Base brake pads w/o sports brake
 

Hello all. After 27,000 miles, my rear brake pad finally took its last breath and I'm currently shopping for rear brake pads. I own a base 370z package without akebono sports brake.

I'm looking for a brake pad for the street use. I don't need anything fancy or track pads. Because this is my first time shopping for a 370z pad, I have some few questions.

-Which brand for rear pads are the best bang for your buck? Any recommendations?
-Is there a difference between base brake pads and akebono sports brake pads?

Thank you guys!

You'll need 2 rear brake pads. The akebono replacement pads will NOT fit in the base brakes.

The best option is to just run down to your local autozone or O'Reilys and grab a box of rear brake pads for the base brakes. Get ones with ceramic flake and low dust. They will probably have 2-3 options. Choose the middle option/higher priced option.

I believe I paid $49.99 for the rears.
Dealer quoted me $280 to replace the rears.

Did them in the driveway with a C-clamp and wrench- took 30 minutes

Check out my build page for more info -

It really depends on what you're after and how much you wanna spend. For street use, the OEM stuff or even a set of Akebono pads that fit the base brakes are fine. The Akebono pads from the sports package are much larger and not interchangeable with your current brake setup. If you want to go all out, you can upgrade the entire caliper/rotor/pads with the Sports package set. It will run about $2k for everything + installation. If you just want a bit more grip, you can try some of the more "premium" performance pads but they tend to be a bit more noisy and dusty. Make sure it's for the base brake set though. I bought the OEM ones from Z1 and they work just fine.

Isn't Akebono the OEM for the base brake pads too? I notice I can get replacements at Rockauto for ceramic Akebono. Anyone know which model are OEM equivalent?