What are the best aftermarket pads & what else can I do to give myself maximum braking power? I have around 1000 miles on the Z now & the brakes are squeaking already [maybe its dust] I feel like the Zs brakes are weak.


-Lana (drive fast, brake hard)



[P.S. Dont move this to the wheels brakes whatever forum, no one helped!]

 

Use Tampax.

Hawks HPS would be a good choice. Mine squeeks too but that's just the way they are. They should last at least 2-3 years. I'm getting Hawks to minimize cleaning my wheels so often.

So how was your stay in California?

 

I'm running Hawks now because they came with the Stop Tech upgrade kit. They're not bad, but I like the CarboTech Bobcats I ran before. They were awesome... great street stopping power and very little brake dust.

 

brembo?

 

How much are brembo brakes though? I thought they were expensive?

 

I just installed some hawk blues last night to prep for a DE event at Texas World Speedway. They'll easily engage ABS at highway speeds. The initial bite of the blues are amazing but they're not recommended for a street bad and they do dust a lot. Hope my rotors survive the weekend.

 

Bendix Ceramic pads are 60.00 stop good no squeal no dust just for the front all you need 75% stopping is on front tires.They are cheap but work great. I like them over Hawks they do squeal.

 

I think the brake squeal on Z's is a trait of the car. My brembos have been squeaking since day one and while it has subsided somewhat, it still does occasionally when coming to a slow stop. I have 3k miles on the car.

 

Guys, what could be a reason for "squishy" pedal feel?

 

Using Hawk Blues on the street is a recipe for disaster. When cold they will basically re-machine your rotors w/in a few hundred miles. So unless you want to change rotors every week -- I would use them only at the track.

 

Mines make noise but not loud at all. I think it is normal. When it gets obnoxious, then it's a problem.

 

You squeaks are probably due to the fact that the brakes are not properly bed-in anymore. This is very likely because you do not use the brakes hard enough (get them hot enough) on the street (believe it or not). Try making eight to ten hard brakes(without engaging ABS) from 60 to 15 (do NOT stop). Then drive the around for a few minutes to let the brakes cool and avoid stops (if you must stop -- keep your foot off the brake). You shoudl notice a lack of squeaks and more pedal feel. If your brakes still feel weak try swapping out the fluid with some high-temp stuff like ATE SuperBlue and bleeding the brakes really well (get all the air out). That should stiffen up the pedal.

Lastly -- if you want to decrease squeaks and dust, you need to try a LESS agressive pad (like Axxis Deluxe).

 

Hawks HPS, it's affordable and good price. Just make sure you use squealstop paste when installing. Performance Nissan carries it

 

I have the 13.2 stoptech kit, and I have CONSTANT squealing from my left side brakes... When I re-bed them, the problem goes away for 1k or so miles and then comes back.

I am running axis ultimate brake pads (come with the kit) and the stoptech rotors.

Are you saying I have to re-bed the breaks all the time?


No one I've talked to (including stoptech people) have said anything about regular re-bedding.

 

Vie2233hil - Soft/mushy brakes (went they weren't that way before) can be the result of several things. In most cases you are looking at the brake fluid taking up moisture from the air (brake fluid loves to take in moisture). The water heats up and boils in the line giving the mushy feeling. A similar problem is air trapped in the line from hard braking (where you are exceeding the heat range for the brake fluid you are using), the results are the same as water in the lines. The third and least likely (unless your car is a very high mileage car) is the brake master cylinder or its seals going. Whatever the case you should have the brakes looked at since this is a critical safety issue. The shop will probably bleed or replace (then bleed) your brakes.


BikerChickSI - I suggest you drop by Stoptechs website. They have very informative sections about brake information. They put out a quality product at a reasonable cost. A quality big brake kit is going to cost you about $2,500 for the fronts (calipers & rotors) and about $2,000 for the rears (calipers & rotors). Stoptech, Brembo, Endless, Project Mu, etc... are all good products it's just a matter of what you are willing to pay. Keep in mind that brake balance/bias is critical so just throwing larger brakes on doesn't necessarily mean better stopping distances (again take a look at Stoptech's site where they have a pretty good write up on the subject.....you can verify this from other sources.

Squeeking is usually an issue from improper bedding (like some of the others have stated), but my guess is more likely from dust buildup. If you clean up your calipers and get the dust out, I'll bet most of the squeeking goes away. Unfortunately you need to expect some squeeking from higher performance brakes if you aren't getting the rotors up to the design working temps.

 

You probably need to just go with a less agressive pad. I bet all your squeaks are low speed. Try replacing the ultimates with Axxis Deluxe (or call Jeff and get a suggestion for a low-noise street pad).

 

Thanks Skrill, and yes, all of them are low speed.

 

What are the cons of having ATE SuperBlue (or similar) brake fluid in a street car? How often do I have to change it?

Thanks