Brake pad Compound suggestion

[Vee37]

 

I currently have a 2008 370GT Coupe, with the big brakes (Akebeno if I'm correct), and Its coming time to get new pads.

Previously, I had a 2003 350GT Coupe with the stock sized brakes, not Brembos. I had custom wheels on it that were pretty open to the brakes, and when I first put the wheels on it, the rims where completely coated with brake dust. A few years after adding the new rims, I needed to change to pads on that car. I didn't do any research, but I told the mechanic of the problem with the brake dust. I also told him I didn't track the car or even drive around the streets harshley. But the dust was an issue.

The mechanics changed the pads to a different compound, and the dust was GONE! The other change I noted was that when coming to a complete stop, instead of having to press harder on the pedal as I approached 0kph, I had to actually lift off a little to not come to a hard jerky stop.( My unfounded explanation is they became stickier as they heated by stopping )

Since I got my 370gt with big brakes, I noticed that that as I came closer to stopping, I had to press harder and harder to reach a full stop. I am not talking about hard, just harder. I brought the car in from another state, so when I had a blue slip done, I asked the mechanic what he thought of the brakes, and he thought they were brilliant.

The only negative of these pads on the 350GT, was that they squealed when cold. So driving out of a shopping center carpark, it was a little embarrassing, as the brakes squealed, and I am sure people thought that I needed new brakes, when they were actually fresh.

I have no idea of what type of compound they were on the 350gt, but whatever it was, I want to get the exact same on my 370GT. They weren't ridiculously expensive, and were replaced at the local JAX (which is no longer open), so I am certain they would be a pretty common big brand, off the shelf type/brand.

My current mechanic suggested I need top get the rear pads changed soonish, but he suggested standard Brembo pads. Which I expect to behave the same as the current ones and not like the ones on the 350GT. 

I don't think dust will be an issue on the 370GT. With the behaviour I describe above on the 360GT, does anyone have a suggestion of pad material that will act like the change I had done on the 350GT?

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Sounds like the JAX guys must have installed some really awful pads, are they BenShit/BenDicks pads by any chance?

[Duncan]

I don't really know general street pads too well, but there is no reason you can't get a low dust, long wearing, no squeal pad that works for those calipers at a reasonable price....they would just be a low end to medium price daily style pad.  If new pads don't have much bite or they loose it over time, it is probably just the pad glazing up which you can fix by giving them a good thrashing every now and then (or get the mechanic to deglaze them at next service)

Track or semi track pads are where you have to put up with excessive dust (and potentially squealing as a side effect of that) in return for good bite and performance when very hot. Street pads have nothing like that sort of punishment, even long downhills with the brakes on are easier than a track session

[Murray_Calavera]

4 hours ago, Vee37 said:

The only negative of these pads on the 350GT, was that they squealed when cold.

My crystal ball says that when they replaced the pads, they didn't replace all of the brake hardware (could be a missing shim, pin, spring, etc). 

Finding a low dust pad should be very easy. Have a google for things like, low dust / soft pad compound / easy on rotors. Your dust primarily comes from the rotors getting eaten up by the pads. 

[joshuaho96]

For a daily just run Akebono ceramic pads. That's what they're optimized for. Obviously don't try to run it on track or anything like that.

[Vee37]

On 2/10/2025 at 4:08 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Sounds like the JAX guys must have installed some really awful pads, are they BenShit/BenDicks pads by any chance?

As I implied in my post, I have NO idea what the were. But in case I didn't make it clear, the way they performed was brilliant; whatever the brand was. I think it was the compound that made the difference. And if they were Bendix, then sign me up, I want another set.

I did drive down mount Ousley (just outside of the Gong) a few times, and they showed no untowards performance.

 

On 2/10/2025 at 5:05 PM, Duncan said:

I don't really know general street pads too well, but there is no reason you can't get a low dust, long wearing, no squeal pad that works for those calipers at a reasonable price....they would just be a low end to medium price daily style pad.  If new pads don't have much bite or they loose it over time, it is probably just the pad glazing up which you can fix by giving them a good thrashing every now and then (or get the mechanic to deglaze them at next service)

Track or semi track pads are where you have to put up with excessive dust (and potentially squealing as a side effect of that) in return for good bite and performance when very hot. Street pads have nothing like that sort of punishment, even long downhills with the brakes on are easier than a track session

Its not the low dust that I am looking for NOW. At the time I needed low dust, but now I have no issues with dust but want the initial/early bite of the pads that were used.

On 2/10/2025 at 6:24 PM, Murray_Calavera said:

My crystal ball says that when they replaced the pads, they didn't replace all of the brake hardware (could be a missing shim, pin, spring, etc). 

Finding a low dust pad should be very easy. Have a google for things like, low dust / soft pad compound / easy on rotors. Your dust primarily comes from the rotors getting eaten up by the pads. 

Yeah, the early cold squeal may of been due to a missing shim or such.  And to repeat, its not the low dust I am seeking, its the initial bite of the pads and increase in bite as  the warmed up during each breaking. As soon as I let off, I don't remember the breaks being extra sticky if I used them again soon after. But I also did not test that theory.

 

12 hours ago, joshuaho96 said:

For a daily just run Akebono ceramic pads. That's what they're optimized for. Obviously don't try to run it on track or anything like that.

Thanks for the recommendation, But I would prefer to choose something specifically with the behaviour I described.

 

I assume that they didn't use the default compound off the shelf, as we discussed the dust issue at length. And the early squeal when cold, I have seen the sound is more of an issue with some pad compounds. Mostly ceramic, which also are said to produce less dust.

[GTSBoy]

Initial/early bite is a feature of.....generic pads. Things that work cold.

Just put Bendix Ultimate in it. If you don't like them, it's only $3.50 wasted and an hour to change them.

I've been using Intima SR, and they seem to be a good performance pad. Street friendly and able to take at least a little beating.

[Duncan]

Yeah dust and squeal tend to go together, because it is the dust getting caught somewhere that causes the vibration that is the squeal...

[Vee37]

2 hours ago, Duncan said:

Yeah dust and squeal tend to go together, because it is the dust getting caught somewhere that causes the vibration that is the squeal...

Sorry, I must've not been clear enough. On my 350GT, the pads originally on the car created dust to high heaven, and did not squeal at any time. I got new low dust pads, that created absolutely NO visible dust, that squealed when cold. 

15 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

Initial/early bite is a feature of.....generic pads. Things that work cold.

It wasn't  the initial bite, so much as an increase in braking, without extra brake pedal pressure, during a single brake instance. I had to lift off a little as my speed decreased to zero. Loved it! Now on my 370GT, I have to press a little harder as I approach zero. Not hard, just harder.

15 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

Just put Bendix Ultimate in it. If you don't like them, it's only $3.50 wasted and an hour to change them.

I am too lazy and live in a city block with no room or tools to do it myself, so I would be paying someone to do the switch

15 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

I've been using Intima SR, and they seem to be a good performance pad. Street friendly and able to take at least a little beating.

I looked at the three offerings by Intima, and one of them had a Features line that caught my eye.

"Strong initial bite with continual rising coefficient". The problem is that this is on their "Trackday, Time Attack, Sprint" pads, not their day-to-day pads. Its possible that JAX installed track day pads on my 350GT, I just don't know. But I was pretty clear I did not track the car and drove the streets pretty gently.

https://intimabrakes.com.au/home-corporate/intima-rr/

I'll send them an email and also check if other pads purport that behaviour.

Edited February 12 by Vee37

[Vee37]

It just occurred to me. The way I am asking for increasing bite as I slow down (ie more bite the more time on the brakes), that is actually sounding like less initial bite, and hence the bite would feel to increase.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

I not sure where you're located, however if you're in Sydney and need Intima Brake pads I can help you source them.

[GTSBoy]

23 minutes ago, Vee37 said:

"Strong initial bite with continual rising coefficient"

Does not mean what you think it means. The continual rising coefficient is the coefficient of friction that continues to rise with increasing temperature. Not "rising during a single stop", except inasmuch as the brakes should get hotter during a single stop.

The RR would not be the best choice for a streeter.

24 minutes ago, Vee37 said:

Its possible that JAX installed track day pads on my 350GT

Yeah....no it's not. JAX would rummage around in the "shit pads we use for all shitboxen that come in here" and install those.

[Murray_Calavera]

@Vee37

How much do you really care about finding these pads again? If your pads are quiet, work well and produce minimal dust, really isn't that enough?

If you are set on finding the exact pads again, I suppose I'd do something like this - 

Visit your local Jax, find out what brand of pads they carry. If the Jax workshop you previously went to had the pads on the shelf, then you can almost guarantee it will be of said brand.  

I'm guessing you don't have the receipt for the previous work and pads. Can you visit a Jax workshop and see if they can look up your previous job to see what pads were fitted? 

Still no luck? Put your stalker hat on, find the staff that used to work at the Jax store and ask them. Talk to local workshops, try to find out where the mechanics went to. Talk to Jax workshops, maybe they relocated to another workshop. When it comes to mechanics, its a small world. You'd be surprised how easy it is to track someone down.

If these ideas don't work, shit will start getting crazy very quickly.... You could find out every brand and model of pad that fits that car... and try them individually ticking each off the list if it wasn't the one you were looking for.... If you go down this path your going to want to learn how to swap pads yourself, it is very easy, takes minimal tools and space. If you have room to park the car you have room to swap the pads. Plus you have the advantage of making sure all the brake hardware goes back in so they won't squeal! 

[GTSBoy]

Plus, you'll get great experience in bedding in pads!

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

13 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

JAX would rummage around in the "shit pads we use for all shitboxen that come in here" and install those.

Accurate 

[sonicii]

You could probably just go with the genuine Nissan pads, they are not really the expensive, I can't say how they compare to your 350GT pads but at least they will give decent performance.

Shims are probably the reason for the squeal.  When I bought my Q50 which runs the same Akebono brakes, the previous owner had some weird pads fitted and it squealed and dusted like crazy, I bought genuine pads and when I put them in, I found all the shims missing.  With the factory pads, the dusting is much better, performance is fine, but it still squeals when cold.  A bit of grease on the back of the pads and mounting points gets rid of it, but it comes back after a while.  I have bought a genuine shim kit that I need to install when I get around to it, hopefully that will fix the squeal.