This is my car right after buying it
Then I decided to buy the CR-15 which really made the front feel tight and more predicable when turning. Very nice upgrade and took about 20 mins. Would have taken less time if I hadn't continually dropped the hardware to install it. Price of having fat fingers I guess.
Anyhow, at 20k miles, my brakes started making noise when I would brake. Weather didn't make a difference. Took it in for 25k service and was told I needed to replace the front rotors and pads. First car I have had to replace front brakes at 25k miles. Anyhow, I decided to do a few things at the same time:
I purchased the following:
ECS F + R Wave Rotors, Stainless Lines, and brake fluid
Hawk F + R HPS 5.0 Pads
ECS Oil Dip (since we all know it adds HP! Lol)
034 X Brace
034 Insert Kit
034 R Sway Bar Kit and Solid End links
APR Stage 1
My review after install (my disclaimer- I am not a racer of any sort, my only experience was building S13 240sx back in the day as a hobby):
Product reviews:
Rotors - ECS Tuning rotors are beautiful and the quality is better than any rotors I have ever purchased. Packaging was excellent and each rotor was labeled.
Stainless Lines - ECS Tuning lines are really nice. Stainless and wrapped in red. Very nice quality.
ECS Dip Stick – very high quality part. Heavy and just looks really nice. Plus, since we have to add oil regularly, it’s so much easier than getting in and out of the car to figure out the level.
034 X Brace/Insert/R Sway Bar Kit/End Links – Their products are very nice. Their brace/inserts are all anodized and laser etched. I wish they offered everything in black. Either way, very well constructed.
APR Stage 1 – took about 45 mins. Pretty straight forward.
Driving thoughts:
Brakes
Nothing negative to say about the rotors/lines/brake fluid. They look great. I’ve received compliments from several people already, saying how nice they are. When I built my 240’s, I always loved my Hawk pads. However, like many recent reviews, I am pretty disappointed by them. You have to push down on the pedal much harder to get the same kind of grip the factory pads provided. It’s not even close to the factory bite. There is some nose when I brake (not the 20k miles squeal), but rotors/pads touching. I personally like the sound but some might not. I am adjusting to the brakes but must say that I am not as confident braking with these pads as I was with factory pads. When you really push down on the brakes, they grab. When hot, they grab a little better but not anywhere near factory. Disappointing.
Suspension
The car feels tighter and with less roll. Acceleration and deceleration all feel really nice. Turns feel nice and solid. I am not sure how much more each helps specifically since I did them all at once, but it’s nice to know I don’t really need to worry.
APR Stage 1
Obviously, this was what I looked forward to most. Car definitely feels faster (butt dyno). Acceleration feels factory (as in, not abrupt) but not as fast as I was hoping. From 0, there isn’t much of a change (again, butt dyno), but from 60 mph plus, it’s very very noticeable.
Here are pics from yesterday:
CR-15 Bar hides really well
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Originally Posted by BlownOne
. We'll see. If I do rims, I'll do KW coil overs at the same time. But either way, I'm going to wait until I need new tires. 
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