I have a couple of 2004-2005 CTS-V Brembo 4 piston factory calipers brand new with ceramic brake pads chillin' in my closet from years ago that were given to me from a friend (don't ask). Anyways, I have never done any brake mods to a car before. Let's assume I can get these things mounted with custom brackets and they can fit properly. I know I would have to get some different rotors, etc. And my plans would be to maybe move the factory fronts to the rear of the car or possibly see about buying a couple more Brembos.

My question is, if I somehow get this done, does anybody know if there are any modifications that need to be done to a car when swapping out calipers, rotors and pads? Any idea if I will run into issues with ABS or master cylinder issues, etc.?

I have never upgraded brakes before even with a brake package offered aftermarket. I'm not sure what else would maybe have to be done. Am I wasting my time you think? Anybody have experience?

Thanks in advance.

 

Funny you bring this up. I started a thread a few weeks ago about nearly the same thing.

http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generat...-upgrades.html

A few things:

1) Custom brackets could get pricey if you have a shop CNC machine the pieces
2) New brake lines will be needed (I'd go with stainless)
3) ABS sensor might not work since the caliper is designed for a GM vehicle
4) You'll need to find rotors that will fit (fairly easy)
5) You won't have to worry about the master cylinder. Nothing to change there. I would however take the opportunity to put in some higher temp fluid like ATE SuperBlue.
6) You will need to run 19" wheels or larger to clear the brakes. You'll most likely want to run at least a 13.5 or 14" rotor diameter.

Unless you plan on hitting some Hyperdrive events at your local auto-x track, those brakes are a bit overkill. I was seriously considering the G37S Akebono brake kit for my car, but my stock 18"s won't fit over the brakes come winter time. My goal is to hit up some HPD events at Summit Point next year to see how my EBC Redstuff pads, higher temp fluid and slotted brakes hold up after 5 hot laps.

 

Excellent info. I agree that the brakes are a bit overkill but the fact that these things have been in my closet for 6 years now and haven't done anything with them is really starting to annoy me. Plus, these things re-powdercoated would be intense looking on the car. I have been a GM customer prior to working for Nissan and pity myself for every owning three 3rd generation camaros. What better way to smack GM in the face than to use their own V calipers against them. LOL

1. Brackets aren't a big concern to me. I know quite a few people that can help me with this.
2. Are you talking about FULL brake lines throughout the car or just behind the wheels where people usually add braided lines?
3. The ABS and VDC sensors are a huge worry of mine. I have no experience in this. I thought sensors were located in the hubs and not the calipers. Are calipers designed for specific applications and sensors?
4. Good news on the master cylinder.
5. I have the factory 19 inch wheels so I should be good there. Stock CTS-V's from this generation ran 18" wheels.

I have done a little reasearch and have been reading on "brake bias" also. My service manager told me that when he did this on his custom Jeep he used brake valves that could be adjusted so give the correct brake bressure on all four wheels.

We are also going to call the Nissan Engineer that works with our dealership to find out if there's any other major concerns I should have.

Thanks for your help so far. The other option here is to just sell the things on Ebay and take the quick 500 bucks or so and just buy some other mods. That seems to be the going rate for a set of these things out there.

 

Honestly, good brakes aren’t really overkill in the real world. Mainly for those folks who aren’t paying attention while driving haha. I was a longstanding GM owner myself (Pontiac Bonneville, Chevy S10 4.3L, Pontiac Grand Prix GT) prior to buying the Max.

1) If you find a shop that can hook you up with some solid brackets, hit me up as I’d like to know who to call in the future!
2) I was talking full SS brake lines (MUCH better pedal feel). Kind of a PITA, but worth it IMO.
3) I’m not too familiar with the ABS and VDC sensors on the car. If my memory serves me right, I do believe the ABS sensor IS in the hub. For the VDC side of things, I think it works alongside the ABS system when conditions get slick. I think this is definitely an area where your Nissan engineer buddies can help you out!
4) Sounds like you won’t have any clearance issues with the larger calipers and rotors. You might want to look into seeing if the G37S / 370Z Sport Akebono 14” rotors will work with the new calipers. I know for a fact that the bolt pattern is the same (114.3 I think). Just need to see if the pad surface will work with the Brembo 4-pots.

Very good thought on the brake bias between front and rear. The Brembo 4-pots are definitely going to have more clamping force than the stock 1-pot rears. Just unsure of how a proportioning valve is going to work in conjunction with the Electronic Brake Force Distribution that’s already on the car.

I’m really interested to see what you can find out from your Nissan folks. While my dealership is great, they aren’t too keen on giving me technical details when it comes to swapping things out. Glad to meet a fellow gearhead who wants to get their hands dirty and see what one-off mods can be done to this car!

 

I doubt that proper brake bias would be obtained from just making a brake adapter, lines, rotors and just slapping them on.

Mostly you would have ABS kicking in sooner or simply acting more erratic.

Also you have to enough hydraulic capacity by the brake system to properly deal with the new calipers.

Most after market manufactures of brake kits use surface area of the factory caliper pistons and make that a starting point. They use maybe more pistons 6 or more with the same surface area, but shift the piston locations, and count on the thermal capacity of the of the new rotors, larger brake pads with better materials, and aluminum hats to help with braking performance.

So my point is at least measure the surface area of the factory pistons and compare to what you have. Before you spend a lot of time and money on something that may not work.

 

UPDATE

Decided to sell them and put the cash toward another mod that can be completed right now...I'm too anxious to do something. I think I will check into the Nismo 370Z brake system when it comes time to do this.

 

Good idea dude. Those gloss black 4-pots would look amazing on our car. You looking at doing both axles or just front only?