Big brakes on G50

[GreenQ45a]

Over on our sponsers forum they have some SICK deals on big breaks.

here's a link zer...99101

What parts should I request?They have a list.

[maxnix]

Not to disrespect our sponsors, but Rotora is cheap Chinese carp.

For the G50, think Brembo, A&P Racing, Endless, or close behind, Stoptech.

Wilwood has a mixed rating on heavier cars.

[GreenQ45a]

Thanks...

I think the clicking in the front is brake related...

I was gonna do Slotted\Drilled just wasn't sure about the OEM calipers.

Thinking Skyline or 300ZXTT fronts and the j30 or 300ZXTT(wes's setup)rears.

SS lines and flush.

The OEM brakes have really let me down not good enough for the weight of the Q45a (4300+)and my driving habits .

Not sure if better pads and rotors will be enough..ya know?

[Q45tech]

Rotor weight is the key, find the heaviest [density and highest quality of material] in the appropriate size for your wheels.

Many brake problems can be traced to not using tires [and pads] which have compounds as soft and fast wearing as oem. ABS activating prematurely and too frequently--------- ruining stopping distances-----even from 60!

Not unusual to see All Season tires that add 20 feet [even 30 feet][dry to oem distance] and worse in wet.

When you go redesigning a car by changing tire brands [and categories and quality] you are just asking for problems or at least significant differences.

Q were designed for what would the Michelin Pilot Sport [Ultra/Max Performance Summer] Tire of today.

Following what BMW uses oem on 740-745 [with 17-20" wheels] is a good model.............price seems to alway get in the way of true performance.

[GreenQ45a]

The wheels are the stock 15in I still haven't gone up in rim size.

I have gone and picked up every rim I was thinking of buying and the were all far more heavy than my stock BBS spoke rims.

(you were right)

I want to keep the 15 BBS's and put some GREAT winter tires on them.

Then move up to 17 or 18 inch BBS or newer Q45\F50 wheels.Will the F50 18's work?

Are there any other great not good but great LIGHTWEIGHT rims for under $2,000.00?

What size rotor would work for 15's 3 months and 17-18's 9 months

OR

Should I get different rotors for each set of wheels?

Could get stock OEM blank rotors for the winter and D\S rotors for the bigger wheels the rest of the time.

Q45Tech do you think the caliper is good enough?
Modified by GreenQ45a at 11:36 AM 7/31/2005

[maxnix]

For 15", I really like the Brembo Stillen blanks with OEM pads I have on the front of one. However, no extra legal highspeed braking nor mountain descents encountered. They do seem to have an edge on stock and JOe weighed them at a pound or two over stock. The J30/FY33 vented rear rotor and caliiper combination is a cheap upgrade that maintains balance of orginal system. Probably worth it for mountain descents.

Trading rotors and wheels is an intriguing idea since the extra braking will be a detriment in winter. No cheap wheels under $2K, except OEM F50 Premium (2004+) chromed 18"x8". Look at AZHitmans's currrent configuration.

There are some forged OEM wheels for V35 coupe and Z33, so using a rear set (for extra rim width required) all around like the old rear Z32TT rear rims (16"x8.5") may be possible. I am not aware of anyone who has done it.

A set of Nismo, Fikse, or forged BBS with Michelin PS2 will set you back about $3500 without the big brakes once you get them installed. OEM brakes would look pretty silly and wear faster with extra mass if not changed.

It is not inexpensive to upgrade the brakes/tires/wheels of a ten to fifteen year old luxury sports sedan to today's equipment. But hey, you've got to put all that money you saved on the deeply discounted original purchase price somewhere once all the deferred maintenance to as new OEM specifications is performed!

[elwesso]

Man Im getting a huge dejavu from this, maybe because we already discussed it???

Anywho.. Dont waste your money on the "big brakes"... They may look cool, but you wont outperform the Z32 calipers... Z32 front and rear...... Z32 tt calipers and some good pads will lock them up as it is, what more do you need??? Its cheap, a million pads to choose from, and about as bolt on as you cna ask for. No need to change the lines, just shave down the bolt...

You cant chage the rotor size without modifying the caliper or how it mounts to the hub. IMHO, the Z32 calipers are an excellent start... From there you can upgrade to the skyline R33 and R34 brakes (310x30mm) and so on.. It opens up a lot of new doors!!! Rotor size means nothing without the right calipers and pads made for it!

I laugh when people spend all this money on brakes when all you have to do is get these meesly little Z32 calipers and rotors, which you can pick up for nothin (I got my whole brake setup cheaper than it would have been to restore with new OEM parts from joe!!) and still maximize your braking..... Sometimes I think people want to say they have some other brake setup.. Dont make this harder than it has to be!! Z32s bolt right in, no need to change much of anything.....

Also, Z32 calipers will fit under 15s, they just have to be the right ones. Unfortunately, none of the Q45 ones fit them, however the 240 S14 SE wheels would clear the calipers... You can use some spacers, but I wouldnt recommend that.....

As far as wheel go, again... no reason to overcomplicate things... The G35 18s weigh about 24lbs and are about as strong as you could ask for... The 350Z track wheels are forged and made by rays, as are the G35 19s.... All of these wheels should be able to handle the Q (the G35 is only 500lb heavier!) longer than most aftermarket wheels...

I can tell you, no way id want to be swapping rotors for the winter and summer.....

Another upgrade I had considered on the G50 was the Y33 brakes. They use 296x28 fronts, which are a little larger, not sure how that would effect things.. The j30 or Y33 rears are a good mod to do as well.. however, if you really want to do it, go with the Z32s... Worst case, you ditch them and you can resell them to a 240 guy (and waste your money on some other "big brake upgrade")

Tech is right, its all about rotor mass and stuff... My Z32 brembo blanks weigh just as much as factory ones (maybe a pound or 2 more), but I think we weighed some R32s (296x32mm) and they werent more than the Z32s... thus negating the effects of that.....

[maxnix]

The main problem with Nissan OEM brakes is the rotors don't get much thicker, nor does the swept area increase. That's why when Nissans go really fast, Nissan goes Brembo. So do most other performance car manufacturers.

It's all just a question where you want to stop, literally, during extreme use.

In everyday commuting traffic, no upgrade will make any difference over a as new OEM set up, except perhaps for less frequent truing. The limit to stopping shorter the first time is the tire's coefficient of friction.

[elwesso]

The main problem with Nissan OEM brakes is the rotors don't get much thicker, nor does the swept area increase. That's why when Nissans go really fast, Nissan goes Brembo. So do most other performance car manufacturers.

It's all just a question where you want to stop, literally, during extreme use.

In everyday commuting traffic, no upgrade will make any difference over a as new OEM set up, except perhaps for less frequent truing. The limit to stopping shorter the first time is the tire's coefficient of friction.

First things first, its not the brakes that stop the car, its the tires!!

the Z32 brembo blank rotors cost half of what the stock Q45 rotors cost, and they last as long if not slightly longer...

If you study the design of the 350Z brembos they are nearly identical to the Z32s... 324x30mm, 4 piston fronts and 2 piston rears... Thats why there is no better stopping distance in the 350Z base and the 350s with brembos, only the brake fade..... With the brake deflectors they install on the 300ZX, i dont think any of us could fade the Z32s... The key is to have good pads..... For braking, the key is to have a pad that matches your driving style... My thinking is, its easier to swap pads than it is to change rotors (and thus have to change everything else!)..... The pads are what causes brake fade, from them being too hot.. It makes sense to increase the capacity so the rotors last longer, but when rotors are only $40 a piece..... When things are so cheap and plentiful, it makes sense to go this route..

Bottom line..... Id rather see you get a set of michelin PS2's or equivalent and a nice set of wheels than spendthat same amount on brakes nad cheap out on wheels/tires.

[RobertsnewQ]

I've been down this road too. I'm going with Z32 in rear (same diameter as the J30/Y33 brakes, but dual piston calipers for better pedal feel), and R32 Skyline GT-R in front.

The problem with our brakes (as Q45tech says) is rotor mass. THey just aren't big enough for the weight of the car - consider how big modern Merc. or BMW brakes are. Rotor temps get too high, too fast. Even with harder pads (Ceramic), there just isn't enough rotor mass to keep peak temps down.

Anyway, the R32 skyline rotors are 296X32mm, vs. 280X28 for G50 and 280X30 for Z32.

I was going to go Z32 but I scored a brand new pair of R32 calipers on ebay for $140 for the pair.

I think the Z32 (as wes says) has the best price/performance ratio.

The Y33 fronts (296X28mm rotors) would be an excellent choice too.

None of these will fit under the factory 15s. The R32 and Z32 brakes were both installed under 16" wheels.

15" wheels are a dead end, both from a modern rubber perspective and from a brake disk diameter perspective. I know it borders on heresy on this board. but don't waste money on 15s. Yes, they're lighter but c'mon, we're talkinc about a 4000 pound car. Unsprung weight is important, but not as important as decent brakes.

Incidentally, Z32 and R32 GTS-T wheels are light, cheap and widely available.

I'm with Wes - Get Z32 brakes, since the 4-piston calipers give you better pedal feel, and better tires.

Oh, and the Z32 brakes will give you more rear brake bias than the factory setup, since the rears have approximately the same brake torque and the fronts have less (wider pad). I'm too lazy to show the math here, but I might dig it out later. Because the bias valve is incorporated into the MC (and it has a higher cutoff for the rear brake pressure), use a Z32 MC if you go with the Z32 brakes

The R32 brakes give the same front/rear brake bias as the factory brakes with their larger front rotors and the same pads as the Z32 brakes.

Oh, and if you really want to get sexy, use the 350Z brembos. They are the same as R34 Skyline, and they bolt to our uprights if you enlarge the bolt holes (12mm vs. 10mm).