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Poor Man's BBK G35/M35 Brakes DIY

56K views 179 replies 23 participants last post by  d0ugmac1 
#1 · (Edited)
First, i'd like to thank Lawrence (4DZC) for helping me with the decision making process on the calipers and measurements, colors, Powder coating, etc all from the opposite side of the country. If I have any info wrong, I'm sure he can fill in the details.

3.5SE altima ....................... 05+G35/M35 06+G35X
11.7" Rotor ........................ 12.6" Rotor
single piston caliper ...................... Twin Piston calipers

Now to start, this is just a test fit. We used the Altima's stock Caliper bracket to take measurements, and turns out the 06+ M35/45 stock calipers bolt right up. Same calipers on 05+ G35 coupes and sedans, 05+ M35/M45, 06+ G35X I believe the 350Z after 05 also use this same brake setup. The rotor in the pics is the OEM rotor I had left from a G35X. I have to get new pads this weekend, so I'll have final installed pics this weekend. You need the brake caliper and caliper bracket from the above cars.

[edit]
YOu cannot reuse your Altima brackets. We just used those for the measurements to confirm the bolt distance to make sure they were the same. [/edit]

First, here are the two rotors to show the size difference




Here is a test fit of the calipers. I have my current stock calipers just snug on the rotor so you can see the contrast. My calipers are dirty as hell, so take that info consideration.








Here is the clearance with the regular 11.7" rotor


Here is with the larger 12.6" rotor


Before


after
 
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#2 · (Edited)
On the right is the Altima front brake pad, next to it is the M45 brake pad



M45 Rotor and bracket mounted


Pads installed after i put some brake quiet on the back




Time to bleed the brakes











 
#6 ·
those are nice calipers. Do they now have your hawk performance pads??
 
#10 ·
Looks good. Ok, so actually the entire caliper is from the 2006+ M35/M45, which shares the same bracket mounting hole spacing as the G37 and 370Z. In theory these calipers, the dual pistons will also fit the 7th gen Maxima and offer greater braking effects. The bracket from the 4th gen Altima was only used to generate and compare measurements from and to the M45 bracket. A word of caution, not all years M45 calipers will fit the 4th gen Altima. The earlier M45s, 2005 and earlier, use the same bracket as the 350Z and the G35, which have the same bracket hole spacing as the 3rd gen Altima, yet wont fit the 3rd gen Altima because of actual back spacing of the mounting surface. Obviously with this you MUST at a minimum, use the larger 12.6" rotor from any year G or M or Z. The bracket always has been, and always will be the main difference. If there are to be any fitment issues, it will come at the expense of the inner side of the rotor. If clearance between the rotor inside and inside area of the bracket are in contact, it will be necessary to have the inside of the rotor milled down 1/8" so that proper clearance can be achieved. This is what Shawn will confirm for me upon completed install of (1) of the front calipers. As of now, these calipers will only fit the 4th gen Altima and 7th gen Maxima. I have no idea about the 5th gen Altima but I am already looking at getting a pair and taking measurements. This is an awesome upgrade for the 4th gen Altima however. Alot more piston area = greater clamp force....which means shorter stops. As always I recommend changing out any pads you have to upgraded brake pads which produce less brake dust. The look of your calipers, powder coated, painted, or plain, will thank you! :)
 
#13 ·
No! Lol piston size is the same from 3rd gen thru all 4th gen....and possibly 5th. SER caliper is actually wider in the valley to accommodate the thicker in width rotor and the bracket is larger to accommodate the larger 12.6" diameter of the rotor.
 
#12 ·
I think I'm going to order the HP+ pads this weekend. so I may not get them until some time next week. but I think i have some OEM pads for the M at home I'm going to see if they fit the calipers. They may not because the pads are from the 03-05 models.
 
#16 ·
I use to do stuff like that when i took auto classes back in the day. But for $25 to cut two rotors and balance them, Can't complain. I'm going to install the rears tomorrow, and if the pads show up in time, I will do the fronts this weekend as well.
 
#17 ·
how do the oem rotors turn orange like that?? is that due to weather and rain and possible rust??
 
#21 ·
thats just rust. happens to any rotor that sits around for a long time, and gets exposed to any moisture in the elements that may set on it. But this is it all cleaned up.

Jeff, not painting these rotors. these are temp rotors. I'm getting some slotted rotors once i have some more cash to spare.



I did install the rears today, but it was too dark to take a good pic, so i'll post them up tomorrow after the fronts are on,
 
#22 ·
rockauto may have their years wrong. 06 uses a 2 piston caliper. 05 and prior were single.

but other than that, thats all you will need. so far the test fits are working. tomorrow if the pads get here on time, we will know 100% if it's going to work, but i'm 95% sure it will right now.
 
#23 ·
Looks really good Shawn! Let us know how they perform.

I just put in my new rotors and brake pads and so far they feel good to me. Quick question, the bolts holding your calipers, what size were they? I read a few DIY and they all said 19mm, but for mine they were 22mm up front and 19mm in the rear. They were such a pain to remove.
 
#24 ·
rears are 19 IIRC. I didn't look at the size, i just grabbed a socket that looked like the right size, and it was. I'll check again tomorrow to be sure. My rear ones were a royal PITA to take off, but once I broke them loose, it was all easy.
 
#25 ·
Yeah those bottom bolts were a real pain. They're stuck on there and then there is almost no space to work with. If I didn't have a rubber mallet I would still be out there trying to break them loose lol
 
#26 ·
i used a steel mallet to break them loose. i tried a breaker bar, but couldn't get a good angle, so i put a open end on it, and pounded it with a mallet until it broke loose
 
#30 ·
I tried the open end wrench to get some leverage, completely failed. They just did not want to budge. I almost got my torch, but the mallet worked. Didn't feel like hooking up the impact gun
 
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