts can special order them. I have them on and i love them. I think even NAPA can special order them. First time i purchased them from wrenchhead.com. i donno if they carry them any more

 

Porterfield? Where do you get those at? I heard of those on another post here at Maxima.org, but besides that I have never heard of them. Are they a new company? Any info would be appreciated. I like to know about these new things from time to time.

 

porterfield-brakes.com

there may be a maximadriver.com discount if you mention it.

Specify R4-S

Front: AP430
Rear: AP540

 

*sigh*

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ighlight=540qs


However, you do have to type in PGD653QS and PGD540QS on a part number search to order them through partsamerica.com website, because the normal brake pad search for 2000 Maximas don't come up with the Quiet Stops being available. Your local Pep Boys should be able to get them for the same price and have them for you in a day.


I would give these a shot since they are lifetime warranteed.


Once again, the 4th gen guys having to be the crutch for the 5th geners............

 

stupid question, but 4th gen pads are the same as 5th? 'cause they are definately not showing up for a 2k max when I call around or search on the web.

 

ok, it looks like the front pads are
RAYBESTOS - PGD815QS - $51.99

I guess there is a slight difference in the pads. This will prove a bit harder to find (locally) me thinks..

 

Tim,

I was under the impression that 4th gen pads work fine on 5th gen pads, only the front rotors are different as they are thicker on the 5th gens....



I'll dig around a bit to see.

 

Mine did that a few times Tim. What I would recommend getting some gritty sand paper, and sand the pads down off the car making them rough again. Gets the them clean. Also lightly use the same sand paper and go around the surface of the rotor up an down so its oposite of how the pad slides on the surface. This will help your braking a great deal. It did mine.

 

Similar.

The 4th gen pads are a bit skinnier than the 5th gen pads. The length of the actual pad will actually the same so they fit into the mounts perfectly, but the width isn't the same. The 4th gen pads will worth though on a 5th gen without problems. I used them on mine for a while and loved them. I had crappy pads though, so I went back to stock for a while, but never felt like swapping them out again. I bought the wrong AXIS pads, I got the organic ones instead of the Metal Masters....doh!

 

Yeah, perhaps the 815 pads are slightly thinner to accommodate the thicker rotors, etc.


Is this Pep Boys anywhere near you?

4228 E MCCAIN BLVD
(501) 945-5050

That seems to be the only one in your area.


You should be able to order them through Advance Auto as well:

Advance Auto Parts 3525 Barrow Rd
Little Rock, AR 72204
Phone: (501)954-9358


Advance Auto Parts 4102 Asher Ave
Little Rock, AR 72204
Phone: (501)666-0921


Advance Auto Parts 8902 Geyer Springs Rd
Little Rock, AR 72209
Phone: (501)570-0438


Russ does allude to the differences between 4th and 5th gen pads here:

http://www.5thgenmaximas.com/brakepad.html

Perhaps he can throw in some guidance.

I would say the 430, 653, and 815 series pads will all work fine.


Using search (please don't flame):

Russ alludes to it again here:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ht=4th+gen+pad

If anyone knows 4th gens vs. 5th gens, it's Russ.

 

Recommendation for ordering some:

www.brakeco.com great customer service and a good selection. They have more to select from than on there site, so give them a call.

 

thanks Bill.. yeah, I called pep boys.. they didnt offer the 815QS, I found that on my own.. then when I called back, I *asked* for the 815 and it took about 15 mins on the phone..

eventually they said it was a stock item and correct for the 2k max, but they've never had them.. 3 day wait. not too bad. Something is screwy with all of their databases.

Yeah all those places are on the other end of town (30+mins). Hard to find car places around some neighborhoods.. I guess thats a good thing


thanks again for the search tho...

 

Tim-
The basic pad is the same, but there is a clip on the 5th gen pad that is not on the 4th. One of our techs tried 4th pads on a 5th last week & there were hardware issues, tho I suspect he was being picky. BTW, I loved that pic of the Le Car- just about fell out of the chair!

 

Ok TimW, so do the 815QS fit the front AND rear. Let me know, cause I am about to replace my pads and want to check these out. BTW, how are the breaking....as advertised?

 

Sweet, you'll be the "first" 5th gen. That's odd that the 815QS are easily searchable on the partsamerica site Are you going to go ahead with the rears, or are you just going to tackle the fronts?



I think there are 3 or 4 Pep Boys within fairly easy distance around my area. I couldn't believe the store search results when I looked them up in your area....


Russ brings up an interesting point regarding actual pad design between the 4th and 5th gens. I wonder if Nissan justified not actually upgrading the front brakes from a real cost standpoint by just having another pad contact area which had more surface to contact the rotors, thus maybe giving an impression of better braking?


Engineering these days at Nissan seems to be focused on marketing and spin control than actual innovation.

 

Rear pad number is given in this thread:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ighlight=540qs

 

slightly OT, but is it possible for pads to wear down at like 7000 miles? my brakes started squealing the other day, but it's intermittent at this point, and not loud. i dont drive or brake super-aggressively and i don't ride on them either. also, this may be a stupid question, but if i opt for these aftermarket pads (if my pads are indeed worn), how will that affect my warranty? thanx.

 

I'm making the assumption here you are talking about your rear pads.


Most likely, and it seems typical, either your calipers have seized and are forcing the rear brakes on all the time causing the pad wear or the parking brake cable was not adjusted right from the factory and is forcing the rear pads to be "on" the rotors all of the time. Those two things would cause premature wear.

I would think the second possibility is causing your issues. This should be a warranty item. 7k on rear pads is not even remotely typical.

 

ok, thanx. i'm taking my car in for it's 7500 mile service next week. i'll have them check it out.

 

yeah.. what Bill said. I watch my car pretty closely and not 2 weeks after I had checked my brake fluid level (before a trip), my level went from the middle to below min (and light on dash). This was the morning after the coldest day/night we had. I'm totally convinced that the ebrake cable seized sometime during that cold snap.

but then again, that cable can stick regardless of weather.


Bill, I'm doing front and rear, but only the rear is in need - front have another 10K+. Trying to find quality blank rotors right now. Actually, we're moving our offices, so in between that I am trying to line things up.

 

Are going with some Bendix ones as showed through partsamerica.com in the *ahem* other forum? If you need those numbers again, just yell.



The rear brakes on my Minima have been gone since last summer. I'm a week or two away from fixing. I'm re-doing the calipers and putting in all new seal kits, etc.