Ok, so since this is something that's becoming ever more popular here on the .org, i decided to compile all of the information you need to upgrade the front brakes on your 5th gen to the 6th gen brakes with 12.6" rotors...

First check your wheel clearance to make sure you have enough room for the brakes to fit. Measure from the center of your wheel to the inside of it, and if you don't have at LEAST 7 5/8" these brakes will not fit on your car...they do fit the 5.5 gen 17" SE wheels like a glove, but they don't fit with the 5.0 gen SE 17s...



If you do have enough clearance, the next step is to purchase what you need for the upgrade. Here are the things you need to get your hands on:

-6th gen calipers (I bought mine from Dave B. for ~$60 each)
-6th gen 12.6" rotors (I bought mine from automax's GD; brembo blanks for ~$100 shipped)
-6th gen front brake pads (Also bought from automax's GD; PBR metal masters for ~$50 shipped)
-6th gen front brake shim kit (got mine from Dave B. i think for under $20)
-Brake fluid of your choice

These are DIRECT BOLT ON for ALL 5th gens (5.0 and 5.5 alike) but you can also opt to get Matt Blehm's re-location bracket on the 5.0 gen (but not the 5.5 gen) and use your stock calipers.

Installation for me would have gone smooth if i had a right and a left caliper, but i accidentally got 2 left ones! DOH! Make sure when installing the calipers that the bleed screw is on TOP. (shown in the picture below.)



For me, the pedal feel was GREATLY improved (although this may be becuse i was running on my stock brakes at 50k). The pedal feels firm, and even after beating the **** out of my car at MSR during maxus, i didn't get an ounce of brake fade with my ATE Super Blue Dot 4 fluid.

I bed the brakes in just after installation and so far no abnormal noises or vibrations. There is great feedback from the brakes and they don't seem to lock up under extreme braking like they did before.

On a performance point of view, I could not tell any difference in acceleration. These rotors did feel really heavy, but IIRC they are only 5 or 6 lbs. heavier than stock, which also felt really heavy, so it would be pretty hard to feel any adverse affects on acceleration.

As for the paint on my calipers, i used the G2 silver paint kit. I applied the paint only where you could see the caliper from the outside, and I applied 3 coats with much more paint to spare. The decals are just stick on (I put a couple coats of clear over it just to make sure they would stay) and i got them from www.xenonmods.com

Any other useful information is welcome, as i believe this is all i have. Good luck to anyone that attempts it, and in my eyes, it was a very worth while mod.

 

Good summary of the info out there. I've added a link to your thread here:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=477415

 

How do I get in touch with Dave B.? And what is the shim kit for and where is it install?

 

1-888-254-6060 or PM DaveB.

 

Very interesting mod, great writeup LA02MAX.

What is/are the diameter(s) of the stock 5.0 and 5.5 gen rotors? How much larger is the pad contact area on the 6th gen setup as compared to the 5th gen?

 

great info, thanks!

 

Dang it! now i know forsure i have to upgrade my stock 5.0 gen 17's thanks alot LA0

 

I had mine installed 2 weeks ago and the brake feel is much better.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

the shim kit includes the pad retainers, and the shims that go on the outside of each of the pads so that the caliper piston is not in direct contact with them...once you get all of them, they fit just like a puzzle, so you shouldn't have any problem.

I'm not sure about the 5.0 gen, because their rotors are smaller than the 5.5 gens, but the 5.5 gens are something like 11.68" IIRC, so you gain about an inch in diameter....another thing i'll have to go and measure is the markings of the pads on the rotors and see how much more contact they're making with the 6th gen brakes.

 

Pedal feel has improved... but its still NOTHING like my moms G35c. I moved that car a couple times in the last week and was shocked by how much nicer the brakes on that car feel than mine. And she doesnt have the brembo brakes or anything like that just the plain jane, (what looks like single piston calipers) brakes. I am kinda pissed... I wanna know how to get my pedal to feel like that. So to me there was an improvement in feel a little bit but I think thats only cause of the SS lines. Other than that the 6th gen brakes dont make for great pedal feel but are a whole lot better than the stock braking system when it comes to fade resistance.

 

How about your rear rotors, did you keep the stock size? Or did you upgrade to the 6th gen caliper and rotor as well?

 

is that even possible?

 

Not really possible. Only bolt-on REAR upgrade is Matt Blehm's kit.

I'd like to add that on a 2k2, you're going to need at least 1 7/8" between the outer face of the [stock] rotor and the inside of the spokes of your wheel to have caliper clearance against the spokes.

Additionally, I can confirm that 6th gen rotors and calipers fit behind I35 Sport (8 spoke) 17" wheels.

 

[rant] What irks me about your comments is that ALMOST every modification you make is compare it to BMWs, G35s, and various other cars. Comparing such findings on other cars where the sum of their parts are designed to work for that car on how it handles, brake, accelerate, and etcetera is somewhat unfair. IF you're so bent out of shape that whatever modification you make does not compare to another, why not get THAT car?[/rant]

As far as the write-up goes, good job, I can use this in deciding between A34 or Z32 brake upgrade.

 

Will these fit behind my stock 6 spoke I35 rims?

 

I believe they have around the same clearence as the stock 5.5 gen Maxima rims, which I am pretty sure fit with the 6th gen brakes.

 

why wont it fit for the rear? bolt in diff location?

 

no ebrake....different size rotors.....different bolt locations.

The only known rear brake upgrade is the Blehm kit using rear z32 calipers, and it is $$$

 

Good info. I'm doing this mod in the spring. Are there two different 6th gen calipers? One coated black and one not?? I remember reading that someone got the black ones.

My brakes are warped as we speak. I tried the IRotors and they warped. Hopefully, upgrading to bigger rotors will solve it once and for all.

 

That must blow monkey shiits Did you get a chance to weigh those (A34 rotors) beasts?

 

I did mine a while back and can tell you that you WILL feel the weight. 6 lbs isn't much, but when it's whirring around in your wheel well, you'll notice it. It'll take away a couple of whp and torque. I made up for it by getting new rims so now I'm at basically a wash in rotational mass.

Sig has old 5.5 rims, but new 6th gen brakes.

 

Sprung vs unsprung, it IS a lot of weight actually.

So they weight 21 lbs?
I did the same, 14.3lb 17" wheels FTW.

 

This upgrade will fit the 7-spoke 5.5gen GLE wheels too!

It's a really easy, simple, straight forward parts swap. A decent afternoons worth of work and well worth the effort!

As noted, make sure you get a left and a right caliper - they are different! And have the parts guy mark the box for you, as there isn't any indication, other than the part number as to which one is the left and which is the right.

The OEM pads don't come with a shim kit, as stated previously, so make sure you get one of those. This shim kit comes with a couple of different sets of shims...not sure why. All the shims will fit the pads.

 

good job man, its the cheapest brake upgrade ive seen, might add this to future mods.

 

anyone know if the 17' 7 spoke altima se rims will fit?

If anything, spacers should make it fit...

 

Hey guys, I am new to the MAxima World but not new to cars. I have been researching this mod for a while, but just want to set the record straight. For a 5.5 gen you need the Gen 6 rotor and caliper. But what about the caliper braket(that hold the caliper to the spindle)? I was planning just to use the braket made by Blehm, but i guess that's only for the Gen 5 and I have a 5.5. Do i have my ducks in a row or am I all meesed up?

TIA,
Walter

 

02-04 Altima SE 17" wheels will fit the 6th Gen Max front brakes. These actually have six spokes.

05-06 Altima SE 17" with 5 spokes will not fit.

 

If you have a 5.5 gen, then the 6th gen calipers will bolt in perfectly to the stock 5.5 gen brackets without modification. They are a direct replacement.. Kinda makes you wonder why the 6th gen brakes werent on the 5.5 gen to begin with.

 

On all 5th gens (5.0 and 5.5 alike) the 6th gen calipers and rotors will bolt up with no problems. The only time you need a braket is if you decide to keep your original 5th gen calipers and use the 6th gen rotors. In this case you will not need the 6th gen calipers, but a bracket is only available for the 5.0 gen right now, not the 5.5

 

my car felt the same after I installed my brakes...either it's all in your head or it's because you have a auto

 

So if I do this upgrade I'll have to buy a full size 5.5 gen wheel for my spare. I believe the donut spare is 16" so it doesn't sound like it will fit. Has anyone verified whether or not the spare fits? I would hate to get a flat and be stuck with no spare.

 

well if you ever got a flat on the front, you would have to put the donut on the rear and put the rear tire on the front...if you want to go to a full sized spare, you will have to either fab something up to make the trunk floor even (the full size tire sticks up about 1 1/2") or deal with the floor being uneven...

 

Hey guys I was researching this mod and found this thread. I just got one quick question. If the brackets are the same then what is the difference in the calipers?

 

Size. . . . . . .

Credit: irish44j

 

Thanks.

From the pictures it appears that where that pad actually hits the rotor they are pretty close between the two. Did anyone ever do any measurements?

 

What exactly are you asking?

Is your end plan is to use the A34 rotors w/ A33B calipers, forget about it. Measurements don't add up.

I also forgot to mention that the picture is a reflection of 00-01 hardware. I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier, but I just now.

But, if you had a 00-01 then yes, you could use the stock calipers and A34 rotors, which, in this case is a good observation on your part. But i see you have an 03, so no dice there.

But, the answer to your original question still remains, they are still a little smaller (02/3 vs 04+ calipers).

 

No, I was planning on putting all 6th gen parts ( calipers, rotors, hardware, and pads). I just dont see that big of a difference in where the pad actually meets the rotor from 5.5 Gen to 6th Gen.

 

You mean contact surface area? Once you have the parts side by side, you'll see the difference. I had the same thought until I bought what I thought were A33B pads, and was trying to fit them on the A34 rotor and caliper assembly. Couldn't figure it out for the life of me. Trying to fit those pansy stock pads in the new hardware is very frustrating. Until I snapped and compared one of my old pads with the 'new' one and saw that it was identical. So I go to AutoZone the next day and exchange them. Very large difference believe me.

The stopping power is quite noticeable as well.

 

Alrite, thanks for the info! I know what I will be doing soon