Im stuck between 3 pads, one is the OEM, two is the Nippon Pad, and third are the metal masters. Im leaning towards OEM, but the metal masters are very tempting. I really can care less about cold starts and all, all i care about is primarilty 3 things. 1- doesnt warp or screw over my discs, 2- doesnt dust like a b1tch cause i got crome wheels and that would be a pain in the a$$, and 3- not kill my wallet cause im a full time student with no job and im MAD HURTING right now I can get the metal masters for 29.99, which is pretty good from what i hear, i can get the nippon's for 30.57, and the oem;s for 31.94. Please let me know what u guys think as far as the best deal and the pad that pretty much fits my needs, and yes i did SEARCH, just wanted your opinions.

 

From experience, I have found the metal masters stop better than oe, have more dust than OE, but chew rotors at a phenomenal rate.

The same kinda goes for the Porterfield (I believe) RS2 pads. Those puppies STOP our Maximas on a dime, but chew rotors even quicker than the metal masters.

Just my opinion, but if you want decent braking for not a lot of money go with oe, at a place such as Courtesy.

 

R4 (racing)
R4-S (street and light track)

apocnmbr1 - There's an ongoing group deal on these pads here http://www.maximadriver.com/ in case you go that route. Great pads.

 

wont these chew up my rotors??

 

My bad, it was the R4S. They will go through rotors faster than oe. How much faster depends on how you drive. But you will definetly notice that you will go through rotors at a faster rate.

Like I said, if you want to improve braking, it's going to cost you somewhere else, in this case rotor wear. You are converting kinetic energy to heat energy through friction. So if you want to stop quicker, you need to transfer kinetic energy to heat energy at a faster rate, in this case through friction. And friction causes surfaces to wear. I have a bunch of friends that use really soft kevlar pads that are GREAT for street use, wear one requires a VERY strong brake application, but cannot withstand continuous braking, like on a track. Then again, I have friends that are all track, and all they care about is ultimate stopping ability. Everything is a compromise.

 

I found the opposite to be true with the Porterfield's, I went through 2 sets of pads before I thought about swapping rotors.

 

Well, 2 sets of pads per set of rotors isn't all that great. Some of my buddies are still on their original rotors, and up in the 150K km area, all because they use soft kevlar pads that give CRAZY stopping, albeit not repeated.

I always aim for about 4-5 sets of pads for each set of rotors. However, I never take my cars to the track, and never demand heavy repeated braking. I demand VERY strong braking, but not repeated. Therefore, I can afford to go with a very soft pad compound.

The average OE setup and driver, goes through 3-4 sets of pads for each set of rotors.

 

I just installed R4-S pads at all four corners and they are really stellar....hardly takes any legwork to stop the car. These pads have turned the mediocre Maxima brakes into decent stopping mechanisms. My only complaint was the price....they were about $125, plus I got suckered into paying $25 for 3 day FedEx.

 

Exactly, great stopping, but they do go through rotors faster than oe pads. I am considering going with R4-S's too when my stock pads go, then when pads and rotors are toast, go big.

 

how bad are they dusting??

 

How fast do you think my rotors will wear out? Eventually, or maybe just in my dreams, I'd love to get a big brake kit from Stillen, but I wouldn't have money for that for at least a few years. Will they last that long?

 

Well it depends on how you drive. Also, I haven't had my Maxima all that long, so I don't have personal experience with the longevity of the rotors and pads yet. Although, I have noticed that I tend to glaze my oe pads on a regular basis.

 

go to autozone

buy performance friction pads

be happy

 

hmmm I want to get new slotted or drilled rotors but my fiance would get a little PO'd if I spent that much on another "uneeded mod". I need to change the pads now so looks like R4-S's are my best option to get the rotors I want sooner!

 

How about some ceramics?

 

I'm lost as to how Porterfields wear your rotors out quicker seeing as how they are not a semi-metallic pad.


Axxis Metalmasters tend to chew rotors, but Porterfields, EBC Greenstuff, and such carbon kevlar type pads are pretty easy on rotors. However, the drawback of such pads is more dust compared to Metalmasters.

 

so whats up with the NIPPON pads??? anyone tried these??

 

?

 

Not a lot of feedback available:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....t=nippon+brake

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....t=nippon+brake

I would suggest searching some Hon-duh or Toyota forums for "nippon brake" "nippon" or "nippon pad" as I did here.

 

2 sets of pads per rotor under my conditions is actually really good. For street use only, I would expect much better life. These pads really don't wear the rotors much at all. For example, Hawk Blue's on the track will trash a set of rotors in a day at the track.

 

Nobody likes EBC Pads? I think they fall inbetween the Metal Masters and the OEM pads as far as rotor ware goes.

I'm running the Metal Masters on Stillen X-Drilled rotors. They stop excellent! I was told that 2 sets of Metal Masters should go through one set of rotors. The way I look at this is, one set of rotors should last me 120,000 miles. (I get 60K / set of pads) I see nothing wrong with that at all. Normal ware and tare as far as I'm concerned.

Rotors aren't that expensive if you just get aftermarket replacements. I'd be looking at changing them anyway after 100K. Hey, there your brakes, you wanna stop fast or visit the body shop every now and then?

 

I've heard excellent things about the characteristics of EBC pads, except for one. Everyone, without exception, who has run these pads hard says their only complaint is the pads wear very fast.

Exactly, I vote for stop fast now. Let the SUV hit me from behind, not the other way around.

 

Guys,
I see the wonders of RS4, etc.
Has anyone seen performance improvement, as in 60 to zero in XXX Feet?
How much better are these pads compared to OE and others?
Thanks.

 

Bendix 'Quiet Stops' are supposed to be good... Stop well, don't dust too bad, and last a long time. If you aren't 'open tracking' at the local road course, they should serve you well...... while not breaking the wallet.

I've seen positive feedback about them on here before, and figured someone else would have given their $0.02 by now.

Good Luck!

 

So I take it the metal masters on stock rotors wont be a good combo.....the thing is, im selling my car in a few months, so I dont want to spend a lot of money towards it, but at the same time i feel really bad putting something sh1tty on my car. I guesss im trying to look for the best bang for the buck.

 

can we see pics!

 

How do the Reybestos stop the car? they last long don't they? I've heard over and over they are the best for quietness.... because that's what i'm really looking for. I've got metallic brakes and they're forming glass on the rotor when i brake hard.... and it squeeeeeeeeeeeeeels like no tomorrow

 

I said to hell with it and went with the METAL MASTERS....I got em for 29 bucks for the front...i think that was a good deal...i'll let u guys know how it goes.