Brakes for our 2014 Nissan Frontier

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My wife and I owned a 2005 Nissan Xterra before the 2014 Frontier we own now. The Xterra And the Frontier are identical except for the outer shell. On the Xterra, I changed the original pads at 86k and they still had well over half the pad left. Rotors were fine as well. A majority of those 86k were highway miles. I just did it because they were 8 yrs old at the time.

Fast forward to today. Our Frontier is just about ready for new brakes. Living in the mountains can burn through some brakes especially living up several steep inclines to get to our home. I've never been real impressed with the factory set-up. They've never failed, they just seem "weak" to me. It was the same feeling with the Xterra. My question: without getting too expensive, what brake and rotor combo would provide a better braking experience and survive the constant up and down mountain driving?

Also, do they make bigger calipers/pads that could replace the factory ones. I had to do this very thing to eliminate a brake shimmy when stopping on a 2002 Toyota Tundra. The shimmy was there from the first day of ownership. Mulitple trips to the dealer accomplished nothing. There was either nothing they could find or they "tried" to fix it. Fives years later, and out of warranty of course, they put out a TSB to rectify the problem. It was determined the calipers and pads were under-sized and over-heated, causing the shimmy. Bigger calipers and brake pads were the solution. And it did fix the problem. I did the work myself and saved $1100. The Toyota dealerships, I called several, wanted $1400. I did the whole job for less than $300. I wouldn't mind doing this for the Frontier if there were parts available.
 
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I find this interesting as I’m considering a new Frontier. They have changed very little (if at all ) from your 2014. I like the smaller size and by now should have any problems worked out. Considering a 2.5 with manual trans, just enough above base model to have cruise. Any comments on how yours has done?
 
IS your Frontier I4 or V6? Do they have the same or different brakes? Can you use Titan/Armada brakes on the Frontier/Xterra? Sometimes they'll fit right in, same bolt pattern and everything, as long as you get new calipers, pads, and rotors.

Truck/SUV-specific pads might give you better results, like Wagner OEX or SevereDuty, Hawk LTS, etc. Raybestos has specialty truck ceramic pads. There's also Akebono ASP. Pair them with Centric Premium or Wagner E-coat rotors.
 
I dont know about upgrading the brakes to larger one specifically, but you could go with a higher temp pad and better quality rotors. I know on a lot of european cars you can take the brakes off of a higher end model, and as long as you clear the wheels, make them fit on a lesser model. As an example, on my 1997 A4 I took the front brake caliper carriers and rotors from a 99 A8 and it worked well with 16" or larger wheels. The calipers were exactly the same and bolted right up. You gained an extra 45mm in diameter this way. Many A4, S4, etc can take the Porsche Boxster/Cayman/Cayenne Brembos and swap them over with the correct caliper carrier bracket, and they bolt right up, Other times, liek on my 02 Golf TDI, upgrading the front brakes also means changing out the spindle, which also means swapping out the struts. So for a gain of 30mm of rotor size, youd need to spend about 1500 to get it right. Its possible that brakes from their full size truck may swap.
 
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Originally Posted By: double vanos
I find this interesting as I’m considering a new Frontier. They have changed very little (if at all ) from your 2014. I like the smaller size and by now should have any problems worked out. Considering a 2.5 with manual trans, just enough above base model to have cruise. Any comments on how yours has done?


DV, I bought a new 2017 Frontier SV in December and it had such horrid quality problems that I actually took it back two months later and got a different vehicle. These trucks are made in Canton, Mississippi, and their build quality is terrible. I bought the 2.5 liter with a 5 speed manual and the engine is terribly underpowered to the point of being almost dangerous. I can live with the driveability but they are certainly not setting any quality standards. Here are three pictures just to give you an idea of the poor build quality. The rubber grommet that protects the passenger door was not installed correctly, the harness that sends power the windshield washer motor was not installed at all, and the nuts that hold the passenger front shock/strut assembly to the chassis had one tightened nut and two barely started on the stud. Think twice about spending your money on these things. They're cheap for a reason. These issues are what I found on the truck that I kept. The one I returned was much worse.


 
Originally Posted By: FowVay
Originally Posted By: double vanos
I find this interesting as I’m considering a new Frontier. They have changed very little (if at all ) from your 2014. I like the smaller size and by now should have any problems worked out. Considering a 2.5 with manual trans, just enough above base model to have cruise. Any comments on how yours has done?


DV, I bought a new 2017 Frontier SV in December and it had such horrid quality problems that I actually took it back two months later and got a different vehicle. These trucks are made in Canton, Mississippi, and their build quality is terrible. I bought the 2.5 liter with a 5 speed manual and the engine is terribly underpowered to the point of being almost dangerous. I can live with the driveability but they are certainly not setting any quality standards. Here are three pictures just to give you an idea of the poor build quality. The rubber grommet that protects the passenger door was not installed correctly, the harness that sends power the windshield washer motor was not installed at all, and the nuts that hold the passenger front shock/strut assembly to the chassis had one tightened nut and two barely started on the stud. Think twice about spending your money on these things. They're cheap for a reason. These issues are what I found on the truck that I kept. The one I returned was much worse.


Yeah the switch from Smyrna, TN to Canton, MS was a disaster IMO. The laborforce is much different to say the least. The build quality of my 07 Frontier was good despite the drivetrain failures.
 
Originally Posted By: double vanos
I find this interesting as I’m considering a new Frontier. They have changed very little (if at all ) from your 2014. I like the smaller size and by now should have any problems worked out. Considering a 2.5 with manual trans, just enough above base model to have cruise. Any comments on how yours has done?


Just like our Xterra, it's been rock-solid. Just one recall for a air bag re-program on the Frontier. We always buy the V6 with the automatic transmission. It's the SV package. Great engine with plenty of power (265 hp). Others in this thread are disappointed in build quality. We've had none of these issues. Move to another build location might have affected the build quality but I can't speak to that. Given the prices of pick ups in general, I've always thought the V6 version of the Frontier was a great deal for the money. My only complaint is the brakes feel weak to me. My wife thinks I'm crazy.
 
Originally Posted By: FowVay
Originally Posted By: double vanos
I find this interesting as I’m considering a new Frontier. They have changed very little (if at all ) from your 2014. I like the smaller size and by now should have any problems worked out. Considering a 2.5 with manual trans, just enough above base model to have cruise. Any comments on how yours has done?


DV, I bought a new 2017 Frontier SV in December and it had such horrid quality problems that I actually took it back two months later and got a different vehicle. These trucks are made in Canton, Mississippi, and their build quality is terrible. I bought the 2.5 liter with a 5 speed manual and the engine is terribly underpowered to the point of being almost dangerous. I can live with the driveability but they are certainly not setting any quality standards. Here are three pictures just to give you an idea of the poor build quality. The rubber grommet that protects the passenger door was not installed correctly, the harness that sends power the windshield washer motor was not installed at all, and the nuts that hold the passenger front shock/strut assembly to the chassis had one tightened nut and two barely started on the stud. Think twice about spending your money on these things. They're cheap for a reason. These issues are what I found on the truck that I kept. The one I returned was much worse.





Wow! That's not good at all. Sorry you got one like that. Our Frontier belongs to my wife and she wouldn't part with for anything right now.
 
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
IS your Frontier I4 or V6? Do they have the same or different brakes? Can you use Titan/Armada brakes on the Frontier/Xterra? Sometimes they'll fit right in, same bolt pattern and everything, as long as you get new calipers, pads, and rotors.

Truck/SUV-specific pads might give you better results, like Wagner OEX or SevereDuty, Hawk LTS, etc. Raybestos has specialty truck ceramic pads. There's also Akebono ASP. Pair them with Centric Premium or Wagner E-coat rotors.


Great idea. I'll visit the Nissan forums I belong to and ask a few questions. I always come to BITOG first.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
You'll obviously wanna stay away from ceramic pads. I would try EBC Ultimax 2. This would be the pad formula vehicle manufactures would use if people didn't belly ache about brake dust. Made in the UK. The jargon about legality is real in Europe, not in North America.


Since new on our RX330, we have had rotor warping (or pad transfer heat issues) -- vehicle is coming up on 225k. I have tried semi-metallic OEM, Advics and Akebono ceramics along with OEM and after-market rotors (to include frozen rotors). When driving up in the mountains or at about 20-25,000 miles, the pulsation comes back. With the Akebono's, the pulsation returned quicker than the OEM semi-metallic's or Advic's.

I almost went with the EBC Ultimax pads above, but instead, I went with Porterfield R4-S brake pads. I did a lot of research and the R4-S material is very rotor friendly, has minimal dust and they are quiet (like OEM) with the provided shims. Will report back if the rotors start pulsating like they historically have, but I am hoping these pads will help.

https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/manufacturers/Porterfield+Brakes/R4-S.html
 
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