Hi,

I'm recently a new owner of a enthusiast 350z. I was wondering if anyone knew of any nissan techs who do side work? Also, I just called this local company SGP. They quoted me 210 for installation, 80 to get my rotors resurfaced, and 120 for hawk hps brake pads for front/rear. Thats not including tax. I thought the price was awfully expensive for a simple brake job. Hence, I wanted to ask locals if there are other alternatives? I'm in Houston if any other z owners know of or can help please chime in. Thanks in advance!

Skyler

 

I am not in Houston, but you could easily do this job on your own and get the rotors turned at a local parts store for about $10-$15 each.....all you need is the car jack, a jack stand and a c-clamp to compress the caliper pistons...it is sooo easy, hopefully one of the H-town gearheads could help you because paying over $100.00 for any kind of break work is a sin, it's just to easy....good luck....

 

I hope so too. The rates were outrageous. I am only installing stock pads and that was the price quoted. I don't have the necessary tools or else I would venture and try to learn how. Also, I guess just buying the car doesn't help me in terms of budget either, lol. Well, I checked online and this is the price I got to.

47.98 for a set of oem front pads
41.30 for a set of oem rear pads
40-60 dollars for the rotors to get turned at a local store
labor ???

Prices for pads were quoted from www.nissanpartscheap.com

Thanks for the reply and hopefully someone else can chime in where I can go locally that I won't have to prep for a prostate checkup.

 

SGP's rates are high because they don't normally just do brake work. This is a well established high performance tuning and parts shop. One of the best when it comes to TT and ST install for the Z. Hence the price quoted because their labor cost are based on all the other types of jobs they do. My best suggestion would be to do it yourself if you are on a budget. Shop around on the net for Hawk HPS pads they can be had for the set for around $110. Guess you could also check Carboy. Curious why you need brakes already if you just got the car?

 

I bought the car used so I believe new brakes are in order. Each time that I brake you can hear the pad indicator screech. I'll still shop around for labor and hope for the best. Thanks for your input.

 

don't get oem pad they lay down too much dust... The OEM pads are like black spray paint for your front wheels. Most people on this site recommend Hawk or EBC. I am running EBC greenstuff and so far it has been much better than the OEMs and they are only $50 a set (same as OEM pretty much). I just had my rotors turned since this was my first brake job it was $100 at a local tuner shop to have all 4 pads put on and my rotors turned. I would say thats on the low end... I expected labor to be about $150.

 

Ahh, thanks! Exactly the input I wanted to hear. Now, if someone can recommend shops like that down here in Houston. I can get the ebc greenstuff pads for 47.00 shipped. Same price for front and rear pads. Just another question. How many times can you resurface the 350z rotor? Is brake wear on this car that bad?

 

all rotors have a tolerance, they cannot be cut any thinner than the spec on the inside of the rotor(do not know the exact on our cars yet but will find out)...depending on how much has to be cut off...the normal life of a rotor is about 4 cuts, after that it can get dangerous and most shops(well good shops) will not cut them below tolerance as they will warp from the heat....

as far as break wear, that depends on your driving style and quality of brake parts you install...and I definatly reccomend learning more about how to work on Z's and investing in some tools, these cars can be expensive to maintain so anything you can do yourself is like a big fat savings account....

 

You can try Carboy but they can be expensive if I remember right. There is also DV8 off of Bellaire and Dairy Ashford. If you ask around on houston-imports.com you maybe able to find other places. I agree w/ Z Freak though, if you can ask some friends to help you out that would be best. Good luck

 

I just swapped my pads and rotors about 2 weeks ago. All told it took me about 3 hours. The hardest problem was getting the rotors off, they were seized onto the hubs. If I didn't run into that problem, I could have probably done them in half of that time. Here is a how-to on the pads, the rotors are just 8 more bolts.

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-suspension-diy/58195-how-to-change-brake-pads.html


G/L

Rob

 

Thanks for the how-to. I wish I didn't lose my tools in the hurricane but thats my situation. Also, if I ran into the same problem as you did. I could imagine impact tools would make the job easier. Lastly, me living in an apartment complex. They have strict rules of me working on my car. Thanks again guys for all the help.

 

just con one of the other houston locals into helping you with some beer and pizza. i bet it'll work.

 

Nah, I wouldn't want to bother anyone. I possibly found a local nissan tech that will do the work for a good price. I'll talk to him tonight for some prices.

 

Just curious, but how did you manage to get to rotors off. Sheer force? Mallet? I'm gonna pull mine off tonight and don't need any unexpected problems.

Thanks