jeff5347

Ok ive read all the posts and see the upgrade is a plug and play, No mods needed. I see you can fit the rotor and caliper no problem. But my question is this. I see nothing regarding the cal bracket.
Ive read this

[QUOTE]Originally Posted by WaltzA33
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


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.[QUOTE]
I look at my 5.5 bracket and if the rotor is larger on the 6th gen it wont clear the 5.5 bracket. So im assuming to dothis job i need the parts

6th grn rotor
bracket
caliper
and that should be it.

Ive seen irishj44 do this but see it mentioned. Thansk in advance. Also does any one know if someone is selling these parts?

n3985

iTrader: (36)

Yes you need the 6th caliper bracket, caliper, and rotor for this upgrade, lines will fit no problem. I just did mine, look for my thread in the I35 section.

jeff5347

n3985,
do you have a link to it. I just looked and there are 149 pages. hahahah you have a toooon of posts. hahaha

n3985

iTrader: (36)

http://forums.maxima.org/infiniti-i3...installed.html

Search by thread next time

jeff5347

ahhh that was my problem
thanks

HotshotVQ35

iTrader: (5)

get the 6th gen brakes and some hawk hps pads. difference was night and day! the only "problem" you will have is the donut wont fit, so get a 6th gen from a junkyard for a couple of bux

jeff5347

well i just ordered my upgrade kit from ackerman auto salvage in mecon ga. all from a 2005 max.
calipers 20 each.. come with bracket and the used pads
rotors 20 each
all in all cost me 115 to get here which should be sometime next week.
I just have to machine the rotors, clean and paint calipers, brackets and rotors.
Then install.
I cant wait to see how it is,.

SoulEater

iTrader: (7)

is the 6th gen rotors and caliper will clear 17" of 2000 stock Se rims?

jeff5347

as far as reading the previous posts on the 6th gen upgrade i dont think it will clear 2000 2001 stock rims but will clear SE and GLE rims on 02 03

AceofSpds

iTrader: (4)

They dont clear 16" wheels that came on 00's and 01's for sure. They should clear the 17" wheels, if not it might be because of backspacing which could be fixed easily with a small wheel spacer.

blkAEmax82

iTrader: (16)

My bro has a 01 17" wheels with spacers and they fit just fine over the 6th gen brakes.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

I've read this B4 as well...but the inner spoke dimension from the rotor are the same as the 02-03 in which I've measured, so I'm curious where's the contact being made, if any....The inner clearance of the 6th gen caliper and the spokes are about .040-.060" on my 5.5 gen. I think it's the same on the 00-01.

jeff5347

i have no exp with it yet. just read the some of the 00 01 rims it wont work with. ive read the se and gle 02 and 03 rims fit no prob. Cmax, did you notice a difference in braking with the 6th gens. im wondering how regular braking and harding braking are compared to stock.

Puppetmaster

iTrader: (48)

I'm pretty sure the 00-01 17s will not fit without spacers.

IMO, the A34 set-up "bites" better and is closer to linear than the A33. But then, I went from stock A33 to A34 with Hawk HPS and RTP blanks, so it there were several factors at play, like the pads for one and the fact that my stock set-up hadn't been bled for a while.

jeff5347

are the 5.5 gen pads a bit smaller than the 6th gen pads. if that is correct it would mean more clamping force = better braking. I will let you know when the 6th gen come this week. i also replace my rear rotors and pads last week due to pad wear and very bad rust on the rotors. Seems only 1/4 of the pad was making contact. i also used duplicolor silver to do the calipers, rotor and bracket. Will paint the new ones when they come. Does anyone have a pic for size comparison of the 5.5 and 6th gen front pads?

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

Can you elaborate on this? I agree that with a smaller pad there would be a higher pressure on the pad, but no more braking force. A larger pad will give you a smaller, more uniform pressure over a larger area, which would provide for better braking.

jeff5347

i stand corrected. Here are some links with tests of stoptech on a 350z
http://www.zeckhausen.com/testing_brakes.htm#Summary

and also some info on brakes in general. You are correct the bigger brakes produce less heat as more surface area and do stop a bit quicker but i guess it is due to the piston size of the caliper as stated in the 350z test. Well at least the 6th gen will stop a little better and look cooler.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

Yes, I did notice the difference but mine aren't fully OEM's....I'm Using Stillen X-drilled Oem's/with Hawk HPS pads (F&R) along with Goodridge SS hoses and larger lighter wheels and tires! Order them from ABC Nissan each caliper cost my about $76/with the caliper holder!!!
But I did 4 consecutive 130 mph stops just to test out the larger heat sinking capabilities. The stock 11.75"ers would normally warp from 80 mph panic stops!

jeff5347

this is copied from my cardomain page

Ok so i was curious on doing this mod and found out it is not hard at all. All you really need is to be mechanically inclined. So i ordered the front brakes:

Rotors

Calipers

caliper Brackets

from a salvage yard i found on car-parts.com.

The lot came with EVERYTHING. It came with calipers, rotors, brackets, shims, and all mounting bolts. I have not received the rotors yet as they are still enroute. I did not take pics of the parts as they arrived (dirty) so all i have is pics of nice clean painted calipers and brackets. i used Duplicolor silver caliper paint to paint the parts. i must say after cleaning the parts and painting the parts they came out extremely nice. Looks like it will withstand nature.

The tools i used to clean the parts

jeff5347

and what i have so far










once i have the other parts i will do the write up. I say in the next week

n3985

iTrader: (36)

Good job, calipers look new again but also very familiar

jeff5347

thanks,
i know the write ups have been done before, bbut i figure defferent perspectives will enable people to ust search and find exactly what they need and put what there looking for together out of different posts.

also on a side note, these are big suckers compared to stock. Im guessing i will see a happy improvement

n3985

iTrader: (36)

I actually meant how we painted our same calipers the same color using the same paint lol

jeff5347

ah ok hahaah how long ago? are they holding up to driving abuse such as chips, fading, rusting thru and such...

jeff5347

ok so here is the how to.

First and foremost safety it key. Make sure you jack the car up and place jackstands so nothing comes down on you. If you screw something up, I am not responsible. You assume all responsibility for your actions. Your mileage may vary. Look both ways before crossing the street. Don't drink and drive. Eat your veggies and above all, be good humans.

ok so lets begin.

Tools needed:

10 mm wrench and socket

12 mm socket

14 mm socket

19 mm socket

plenty of rags

old coke bottle (2 oz)

foot long of vacuum hose

drain pan

funnel

brake fluid (Nissan specifys DOT 3)

So the first thing is to jack the car up and remove the wheel. I started with the farthest away so the passenger side. Once the wheel is off get your 14mm socket and ratchet and undo the 2 bolts holding the caliper to the bracet.




Once you have removed the CALIPER take your 19mm socket and ratchet and remove the bracket. I reccommend to either use a 1/2 drive ratchet or a 3/8 with a long handle. These bolts can be very tough to budge and you need some leverage and torque to remove it. Once the calipeer bracket is removed you can remove the rotor. Clean all mounting spot and flat surfaces so rotor, wheel and all other components are flush when reassembling.

jeff5347

5.5 cal vs 6th gen cal

I didnt take a pick of the removal of the caliper for a few reasons, I need to get the new one attached before the fluid dripped out and caused a Valdez. The other reason is my hands were covered in brake fluid, so make sure to put down the drain pan. TO remove the brake line you need the 12mm socket and ratchet. I recommend breaking this loose before unbolting thee caliper.


6th gen rotor vs 5.5 gen old rotor measures 11.68 and 6th gen is 12.68 inches and is thicker as well.


ok so all parts are removed, get your new parts ready. Attach them in reverse order. Caliper to brake line first, then rotor, then bracket, then attach caliper to bracket. It should look like this now. What i did to get the caliper piston seated against the rotor is to keep cover on master cylider, start car and then pump the brakes a few times. Now shut car off and we can bleed the brakes.

jeff5347

Place the vacuum line over the bleeder screw. Insert the line into you coke bottle or whatever catch device you have. Check and make sure the fluid is full in the MC. Once your full your ready to bleed the line. I gravity bled my brakes as i was by myself. Loosen the bleed screw with your 10mm wrench and you will see the fluid to slowy drip into the bottle. Do not pump brakes while bleed screw is open. YOu will see the fluid drain in to the bottle and it will probably be bronze in color. Let it bleed until it is a steady constant drip and keep checking to make sure the fluid is at max in the master cylinder. Once you get to 1/4 of the 20 oz bottle full, close bleeder screw. now start car and pump the brakes 3-4 times. The pedal will feel spongy so dont be alarmed. Ok shut car off and start bleeding again until the 20 oz bottle is half full. Keep checking brake fluid level in the master. By this time you should see the clean fluid making its way thru. once the bottle is half full your done this side. Close the bleed screw and pump the brakes again. It may feel spongy but all is good.

So your half done. Now go to the driver side and do it all over again. Once the drivers side is done and your wheels are back on the ground all you need to make sure is you are at max fluid level. If so your completely done. Back your car out and safely test the brakes at 2- 3 mph to make sure you can stop. If its good you can road test it. So you know your pedal will not feel its greatest until the car has been driven a bit and the pads are bedded. I dont have a bedding procedure, you can find it online.




Now it fills the space between rotor and wheel.

jeff5347

have GLE wheels and i have plenty of clearance. Say 12-14mm from the caliper to the inside of the rim. About the same from the spoke to the bracket.




At first i didnt notice ahuge difference. But after the pads were bedded its noticeably improved. Regular stops seem to bite in better. Stops from higher speeds to say 10-15 mph seem to take 1/4 of the time. Vastly improved braking and looks as well. Enjoy.

n3985

iTrader: (36)

Good job, but you should mention it is not advised to leave a caliper hanging with the brake line attached, especially if the car is older and/or has a lot of miles.

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

Very good point. Just use a heavy string to hang it from the spring or something else so that the weight of the caliper isnt hanging on the brake line.

Torgus

iTrader: (10)

i usually just hang em on the spring to keep em out of the way...

regardless, if you're doing this why wouldn't you take the line off 1st then there is nothing to hang...

tbergma1

Because all your brake fluid would leak out. I cut up a metal hanger and use that to hang the caliper off the strut.

jeff5347

ok guys it was hanging for 10 secs to take the pic. Other than that it was being held and removed. I agree to hang it with a coat hanger or sit it on the spinlde if left for along period of time. And yea if i took it off then took a pic i would have a pool of brake fluid all over.
Anyways i thinkthis how to with the other how toos on BBK upgrades should give anyone trying to do this a no brainer on what exactly to do. Maybe the how tos on brake upgrades should be stickied.

Puppetmaster

iTrader: (48)

I haven't read everything in here, but i'm sure it is good judging from the pictures and details. Changed the thread title and will sticky it at some point, both in here and in the Advanced forum. Thanks.

Btw, I bet your kid doesn't appreciate you using their high chair for your brakes. Also, it looks like those GLE rims have much more clearance than my SE rims; there must be like 1 mm of clearance between the caliper and the inside of my rims. I know they are slightly lower offset and the spoke pattern may help too.

jeff5347

thanks Puppetmaster, i was thinking of changing the title but i didnt think i was able. Yea the gle rims have some real good clearance. I can put my index finger between the spoke and the hub of the rim. I hbave some time to break the pads in adn i must say, the pedal is very firm and assume thats from bleeding the brakes after 5 yrs of use. Also if anyone want to know im using bendix cq pads. I just wanted something better than oem for daily use.

i made sure it was clean... i would have gotten grief from my wife if i didnt.

SCI

Will theyt clear 17 inch 350z rims???

SCI

Will theyt clear 17 inch 350z rims???

SpooledVQ35

good upgrade but the 6th gen rotor is a pig...

Derrick2k2SE

iTrader: (3)

I was just thinking the same thing. What's the weight difference between the two rotors?

jeff5347

im not sure if they will fit on 350z rims. Im gonna guess the ywill if they have the backspacing like OEM max rims. Plus the 350 is rear wheel drive so i think it has more backspacing.
On the weight dif i didnt get a chance to weigh them. I can say they are heavier but not grossly. Once on the car i cant feel the dif. No dif in acceleration or ride.