2009 Nissan GT-R Front vs Rear Brakes: What Wears First and What to Replace

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

On a 2009 Nissan GT-R the front brakes normally wear first, because the front axle does most of the stopping work and carries the bigger six-piston Brembo calipers. But Nissan does not want you to treat the axles separately: the GT-R owner's manual says to replace all four sets of brake pads and disc rotors at the same time. So the practical answer is to watch the fronts to decide when the job is due, then do the whole car.

How the 2009 GT-R brake system is built

The R35 GT-R launched in the US for 2009 with a brake package that is closer to a track car than a typical road car. According to Nissan's owner's manual, the car uses cross-drilled floating rotors and radial-mounted six-piston monoblock calipers. Nissan's press materials for the following model year describe the same layout in more detail: Brembo monoblock six-piston calipers up front, four-piston calipers in the rear, and 15-inch Brembo full-floating, cross-drilled two-piece rotors, with the calipers radially mounted to reduce flex under extreme braking.

That means the rear brakes on this car are not the small, lightly loaded parts you find on most sedans. Both axles use large two-piece rotors of the same diameter. What differs is rotor thickness and clamping force.

The parking brake is a separate shoe-type system. Nissan's manual calls for breaking in the parking brake shoes whenever the shoes or the drums/rotors are replaced, and says that procedure is in the service manual.

Which end wears first, and why

When any car brakes, weight shifts forward. The front tires gain grip and the rear tires lose some, so the brake system is designed to put more of the stopping force through the front. On the GT-R you can see that choice in the hardware: six pistons and a thicker rotor up front against four pistons and a thinner rotor in the rear. The front pads therefore absorb more heat and lose material faster in normal driving.

How much faster depends on how the car is driven. Hard launches, repeated high-speed stops, mountain roads and track days all load the fronts heavily. Nissan's manual also warns that frequent hard braking can scorch the pads, and that scorched pads need replacing even if they have not reached the wear limit. Heat damage like that tends to show up on the front axle first.

Because the rear rotors are large and the rear calipers are serious hardware, rear wear on a GT-R is not trivial either. Do not assume the rears are fine just because the fronts were the ones making noise; measure both ends.

Symptoms to watch for

• High-pitched scraping when you brake. Nissan says the GT-R pads have audible wear indicators. The scraping first appears only with the pedal pressed; as wear increases it can be heard all the time. Have the brakes checked as soon as you hear it.
• Screeching that is normal. The manual explains that the high-temperature pad material can screech intermittently, especially on the first stops of the morning, after the car has sat, after rain or washing, or during gentle braking at low speed in a curve. That noise fades after a few applications and is not a wear warning.
• Light rattle over bumps. Nissan designed a larger-than-normal gap between pad and caliper so braking stays steady across temperature extremes. A light rattle from the pads over bumps is described as normal.
• Rumbling when hot. As the floating rotors expand with heat, a rumbling from where the wheel meets the rotor can occur, and it stops as the brakes cool. Nissan also lists this as normal.
• Heavy brake dust. The high-performance pad compound dusts the wheels more easily. That is expected, not a fault.
• Real warning signs. A pulsing pedal, cracks spreading between drilled holes, a glazed or blue-tinted pad or rotor surface, a soft pedal, or a low brake fluid warning are reasons to inspect right away.

What to replace, and why Nissan says all four corners

This is where the GT-R differs from most cars. The owner's manual states that the pads and disc rotors must be replaced as a set and that pads should never be replaced on their own. It goes further and says to replace all four sets of brake pads and disc rotors at the same time to maintain maximum brake performance.

The reasoning is balance. The GT-R's stability and all-wheel-drive systems rely on predictable braking at each corner. New pads bedded onto fresh rotors at one end and part-worn parts at the other can change how the car shares braking force front to rear. Doing all four keeps the friction behavior matched.

In practice, many owners who drive on the street find the fronts are worn well before the rears. If you choose to do only the front axle, at minimum replace the front pads and both front rotors together, measure the rear rotors and pads, and plan the rear job soon. Nissan's recommendation, though, is all four.

For the front axle, we carry the DBA 5000 Series XS drilled and slotted two-piece front rotor for the 2009-and-later GT-R R35. It is sold individually and is directional, so order a left and a right. You can browse more options in our brake rotor collection and brake pad collection.

What else to do at the same time

• Brake fluid. Nissan specifies Genuine NISSAN Brake Fluid R35 Special DOT4 as the factory fill and says the Vehicle Dynamic Control unit and related parts were designed for it. Heat from hard use ages fluid, so a flush is sensible during a four-corner brake job. Follow the manual for the correct fluid.
• Hardware and hub faces. Clean the hub mounting surfaces so the new rotors sit flat, and inspect pad pins and clips. See our brake hardware kits.
• Brake lines and hoses. Nissan fitted more rigid brake lines starting with the 2010 model. On an aging 2009 car, inspect the flexible lines for cracking or bulging; our brake lines collection is a good place to start.
• Parking brake. If the parking brake shoes or the rear rotors are replaced, perform the parking brake break-in procedure in the service manual.
• Bedding. Bed the new pads onto the rotors with a series of moderate stops before any hard driving.

How hard is the job?

Mechanically, the GT-R brake job follows the same steps as any caliper-and-rotor car: lift, remove the wheels, remove the pads, unbolt the calipers, swap the rotors, clean the hub faces, reinstall, and torque everything to the values in the factory service manual. The complications are the size and weight of the parts, the cost of mistakes on expensive Brembo calipers, directional rotors that must go on the correct side, and the specific fluid requirement. Nissan recommends a GT-R certified Nissan dealer for brake service. A skilled home mechanic with proper lifting points, a torque wrench and a pressure bleeder can do it, but take your time and follow the service manual.

On recalls: at the time of writing, NHTSA lists one recall for the 2009 GT-R, and it covers the steering column, not the brakes. Check NHTSA with your VIN before any service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the front brakes on a 2009 GT-R wear faster than the rears?

Usually, yes. The front axle carries more of the braking load and uses six-piston calipers with thicker rotors, so front pads generally wear sooner. Hard driving and track use widen the gap.

Can I replace just the front pads on my GT-R?

Nissan says no. The owner's manual says pads and rotors must be replaced as a set, and recommends replacing all four sets of pads and rotors at the same time.

Is brake squeal normal on a GT-R?

Some of it is. Nissan says the high-temperature pad material can screech on cold or damp mornings and during gentle low-speed braking. A steady high-pitched scraping, especially one that continues off the pedal, is the wear indicator and needs attention.

What brake fluid does a 2009 GT-R use?

The factory fill is Genuine NISSAN Brake Fluid R35 Special DOT4. Nissan states the VDC system was designed around that fluid.

Are the front and rear GT-R rotors the same?

They share the same diameter and two-piece, floating, cross-drilled design, but the front rotors are thicker and fit a different caliper, so they are not interchangeable.

Sources

1. Nissan USA - 2009 GT-R Owner's Manual - six-piston monoblock calipers, cross-drilled floating rotors, replace all four pad and rotor sets together, wear indicator behavior, normal noises, R35 Special DOT4 fluid, parking brake break-in
2. Nissan News - 2010 Nissan GT-R Press Kit - Brembo six-piston front and four-piston rear, 15-inch full-floating two-piece rotors, radial mounting, tire sizes, more rigid lines for 2010
3. 2009GTR.com - Brembo Brakes on the R35 GT-R - 380 x 34 mm front and 380 x 30 mm rear rotor dimensions
4. NHTSA - Recalls for the 2009 Nissan GT-R - single recall 15V054000, steering column, not brake-related