Different Big Brake Kits Discussion - Pros and Cons

[Chedman13]

Being in the market for a big brake kit, there are several choices for the 2003-2008 FX35 / FX45.

I'm trying to compile the information I found in one post so this may be useful for others. Please share your experience/knowledge as well.

*some pictures are generic, they are provided to just give an idea*

1) Brembo GT 380mm Big Brake Kit - 4 Piston (380 millimeters = 14.96 inches) ~ $3,606.00
Options: Red or Black Calipers, Drilled or Slotted Rotors.
Front Kit Only, No Rear Kit.
2 piece rotor
View attachment 173227
2) K-Sport - 11", 12", 13", 14", 15", 16" Rotor Front Kit (small 6 piston - small 12 piston) ~$1,500 - $5,000
14", 15", 16" Rotor Rear Kit (small 6 piston - small 8 piston) ~$3,000 - $6,000

$100 more for painted calipers in red and yellow.

Review:
http://www.ksport.co.uk/vids/Ksport-JP-July07.pdf

Off the UK website:
http://www.ksport.co.uk/products.asp?f=brakes
"When the components of the kit are worn, such as the brake discs, AP parts can be fitted along with the brake pads from the following well-known brands: AP, FERODO, MINTEX, EBC and PAGID."

Lightweight caliper at 5 lbs
2 piece rotor, curved-slotted is the only option


3) Rotora 6, 8 piston Front Kit ~$2,500 - $3,500
4 piston Rear Kit ~$2,000
for both kits, rotors = drilled and slotted rotors or slotted rotors

two piece rotors


4) AP Racing 13", 14.25" - 4, 6 piston Front kit ~$1,700 - $2,500
15" rotor, 4 piston rear kit ~$2,200 - $3,000
rotor - 4 piston is 1 piece rotor, 6 piston is 2 piece rotor. Can custom order 2 piece rotor for 4 piston.
options - cross-drilled and slotted or slotted




5) StopTech 355 mm x 32mm rotor, (355 millimeters = 13.97 inches), 4 piston, ~$2,700
rotor - 2 piece
cross drilled, slotted and drilled or slotted


6) Akebono (OEM) G37S/FX50S 14" 4 Piston Front ~$1,000

Akebono (OEM) FX50S 14" 2 Piston Rear ~$1,500 (must use Turbocad6's ball joint adapters)

Rotors = plain, 1 piece, unless there are aftermarket made for G37S/FX50S front and FX50S rear (G37S rear rotor will not work).

(pictures by turbocad6, hope you don't mind)



7) JBT
///3148
front
4 18" J-NS012F-4D L R/Bk/Sil/Chro 27 355mm 32 Slot/2Pcs $1,850.00
6 19" J-NS012F-6E L R/Bk/Sil/Chro 57 380mm 32 Slot/2Pcs $2,640.00
8 19" J-NS012F-M8E L R/Bk/Sil/Chro 44 380mm 32 Slot/2Pcs $3,550.00
8 20" J-NS012-8E L R/Bk/Sil/Chro 10 380mm 34 Slot/2Pcs $3,820.00
4 19" J-NS012F-4E L R/Bk/Sil/Chro 21 380mm 32 Slot/2Pcs $2,175.00

rear
4 18" J-NS012R-4D L R/Bk/Sil/Chro Bady 355mm 32 Slot/2Pcs $1,995.00
4 19" J-NS012R-4E L R/Bk/Sil/Chro 21 380mm 32 Slot/2Pcs $2,215.00

My thoughts:

I'm pretty torn in what to get.

Stillen has a great sale right now and the AP 13" Front and AP 15" rear looks good. Do I need to worry about the larger rear rotor?? The 6 Piston front is too much so that's not an option. I wonder if that would look weird with a larger Front rotor, not to mention the stopping bias. Wonder why AP made such a large rear kit when most other manufacturer did 14" rears.

The K-Sport has a great price, but no long term reviews and not an established as the other name brands. A few people I talk to that have run the big brake kit for 6-8 months swear by the kit and say for the price, no big brake kit can touch it since for the price of a 14" front and rear is the price of just a front kit. 2 piece rotors and many options for pads and rotors, enticing.

Rotora, good brand, but price of front+rear is a lot so not looking into this too much.

Akebono - not OEM quality, it IS OEM for G37S and FX50S. So high quality, tested and proven by Nissan/Infiniti. Downside is minor modification to install and not 100% bolt-on, closer to 95% bolt-on.

StopTech, great reviews, customer service. No rear kit is a downside. Would rather get Brembo for the extra money. Has matching rear rotors which is a plus since you can just paint the rear caliper.

That leaves me with Brembo GT. My #1 choice and even made my wheel purchase specifically to specification that they will clear the Brembo GT Front Kit. But, as with the StopTech, no rear kit! No matching rear rotor, but the Stoptech rear rotor or Stillen rear rotor might be a close match. Rookie has a rear Brembo kit, but that's a one-off custom. Not to mention his one-off monobloc Brembo front...

Someone I know that worked in the industry of big brake kits and knows quality and the manufacturing being some of these kits, said his personal preference is to buy Brembo and nothing else. They have the very good quality and probably the most research and development, and testing that goes into each kit.

If you put it into context and the typical use is "street" use, the OEM Akebono Infiniti kit is the cheapest and the best choice in my mind.

What to do? Let's hear your thoughts, supporting facts would be great too.

 

[theMerchant]

Im planning on Fx50s brakes myself. (get the drilled/slotted Stoptech rotor )

Price!
quality

.. but if I had unlimited funds , then Brembo.

simple really, I want it to be better than stock and look good

 

[HumbertoCALI]

Ched...

what ever you can afford seems to be the best bet.

IMO I think you should steer away from the FX50 BBK... I would just get a set up that is made for the FX and if you run into any problems you can always go back to the MFG.

I chose Rotora because it was a deal that I could not pass up. I basically got a new kit for front and rears for the price of the front...

 

[Chedman13]

Interesting review on AP Racing (parent company is Stillen) brake kit. In short, more rust issues! So this extends not only the Stillen exhaust but their brake kits??

Price Paid: $3300.00 from Stillen
Year / Model Reviewed:
1999
Summary:
I loved this product, until I had to change pads.
Strengths:
Good, smooth stopping power.
Weaknesses:
All bolts/pins corroded. The pads wore out at 2,400 track miles. This is after Stillen advises to check pads at 5,000-7,000 miles. At the track, when I attempted to remove the pins that hold the pads - the first pin was removed with great difficulty. There were medal shavings in the threads from wear. The second pin would only come out half way. I finally had to drill it out. Since then I have attempted to remove the caliper for service and find all bolts to be froze. Impact wrench has had no effect
http://www.carreview.com/cat/parts/brakes/ap-racing/PRD_1051_1579crx.aspx

 

[Dr.2K]

Nice thread Ed and some good collection of information.

 

[turbocad6]

I had the stock brakes, then the rotora 14" 6 piston fronts, then the akebono fx50 brakes front & rear, now I'm settled in on the rotora 6 piston front with 4 piston rear.



the stock brakes suuuucked to no end, I killed them pretty quickly, the rotors warp & the brakes just fade really bad if your agressive with them, there puny & weak if your hard on the fx. I got a deal on a used rotora 6 piston front from shady... once I put the rotora 6 piston fronts on, used & half worn pads & all, the braking was night & day different. I loved the way the rotoras felt, they were even a little noisey, but in a good way, they almost sounded like a generator winding down, with the slots & drilled & everything, but the real difference was that you only had to feather the pedal to stop, it pulled down so nice with the lightest pedal pressure, the feeling of confidence from the way they modulated well was nice... I now had nothing but confidence in my braking, & they looked cool too.

but now the problem. as cool as they looked, the rear just looked horrible in contrast


long story short, I went to the akebono's all around by the time the front rotoras were done, finished... dead... metal to metal. the sloted & drilled rotoras may have stopped like an animal at a feathers touch, but at the cost of the brakes being consumed a quite a bit faster than normal. the brake job of rotors & pads is ~$800 alone with the rotoras.... (almost 3 times the akebono's btw) I was already looking at the akebono rears alone to add to the rotora fronts with new rotors & pads, but it just made sense for the same money to just do complete new brakes all around with the fx50 brakes, so the rotoras came off & sat dead in a corner for a while.


the akebono's felt really nice all around, much quieter than the rotoras, but they stopped almost as good as the rotoras too, when i really pushed them I was able to sense slight fade at times, but not without really beating them, the limit was pretty high & for the most part they were great..... they looked great, they stopped great, they were awesome, had a lot of confidence in the braking at all times.

they were awesome, yeah, but there was one thing that wasn't awesome about them. the rotors are a 1 piece rotor & they are very heavy,,, I never weighed either but for sure the akebono was twice as heavy as the rotora 2 piece aluminum hat rotors if not more.... could you feel it when driving? yeah, slightly you could. the acceleration from a standstill is very slightly more sluggish.... overall acceleration is slightly more heavy feeling & labored... the weight difference is there.... would the average soccermom notice this? hell no, but there was a difference. relatively light rotors & lighter wheels work togeather for performance in a lot of ways.... you could hardly feel the difference but if you really paid attention you could tell & you could feel the difference.... slightly

this, plus the fact that I already had the used rotoras in the corner got me to thinking about rotoras all around. yes I missed the drilled & slotted agressive look, & yes I really wanted back the lighter 2 piece rotors.... If I could have gotten just the lighter 2 piece rotors for the akebono's I would have even loved to keep the akebono calipers, but the rotors just killed me. was it all just in my head? sure, but it was also a real performance issue .

I then tried to just by rear rotora rotors, but rotora parts are stupid expensive, the rotor discs & the hats alone are a fortune, it wasn't so much more to just get there whole rear kit, so that's what I did, that & new front discs & pads, sold the akebono's to fund part of the upgrade....


so now i got the pretty designer brakes, they are really nice, they go great with my wheels, they stop like hell, but I now again got the noisey stopping in general, which isn't so bad, but also when I had the used rotoras at first they sqeaked & squealed at times, but I just figured it was cause there worn, but now they were brand new & installed correctly, & they do sqeal once in a while, cold backing out of the driveway sounds like murder squealing sometimes, then goes away when you drive...

performance? well after I went through all the work & money to get them, paint them cause they didn't match & swap out from the fx 50 spindle back to stock, after they were on & I got to drive it the first time, a smile just came to my face. I could feel the better & lighter feeling acceleration, yeah it was slight but yeah, it was there.....

was it, or is it worth the difference? if your not nuts, & your looking for the best all round solution I'd say the akebono's are the best choice, there just perfect, the brakes felt new & good through out everything, they wear even & are durable. they rarely made any noise unless it was a feezing ice storm or something... they have since come out with a more agressive pad that they are servicing the fx50's with, didn't get to try the newer pads but they should be even better, might be the solution to the fade I was able to get out of them a few times though....

some times when I hear my rotoras squeal I think why the heck i didn't just stick with the akebono's, they would have looked just as nice if I painted them the same, & there are places that you can have the akebono's drilled & or slotted if you really wanted, front or rear, worse case get the rotor & send it out, you can get them machined,


so the only real difference at this point is rotor weight & ultimate stopping with even less chance of fade & slightly better acceleration... in the end the fx50 brakes are everything you'd want in a bbk, but the weight, which is a very slight perfomance difference, how nuts are you & how much does it matter?

are you the kind of guy that wants light weight 3 piece wheels & are the kind of guy that has an idea what your tires weight & are very sensative to slight differences in performance? then yeah, they are better so they can be worth a lot more $$$ to you if your that nuts....

me, I'm not too sure... I'd like to think that if I had it all to do over again the akebono's are the smartest, most efficent choice, theres no question they are more than good enough, & there large enough to look good even in thr most open wheel design & there very cheap to service & last, there oe quality of course so at least you don't have to worry about defects 1 or 2 years from now.

but, if your looking for the best & are willing to spend the $$$ then the 2 piece rotors are def better performance wise. I'd be leary of an unknown brake setup & 13" front?, no way... the rotoras are awesome overall, dispite the minor anoyances....


& bert, I hear ya on the worrying about warentee's & having problems, but remember rotora's "waranty" is only 2 weeks or 500 miles? they won't do anything if you contact them with an issue a few months later, even vibration, noise... no, it's all covered in the waranty... after there broken in they don't cover anything period....

 

[StuLax18]

Rotora sounds like it's everything you need and want. However, the FX50/G37 is also a good option. What do you mean by not OEM quality? Do you just mean it's not OEM bolt on fitment?

 

[turbocad6]

some aftermarket use the term "oem quality", he means there not just "oem quality", they actally ARE oem...

 

[StuLax18]

some aftermarket use the term "oem quality", he means there not just "oem quality", they actally ARE oem...

Ok good. So it's not a negative, like "less than OEM quality".

 

[theMerchant]

Akebonos are BBK for the budget minded lol
... also brakes pads for Akebono $XX vs Rotora $XXX

 

[Psiclne]

K Sports.....FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chedman13]

Ok good. So it's not a negative, like "less than OEM quality".

Sorry if I made that confusing. Turbo is spot on in his interpretation -- it is 100% not a negative and is definitely a positive thing.

Nissan/Infiniti does a lot of testing before bringing a product out to market. Brakes are a big liability, so OEM quality brakes are very good and possibly superior in quality/testing/research and development of most aftermarket brakes. There are exceptions, but you get the point. These brakes were made for the car (well G37S/FX50S).

 

[Nightkidz_FX]

Great post Chedman13 !! I will be getting my akebono kit install next week. I will have some feedback once installed.

 

[chiFX45]

chedman - KING OF RESEARCH!!! lol man. i don't know where and how you find all of this stuff, but, i'm impressed......

i am definitely leaning towards the akebono FX50 setup for a BBK. i'm just stalling to see if anyone comes out with some aftermarket lighter, slotted and drilled rotors first.

 

[Rubare]

thanks for this thread man.. tho we can find this sort of info on IS .. is good to find it in one thread.. great research!

 

[rookie]

Brembo, I can get basically 20 off list on their kits. The G37 fronts bolted right up so the 380mm 6 piston Monobloc is also an option. Rear my suggestion is to stick with a kit that uses the FX parking brake assembly. Lot of work to convert it to G37 rear.

 

[Chedman13]

Thanks guys.

Great info on the brakes Turbo.

Brembo, I can get basically 20 off list on their kits. The G37 fronts bolted right up so the 380mm 6 piston Monobloc is also an option. Rear my suggestion is to stick with a kit that uses the FX parking brake assembly. Lot of work to convert it to G37 rear.

What about the brake lines for the G37 380mm 6 piston Monobloc? Did you have to buy the FX brake lines + the G37 kit? Thanks for the info.

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 PM ----------

chedman - KING OF RESEARCH!!! lol man. i don't know where and how you find all of this stuff, but, i'm impressed......

i am definitely leaning towards the akebono FX50 setup for a BBK. i'm just stalling to see if anyone comes out with some aftermarket lighter, slotted and drilled rotors first.

Hey Ron, I found a great Infiniti Mechanic in Chicago, so no more trekking to Fields Infiniti of Glencoe. He's a master infiniti tech so hit me up if you need the hook-up.

 

[rookie]

Yeah running the banjos from the Goodridge brake line kit they provide with the kit, but Stoptech lines since they are the correct length and configuration. Rear lengths are about the same but the front of a G/Z uses a block that bolts to the suspension while we use those clips.

 

[Chedman13]

Yeah running the banjos from the Goodridge brake line kit they provide with the kit, but Stoptech lines since they are the correct length and configuration. Rear lengths are about the same but the front of a G/Z uses a block that bolts to the suspension while we use those clips.

Any chance your 20% discount can be extended to IS members? Makes the Brembo's more enticing. That would be around $3,000 for the FX specific kit... Tirerack has them for $3,600 and list is $3,795.

 

[rookie]

If anyone wants a Brembo kit let me know. The kits are boxed 1 corner per box, pretty much ups proof packaging. Hahahah