rbaggett1

iTrader: (1)

Seriously, how long should they last?

I have almost 18k miles on the car and the people at the dealership said I need new rotors (after replacing the brake pads at 16k miles)? I've had the pulling to the right and tire feathering issues with my car. To correct the problem they replaced the camber and adjusted to toe like crazy. The guy at the dealership said that by adjusting the toe (and other alignment stuff), it should correct the tire feathering issue but he told me it might effect performance. Would this effect the brake/rotor life of the car?

Also he's quoting $400 for the 2 front rotors and labor.

Thanks in advance.

Sz28r

that's a tough one - it really depends on your driving style and your commute - city or highway - - I have almost 34,000 miles on my Z and still have the original brakes and rotors - - I drive 75% highway - - as far as the alignment thing, my Z had feathering, the 3rd alignment the dealer performed seemed to correct it, but I did notice the car didn't turn in as sharply as before, seemed to want to push (understeer) even more than before - but I was putting tires on every 10-12k miles so I've opted to leave the less aggressive alignment on the car - - I did put Nismo sway bars on and the handling improved alot - - sorry I can't help you with the price quote.

Good luck

King Tut

iTrader: (1)

Alignment in no way will in no way directly affect your braking. Normally you can go through at least 2 sets of pads if not 3 sets of pads before rotors should need to be replaced.

rbaggett1

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for everyone's input. Could it be that the mechanic improperly turned and machined the rotors the first time, that when the guy did it correct the second time; there was less rotor left?

Could my problem also be related to new pads biting harder than usual?

04ECSTAZ

I have an 04 with 12K and im already having excessive rotor wear on the front...I consider myself to be light on the brakes, and still have a nice lip on where the pad rides on the rotor, but from working at a Nissan dealership I do know that this problem has arose on other Z's as well. I didn't have the feathering problem like you did but I don't see how that would contribute to your rotor wear, unless the mis-alignment makes you ride the brakes a lot more. I guess this gives us all the more reason to upgrade...

rbaggett1

iTrader: (1)

I'll most likely upgrade the next time I have to replace them out. I already dropped some cash for the replacement pads and the labor (man that kills me).

04ECSTAZ

I hate to tell ya this after the fact but JUST IN CASE the job hasn't been finalized yet, Nismo makes a set of pads that aren't much more expensive than the OEM's and they are supposed to have a greater braking torque and pad life as well as being quiet and ROTOR-FRIENDLY compound...let me know if you are interested and I can get ya a part # or price if you wanna get em thru me. Take it easy...

NzZ

04ECSTAZ,

Where did you hear that the Nismo pads had longer life? That'd be sweet. I've heard of them chewing up the rotors pretty quickly despite the "rotor-friendly" press info.

NzZ

rbaggett1

iTrader: (1)

04ECSTAZ, I've already replace my pads with EBC V4 Greenstuff all the way around prior to having issues with the front rotors. I've read that a lot of people swap their stuff for Hawk parts. I need to start saving up for next time. I'll just replace the front rotors for the time being until everything goes out again. Then I'll upgrade everything in the realm brakes. New calipers, slotted/drilled rotors (haven't made up my mind yet), pads, etc.

04ECSTAZ

NzZ,
I pulled that info straight from the 2004 NISMO catalogue I have at work(I work in the parts dept. at a Nissan dealership here in Ohio). Yeah it seems it has something to do with the design of our brake system or more-so the rotors themselves that are one of the weaker points, but I haven't talked to anyone personally that has purchased them. In my eyes, pads will make a difference, but not enough for the dollar...might as well spend the few extra bucks and do BIG BRAKE calipers, rotors, etc if you want noticable differences. are you still running stock pads?

04ECSTAZ

rbaggett1,
well, nevermind my previous statement...it looks like you have already started resorting to the aftermarket world of brake pads! Yeah from what I have heard the Hawks(as well as the EBC's) are a nice improvement over OEM...have you had any problems with squealing or anything yet once everything gets warmed up? Aside from the rotor wear, about the only other big thing that bothers me with the stock set-up is that on hot days or after heavier-than-normal braking mine want to squeal and brake fade gets worse too. I've already began shopping as well(slotted/drilled rotors, calipers, etc), keep me posted on what set-up you plan on going with...

rbaggett1

iTrader: (1)

04ECSTAZ,
Here is an update of what occurred earlier today. I woke up early to get ready to drop the car off this morning. I got to the dealership about 8AM but had about 5 car in front of me when I arrived. So the service advisor, got around to me car and pulled up the record and updated my info. Another guy got the prep work done for him (mileage, VIN, etc). I talked to the same service advisor earlier in the week and he quoted me a price around $400 for the front rotors to be replaced. Well when he saw my number of miles on my car, close to 18k, he said whoa this will be covered under warranty. I was so happy because I dropped $400+ on the brake job a month earlier @ the same dealership. So he asked me to leave my car with them most of the day, and he'd take care of it. I didn't have any problem with that at all.

So I return about 4PM and he says that the car isn't ready yet. They had only 1 rotor in stock (on location) and had to get another one from another dealership. He requested 1 more hour and I didn't have a problem with that. At least I had my iPod and could keep myself entertained for hours.

So the hour passes and then the service advisor gets me from the waiting area. I think I was the last customer for the day (because they were closing up). He pulls me over to the side and says "We'll open this ticket up under warranty, but you should expect a survey in the mail. Please give me a good rating on it." He mentioned that they replaced out the front rotors along with the front pads. I don't know if they are stock pads or not but my EBC green stuff was out of there with only a month of use.

Are the stock pads blue?

Well I am certainly going to give my service advisor a glowing review. He went above and beyond anything I was ever expecting a dealership would do. That my friends is how you build brand loyalty.

To answer you questions earlier 04ECSTAZ. The brake dust deposits are night and day compared to the stock pads. On stock pads, as soon as I washed the car and drove around, the fronts would be dirty again. On EBC, it would take about a week to even notice a hint of brake dust on the rims. I had some sounds coming from the fronts (not all the time; might have been from heating up) but I think that is sort of attributed to the fact that my rotors were worn so bad on the fronts (and I consider myself a light driver/braker).

I wanted to get a nice body kit, rims, and redo the braking system (just replace everything from calipers to rotors and even the pads) but it all comes down to money. I've already paid off the car, but I can't afford to fully mod out the Z just yet. I'll have to take baby steps until everything is done.

04ECSTAZ

Well, Im glad to hear that you got fixed up!! Here is another tid-bit of good news...brake pads are considered at dealerships "normal wear items" (as is clutch, etc) and they normally have a harder time warrantying them as it is all a matter of how the owner drives the car. Nissan DOES have a warranty on them, but they only cover 12K on "normal wear items"(instead of the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty that comes with the car) so anything after that, your dealership is basically covering for you, just to make you happy(which is what this nice fella did for you!). Yeah, make sure you hook him up on the service survey(those are VERY important to those guys, just one or 2 bad surveys can get them fired!). Yes, the OEM pads are blue, Im sure thats what they installed. Kinda sucks because you spent the money on em and already are back to stock pads...but at least you are "all new" again AND even if you did put the used EBC's on the new rotors, they would probably squeal like a couple pigs(uneven mating surfaces).
Yeah, that is another thing I forgot to mention...the brake dust is HORRIBLE on our cars! Infact another fella told me to get the EBCs a while back JUST FOR THAT REASON...I may still upgrade like you did(for the time being, until I can afford the BIG brakes) to avoid all that brake dust. Well, good luck on the Z, it sounds like you are playing your cards right...also, feel free to send a few pix my way if you have any, I love looking at everyones cars on here. Take it easy..

ChinaClipper

iTrader: (2)

rbagget1, could you PM me with the name of the dealership/service advisor please?
TIA

sasuke

iTrader: (18)

me too please

BOZ23

iTrader: (1)

question... why is it that an aftermarket brake upgrade cost so much? ie wilwood, brembo, stoptech, etc. I mean, these kits cost anywhere from 2-4 grand. all you're getting is bigger rotors and piston calipers.

ChinaClipper

iTrader: (2)

Well BOZ23, that is a rather simplification of reality. The bigger rotors are designed with typically thinner walls to keep the weight increase to a minimum over OEM rotors. Some BBK manufacturers even achieve a slight weight reduction. The BBK calipers fundamentally change brake pad application from OEM single-sided pistons pressing on the inboard pad and depending on a sliding caliper assembly to transmit that pad application force to the outboard brake pad, to the race-proven, better system of inboard and outboard pistons equally pressing against the brake pads from a fixed caliper. Better designed calipers with increased mass help dissipate heat buildup better over OEM calipers also. Also, most BBKs feature increased swept area between pads and rotors to increase braking performance.

BOZ23

iTrader: (1)

yeah, but holy cow bat man, it's very expensive for just the fronts and most kits, the rears are a separate purchase.

Clifton in AZ

They have a little more affordable Wilwood brakes. I run the S30 kit.
http://www.arizonazcar.com/350zbrakes.html Look up the 300zx brakes http://www.arizonazcar.com/300zxbrakes.html they are pretty much the same kit.