Hey guys,

I need to get new brake pads (maybe even rotors) but do not have time to do it myself because of my work schedule. What type of brakes do you recommend for a 2003 Nissan Maxima GLE? Ceramic? I thought about taking the car to Brakeway... unless you all have other suggestions? I appreciate any feedback from you guys. Thanks!

 

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...e-upgrade.html

cheap and effective/thread

 

Hawks brake pads.

 

Ceramic pads if you want low dusting and decent stopping performance. Not sure race pads are worth the extra dust and somewhat longer stopping distances until they heat up unless you track your car.

 

It all depends on how much you want to spend.

Personally, I have the 6th Gen front brake setup with RTP rotors (X drilled front, solid rear) and EBC red pads. The performance is great despite heavy braking the rotors are still true and the pads really don't dust badly.

 

Thanks for all the feedback I got. It sounds like I should take it to Brakeway or Midas and ask for CERAMIC? I don't need anything top of the line, this is just a car I use to drive to and from work and on occasional road trips. I have a feeling they're going to tell me the rotors need replacing.... there is a noise coming from the the wheels when you drive with the windows down.

 

My vote goes to Centric for rotors.

 

Centric's are good. I like them and so do a lot of the x-cross people here in Oregon.

 

If you dont plan on doing the brake job yourself, you could still save money if the shop will use parts you bring in.

A lot of chain repair shops make you buy their stuff.

If you decide to buy your own stuff, contact Rich @ Rotorpros. He has great prices and will take care of you.

 

Seriously, get a Chilton manual and do the brakes yourself. You should be able to replace pads and rotors on both fronts in an hour max. A chain shop is going to say you need every single part of the brake system replaced and charge you $500 plus.

 

agreed!! doing the brake pads only requires you removing the tire, loosening the top bolt of the caliper and removing the bottom, press in the caliper, put the pads on and tighten up the bolts you loosened and go to the next. i did the 6th gen bbk install in under an hour

 

What if it needs new rotors? Is that hard to do yourself? I def. think it'd be fun to install the brake pads myself... just worried the rotors are shot :/

 

Rotors are cake. If you can remove the bolts for the caliper/bracket, you can change your rotors.

 

yea removing the caliper bolts arent that difficult, either have a long ratchet, or a regular length ratchet, attach a wrench to it, and go at it. its not a difficult process, seriously. if you can change your oil, you can do this.

 

I'm a HUGE fan of ATE slotted rotors. You can get em at tire rack, and maybe Rock Auto.

 

^whats the prices on them? im eventually going slotted on my front and rear

 

Where can I get them?

 

You don't even need that, you can just compound two wrenches together to make a quickie cheater bar:

 

rear brakes are a pia,,because you have to screw in the caliper piston and not to tear the rubber dust boot,,,use brake fluid to soften the rubber boot for easy turning so it don t twist

 

ratchet and wrench were easier for me, that method is a little more difficult to get right

 

I just replaced rotors/pads with Centric rotors and ceramic pads. Easy to do. You may need to WD40 the rotor and knock from under the vehicle. The ceramics brake in a very linear fashion - they do not grab like semi-metalic in my experience. low dusting and the dust is a lighter color. I used a torque wrench during install. yes, be carefull with the rear dust boot on piston I did stretch one side as I did not notice it twisting. I'm curious to see if the black painted rotors actually do well with rust over the years.