Cheap Brake Upgrade

[WazR32GTSt]

recieved my RDA rotors today.. will get them installed in a week or so and post up my results!

[NISMO]

recieved my RDA rotors today.. will get them installed in a week or so and post up my results!

Hey Waz,

Are the rotors in yet?

Any update on what they're like?

Can i also get the part numbers for the front and rears, as am looking to these as well.

cheers

Bobby

[WazR32GTSt]

good news..

just had my brakes all done finally after having everything sitting here for a while gathering dust!

everything fitted perfectly, thanks to rs73 for the cheap prices on rotors in the group buy.

RDA Rotors I used:

Front rotors: part number RDA954 - 296mm x 24mm

Rear rotors: part number RDA7657 - 292mm x 16mm

Brake pads:

Now i was faced with a tough decision here.

i don't track the car - its for everyday driving, so i don't need a racing pad that only works at high temps

i wanted a good pad that works at all temps, and that is soft enough to not destroy my new rotors

after doing some readong on g35driver.com i ended up going with stock nissan pads as although they give a lot of brake dust, they are ideal for what i need. my main consideration is that they are a soft pad and thus don't eat rotors unlike the hawk pads and some other racing pads that i had read about that i don't need at all

i got my pads from here: http://stores.ebay.com/Riverside-INFINITI

they are an infiniti dealer in Los Angelas but are a trader on the g35driver website (and eBay obviously). i got front and rear pads delivered for approx $100 (i also bought other stuff from them).

if anyone is interested i just searched for G35 coupe (non-brembo) pads they are exactly the same

also, i can 100% confirm that the rotors are identical between the V35 350GT coupe non-brembo, G35 coupe non-bremob, and the Z33 touring non-brembo

EDIT: pics now attached - sorry for the shitty quality they were taken in a rush!

cheers,

Warren

Edited January 9, 2008 by WazR32GTSt

[WazR32GTSt]

oh, forgot to mention..

i also had the foot brake adjusted - and boy it needed it!!

and i also had the brake fluid flushed, filled with new fluid (i think it was some valvoline stuff) and the system bled

brake feel is 100% better now, and the brakes bite much harder. i'm putting this down to the new fluid. only time will tell as to how brake fade and performance is improved with the slotted rotors, but for now its nice to have a perfectly operating brake setup that feels much better than what it was.

who knows how long its been since the last brake service??

[russky]

I am thinking of getting the RDA rotors from the group buy. The front discs need changes, as loads of it is warn out. I say like 6mm at least... Pretty bad, lol. Is it hard to fit the RDA rotors? As in, are they bigger than the original thus I need more than just the rotors to fit them in? From my novice knowledge, I will need adaptors to put bigger rotors in. Can someone give me a brief rundown of the parts I'll need to fit if I'll go with the RDA?

Cheers

[WazR32GTSt]

the RDA is an aftermarket repalcement for the stock rotor

ie you take the stock rotor out, and replace it with this rotor. no other changes that i am aware of

you should also change your pads when you change rotors..

i had a mechanic install them but it can't be that hard to do yourself if you have the right tools and the patience..

[russky]

How crucial are new brake pads? I've changed mine about 6k ago. Just trying to minimise the costs...

[WazR32GTSt]

i've no idea how crucial but if they are fresh i wouldn't bother..

if they haven't been changed since japan then might be worth it

[WazR32GTSt]

i just wanted to bump this thread to further discuss brake upgrades, as i came across a thread regarding brake upgrades (big brake kits):

http://www.zeckhausen.com/testing_brakes.h...ormance%20Model

a company tested stock 350z brakes (same as our brakes) against the brembo package (same as our brakes), then against a big brake kit

summary of results:

- between all cars, brake kits reduced average stopping distance from 100km/h to zero by 1 metre or less..

- all they were good for was reducing brake temps, although they did that very well in some cases reducing brake temps by 20%..

and we all know how good the stock non-brembo brakes are on our car, so if all we need to do is reduce temperatures well that is exactly what the RDA slotteds are designed to do.. slotted's just firms even more as a good cheap upgrade

i only had a skim of that article in the link and will have a solid read soon, but well worth looking at if you like brakes

[rs73]

Does anyone here know if a 350Z brembo calipers and/or R34 GTR brembo calipers will bolt on to the stock non-Brembo V35 hub?

[jenkies]

true i have heard many a story about this happeneing,and for htis reason

- i am going slotted rather than cross-drilled

- i am going with RDA rather than DBA (thus no kangaroo paw)

- i don't go to the track

i'm after a street upgrade that can add some functionality and some looks, and the RDA slotted rotors looks like a winner to me for the price

waz! just havta say i went with rianto and his group buy and i could no be happier with slotted and dimplet rotors and ebc red stuff al round on my gtr...have not done any track use but hell i can feel a solid 40% increase in braking! and thats just touching the peddle let alone punching it! sooooooo cheap compared to retail and i recon the dba rotors would cop more abuse than the cracking dba's!

just my thoughts and opinions! good luck champ!

[rs73]

Glad you like it Mark the redstuff should bite more than the green...

i'm thinking to find some 350z brembo calipers - that is if the calipers bolt on to touring model (no brembos)

[russky]

So I had my RDA discs installed - grooved and dimpled. Hmmmmm. Now I have some rubbing noise as if every time the wheel turns, it clips something... Can't figure out what it is. And you can only really hear it when you are in a tunnel. Can also hear in a tunnel how I break, can hear the pads rub against the discs. Weird.

[rs73]

were pads replaced with brand new when the rotors go in?

or perhaps the sound of escape air out of the little dimples and/or slots...

tunnels are bad, they bounces and amplifies all sort of tiny little noises even the one you shouldn't be worrying about...

[russky]

The pads were only 1.5k old. So didn't replace them. Yeah, I am not too worried about the noise. The car still breaks, though at first pretty weakly as if half of the breaks are only working. After some hard stops, it breaks perfect though. I am thinking maybe because the grooved and dimpled RDAs need some temp to work... However, still have to really look into it. Only noticed recently (had them on for about a month - maybe just getting used to their stopping performance, though they still work better after couple of mild/hard goes on them...). I spend a lot of my time going through tunnels these days, so yeah, notice these things.

[G7]

The pads were only 1.5k old. So didn't replace them. Yeah, I am not too worried about the noise. The car still breaks, though at first pretty weakly as if half of the breaks are only working. After some hard stops, it breaks perfect though. I am thinking maybe because the grooved and dimpled RDAs need some temp to work... However, still have to really look into it. Only noticed recently (had them on for about a month - maybe just getting used to their stopping performance, though they still work better after couple of mild/hard goes on them...). I spend a lot of my time going through tunnels these days, so yeah, notice these things.

Are the pads reinserted properly? Perhaps worth a look. CHanging the front discs is only 2 bolts. And taking the wheel off of course

You need a G clamp aswell to get piston back in. A long thick screwdriver to take the caliper off.

I bought DBA slotted. $180 pair. Its for normal lazy driving so I didnt care. SAme part number as 350Z-.

very easy on these cars.

Edited May 27, 2008 by G7

[rs73]

The pads were only 1.5k old. So didn't replace them. Yeah, I am not too worried about the noise. The car still breaks, though at first pretty weakly as if half of the breaks are only working. After some hard stops, it breaks perfect though. I am thinking maybe because the grooved and dimpled RDAs need some temp to work...

russky, I would have thought this is more likely due to the pads, not rotors. But if it's a groovy you had then the extra cooling may be the reason as brakes works better when they're warmed up. If your old pads are not standard, i.e. you had a racing pads, with the grooved rotors on then the combination may be too 'cold' for street driving, might worth considering 'downgrade' to a street pads.

I may be putting some grooved on mine, haven't decided on pads yet - possibly gonna use redstuff as I don't track my car so yellow's too cold for me. but it will have brembo calipers on so the extra stopping power might give a different feel to yours... i'll let you know...

[GT350]

good news..

just had my brakes all done finally after having everything sitting here for a while gathering dust!

everything fitted perfectly, thanks to rs73 for the cheap prices on rotors in the group buy.

RDA Rotors I used:

Front rotors: part number RDA954 - 296mm x 24mm

Rear rotors: part number RDA7657 - 292mm x 16mm

Brake pads:

Now i was faced with a tough decision here.

i don't track the car - its for everyday driving, so i don't need a racing pad that only works at high temps

i wanted a good pad that works at all temps, and that is soft enough to not destroy my new rotors

after doing some readong on g35driver.com i ended up going with stock nissan pads as although they give a lot of brake dust, they are ideal for what i need. my main consideration is that they are a soft pad and thus don't eat rotors unlike the hawk pads and some other racing pads that i had read about that i don't need at all

i got my pads from here: http://stores.ebay.com/Riverside-INFINITI

they are an infiniti dealer in Los Angelas but are a trader on the g35driver website (and eBay obviously). i got front and rear pads delivered for approx $100 (i also bought other stuff from them).

if anyone is interested i just searched for G35 coupe (non-brembo) pads they are exactly the same

also, i can 100% confirm that the rotors are identical between the V35 350GT coupe non-brembo, G35 coupe non-bremob, and the Z33 touring non-brembo

EDIT: pics now attached - sorry for the shitty quality they were taken in a rush!

cheers,

Warren

'Hey' Warren, hows that brake mod going, the one you did with the RDA rotors and stock pads, I've got to have my rotors [mach] thinking of upgrading to RDA slotted rotors,Std pads, are you still happy with the results. Regards G.T. [V35 COUPE]

[WazR32GTSt]

i ended up changing the stock pads to a set of pads from race brakes called rb74s

the stock pads didnt like the RDA rotors and squealed like hell for some unknown reason..

but overall very happy with the slotted rotors as an upgrade

hope that helps

[russky]

I hope mine are installed properly. Lol. I didn't do it myself, took it to the mechanic. Watched them do it. Looked like they were doing the right thing. They calibrated the handbrake, or they say. My pads are standard nissan ones (don't ask me why). So fingers crossed that when I change to other ones it will work fine. Right now, I am trying to convince myself that the extra noise when driving (which is hardly noticeable unless driving against a wall) and braking (a bit louder) is because of the grooves and dimples, lol.