I helped a neighbor moving past weekend. We found tons of car parts in his basement, most went in the trash can but I saved a set of Nissan 300z sport calipers. This topic hasn't been touched on this forum so I dare to ask if this kit would work on our G. After some digging online, I found that this is a very popular mod over Maxima forum, so I hope some veten Maxima owners (Rochester) can leave some thoughts.


Why I didn't go for the OEM Akebono? I have the base 17 wheels. The cost of upgrading brake and wheels don't work for me as I will let go of the car in 2 years before moving back to my country. So I thought this would be a cheap and fun project to do for the coming summer.

 

You could probably make it work if you fabricate some brackets that will bolt up. Or find someone with a 4th gen. Maxima to sell them to.

 

Only that you're right about the Org. IIRC, the 300Z brakes were the go-to upgrade for the 5th and 6th Gen Maxima. But I don't have any first-hand experience.

You might have better luck with this question over in Brakes, or the Coupe forum. And if that doesn't go anywhere, try networking local speed shops.

 

I fabricated some brackets for a front set of Wilwood calipers so there's a few things to keep in mind. You'll have to check the piston volume ratio between front & rear and see if it's close to what the Gs stock braking is. You'll also have to see what width rotors the 300z came with and hopefully your G has the same width. Since the G would be heavier than the 300z hopefully the rotors will be at least the same diameter as the G. Since these were used on large Maximas I assume that everything should be close.

If you can use an Infiniti rotor then you just need to place the caliper properly and take all the precise measurements. My bracket was made from 1/2" 6061 T6 Aluminum plate and all holes were tapped, grade 8 bolts & washers.
I used 1/2" plywood to get a preliminary fit and luckily it was spot on, you can use that or stacked 1/4" hardboard for test brackets.
Maybe you could find someone on the 350z board that has done that setup on base 350z, I think the last couple years of the 350s has the same caliper mounts

 

Your base 17s will not clear the calipers but nothing spacers can't fix.

If you have the skills and means to fab an adapter then why not? But prepare for a good amount of down time (unless you have another car) so you don't rush through it with the trial and error. If they have been lying around for a long period of time, check the seals and consider a rebuild because you do it right, you do it once. Lastly consider how the ABS will react and the biasing of the brakes. I'm sure they should be fine but you have to think of things that can possibly go wrong when being the first pioneer to tackling such a project. Also make sure the calipers are able to fit over the rotors. Good luck!

 

I had the 300Z brakes on my Maxima and loved them. Sold the car tot he GF and she loves them. You should be able to sell them on maxima.org for at least a couple of hundred.

 

Thx you all for your inputs. After more reading, Im now more interested in this swap as my 300z calipers are made of aluminum which according to many online sources would provide great weight deduction over my stock setup. My concerns now are to find the relocate mounting brackets and stock 17s clearance, although it is hard for me to think 300z calipers wouldn't clear the 17s when the 300z came with 16s.

 

Aluminum would be better but performance should be the same. I highly doubt you can "find" a bracket to bolt them on. People usually do a true upgrade with the Akebonos instead of sourcing other OEM calipers (direct bolt on = no headache). Also clearance is due to the diameter of the wheel, offset, and spoke design. It doesn't matter if you have 24's on if the spoke design is all whack with high offset. But I would imagine a 10-15mm spacer should be able to help clear them with base 17's.

 

Here's a shot of my Wilwood bracket. Like I said previously, just make all the measurements and use some stacked 1/4" hardboard to get it right prior to making your real brackets.

 

Update.
I found a local fabricator to work on my bracket. We spent a whole evening ironing out the brackets to perfection. He charged me $180 for 2 tries. I didn't know if I overpaid < regardless, Im happy that I got my brackets. I did a test fit and Im happy to report that the base 17s clear the calipers with about 5mm from the spokes.

The only thing left to deal with is figuring out the brake bias between front and rear. I only swap the front calipers and stock rear because I don't want to lose my e-brake. Brat, what did you do when u install your front Wilwood set?

 

Sounds like you found a mechanic with skills. Fair price for fair service, so if you're happy... win. Although these calipers fell into your lap, it doesn't read like you're doing this entirely for the cost savings.

On the Akebono sport brakes, the parking brake is a separate pad that expands into the sculpted inside of the rear rotors, somewhat like a drum-brake.

 

Yeah, I found the guy on craigslist. At first, I was quite scared of craigslist handyman. Fortunately, this guy has done a lot of motorbike works so he knew exactly what I wanted from how I poorly described it the first time.
On the side note, would you think 5mm calipers clearance is too close? How far are the Akebono calipers sit from stock wheels?

 

There's plenty of clearance, but IDK what it is. It's usually the front calipers that are at issue, if at all.

Last Spring I went with aftermarket wheels, and had barely a credit-card width clearance on the front. It really freaked me out. Fortunately for my set-up, I wanted a little extra poke for the fronts to match the rears better, so a simple set of 3mm spacers did the trick.

In other words, during the summer I only have 5mm clearance in the front, and I'm very comfortable with that. From that POV, I'd advise you not to worry about it. You're fine at 5mm.

 

Great, Thx u. I hear calipers will expand a little from heat. But I guess it only happen under track condition. Normal street driving shouldn't be a problem.
Now, I need to figure out the brake bias. Im not familiar with this subject at all so I have no idea how to work the magic. Now it starts to make sense why ppl would go for OEM set up for less headache. Hope someone can chime in.

 

I have 3mm clearance, the OEM Subaru Brembos are even closer than that.
As far as Brake bias, you should be real close as is, I doubt you'll need a proportioning valve. If you know the total piston area that will help, the front Akebono is 4.10" FWIW and the rear is 2.35".
My Wilwood front area is 4.04 and works great w/ the small back OEM caliper which has the same basic piston area as the rear Akebono.