Kizashi Club

So back in July I was able to go on a wonderful trip to Yosemite with my Kizashi, and had the chance to do some really nice mountain driving on beautiful winding roads throughout the park. One thing I noticed however, was that after a good amount of driving, or driving on downhill sections, braking would cause my steering wheel to vibrate. So it looks like I need new front rotors.

Question is, what do I get? Any recommendations on new front rotors and where to buy them for the Kizashi?

Rockauto.com always has a good selection and pricing. You going to replace the pads too? I'd replace the pads if you're going to replace the rotors. Best braking will happen if they are replaced together. You can get the OEM Akebono's there too.

Funny, I just checked tirerack.com for the same Akebono OEM pads. They were rated only 2 out of 5 for stopping power. I thought they would do better.

WESHOOT did new aftermarket rotors and pads on his high mileage Kiz. Maybe he'll chime in.

Towards the bottom of page 18 of his "114 Days" thread you'll find his SP Performance parts discussion:

http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... &start=170

I was noticing the same vibration while driving around Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, last week. I was able to mitigate it with some moderate engine braking into the hairpin turns, and trying to pass the cars that wanted to slow all the way down to the suggested 15mph going into said hairpin turns.

My Kizashi only has 18000-ish miles on her, so I would assume the vibration isn't being caused by the rotors needing to be replaced. But, I also don't have any alternative suggestions as to what would be causing the vibrations either. I just assumed that it was a rough patch of road, or I was pushing her a little hard.

It could be from exceeding the pad's rated operating temp range and them leaving material deposited on the rotor's surface. It gives a similar sensation to warped rotors.

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-suppo ... ther-myths

Either you've cooked the rotors or the pads. Either way, it's time to upgrade to some stronger pads and rotors. I've found that racingbrake rotors are quite nice and as far as pads, I haven't researched those for our Kizashi as that's more make specific. I've had good success with Axxis metal master pads, but they are harder to find now.

I finally got around to taking off the front wheels to check on the brakes, and as far as I can tell the pads still have plenty of life left, and the rotors don't look worn. I also haven't experienced the vibration while braking pretty much since the Yosemite trip, so in the end I'm not sure what the issue was. City driving seems to be fine, although admittedly it's not as demanding as braking down a mountain road.

I've experienced serious vibration while descending the mountains here in UT. So bad that the first time it happened I thought it was a blown or damaged tire. It goes away when the brakes cool, but when these pads are done I'll be upgrading the fronts to something a bit stronger.

Vibration will not be caused by the pads, only the rotors. It can also be caused by bad brake break-in. I did this on my first set of rotors on the big brake upgrade on the Galant.