One of my front brakes is warped, so I need to replace them. Do all of the big brake upgrade require going to 17" rims? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

Everything I looked at needed at least 17inch rims.
I ended up going with the powerstop extreme 6th gen kit(from summit as they had the cheapest price). They stop sooooooo much better than the stock brakes did and stay much cooler.

 

Im new here how can i post? Help

 

Damn...I didn't want to have to buy rims...

Thanks.

 

My car (2000 SE) has 17" rims. Are you saying I should be able to mount these (http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....31973&jsn=389() without any problems, and without any additional parts?
Thanks for your help.

 

They fit with my stock 17inch 03se rims.

Only get the front. 6th gen rears won't work. There is no upgrade for the rear brakes

 

http://www.fastbrakes.com/product_p/...ma-rear-12.htm

 

Same calipers, hardly an upgrade

 

Anytime you increase the diameter of the brake rotors, you increase braking power. It's like when you use a breaker bar instead of a smaller wrench to break a bolt loose. Increased radius equals increased torque. It also increases brake surface area (circumference, actually) so that the pads get more contact per revolution, as well. So an inch or more radius increase is quite an upgrade for braking power. Oh, not to mention that the heat has more surface area to spread out over before warping the rotors. Sure, better calipers or a stronger master cylinder would help as well, but honestly, I'd go with bigger brakes before I'd bother with calipers--it's usually cheaper for a nice upgrade.

 

dang you just cost me $350

 

Yes, but unfortunately your max of ~2.5% increase (real world, not theoretical gain) in braking power for the rear means diddly, b/c the rear doesn't do the stopping like the font. It's basically only measurable during brake fade conditions.

 

That's because of the brake bias valve. All you have to do is remove the brake bias so that all the rotors get equal braking force. Yes, the front brakes still do most of the stopping, but the rears get a whole lot more stopping power. I increased the size of all of my rotors on my SHOs, but use the same calipers and removed the brake bias. It stopped a whole hell of a lother faster. Just increasing the rear brake diameter helped quite a bit. On top of that, on the track, when taking a turn, if I'm braking, the rear end doesn't come out, overseering. It makes for much better handling in some sticky situations like that on the street, as well. So, say it's useless if you like, but people who've done it will disagree from firsthand experience.

 

I don't have mine installed yet, but from everything I've read, if you're going w a front BBK only you will throw off the overall ratio quite a bit. Stock ratio is roughly 70/30 front/rear. The rear kit restores that balance or at least pretty close to it. There are plenty of threads on here where ppl report it makes a noticeable difference. One guy did the math based on rotor size, piston size and quantity, etc, etc and calculated the final ratio w both front & rear BBKs of something like 72/28.

 

Big rotors with tiny calipers

 

.why put more breaking power in the rear if the front takes most of it anyway. i would just use some quality ceramics and brembo blanks for the rear and call it a day with 6gen front calipers. Yeah you can even out the braking to 50/50 or even 60/40 but with a fwd vehicle its pointles. If there was a cheap rear caliper upgrade available, there would be a thread on it already. you should pay the suspension discussion a visit.

 

I have to wonder if you guys have tracked your cars much.

Last time I was at the track, I was with a whole lot of other Taurus SHOs, which are great track cars. The newer ones are too damn heavy, but still fairly quickly with 365hp. All I had done to mine was full suspension and brakes. The only car that could catch me had a Quaife and 13" Cobra brakes up front. My turn in on corners was incredible because of the larger rear brakes and brake bias removal. It makes a very noticeable difference in driving conditions such as that. Since that other SHO beat me, I bought it.

When you take the strain off the front brakes by increasing the diameter of the rear brakes, you increase the effectiveness of the front brakes.

Take anyone with big brakes in the front against anyone with big brakes all around on the track and the latter will whoop the former as long as he has the ***** to drive into the corners at high enough speeds before braking. If the former tries to follow the latter into a turn at those speeds, he'll oversteer while braking and spin off the track. I've never seen a Maxima team will it, and Maxima's (2000-2003) are 200 lbs lighter and have more torque.

Okay, I'm done arguing brakes. It's kind of pointless with someone who has no experience with them and probably doesn't track their car.

 

It was never an arguement, its know that better brakes will help, but on a 5th gen NISSAN MAXIMA its not realy worth.
If i recall, the new SHO is all wheel drive, if it is then using it as an example is pointless being that the rear and front brakes slow the momentum directly from the motor rather then stopping the force of some rolling wheels with weight on them like our rear brakes do.

 

I'm not comparing the new SHO, I'm comparing the oldest one. I have two '91s, both set up for the track. They're 200 lbs lighter than a Maxima. The newest SHO is ungodly heavy...4327 lbs...so that's no comparison, regardless of AWD. When that car first came out, owners were setting the front brakes on fire when braking hard. lol

 

There are cases where the rear brakes are just plain undersized. my acura cl had beefy brakes in the front and wimpy almost half the size rotors in the back stock.

 

did you do that upgrade on 16s?

are you talking about your max or SHO? if the MAx what setup/parts do you have on it?

 

350Z with all four larger rotors doesn't affect stopping distance unless they're very hot. Also, if you were to modify rear braking pressure and it's not balanced with the front, then you'll make the car more unstable.
The rear is an exercise in futility for these cars. Thanks to the ebrake, we'll never have a useful, cost effective upgrade.

I would upgrade spec V rear brakes if I were racing it (as it can do that), but a maxima... "Cuz racecar" can't even be applied here lol

 

I was talking about my SHO. I haven't done anything to the Maxima's brakes yet. I'm still seeing how they feel and work so far. And so far, they were just barely good enough to keep me from rearending a car yesterday. lol I'm a little too used to my SHO's brakes. Plus, I have 300 lbs of hitches in the trunk making it hard on the stock brakes, so that's not helping.

 

I won't argue with that part of the statement. lol I was just saying to one of the other SHO guys yesterday, "This Maxima feels so much less sturdy than my SHO." He said, "That's why we always kick their asses on the track." So...yeah...

Well, if I ever get a wild hair and want to track the Maxima (Don't hold your breath), I won't be able to tell the difference. Though I guess I could go run it hard on the street around here if I get the big brakes. I don't feel like unloading the 300 lbs out of the trunk though just to go play with the brakes, honestly. #aintnobodygottimeforthat

 

If you want some reference as to how hard they can stop with upgraded fronts, my other maxima has 300ZX BBK (Hawk HPS pads) with pretty sticky tires. With 240/280 treadwear tires when warm, I absolutely cannot get ABS to engage (130 to 0 stops are cake).

It's a huge improvement over stock for multiple reasons. The rotors won't warp (biggest issue with stock rotors), no brake fade and all around increased stopping power.

I have 6th gen BBK on my 5.7 swap, but with cheap pads and all season tires. It can overcome the tires, though.

 

The 300zx brakes seem controversial. Aren't there bigger enter upgrades now? Will the 300zx brakes fit inside 16" rims?

 

just get the 6th gen bbk and be done? (bolts right up) if u wanna balance the rear then.. do so.

and yes you'll need 17" wheels simply put.

 

Damn. I love 17" rims, but I really didn't want to have to put them on this car. It's a freakin' work car. I don't plan to outfit it for the track like my other cars.

Maybe I'll come across a cheap set of rims somewhere.

Thanks.

 

Look into some cheap 6th gen rims, they look great and the breaks fit well.

 

You mean g35 coupe rims

 

Don't they have some 5 stars for the g35? 17x8s?

 

i have heard of crazy craiglist deals for oem wheels from those guys that dont hold on to them after they upgrade to other pairs. g35 and maxima wheels.

heck i saw 6th gen maxima wheels on an acura tl so yea..

well if it is a work car why are so concerned about brake ratios and since you said this

just keep it simple, it is a work car after all????? I agree it is crazy to upgrade ur wheels just to upgrade one end of brakes

 

I carry 300+ lbs in my car and drive a whole lot. My car goes down and I can't work. So I need damn good brakes to carry the extra weight. Can't have my brakes warping then end up hitting someone.

I'll check craigslist. Thanks.

 

Sounds like you need a truck!!!

 

honestly i dont think 300# is all that much, u figure some people way 200-250 lbs and that typically doesnt drastically effect the drivability of a car, and in a sedan you add 1-2 passengers around 200#s.... etc etc. i understand seeing a car slammed from extra weight filled with 4 people or a bunch of crap (yea it might drive crapp and differently), but you up front and #300 in the back, i dont think it would effect brakes that much to overhaul a secondary work car to upgrading its brakes for that sole reason. blah blah, keep us posted tho, 6th gen bbk w blank rotors is your best bet if you can find some 17" wheels.

cliff notes - ur better off trusting a modern sedan is designed to carry 500-600 lbs of passengers and or luggage and not drastically change the safety of its factory braking capibilities.

 

TRUCK COMMENT: No kidding. But trucks don't get very good gas mileage, and I need 4 seats for my drivers. I was going to get a small SUV, but couldn't find a good quality one cheap.

300# COMMENT: If you saw my car with the hitches in it, you'd understand. The front is really high and the rear is slammed. Keep in mind that if 4 passengers are in the car, the weight's centered on the struts and springs. But the trunk weight is either over the rear tires or behind them. Weight past the rear tires has a heavier effect, too, because it extends the radius increasing force/torque. Simply put, I'm low ridin' in the back, bigtime.

I found some 17s with tires from a g35. $280. Not bad.

 

Those rear struts love to sag with age, too. New struts plus stiffer springs will solve that problem.

You can find AE, 5.5 gen, 350Z and G35 rims for cheap on CL. The other nissan rims are just ugly.

 

nice find, hopefully that is worth it to do the 6th gen bbk

 

I just bought brand new struts and springs. Sags like crazy with all of the weight. Maybe 300 lbs is a conservative estimate. I have 350 lbs and 450 lbs springs in my SHO to carry the weight. It appears I'm going to have to make this car about the same as a track car to carry all the weight. That sucks... I didn't want to spend that much on it...

 

yea man, objectively, you just need to change vehicles.

get a lil escape or mx6 or acadia etc etc....

or get another SHO since you like them

 

Love SHOs, hate the maintenance costs. That's why I'm switching vehicles. Bought the Maxima because it was cheap. Regretting it now that I'm sinking so much money into it.

I wanted a Toyota (Rav4) for reliability, but they hold their value too well. Nissan's pretty decent on reliability, so I went for a Maxima next. I figured I'd end up sinking more money than I wanted to into it, but oh well. I'm stuck with it now. I'd never get my money back out of it now. Paint job is sunburned. I have base plates for towing it, which no one needs hardly, especially since the shoddy product causes the bumper not to fit back up on one side (which astounds me since BlueOx is one of the best companies for base plates). If I get fed up with it enough, I'll go postal on it and bend the hell out of the base plate to get my bumper back on properly. I like that the car doesn't look good though, because if I somehow lose it while towing, I won't really care much when it wrecks on the side of the road. lol