Great write up on the upgrade. To add something that will make it easier for people with the earlier Armadas and/or Titans: if you upgrade to 2007 brakes you are getting the same benefits as 2008. The rotors are still 350mm vs 320mm; the one major difference is that you do not have to deal with the spacer rings which are not available anymore. The rotors for (up to 3/07 with Akebono calipers) have the same hub hole diameter (82mm) as earlier style rotors. You will still need to change the front calipers, brackets and brake lines since the earlier models were the Bosch style. It's not neccessary to go with stainless brake lines...you can just buy any brake line made for the 07. I am getting ready to do the upgrade on my 04 Armada to 07 front rotors/calipers/lines becuase I have a chronic problem with my front brakes and am fed up with it. The rears, as far as I can tell have not changed and being you only get 30% of your stopping power from the rear have never been an issue anyway. Another option would be to replace the front wheel bearing to the larger size then you can go with the 2008+ rotor (obviously this wouldn't be cost effective unless your bearings need replacing).
04-08 Brake upgrade how-to
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Chevyman, I know it's a shot in the dark but do you still have the set of rings? Are you still in the business of whipping a few sets out? I just saw new life in this thread when a person on here stated that the 04 to 07 upgrade is the same except there is no need for the rings. I'm looking at both options currently on my 04. Thanks all.
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Nah man I sold my last set about 3 weeks ago. Send me a PM and we can see about finding you a set. Thanks
That is correct about 07 brakes being just as good. The key is the hub diameter of the rotor. Up until 10/06 Nissan used 320mm front rotors with 82mm hub diameter which we all know were undersized considering the size of our vehicles. If all you do is drive your vehicle as a grocery getter then the 320mm may be fine however, like me, using mine to tow a boat, was problematic even though my trailer brakes work fine. From 10/06 to 04/07 Nissan used 350mm rotors with the same 82mm hub diameter. After 04/07 Nissan for some reason decided to go with larger bearings/hubs which made the rotors the same 350mm BUT with a 90mm (vs 82mm) hub diameter...that's where the spacers come into play. Not only was the overall diameter increased 30mm (1.2") but the rotor weight was also increased by 10 lbs. per rotor. That's a lot of extra mass to help keep the rotors from overheating which I think is the deadly flaw of the early model brakes. Once those undersized rotors overheated...glazed pads followed in short order. The not so genius Nissan engineer that did the brakes for the early models hopefully no longer has a job!
When they made this change starting in 10/06 this is when Nissan went from the Bosch caliper to the Akebono calipers. Both calipers were twin piston and substantial in size, however, the Akebono is slightly larger in mass and also uses a different caliper bracket. So, if you want to upgrade your 2004 through 10/2006 Armada or Titan front brakes to get the benefit of the larger diameter rotors WITHOUT having to either A) change your front wheel bearings/hubs or B) get the spacers that one of the members ingeniously manufactured, you go with the 2007 parts. Make sure to get the rotors that specifically say "up to 3/07 or 4/07"....not after since those will have the larger hub diameter and without the spacers or changing your front hubs you will not be centric on the hub. The studs will align them somewhat but since there is some slop in the stud holes of the rotors this means you most likely not have your rotors turning true...not a good thing as I'm sure it would cause degraded brake performance and premature bearing failure not to mention shimmies and shakes.
I have acquired all my parts and am doing my upgrade this weekend. I will post a follow up after I'm done and let everyone know how it went and publish a parts list of the exact parts I used. Until then here is a generic list of what I bought: 2007 calipers and brackets, 2007 rotors and pads, 2007 brake lines (stock rubber ones). I happen to be doing all four corners but this is not necessary as to the best of my knowledge Nissan did not make any major changes to the rear system. I'm doing the rear because my rears need new parking brake shoes and I figured I might as well do everything while I have it apart.
When they made this change starting in 10/06 this is when Nissan went from the Bosch caliper to the Akebono calipers. Both calipers were twin piston and substantial in size, however, the Akebono is slightly larger in mass and also uses a different caliper bracket. So, if you want to upgrade your 2004 through 10/2006 Armada or Titan front brakes to get the benefit of the larger diameter rotors WITHOUT having to either A) change your front wheel bearings/hubs or B) get the spacers that one of the members ingeniously manufactured, you go with the 2007 parts. Make sure to get the rotors that specifically say "up to 3/07 or 4/07"....not after since those will have the larger hub diameter and without the spacers or changing your front hubs you will not be centric on the hub. The studs will align them somewhat but since there is some slop in the stud holes of the rotors this means you most likely not have your rotors turning true...not a good thing as I'm sure it would cause degraded brake performance and premature bearing failure not to mention shimmies and shakes.
I have acquired all my parts and am doing my upgrade this weekend. I will post a follow up after I'm done and let everyone know how it went and publish a parts list of the exact parts I used. Until then here is a generic list of what I bought: 2007 calipers and brackets, 2007 rotors and pads, 2007 brake lines (stock rubber ones). I happen to be doing all four corners but this is not necessary as to the best of my knowledge Nissan did not make any major changes to the rear system. I'm doing the rear because my rears need new parking brake shoes and I figured I might as well do everything while I have it apart.
I actually just did an entire post explaining this and all the other parts if anyone is interested. http://www.titantalk.com/forums/titan-faq-how-area/287057-08-brake-upgrade-parts-explained-no-spacers-needed.html
The OP did a great job with this write up for the install so i decided to do one that focused on just the parts so people could have a one stop shop for that. Bottom line you don't need spacers. Check it out.
Dude we will be doing the exact same thing this weekend. My truck failed inspection because of the rear brakes but i knew they were almost shot so when i bought my front upgrade stuff last month i just bought the parts for front and rear. I wanted to wait until the spring when temps were above zero here but now i have no choice. You are right there is no difference on the rear brakes for any of the titans just the front.
That's cool BigBessey. I did not even see this write up. To add something to it since you used the aftermarket stainless lines: most part stores have the incorrect listings for the front brake hoses....don't ask me why but I assume it's because of all the changes made to the fronts by Nissan that it discombobulated the aftermarket parts manufacturers. I ordered 2008 front brake lines from Rockauto Napa part numbers 382564 and 382565 and I can tell you these ARE NOT the correct front brake lines. They are identical to the older style lines used with the Bosch calipers.
I ended up ordering the correct ones from O'reilly's and in order to get the right ones I had to order the fronts for a 2013! Just make sure if you use the OEM style brake lines on the front that you use ones that look like the second picture below (on the right). If you try to use ones that look like the first picture they will not work. Being that they have that metal junction in the middle and I don't have a place to bolt it I went to the hardware store and bought a couple 1-1/2" 90 degree angle brackets and I bolted them to the existing bracket where the wheel sensor line is held. I thought about just using a heavy duty zip tie but I didn't want to chance it with something like a brake line.
I ended up ordering the correct ones from O'reilly's and in order to get the right ones I had to order the fronts for a 2013! Just make sure if you use the OEM style brake lines on the front that you use ones that look like the second picture below (on the right). If you try to use ones that look like the first picture they will not work. Being that they have that metal junction in the middle and I don't have a place to bolt it I went to the hardware store and bought a couple 1-1/2" 90 degree angle brackets and I bolted them to the existing bracket where the wheel sensor line is held. I thought about just using a heavy duty zip tie but I didn't want to chance it with something like a brake line.
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You have me a bit worried now because it is T minus 7 hours and counting until I install the front brake lines i purchased. I'm hoping that the goodridge lines are good it's just the other aftermarket lines that are different. It the other lines are no good the more detail you can provide me the better and i will update my other post.
If you have Goodridge lines you should be fine. I'm talking about OEM style lines that you would purchase at most auto parts stores. I believe all the non OEM style "high performance" lines are already quite a bit longer since they are made for lifted trucks. My Armada is not lifted and I saw no reason to spend the extra $ on stainless lines.
Ok, so I have another important bit of info to contribute. For any that did not read my previous posts I upgraded my 04 Armada front brakes to 07 brakes which give you the bigger diameter rotors (350mm vs. 320) without changing the hub diameter of the wheel bearing/rotor. See BigBessey's write up for detailed instructions: http://www.titantalk.com/forums/tit...pgrade-parts-explained-no-spacers-needed.html
If you, like myself, choose to go the route of OEM or OEM style front brake hoses these are the correct front L&R brackets you will need so you have a place to bolt the brake hose to. The newer style front brake hoses are completely different (and no, the old hoses will not work with the newer style Akebono calipers...I tried, it will dangerously stretch the hose). The part numbers are: 47961ZR00B (BRACKET-SENSOR, FRONT LEFT) and 47960ZR00B (BRACKET-SKID CO) (this one is for the right). Don't ask me why the nomenclature is different but these are the correct ones and they are identical except for being a mirror image of each other.
BTW, my upgrade is very well liked. I can tell I have much more *** in the front brakes now and I bet I won't have anymore abs malfunction either. My abs would go wacky occasionally only in the warmer months. I believe it was because the front rotors were overheating, hence, transferring the heat into the wheel bearing/hub which happens to be where the abs sensor is located. I think that excess heat was causing a false positive to the abs control module and ecm.
If you, like myself, choose to go the route of OEM or OEM style front brake hoses these are the correct front L&R brackets you will need so you have a place to bolt the brake hose to. The newer style front brake hoses are completely different (and no, the old hoses will not work with the newer style Akebono calipers...I tried, it will dangerously stretch the hose). The part numbers are: 47961ZR00B (BRACKET-SENSOR, FRONT LEFT) and 47960ZR00B (BRACKET-SKID CO) (this one is for the right). Don't ask me why the nomenclature is different but these are the correct ones and they are identical except for being a mirror image of each other.
BTW, my upgrade is very well liked. I can tell I have much more *** in the front brakes now and I bet I won't have anymore abs malfunction either. My abs would go wacky occasionally only in the warmer months. I believe it was because the front rotors were overheating, hence, transferring the heat into the wheel bearing/hub which happens to be where the abs sensor is located. I think that excess heat was causing a false positive to the abs control module and ecm.
Well, I've had my front upgrade on for some time now including all through the hot summer and I have not had a single ABS malfunction since the upgrade and my front end braking is greatly enhanced and seems to be holding up quite well. I towed my boat quite a bit (@ 5500 lbs total) including a trip to the Chesapeake and a trip to Northern Michigan (I live in NE Ohio) and the brakes seem to be holding up very well. I think with the old set up I would probably be due for pads and rotors at this point not to mention I'm sure I would have had several ABS malfunctions throughout the summer. I highly recommend if your truck or SUV is not lifted to just stick with the OEM type lines. Remember, you have to get the later model style lines and the brackets from the dealer so you can bolt them up properly...see my post from March for the Nissan part numbers for the brackets; they were a real bear to track down the correct numbers as I believe they were listed under the "body" heading in Nissan parts listings.
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