Moved this from Debadging:

I am doing a few suspension mods and members have inquired as to whether I am changing brakes as well....So...

As far as brakes...I don't know yet. I have no issues with the current brakes so I feel a bit ambivalent. I know new brakes will improve stopping power, but with my other mods, I feel like I ought to cool it a bit. I've been in the car ten weeks and I'm about 5K in parts and labor so far. I still have two teenagers who would like to go to college. Maybe an upgrade to S brakes would be a more modest investment...but we're still talking the same labor...so why not go big right? I have regular Infiniti brakes right now so I don't have anything to trade.

That being said: I welcome your suggestions.

My new wheels will be ASA AR1 18x8 offset 40mm, my tires will be Continental Extremecontact DWS 06, 245/45/ZR18 XL

Sean

 

Sean,
Big brakes look great but you will still get braking that's plenty adequate w/ your stock brake setup.
Those wheels you selected won't clear the big brake calipers so if you already have them ordered you'll need to cancel the order and look for a set that will clear the big calipers.
If you just want to add a bit more "bling" to your brakes you could always go w/ some "showy" rotors, these won't do much for your braking but if you combine them w/ a pad that provides more bite you shouldn't see a degradation in braking. You could also paint your calipers, you don't want to paint base calipers a bright show color like red though, don't want to tell everybody "hey look at my dinky stock brakes". Painting them black, gray, or silver will flow well w/ the car and clean the look up a bit. Rotors from brakeperformance.com look nice and when combined w/ Stoptech Street pads they provide good braking performance.

If you really want a full blown big caliper kit you can get a set put together for around $1200 if you follow the steps in this thread.
https://www.myg37.com/forums/brakes-...the-cheap.html
You will also need a new spare that will clear the brakes too

 

Thanks. That's the advice I was after.

I'm happy with my stock plain x brakes. The caliper painting is a great idea. Any idea what brand/kind of paint? I'd like to do it with a sort-of artist's brush so I don't have to take the calipers off and don't muff the rotors.

If I do get crazy and find a good deal, is there any value in the Infiniti S brakes? Will they clear my wheels and are they any better than my plain x brakes?

Thanks again,
Sean

 

There's plenty of value in the S brakes, if you see some in the classifieds they usually go for about 80% of what a new set costs so they hold their value well compared to most mods.

If you had the XS sedan your 18" wheels would clear the brakes, if you have the 17" base X sedan wheels those won't work. And those ASA wheels you are wanting won't clear either.

As far as painting calipers, you can use a rattle can, just tape off the areas around the brakes that you don't want sprayed and have a good box fan to blow away the overspray. If your G is due for new brake fluid I'd just remove the calipers and paint them separately then re install and flush out your brake fluid. FWIW I recommend fresh brake fluid every couple years as it's the one fluid that really breaks down from moisture. Here's some brush on kits, I know the G2 kit works well, haven't heard about the others though
https://www.google.com/search?q=brus...paint&tbm=shop

The VHT caliper paint works well depending how well you prep your calipers
http://www.vhtpaint.com/products/caliperpaint/
, use a scotch brite pad w/ brake cleaner does a nice job removing dirt & grime. Then a final wipe w/ rubbing alcohol, and 3 coats of paint. If you want to add an Infiniti logo and cover w/ a couple coats of clear that's up to you.
Here's my front brakes before I went to my Wilwood set, it held up well for about 2.5 years w/ that VHT paint. And those are the brakeperformance.com slotted/drilled rotors with Stoptech pads

 

Great information! I'm planning on using the OEM 17x7s for winter. It's nice to know the S brakes won't clear.

Did you paint those little Infiniti symbols by hand? They are very neat.

Sean