I have ~170K miles on my Infiniti FX45. The rear brakes appear to be sticking when hot. In regular high speed stop and go traffic, the rear rotors get smoking hot and start to grind after a few stops, while the fronts only get too hot to touch. In the past, the front typically got hotter, although all four wheels seem to get equally dirty. I'm using the same pads and rotors as always (Stoptech Street performance w/ EBC USR rotors) - normally the set will last me 20K+ miles before the vibration makes me crazy, my fronts are still looking OK for that, the rears - particularly the drivers side rear are almost worn down after 7K. ~ 2K of highway, 2K of highway towing and about 1K mountain driving with and without the trailer and ~2K of daily stop and go traffic. About the same mix as always. If I am at highway speeds and coast to a stop, all the rotors are cool to the touch. There is no rust, corrosion or leaks and the pads and rotors were new in December. I have pulled and regreased the slide pins and filed the edges of the pads where they contact the caliper hardware. Everything seems to move freely when cold.
Anyway, I have read a lot of people have had trouble with the OE rear calipers with many fewer miles than I have. Since I have to replace the rotors and pads again, I figured I would put on a set of calipers and maybe lines to hopefully eliminate the issue - or at least eliminate them as a possible issue. OE are ~$240 a side plus hardware. I am comfortable with the OE calipers - they have lasted 12 years of unusual abuse so far, they are coated and still look like new after those 12 years and 170K miles. I'm trying to figure out if it is worth it to buy OE or if I should get some aftermarket coated calipers, and if so, which ones. They seem to be around $50 to $80 per side. The available calipers are from A1 Cardone, AC Delco and Raybestos. Realistically they don't need to last more than another 50K or so, but I don't want to wonder afterwards if the new ones are worse than the original ones. $400 difference isn't really going to matter, but if the quality is the same, I might as well save the money to put towards my dashboard which seems to be developing a crack.
The brake fluid is flushed about every two years, there is no pulling either direction while braking. If not for the smell and the noise, I wouldn't know anything was wrong. This has been going on since before the last pad/rotor swap, I expected the problem to go away with the rotors and pads in December. Last year I figured I just smoked the rear rotor and they were going to make noise until I replaced them - the grinding noise started rather suddenly after pulling a particularly heavy trailer in stop and go traffic through atlanta.
The only other things that come to mind are the electronic brake distribution module/master cylinder and/or possibly the rear wheel bearings, but I can find no evidence of bearing failure and it hasn't gotten worse over the last 15K or so. Also, the master cylinder is about $1,500 (adaptive cruise control) and the distribution valve is about $1,100 - so I would rather pretend they don't exist. The brake pressure sensor is about $250.
I have not had to put much into this vehicle to get to this point, so on the one hand, I don't mind spending money on it, on the other hand, it is nearing 200K and 12 years, parts are hard to find for it (everything is different than the V6) and it's going to degrade in the not too distant future.
Edit: Powerstop also has a caliper for $50, but it is red.
Anyway, I have read a lot of people have had trouble with the OE rear calipers with many fewer miles than I have. Since I have to replace the rotors and pads again, I figured I would put on a set of calipers and maybe lines to hopefully eliminate the issue - or at least eliminate them as a possible issue. OE are ~$240 a side plus hardware. I am comfortable with the OE calipers - they have lasted 12 years of unusual abuse so far, they are coated and still look like new after those 12 years and 170K miles. I'm trying to figure out if it is worth it to buy OE or if I should get some aftermarket coated calipers, and if so, which ones. They seem to be around $50 to $80 per side. The available calipers are from A1 Cardone, AC Delco and Raybestos. Realistically they don't need to last more than another 50K or so, but I don't want to wonder afterwards if the new ones are worse than the original ones. $400 difference isn't really going to matter, but if the quality is the same, I might as well save the money to put towards my dashboard which seems to be developing a crack.
The brake fluid is flushed about every two years, there is no pulling either direction while braking. If not for the smell and the noise, I wouldn't know anything was wrong. This has been going on since before the last pad/rotor swap, I expected the problem to go away with the rotors and pads in December. Last year I figured I just smoked the rear rotor and they were going to make noise until I replaced them - the grinding noise started rather suddenly after pulling a particularly heavy trailer in stop and go traffic through atlanta.
The only other things that come to mind are the electronic brake distribution module/master cylinder and/or possibly the rear wheel bearings, but I can find no evidence of bearing failure and it hasn't gotten worse over the last 15K or so. Also, the master cylinder is about $1,500 (adaptive cruise control) and the distribution valve is about $1,100 - so I would rather pretend they don't exist. The brake pressure sensor is about $250.
I have not had to put much into this vehicle to get to this point, so on the one hand, I don't mind spending money on it, on the other hand, it is nearing 200K and 12 years, parts are hard to find for it (everything is different than the V6) and it's going to degrade in the not too distant future.
Edit: Powerstop also has a caliper for $50, but it is red.
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