This is good stuff! I have worked in the Honda Import Performance world for a good number of years (besides tinkering around myself) and we used to do swaps like this on our civics, Integra's etc all the time. I'm running NSX equivalent brakes on my '91 CRX and something similar on my '09 Civic.

Never occurred to me to figure something out for the pathfinder, but knowing how easy it turned out to be to swap brake components between other nissans in the past, this doesn't surprise me.

And yes, those pads squeal like a glass cutter if you're lucky enough

Anyway, subscribing to this. Please post more pics! (Also of the flare setups)

SETI20 wrote:This is good stuff! I have worked in the Honda Import Performance world for a good number of years (besides tinkering around myself) and we used to do swaps like this on our civics, Integra's etc all the time. I'm running NSX equivalent brakes on my '91 CRX and something similar on my '09 Civic.

I bet that lightweight CRX will put your face on the windshield when you hit the brakes hard! That has got to be fun.

SETI20 wrote:Never occurred to me to figure something out for the pathfinder, but knowing how easy it turned out to be to swap brake components between other nissans in the past, this doesn't surprise me.

I am surprised that it hasen't been done before to be honest. Their was a guy on a Frontier forum that tried bolting up these calipers but never got a rotor figured out. I couldn't find anything to work either, which is why I had to go 2 piece. I might get a bunch of the rotor hats milled out so that other people can put one of these kits together themselves.

SETI20 wrote:And yes, those pads squeal like a glass cutter if you're lucky enough

Anyway, subscribing to this. Please post more pics! (Also of the flare setups)

Do you have experience with these pads? I didn't seem to see the squealing reviews until after I bought them. They are supposed to be pretty aggressive though, which is what I was after.

I will be posting more pics soon, I have been a little under the weather for the last week, but I got my spacers in and want to do some more test fitting. I got a message that my rotor hats were being milled out yesterday, so I should have them soon for final fitting and testing.

The flares I was looking at can be seen herehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/321641947511?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

They remind me of the factory flares found on later Titans and Armadas

The CRX I built when I was still living in Europe was lethal. For the annual safety, they have to measure brake friction per corner on a device that looks like a rolling road dynamometer. It kept popping out, so a big fat mechanic had to sit on the front end to keep it planted enough to get a measurement.
They did it 3 times because they couldn't believe how much braking torque it put out. (it was sitting on semi slicks too, so that just exaggerated the numbers)
Problem was that it was so touchy that when one side of the road was wet and the other dry you rrrrreally had to pay attention.

I put some track time on those pads. The description is a little misleading. Did you read the operating temperature specs on the ones you got? Most race pads won't work for shit on a cold day.

I'm a little vague on some details. Did you find that on the regular V6 patty you can run 350Z calipers and disks with a spacer? Or would I still need to go to a 2-piece rotor?

Now, there is a little caveat with a setup like this. ABS operation and brake balance. By vastly outbalancing the car front to back like this, you might run into some issues during an emergency stop. (The track examples are a little irrelevant in this case) Also the ABS system basically is tuned to a certain friction coefficient and rotation speed. It'll be a bit of a surprise to see how this pans out.

Lotsa tech nerd stuff here. This link is just a sample.
http://stoptech.com/technical-support/t ... brake-kits

SETI20 wrote:The CRX I built when I was still living in Europe was lethal. For the annual safety, they have to measure brake friction per corner on a device that looks like a rolling road dynamometer. It kept popping out, so a big fat mechanic had to sit on the front end to keep it planted enough to get a measurement.
They did it 3 times because they couldn't believe how much braking torque it put out. (it was sitting on semi slicks too, so that just exaggerated the numbers)

That is great, would have loved to see that! I hope that the Pathfinder is a bit less touchy.

SETI20 wrote:I put some track time on those pads. The description is a little misleading. Did you read the operating temperature specs on the ones you got? Most race pads won't work for shit on a cold day.

The HC+800 is their most aggressive street pad, suitable only for light track use. Their temp range is 0-800*C. They have a high co-efficient of friction when cold, 0.43μ when cold and up to 0.58μ when warm, stock pads seem to be in the mid .30μ's, so I'm expecting them to be pretty aggressive cold. I hope they don't squeal, but I guess we will see how the behave.

SETI20 wrote:I'm a little vague on some details. Did you find that on the regular V6 patty you can run 350Z calipers and disks with a spacer? Or would I still need to go to a 2-piece rotor?

You should be able to bolt on the V8 Pathfinder/Base 370z calipers and the V8 Pathfinder rotors up without any spacers or modifications to a V6 Pathfinder. I think you would need at least 17" wheels to fit the 320mm rotor though. That does open up a wide range of more aggressive pads, and more brake torque due to the larger rotor. Now, I have no experience with the V6 set up, but I obviously don't find the V8 set up adequate so I can't say it is much of an upgrade.

SETI20 wrote:Now, there is a little caveat with a setup like this. ABS operation and brake balance. By vastly outbalancing the car front to back like this, you might run into some issues during an emergency stop. (The track examples are a little irrelevant in this case) Also the ABS system basically is tuned to a certain friction coefficient and rotation speed. It'll be a bit of a surprise to see how this pans out.

I will be doing the rear as well, to balance it front to back, or at least to help balance it. It is certainly a possibility that the pedal will feel very soft with the new brakes, but the V8 master cylinder has the same bore as the Infiniti G37's that run these calipers. I know the stroke might be different, but I won't know how it works until I try it. I had a chat with one of the engineers from SSBC about moving from a sliding caliper to a fixed caliper, and how the fixed calipers move less fluid. They make a crazy 8 piston caliper for the 99-04 F250/350 trucks that replaces the factory 2 piston. They say that it actually gives a firmer pedal feel then the stock brakes, As I understand it even though the 8 piston is much larger, it actually requires a bit less fluid overall to move all those pistons. I am hoping for the same effect in this situation.

Fascinating! What's your plan for the rears?

I have a V6 LE model, so 17" comes stock. More than likely going to be switching to a set of '10 18's. Should have plenty of room then.

I'm frugal, so I drive the path like an old man, but I agree that braking always has felt inadequate and mushy. I just accepted it because of the size.

SETI20 wrote:Fascinating! What's your plan for the rears?

I plan on using the 370z 2 piston rear caliper, I really hope it bolts up, but I have no idea if it does, I have yet to buy one to test.

For the rotor, I plan on using a 2012 Infiniti FX50 rear rotor. They use the same rear caliper as the 370z, so the width and diameter are correct for the caliper. The height of the rotor is almost identical to the Pathfinders stock rotor, it's within .0315". Most importantly, the FX50 uses the same parking brake shoes as the Pathfinder, so the parking brake should still work. The only modification to the rotor would be re-drilling it from 5x114.3 to 6x114.3. This is all theory at this point, and it may not work out at all, but that is what I plan to try putting together.

SETI20 wrote:I'm frugal, so I drive the path like an old man, but I agree that braking always has felt inadequate and mushy. I just accepted it because of the size.

The last SUV I had was an LR3, a heavy beast, but it has great brakes. I never worried about panic stops. Same with X3 and X5 BMWs in my family, fantastic brakes. Even the stock brakes on my tuned S4 are enough to cope with double the horsepower from stock. I have been spoiled by the good brake feel and performance of European cars, and just can't stand the mushy inadequacy of Nissan's stock brakes. Hopefully this upgrade fixes that, I'll let everyone know either way.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been out of town.

Got an update from Coleman Racing, the rotor hats have shipped, and I should be getting them this week. So I should be doing a final test fit with a bunch of pictures the weekend. Will update with pictures when the hats come in.

Just picked up my hats, and they look great!



I will post pictures of it mounted up to the the rotor later tonight. Excited to to be one step closer. I should be able to get them test fit this weekend.

Just got the hats test fit onto rotors, and, thankfully they line up wonderfully. Coleman did a wonderful job. I wish I could have gotten them anodized, but that would have added considerably to the cost. Anyway, on to the pictures!







I should be test fitting them on the vehicle this weekend.

Just had a successful test fitting session of the Akebono caliper, the Z1 Motorsports rotors, and my custom rotor hats. I just have to paint or anodize the rotor hats, pick up another caliper, and these are ready to install. Looking forward to seeing how these perform.

Here is the new rotor next to the stock 320mm V8 rotor.



First test fit, fits nice and snug on the hub:



This picture gives a good idea of how big the rotor is:



ANd now to see if I lined up the rotor and caliper correctly in my design:



And the Akebono caliper fits beautifully, really happy with how it turned out.

Now to get the wheel on, first we need a spacer:



And now to hide everything behind the wheel:



The 19 mm spacer is a little bigger then I like, I really would like to get it down around 12-15 mm. To do that will require some modification to the back of the wheel. To better explain, here is a picture of the back of the stock wheel, the cavities between the lug holes need to be enlarged to fit the lug nuts that hold on the spacers. Not much material needs to be removed, so I may go this route if I can't live with the 19mm spacers.



Anyway, overall very happy with how it's turning out. Will update soon with final install pictures.

Sick! Nicely done

XVTer wrote:Sick! Nicely done

Thank you! Hoping they stop as good as they look. I will be picking up the last few items I need to do the final install soon.

It's nice to see someone taking initiative on a project and sharing. I guess in this case copying you is a compliment!

When I had my 240SX, the only performance stuff I did was an exhaust (leaked, so it was a must), and front rotors. Used Rotora OE spec drilled/ slotted with the track Rotora pads and it just about cut my braking distance in half. The one thing I realized later is that I didn't want to keep spending $40 for pads, so bought the cheapo $20 ones and used them twice as fast. But out of that whole experience, it certainly changed my mind what a difference a little brake mod could do.

They work! Got it all installed last night, and I can say I am quite happy with how they turned out. Stoping is much more confident, it scrubs speed much faster, and the pedal feels better then what it was before. I think I still have a little air in the system since I let the master cylinder run dry, so I will be bleeding it again. Also, I do have a bit of inconsistent squeal from the Project Mu HC800 pads under light breaking, might need to re-bed them, or find some shims.

It was working quite quickly to get them finished, so I only took one picture to show off the painted hats. I shouldn't have painted them, the paint chipped around some of the hardware. Should have spent the extra and had them anodized.



And a couple of crummy pictures of it after I drove it to work:





I will work on getting some better pictures for you all. So far, this has turned out to be an excellent upgrade, and would recommend it if you want something much better then stock.

That is quite impressive! I'll back track through the post again to nitpick some details.

What would you guess is the dollar amount invested in this?