Aftermarket performance brakes rotors and pads for the LEAF

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cbelange

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2017
Messages
5
My 2017 Nissan LEAF SV 30 KWh has already near 4 years old (since January 2017) I used it every day (more than 94 000 km (58 000 miles)) and original brakes has less than 30% left (my mechanic in town is worrying about it) I'm driving my LEAF mainly on highway with often emergency braking (people are driving fast in Canada). My rear brakes starts compensates for the thin front brakes.

I'm looking for durable, noise-free (silent) and less rusty brake rotors and pad kit.
My mechanic recommends ceramic brakes for less braking noise (more silent).

Did you ever tried Aftermarket performance brakes kit (rotors + pads) like the
"Power Stop Z23 Evolution Sport Performance Brake Kit - Front & Rear" available at Canadian Tires for CDN $ 425.00 ordering it in store and it arrives in 11 to 18 days ?
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/...-rear-part-k6000-k16000-1164206p.2161955.html

FEATURES
Z23 Carbon-Fiber Ceramic formula for superior braking power
Dust-free braking performance
Premium rubberized shims provide virtually noise-free braking
Drilled and Slotted performance rotors for maximum cooling
Rotors (except for hub assemblies) are zinc plated for maximum protection against rust
Includes ceramic brake lubricant and premium hardware kit

It seems to be a great deal because this kit is heavy ( 28 kg = 62 lbs) and shipping rates to deliver at my house are always expensive.

I already tried these front disks and pads on a 2012 Nissan Versa to improve braking performance on emergency stops on highway and I was satisfied (they last more than 4 years on a Versa and they seems to improve braking performance on emergency stops).

I'm wondering if this kit would last more than 4 years on an electric vehicle with the extra weight of the HV battery.
I'm wondering if "Power Stop Z23 Evolution Sport Performance Brake Kit - Front & Rear" is at least equivalent of the Nissan original brakes rotors and pads.
 
The video Nubo posted matches my experience over the years. All three of my LEAF's (2011 built in Japan along with 2015 and 2019 built in Tennessee) came with ceramic pads. Original pads and rotors were fine when 2011 met its untimely demise. Original pads and rotors were still in good shape the last time I had tires rotated on the 2015 not too long before I traded it with over 82,000 miles. Both front and rear rotors on LEAF are ventilated, but not slotted and drilled. I have also had ceramic pads as OEM on a couple of SUV's and they worked very well. My experience has been that the ceramic pads are harder so they last longer and wear the rotors faster. Therefore, the rotors on my two SUV's were almost down to minimum thickness when the OEM pads finally wore out so the brake jobs were easy--buy new rotors and ceramic pads and then install them. I expect the LEAF will be the same, but I expect to get many more miles due to regenerative braking before needing to replace pads and rotors. I thought those SUV's had great brakes when new, but chose to buy slotted and drilled rotors to minimize the possibility of warpage. I was surprised and amazed at the improved brake feel with slotted and drilled rotors after the new pads were fully seated (required at least 1,000 miles of city driving) so I will be using slotted and drilled rotors, if available, on all of my vehicles in the future. I use ceramic pads on everything except my motorcycles. I use semi-metallic pads on the motorcycles since they have stainless steel slotted and drilled rotors and I don't want to wear the rotors prematurely (also, I doubt that ceramic pads are available in the sizes for my motorcycles).

The OP's mechanic may not know the LEAF has OEM ceramic pads so expressed concern with only 30% remaining, but those pads should last quite a few more miles unless there are other issues. The aftermarket pads in the link are "carbon fiber ceramic". I am not sure about the carbon fiber additive because I had a set of carbon fiber semi-metallic pads and they did not grab for the first brake application after the car sat for more than a few days. They were fine if the car was driven every day, but they were noisy when braking at slow speeds. The video indicates that carbon fiber works better when hotter and that was my experience with those carbon fiber semi-metallic pads in that they required less pedal pressure if they were already heated from previous braking.
 
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