Are rear z32 brakes needed?

[GTR PrYdE]

first of all- should have put this in "wheels, tires, brakes" section... sorry. someone please move it.

ok, so ive been **Searching** for a while now with no real answer to this question. yes, the rear brakes are harder to swap but make the upgrade work more likes its supposed to.(with the z32 MC!) but if just the front z32 brakes are swapped only, how does that affect lock-up and things that might take away or contridict doing an upgrade? if only the fronts are swapped(with ss lines + good pads), and good pads and ss lines on the rear(s13 brembo blanks), how will that affect braking aswell? basically, i want the z32 brakes but dont want to go with the rears unless it truly affects braking performance. if the stock rears meant it only stopped slightly slower than z32 rears, then thats what im after. if stock rears mean i cant slam my brakes without them locking, or any other really bad thing like that, THEN ill bite the bullet and go with the rears. BTW, this is with 215 kumho 711s on a s13. ss lines and hawk pads WITH the z32 Master Cylinder are also included. I ask this for a couple of reasons- its much easier to upgrade stock rears, and its much cheaper too. but if i have to hunt down a junkyard for the rears... then thats what ill do. thanks in advance, and i dont think this is another z32 upgrade thread, i know theres millions of them.
Modified by GTR PrYdE at 11:52 PM 3/8/2006

[steaminhotryce]

Good question. I want to know too.

[GTR PrYdE]

bump for anyone who knows

[AZhitman]

I'll take a crack at this one....

The short answer? No.

The 240sx is heavily brake-biased towards the front, that is, the front wheels do a disproportionately greater amount of the braking than the rears.

I have Z fronts on my S13, and it's incredibly easy to lock up all 4 wheels without proper modulation.

Remember, you can have the baddest brakes in the world, but if your tires don't grab, you ain't gonna stop.

So your brakes are ONLY as good as your tires. Don't even CONSIDER a Z-brake swap unless you've got some wide, sticky rubber on all four wheels.

[GTR PrYdE]

So your brakes are ONLY as good as your tires. Don't even CONSIDER a Z-brake swap unless you've got some wide, sticky rubber on all four wheels.

Thank you for your input. So pretty much my 215 711's dont cut it in your opinion? What tires are on your car is basically what i'm asking. Because if they're better(and they probably are), then the z32 upgrade is something i'm gonna have to wait on until I can keep up with "high end" tires. Anyways, I get what you're saying about tires and brakes, I just thought 7"wheels and 215 might hang with the Z's.

[AZhitman]

I'm not saying they won't - I actually didn't read your entire post... sorry..

Although, those are only 10mm wider than stock. Stickier, and better design, but plenty sufficient for stock brakes.

I'm currently running Falken RT-615's, 245/45/17 and 255/40/17, soon to be swapped for 255/40/17 and 275/40/17.

The Z front brakes and stock rears are still overpowering. I don't have ABS, and when they grab, it's VIOLENT.

[AZhitman]

p.s. I'm digging your initial question - Wish everyone was so thorough and conscientious about their upgrades... You've put a lot of research in, and I respect that - Bigtime.

[GTR PrYdE]

I'm currently running Falken RT-615's, 245/45/17 and 255/40/17, soon to be swapped for 255/40/17 and 275/40/17. The Z front brakes and stock rears are still overpowering. I don't have ABS, and when they grab, it's VIOLENT.

It locks those suckers up? They're huge! Well I guess that answers my question. Upgraded stockers and ss lines for me. BTW what size wheels are those on and don't the fronts rub bad on the inner fenderwell? Thanks again!

[GTR PrYdE]

p.s. I'm digging your initial question - Wish everyone was so thorough and conscientious about their upgrades... You've put a lot of research in, and I respect that - Bigtime.

I appreciate that. I'd love z32 brakes because im positive theyre frickin awesome, but if I can't use them to their full potential then i'm better off putting it towards other upgrades. Thumbs up to you hitman.

[Poor_S13_Driver]

Im discouraged now, because i planned on running Z32 up front, and stock rear S13 brakes. What if you use the stock S13 MC with the Z32 brakes, will it still be very prone to lock up? I guess i can save a lot of coin now, on the rims i needed to buy to clear the brakes. Would it be a noticable diffrence if I went with say brembo blanks/quality pads and SS lines? Thank you

[kclo4]

The answer to your brake upgrade needs is going to lie with your usage. Hitmans answer did not seem to address heat. If you car will frequently be used at track days then you WILL need to big to eliminate fade.

[AZhitman]

^ Correct.

The fact of the matter is, the stockers are sufficient for day-to-day usage, as the 240 isn't a heavy (or powerful) car.

But yes, tracking it is a different story, and you'll want lots of rotor mass for heat absorbtion, as well as a good rotor/wheel interface to trasmit heat OUT into the wheel material.

GTR, this is on 17x8 and 17x9 Work wheels... SS lines and OEM m/c. No rubbing, even with a pretty severe drop - Good offsets help.

[nismofly]

80% of the time youll be fine with stockers all around

97% of the time youll be fine with z32 fronts

if you do go with the z32 fronts, be sure to get the MC with them

unless you are going to a track, or pushing it on some nice twisty roads, the rears really wont be necessary

[kclo4]

Doh, I miss read the question even, he was asking if Z32 rears are needed not the front.

Right now I am trying to figure that out myself. I have been hundreds of miles on the race track and have yet to experience fade with Z32 fronts and S14 rears, BUT they feel horrible.While autocrossing or on track it is easy to lock the fronts causing understeer, especially if you are trying to trail brake and make the car rotate.

I am trying to find an option of adjusting brake bias mechanicly without upgrading to Z32 rears but I am not having such good luck, so I might do the swap one of these days.

For daily use you don't need the Z32 fronts to begin with, but you deffinitly don't need the rears.

[nismofly]

youve got the MC too?

i havent driven with z32 brakes period yet, i was getting them this summer