If you go to some aftermarket store, and buy some 'OEM' pads.. does OEM mean you're getting pads made by the same manufacturer as the ones you'd get at the dealer, or does it just mean that the conform to some vague spec ranges that the dealer pads also conform to?

 

OEM = Orignial Equipment Manufacturer
In our case that identifies OEM as NISSAN.

Aftermarket auto part stores don't sell OEM products, they sell their equivalent.
In some cases you may get a part mfg. by the same company that the OEM uses.
For example, Bendix or perhaps Tokico.

 

He's exactly right. You somethimes can get pads made by whoever made the OEM ones for your MAX. This is where a Forum is good. Sometimes OEM is the way to go for parts. Other times you want to go with a better aftermarket brand. There is allot of trial and error to this. IMO brakes can go both ways. You can get some great aftermarket brands that are superior in every way to OEM. But there is plenty of junk out there too. Do some searches and you will find everything you need.

Good Luck.

 

Spend the money on quality ceramic brake pads. Nissan OEM pads don't dust too bad compared to most stock pads, but aftermarket ceramic are even better and give great brake feel.

 

Monroe FTMFW if you go somewhat close to OEM. Better then bendix or any of those part store "walmart" brands.

 

Can you put Brembo brakes on the 09 Max?

 

I was actually considering getting Monroe as the ratings they get seem to be at least as good as Nissan pads, and the local parts store carries them.

 

Any recommended brands? Any negatives to ceramic?

(btw I need pads for just daily driving, no track or racing or anything).

 

I got the ProStop Ceramics at Pep Boys for around $45 or so. Had them on my old 626 too. Really like them. Quiet, excellent stopping power and no brake dust to speak of.

 

I got monroe Ceramics. A week ago exact. They been great so far. Quiet, responsive stopping power, and I just replace Ult Axxis with brembo custom DS rotors. Don't buy any D/S rotors off of here, and don't get Axxis pads if you are a daily driver, they only lasted me a year and 4 months before ****ting the bed completely . They are all knockoffs millings of sometimes brembo blanks. If you get a real Brembo rotor it will be gold and only cross drilled.

 

Brembo Corporation does not make a cross drilled rotor for the 4th gen Maxima, only blanks.

The cross drilled Brembo rotors sold for our cars are machined by a 3rd party.

 

Crossed drilled are a bad idea. May look cool, but really degrades the strength. Slotted is different story. There is a reason for the slot and it doesn't degrade the strength as much. It helps clean the dust and helps with cooling I used to race SCCA and you never saw drilled. Run really hard and get them hot and then hit a puddle. CRACK.

All it does is look cool. Talk to any real performance guy and you'll hear blanks or slotted.

Just look at the Pros. You 'll never see drilled.

And I agree that a good ceramic is the way to go. Believe it or not if you are using stock calipers the high end Wagners are really good. As long as you seat them well they will hold up great and are really quiet.

 

I think there was some discussion a while back by DaveB, the parts guy, about different grades of OEM brakes. There are ones that match exactly the specs of the original stock pads, but then Nissan also produces "economy" OEM pads that are worthless, which are the specs that most "OEM equivalent" makers follow.

On a side note, it's interesting to hear the positive reviews about the ceramic pads, because having been developed under race conditions, I thought they wouldn't be good for daily street driving. I assume they would only be good after being warmed up, but it sounds like they bite well in the cold too. That, plus being quiet and low dust makes me want to try some when my brakes finally need replacing.

 

One thing to remember though. Ceramic pads are so hard they eat rotors much faster than anything else including metallics

 

No they don't. I've been using ceramics for about 10 years now on 3 different cars. Absolutely no rotor wear issues.

 

true you don't want to drill into a stock sized rotor but drilled rotors are not a bad thing. people used drilled stock rotors and see them crack and then blame that drilled rotors are bad. high end brakes are usually drilled but come with a huge 4-6pot caliper and aluminum hat. look at brakes on a Ferrari, S class AMG, basically any big brake system. sure it looks cool but it does serve a function also.

for a normal street driven car...blanks are perfectly fine.

 

it's not your pads..it's your rotor that killed the axxis.

when you have drilled/slotted rotor every time you brake you shave more off your brake pads. it's like running your brake pad through a cheese grater. so that's why your pads lasted a year. try axxis on a blank rotor and i'll bet the pad will last longer.

 

I stand corrected. You're right that the right kinds of rotors that are drilled are okay. Even better than okay since the holes help provide needed cooling.

But even racers are worried about strength issues. Look at the Nascar guys that only need a set of rotors to last through 500 miles. They always use blanks because they need the strength. I would guess they would like some holes to help cool them (Do you ever see how Cherry red the get) but they can't stand the reduction in strength. And they can't make them any bigger since they are already getting too close to the wheel and melting the tire bead.

Large thick rotors that were engineered to still have the strength after being drilled. The problem is with stock sized drilled rotors.

And I absolutely agree with you about both the drilled and even slotted rotors acting like cheese graters. Especially if uyou drive through something and get some dirt/mud in the hole area. You can shred a set of brakes in no time.

 

When I took off the stock pads on my 4th gen, they were made by Akebono. The replacement from Nissan were made by Hitachi.

I think Akebono do sell in the aftermarket and have ceramic versions too.

 

most race cars run ceramic rotors. it's a total different animal compared to steel/iron rotors.

 

I've actually got these pads and they sound like a hoard of mice whenever I'm <b> not </b> breaking. The mechanic said that there'd be a break-in period for when the breaks would stop making so much noise. However, its been 6 months and they still make this terrible sound.

 

squeek sqeeuk squeek squeek

damn meeses

 

LOL, its terrrrrrible. Any idea how to get rid of the problem? Mechanic changed my pads and it still makes this dying noise.

 

shims? first thing that came to mind.

 

Shims could defnitely help. Most of the higher end Wagner products come with them. But I thought shims were mostly for chatter. As the caliper gets older and stuff sgets slightly bent oput of Spec inckluding the aftermarket brake pads you end up with too much slop in the brake to caliper interface. When you are light on the brakes they chatter.

From what I know squeek (which also occurs when you are light on the brakes) is about bedded the pads and getting them to set well with the rotors. SOmethimes if that doesn't occur nothing will fix it.

Good Luck

 

DanNY i would agree with you 100% EXCEPT for (not rellivant here) Dodge Avenger. My wife tore thru 4 sets of rotors. blanks and slotted until i went to "cross-drilled slotted" racing rotors from that i had to order from a special company in NJ and ship to CA. After that she never trashed the rotors again!

After posting originaly i talked to my wife about this post and she mentioned that this was only really nessessary when we lived in CA cause ppl there are either all gas or all breaks... nobody just drives... lol!

 

Hmmm, I wonder how much my brake pads are going to be.

 

If you're using aftermarket pads (does your mechanic order from Napa/AutoZone/Pep Boys and get the 'generic' pads?) then you might be encountered the screech from the composition of those cheaper pads. My Max has aftermarket pads installed by the moron previous owner and shrieks like a banshee, even though the pads are still pretty thick.

It can also be brake dust.

 

OEM Pads are fine, just make sure you remove the shims from you old Nissan pads and install on new OEM pads.(new Nissan pads do not come with shims. and the old shims are made mean't to be re-used.)
you are definitely going to need the shims, or OEM pads will move around and make a lot of noise when you apply brakes.
(New Nissan shim kits run about $100 total for front and back) don't ask me how i know!!!!!!! lol

2009 Nissan Maxima SV

 

I'll reiterate what everyone has said here...whatever you do, go for ceramics. I cheaped out on my fronts and ended up changing them out within 3000 miles. The brake dust was horrible, and they squeaked like crazy!

The ceramics are better in every way...I have Wearever ceramics from advanced on it right now. Can't remember the price, but I'm pleased with them.

 

I got the Wagner Thermo Quiet Ceramic NST and new rotors.
There was one pad that did not set very well. Very tight. I thought it would have a problem relaxing out after a braking. I talked with the guy at the store and he said that the parts lists said there were TWO to choose from for the 2002. HMMMMM why did he not say that initially.

So at the dealer, they would search for parts by VIN # and avoid such a fiasco. I think I got bit by this. Even the spacer/wear indicator of the Wagner was about an eighth inch too big. BUT I just bent the internal pressure fitting to make it work.

This is the second time which the Nisson gave me 3rd party part issues. The other was for a pressure release valve for gas recirculation.

I get sound not just from the tight pad (driver side) but from both. Of course the tight pad happened on the second one I installed.

In further visiting with the store attendant via phone during installation, I reasoned that if it was tight, repeated breaking would give the pad more play (heavy braking), and eventually go in and out smoothly.

I have a feeling that there may be a redo in my future, but I am writing the company on the mix up and the not advising on the first trip to the store.

I was having a Father's Day Fest repairing the brakes on my daughter's car.