Would like some advice on brakes and rotors
 

So I have the Akebono "big brake" upgrade on my 2009 Sport.

I need new brake pads.

I don't race, don't drive hard and heavy (much), but considered maybe some slotted or drilled & slotted rotors - as much for aesthetics as anything, probably, but it never hurts to have a better brake setup.

So I thought if I could just buy new rotors along with pads and have them installed, that would be nice. Mine are 12 years old and have 90k+ on them, so replacement isn't a bad idea anyway.

Any suggestions for something that would be an improvement over stock, look nice, and won't break the bank? I really have no idea what to look for.

Oh, and I upgraded wheels, but I don't think that would be an issue, as long as my Akebonos clear. Here's what I put on.

19" FORGESTAR CF5V DEEP +20 (front)
19" FORGESTAR CF5V SDC +15 (rear)

I'd love some suggestions on rotors and pads. Long lasting and quiet is probably more important than ultimate performance for my situation.

Two piece rotors are nice if you want to save some rotational weight.

IMHO, if you're not racing, stick with the stock Akebono pads. They are very good. I tried some aftermarket pads and was disappointed.

When all else fails on where to get stock replacements, I try Rock Auto

Power Stop Stock replacement for $280 (picture link)

Power Stop Drilled and Slotted Replacement for $460 (picture link)

Those are just two examples. You could go cheaper with Centric.

That's very helpful information, thanks very much. Gives me a good place to start, for sure. I really like the K4138 set, just need to ask myself if I want to spend that for something that is an upgrade, but I don't really need.

I get a lot of rust on my stock rotors when they sit for a day or three... will these carbon-fiber ceramic ones resist rust better?

Question on the models... is the Akebono brake upgrade on the Sport model the same as the "Nismo Sport Package Aluminum Calipers" that Rock Auto lists? If so, the Z26 kit is negligibly more. Is there any negative tradeoff on the Z26 kit? I can't see anything, but then, I have zero experience with this.

Thanks again for the help.

I've never done anything with mine on the brakes, but they are squeaking badly, so I need to do something. I don't know if I need new rotors, too, but I think upgrading would be nice.

I just noticed these on Amazon. They're R1 Concepts e-line with black rotors, which seems cool to me, but I don't know if they actually are any good. Or if the black coating will stay looking cool... or how they actually look on the car, I can't seem to find any pics of these installed.

Any thoughts on those?


<Edit> I just read some more - the black zinc finish wears off on the rotor, leaving the slots and holes black. Which is ok, but not super impressive, I guess.

Running Stoptech slotted only rotors and Stoptech STREET (308's) on all 4 corners for about 3000km. Was going to do a separate review, but here it is now. 2017 Nismo.

Running on original rubber hoses. DD with frequent spirited driving.

Stopping has improved over stock, not huge, but better. Dust is equivalent if not lower than stock. Noise is non-existent. Perhaps I did good install. (LOL)

I may go up to their sport version and deal with more dust and noise, just to get more bite. I'll chnage to SS braided hoses first and try on current pads.

The rotors look great but are heavy like stock. The metal seems to be of good quality with low rusting after a wash. Seem to do good job of dissipating heat. I dont really feel a fade like stock on hard, hot stops.

Pricing is good on these, so bang for the buck, it is a great set up for DD and spirited driving.

Stoptech also makes 2 piece rotors and cryo rotors, ut price goes up from there.

ZZ

Slotted tear up pads, if only street use there's no sense in that.

I use Stoptech street pads with high carbon blanks. The initial bite is much harder than OE and never overheat. Also have SS lines, brake booster brace and Castrol SRF fluid.

My understanding is pads are easy to change on the Akebonos. Pads aren't expensive. I want slotted and drilled. So maybe there's a little more wear - ok.


It ain't like they're gonna be worn out and shot in 3-6 months...

Maybe just stop pretending you’re doing anything for performance reasons and just get the rotors you were gonna get all along?

Also, you left out the wheel width

Maybe you missed this statement from my original post?

Wheel width is 9.5/11, if that helps.

I'm not pretending anything. I asked for some help, I got some options, I said those looked pretty good.

I was clear and upfront that this isn't all about performance, that it's not all about economics, but that appearance does play a role.

Did I do something wrong that annoyed you? Seems some people think appearance shouldn't have a role in the decision, when people spend hundreds or thousands on 1000% appearance-oriented mods on their car on this forum - and no one bats an eyelash at it.

We want performance AND looks from our wheels.

We want performance AND looks from our body mods.

We want performance AND sound improvement from exhaust mods.

There are tradeoffs to all of these things.

Why would I feel guilty because I think drilled and slotted rotors look cool? Answer - I don't.

Why would someone want to attempt to make me feel guilty for spending my hard-earned money in the way I want to? I'm not looking for your or anyone's validation, I asked for some options, a direction to look, since I didn't really know. Now I've been pointed in some directions, which helped me focus my research and I have been given some great options. I thought that what this forum was all about.

But some people feel the need to belittle the choices others make. That's ok, because those people aren't paying my bills, I am. So I get to make the choices.

If you want drilled and slotted rotors. Go with the Z1 2 piece rotors. They will give you the looks you're after.

Pads, I've used the Yellowstuff pads. Great street pads, but dust some what.

Change your brake fluid to something like Motul 600. Also if you have a manual. Flush your clutch system out with it.

Z1 2 piece are almost 3x as much as the PowerStop. I don't think I can swing that. I COULD, but that's a bit more than I'm willing to do right now - gotta buy my wife a new(ish) vehicle probably in the next 6-8 weeks or so.

Like I said, I love the looks of my STOPTECH slotted. They make drilled and slotted as well. good quality as well.

Yes, pads can be had for cheap and easily replaced.

Ease of swapping depends on whether you change them correctly or just dump new pads in. Also consider every time you change pads you'll have to wait for them to re-bed to your worn in rotors which equals less stopping power. Additionally, slotted rotors make the pads dust more.

On a pure street car like both of our are I prefer to drive it and not work on it, clean it etc. and is why I made my original suggestions. ;)

Curious to know if you're flushing and refilling that Motul yearly as suggested on the label. I've seen data demonstrating Motul attracts water at a much higher rate than other fluids and is why I chose Castrol SRF.

I used to use Motul in road racing motorcycles and noticed a softer lever as well as fade until changing to ATE.

Since I track. I'm now using Castrol SRF. I flush once a year. Both the brakes and clutch. When I was doing trackdays with the bike. I was using ATE until they changed it. Then I switched to Motul 660. My VRF has Castrol SRF in it now because of the Z. Plus my Power Wagon has Castrol SRF too.

I think he means changing the pads when they are worn, not for the sake of trying out different pads. In that case, bedding will always be required with REPLACED pads.

As I said before, 3000km on ST slotted rotors, and the dust is no more or less than the stock pads/blank rotors.

I'll report on pad wear or damage next brake pad change.

Is this the same:

https://www.baysideperformance.ca/ca...-fluid-1-liter

Castro SRF FTW! like Rusty I have been using it for years and is used by many track goers. I change it out yearly as well but it really is overkill. I have yet to see a change in performance or color. I know some track guys that don't change it for up to five years. It is the real deal and provides additional brake and clutch feel.

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Yep. Boy has it gone up in price. :eek:

It must be Unicorn blood! :rofl2: ($97 USD :icon14:)

Well the RBF 600 works out to $40-45 CDN for a litre in my neck of the woods. That's an engine oil change, just to put things into perspective.

zz

The last time I bought Castrol. It was $79.00 USD a liter.

Well, I bought the R1 Concepts eLine set. I am sure it's not the best out there, but it was a decent compromise between price, looks and performance - read a bit on some other fora about how they hold up, didn't see anyone here using them. I've got other projects I need to pay for, too.

Just found it on Amazon for $59.99. :tup:

https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-SRF-R...a-600437179594

Good ol' Amazon... notice the 12 pk is $120 more than buying 12x single bottles :icon14:

But choose the seller wisely. On Amazon, one never knows if these good deals are legit or for rebranded/counterfeit/fake/imitation stuff.

In this case, lowest price seller (HRP/Power Oil Center) looks legit, but the
HRP also sells the exact same thing for $69.99. Maybe the $59.99 is for bottles of older stock (shouldn’t matter since it’s sealed).

Click on “other sellers on Amazon”, scroll down and you’ll find what I am referring to.

Yes, I was goign to mention this. ALWAYS see "sold by". If there's Diapers and light switches in their inventory, watch out! :yum:

Gotcha. Using SRF on the street due to the inherent nature of the Motul to absorb water. Used Motul on road racing motorcycles and noticed a mushy lever feel so I switched to ATE blue which never had an issue. Had to bleed the hell outta Motul during normal use. That was over 6 years ago. What has ATE changed since, other than no longer using blue color?

Changing pads when worn still requires resurfacing rotors if reusing or swapping them out or braking power will be greatly diminished until the pads conform to the wear on the rotor face. If changing pad marcel type you may never realize their full potential when re-using rotors.

I've used slotted rotors in the past and experience much more dust.

I respect that you change yearly with track use, cheap peace of mind!
Have you ever tested the fluid prior to flushing? If so I'm curious to the water %.

I use test strips and an electronic tester to determine when a flush is needed for my street car. Do the same for coolant. No reason to change either if they're still within the proper parameters.

When I was still doing trackdays with a bike. They had 2 colors. Amber and blue so the you could tell the difference when flushing a system. Then all of a sudden you couldn't get it anymore. When they started to import it again. They had to change to one color only and changed some of the properties in it to meet US standards or some other BS at that time from what I can remember.

10-4 same here and the stuff was great. I didn't realize when they ditched the blue they changed the formulation as well. Thanks! :tiphat:

I have not, but I am going to check it out!

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