Need Recommendations on Pads, Rotors, Shoes

phreesoal · Aug 28th, 2005, 07:03 PM

I've got terrible squeaking going on with my brakes on my '93 Nissan Maxima. This happens when I'm almost stopping, that I hear a metal-to-metal rubbing brake sound that's embarrassing, to say the least. I have semi-metallic pads, which I'm told are noisy. However, I was also told that it was my rear brakes that is doing all the squeaking, so I'm uncertain as to which is the real culprit.

I've had the brakes checked twice at a shop, the last time being less yesterday (Sat) and was told I have about 45% left on my brake pads. I was advised that my rear rotors can be resurfaced and that the cost to do the resurfacing and replacing brake pads would be $375.00 with labor & parts.

You can actually read more here, as I posted this issue initially in the Maxima forum: "Too Many Noises...."

My question today is, can you all recommed Ceramic brake pads, front & rear rotors and rear shoes if I want to buy them all NEW and have a mechanic install them for me? I'm looking for brand names to help me with this too, as I see rotors and pads all over eBay but I am clueless as to what to buy. However, I AM certain that I no longer want this noise when I replace.

Thanks...

PS

thestunts200sx · Aug 29th, 2005, 12:18 AM

Carbotech Panther's or Bobcats for brake pads....

RM740 · Sep 10th, 2005, 03:28 AM

We have a 2001 2wd Frontier Crew Cab that has had noisy front disk brakes ever since we got it. The dealer even replaced them and resurfaced the rotors. Recently they started to scrape. I wanted to try Performance Friction Carbon Metalics but I had to order them. While waiting for them to arrive my brother in law told me he had heard of instances where the INSIDE part of the pad closest to the CENTER of the rotor (not the friction contact surface) was making contact with part of the rotor hub that wasn't surfaced. I took a piece 80 grit sandpaper and sanded a little bit of the pad in that area away and now the brakes do not squeak. Professionals may not recommend this so you might ask somebody who supposed to know if this move is okay. It only took us 43000 miles to figure it out and the pad has only an eighth of an inch left. Hopefully I can install the new pads next week.

**Matt93SE** · Sep 10th, 2005, 10:15 AM

do you have drums or discs in the back?
the drums are notorious for squealing on these cars, especially if you drive them hard at all. I replaced the drums and shoes on my GXE half a dozen times and the noise always came back after a few weeks.

Finally I just swapped the drums out for a disc setup (use a GXE model with ABS, or any SE model), and the squealing went away and never same back.

for the 3 gen Maxima, brembo blanks and Axxis MM pads are extremely hard to beat for performance. they squeak a little bit if you get the pads glazed, but otherwise no noise.

If the car doesn't see much really hard use, you may also want to look into Raybestos Quiet Stop, Bendix IQ, or Wagner brake pads.
you can get any of those three at orielly's or autozone for about $35 a set. lifetime warranty, low dust, and low noise. not a high performance pad, but I have no problems with them on cars that don't see hard mountain runs or track use.