Bought 1995 q45t questions on mods

[needakidneytx]

Hello all. I just purchased a 1995 q45t with approximately 75000 miles on the clock and would like to make some suspension upgrades as money will permit. I have been doing some reading and figure I will need shock replacement (Tokico blues), fstb Jeff Williams modified vs. Stillen. I read that Stillen claims their fstb is much stiffer than modified maxima (Jeff Williams) does anyone have experience with this?? I have owned two q45t models in my life, a 1992 and a 1996. The 1996 got about 2 mpg better in overall driving (17 vs. 15) possibly due to 2nd gear starts in 1992 model. I wish mine were a 1994 with super hicas 4ws but simplicity has advantages too. What about replacing rear swaybar with 1mm thicker q45a bar? Worth time and $$$? I bought the car from a dealer in Texas and vehicle is being trucked to southern california. Should I get vehicle smogged before getting a modified computor nico vs. wolf?? Thanks for your assistance. I know brakes are a weak point and as time and $$$ permit z32 conversion sounds good but would need spacers and or wheels to acccomodate. -Jeff

[maxnix]

Returning to as new OEM condition will cure most of your concerns. Using Brembo or Power Stop or OEM rotors and OEM pads with DOT4 fluid probably good enough for real world driving if it doesn't involve mountains nor autcrossing. Z32 brakes are at best a marginal improvement in those situations. Something much more stout needed. HICAS is another neat technology that is not missed in everyday traffic, and only slightly in open road high speed corners. Tires are so much more important.

Rear a bar and Jeff's FSTB are the best bang for the buck. Just did emissions with Robert's 91 Octane tune and was way under maximum allowable pollutants.

Since no good 15" or even 16" (some might even extend that to 17") performance tires are being produced in the correct size, alternative wheels and tires will eat up a good chunk of change that replacing all the fluids and old rubber doesn't. Remember to add the auxiliary ATF cooler when mechanically exchanging the fluid.

[sweetQ]

You buy the forest green one from direct auction? I was looking at that too. Looked like a nice car. I just don't move fast enough.

[elwesso]

i agree mostly with what brian said.. HICAS really isnt that big of a deal... Yeah, its nice to have, but you can easily live without it.

BTW the Q45a mm bar is 4mm thicker (16 vs 20mm)... Not a huge difference but its noticeable (i took off my Q45t bar and put on a 20mm)

BY FAR the best thing you can do is getting good tires... I agree that OEM brakes are gonna be pretty good, but with the Z32 calipers you double the clamping force up front. For the money its as good as you can get... Youd have to spend a TON of money to get the car to stop much quicker. Theyre worth the money (since you can do the ENTIRE upgrade cheaper than buying all new OEM stock stuff!!!)

[needakidneytx]

Thanks for the input , fellow q45 'ers. Question concerning z32 brales: Do you recommend front and rear change? If the fronts are only upgraded, would that throw front rear brake balance off for abs? Does anyone have a q45a swaybar for sale used, what about fstb? Where would I buy z32 rotors and calipers, what socal shop would you recommend for install-I am too sick to currently work on my own car myself-Jeff

[Q45tech]

agree that OEM brakes are gonna be pretty good, but with the Z32 calipers you double the clamping force up front.

Just because a caliper has double the number of pistons doesn't double the application force because you will find that the 4 piston [300zx] have roughly the same area as the 2 pistons multipled by 2 [the way an assymetrical caliper works] on the oem Q45 front calipers.

What you do get is a slightly more equalized application of the forces and more equal wear rate of the two pads...........the inside pad won't wear quite as fast as it does with the 2 piston on the inside oem version].

If you turn off ABS all oem designs will lock the front wheels at speed up to 80 mph. Federal requirements specify the brake pedal force maximum to stop so not much to be gained by reducing it below 40 pounds.

However the 300zx pads are more likely to come in many more variations than the oem Q45 pads..................more choices of compounds.

The greatest problem with brakes is usually using tires that are harder and less grippy than oem units that came standard.

OEM tires had a fast tread wear rating of 200 [160 on 90-93], harder tires allow more ABS cycles and thus lengthen the stopping distances 4-8 feet per cycle from just 60 mph. A 400 treadwear tire could add 10-20 feet to stopping distance when brand new and much more at half tread [aging= hardening].

[elwesso]

well actually its really close to double... according to the FSM, each piston has a diameter of 1.58inches on the Z32 calipers (x 4 obviously) and the Q45 has 2 pistons @ 1.74...

Correct me if im wrong, but since the pressure in the brake fluid will remain constant, if its pushing 2 more cylinders with the same pressure with close-ish diameters, that means that its gonna be close to 2x clamping force, yes?

[needakidneytx]

Yes, I did. This will be my third q45t, all previous experiences were excellent. A lot of fun to drive, best bang for buck of any used car I know.