Does any1 have this setup? I hear Hawks are very good pads from the reading i have done. I just want to know how they perform matched with brembo blanks? Rotor wear, dust, performance? The other pads i was thinking about were Raybestos, Green Stuff, and Axxis Deluxe? I want a good performing street pad for spirited driving w/ no squealing and low dust. Any thoughts?

WOuld you guys recommend getting SS lines as well, and what are the benefits??

 

Brembo blank is just a simple blank rotor, nothing better than a $20 Autozone rotor really. HPS pad is a good pad, when bedded-in correctly. I have yet to clean my wheels once since installing in June or July. Performance is on par with OEM when cold, and it bites harder the warmer it gets, and much more than OEM when warmed up.

 

Incorrect. Brembo is much better quality and will have better resistance to warping and such.

Absolutely correct.

If you're not used to a pad on this level, it is really scary how good these things get when you heat them up. It's a lot scarier how hard you have to beat on them just to get them warm -- let alone get them to the point that they start fading.



To the OP: Brembo blanks with Hawk HPS would be a great setup. I'm actually starting to think that those Hawks are the only pads worth having on the Maxima besides OEM and some more expensive stuff.

Stainless steel lines would be good too: they will reduce brake fade (4th gens can actually get significant brake fade just from the rubber lines heating up and expanding) and give you a better pedal feel, especially if your current lines are old.

FWIW, my setup is Brembo slotted rotors with Hawk HPS in front, Brembo blanks with Hawk HPS in back, and Goodridge stainless steel lines all around. My car sees hard street driving every day, but no track duty. With that driving, my front pads are lasting me about 20k miles, and my front rotors about 60k; my rear pads and rotors last practically forever. I do get a lot of dust, but my driving has a lot to do with that as well.

I got slotted rotors, despite the huge price premium and faster pad wear, because for some reason my daily commute involves a lot of road dust that gets kicked up into my wheel wells; when I had blanks, that stuff would get caught in my brakes and score my rotors to hell. Now, the slots just catch it and the rotors stay smooth.

As far as pads, I went through Satisfied Pro ceramic (crap), EBC Greenstuff (cracked from heat), and Axxis Ultimate (squealed, dusted like hell, barely lasted 15k miles) before I got my HPS. The HPS is clearly the best of the bunch.

 

I run HP+ and Brembo Blanks on the rear of my S13 and love them to death. I agree with everything doodfood said. I also agree that Brembo's are not just regular rotors. The consistancy and quality of the iron is much better.

 

thanks a lot guys, i appreciate it.

 

I disagree. I've never warped an OEM rotor. 95% of the people who think they're "warping" their rotors are just getting uneven pad material transfer/buildup from crappy OEM/cheapo pads. I've heard just as many people with Brembos having the problem. It's the pads, not the rotors in most cases.

agreed/


agreed

agree in theory, though I noticed no difference at all with SS vs stock lines.

 

btw I use Hawk HPS pads (had them in my 5th gen brakes, 6th gen brakes, and now my Z32 brakes) and they're the best, hands down.

 

so should i ditch the brembo blanks and go for autozone rotors OR Oem Nissan Rotors w/ Hawk HPS pads? If anyone has used autozone rotors, which 1's did you get ?

 

i have HPS with my Z32 brakes and blank rotors....love them....on my last track day took about 20 min session to get fade....i think it was due too uber old brake fluid...

 

Good call about the pad material, but the rotor quality comparison was to $20 Autozone blanks, not OEM.

I didn't notice much difference in pedal feel either, but I definitely noticed a reduction in fade.

 

Are the RTP rotors really almost as good in quality as the Brembo blanks?

 

[QUOTE=irish44j]I disagree. I've never warped an OEM rotor. 95% of the people who think they're "warping" their rotors are just getting uneven pad material transfer/buildup from crappy OEM/cheapo pads. I've heard just as many people with Brembos having the problem. It's the pads, not the rotors in most cases.

Have you ever machined a rotor and listened for the sound. Rotor warpage is attributed to techs not torquing wheels and while overheated it bends side to side. True that pad material travels between pad and rotor at high temps but not properly torquing a wheel warps a rotor.

I see you have some extensive experience here and knowledge but that new theory with pad transfer is true but it's not what's warping them.
I've learned this at school and this is what manufacturors believe too.

Want to make your braked last twice the miles???? Don't step hard on your bakes while parked at a light. That's when they're hot that the pressure will decrease life. Just enough not to roll. Metal bends while hot and beaten right??

 

Thoughts on OEM Nissan rotors vs. Brembo blanks in the front?

 

I'd still take Brembo, but the difference will be minimal.

 

yes..............

 

I am running brembo blanks and HPS currently, the only down side i have found is the HPS pads warped these rotors in about 20K. Dont get me wrong im not even beginning to say that the rotors wont last longer than 20K because they are still good, i am going to replace now just because the vibration irritates me.

 

Is that a yes yes or an idk yes?

 

Pads don't warp rotors. People warp rotors....

 

Pads don't warp rotors, but pads cause uneven material buildup if they are cheapo pads, which causes the rotors to FEEL like they're warped - this probably is 90% of the 5th gen people who think they have "warped" rotors, but it's really due to our crappy OEM pads.

 

Right. But he was talking about Hawk HPS, which I thought didn't have that problem...

Was I wrong?

 

I've never heard of them having the problem. there are so many factors that can be involved with vibration during braking that who knows?

It's certainly true as well that incorrect lug torques, riding the brakes at a stoplight when superheated, etc can cause warpage......

Frankly, I'm just tired of talkin about it

I've never warped a rotor on any car, ever - just the pad material buildup on my OEM setup here (which actually all flaked off when my rotors sat in the basement for a few months - and I put them back on the car just for a test and Voila! - no more vibration.....

 

i have Some Hawk HPS pads that i just got for my car but i dont wanna put them on top of my OEM rotors.....i was gonna go Brembo Blanks all the way around from this site

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/pe...8&brandid=2165

any one know how reputable they are as far as rotors...i orderes my Pads from this site, but im not sure about the rotors. also where can i get some info on RTP rotors?

i was also thinging about running Power Slot, Slotted rotors in the front. and The brembo blanks in the back

i was gonna get the power slots from http://www.customenterprise.com/view.../vts/design017

 

i was thinking seriously about getting this combination from my car, because i feel some uncomfortable vibration when i need to brake at high speeds... all i hear is good things about this combo.. has anybody had any bad experiences with hawk hps pads and brembo rotors?

 

Tons of problems. People keep nearly rear-ending me because they cannot match my AWESOME STOPPING POWER.






















.... Seriously though, HPS pads have slightly less bite than OEM pads when they're stone freakin' cold (i.e. in the first 1-2 minutes of driving). That's about it.

 

None that i can think of my shs has about 25k or more on it and still running strong and tons and tons of stop or quick slow downs from 80-100mph and no brake studder yet. Go to tirerack.com get the hawk pads from them and the brembo rotors. You'll get the stuff shipped fast to you and you get the right stuff. I got brembo blanks in the front with autozone blanks in the rear with hawk hps pads all around stop on the dime woot woot

 

sounds good.. i'm definitely getting the hawk pads.. probably from pep boys.. but i'm torn between either the brembo rotors or the r1 concepts cross drilled and slotted rotors.. i hear really good things about both of them, but i'm kinda hesitant about the r1 concepts cause they're not as well known.. people have really good things to say about them though.. what do you guys think?

 

Don't get drilled and slotted.

Get Brembo slotted or blank.

 

I've had a bad experience with this setup on my 03 maxima. I have this setup in front and after about 8k miles I warped the rotors. And I mean bad. When I took them off I could see the warped part. The pads however are the best ones in my opinion. I actually got brembo to warrenty my rotors and I put carquest ones on with the same hawk pads that I resurfaced.

 

I have the brembo/hawk hps setup on my car..so far i am very pleased with this combination..i also have ss brake lines,my brakes no longer fade out on the twisties like they did on stock rotors/autozone pads..

 

I also have brembo/hawk hps setup on my car, had them for about 6 months or so and very happy no problems what so ever. My rear passenger side caliper used to lock up before i purchased new ones, so it left a nice mark on the rotor but i have got most of it off though.

 

When they are nice n warm, they're monsters

 

I've got the dreaded wheel shudder too. I'm thinking I'll swap out the front pads for some Hawk HPS & if that doesn't fix it, I'll have the rotors turned. Never done that before, but alot of people have told me thats all it needs.

Just noticed this sites got Hawk HPS for $64 bucks & free shipping:
www.autoanything.com

 

i got my hawk HPS pads from pep boys for about $60 something.. i had no idea pep boys actually sold good products.. lol.. i got my brembo rotors on the way from ebay

 

I've got the HPS/Brembo blank combination on the Mazda, and it's a huge step up from the OE. More linear even over the duration of a single stop, and much grippier than OE when there's even a little heat in them. Expect to have to re-calibrate yourself as to how hard to step on them, particularly while cornering. They're only a little less grippy when (to coin a phrase) "stone freaking cold", as in low teens °F or lower. That lasts for only part of a stop and doesn't seem to recur during the same trip. Just after overnight or after all day in the office.

I'll bet you can find a stronger correlation between people who constantly have rotor warping issues and those whose cars are automatics vs those with manual trannies. Keeping the pads in contact with the rotors once you've stopped (when everything is hot - hotter, actually, since there isn't as much engine compression braking available with the automatic) has some potential for introducing hard spots in the rotor that will remain slightly "high" as the rest of the rotor swept area wears at its normal rate. Heat treating metal for hardness is not always a good thing.

Norm