Brake Upgrade Options

[lino]

I have read in some threads that the 300ZX Twin turbo brakes are considered to be a nice upgrade for the Q. I was wondering if any of the new Infiniti/Nissan cars 2004-2005-2006 cars have brakes superior to the that of the 300zxtt and if they are a bolt-on application.

For example. I've noticed that the 2005-2006 350z has the following brakes as an option:Brembo® braking system – 4-piston calipers with 12.8" x 1.18" vented front discs and 2-piston caliper with 12.7" x 0.87" vented rear discs12.6"(front) and 12.1" (rear)






Modified by lino at 8:31 PM 2/16/2006

[midnightsliding]

im not sure on Qs but i have seen them on s14s and their still 4 piston fixed calipers so im sure they raock out with their cocks out....

[maxnix]

Bigger Brembos an APRacing will fit. How big is your wallet?

[hardmoney]

Yes they'll fit, However you have to buy a special bracket to run the 12.8 inch rotors and have at least 16 inch wheels for them to clear. if you run a search you'll likely find a wealth of info on the subject.

[lino]

Yes they'll fit, However you have to buy a special bracket to run the 12.8 inch rotors and have at least 16 inch wheels for them to clear. if you run a search you'll likely find a wealth of info on the subject.

Where can I get the special bracket? If I upgrade to the big brakes and 18" wheels, can I use the 15" piepans that I'm currently riding on for 3 months during winter, by using spacers or something or will I have to buy new winter wheels too?

[Rex]

Where can I get the special bracket? If I upgrade to the big brakes and 18" wheels, can I use the 15" piepans that I'm currently riding on for 3 months during winter, by using spacers or something or will I have to buy new winter wheels too?

Check on line, but if you know a good fabrication shop they should be able to make something, but it won't be cheap ($$), unless it's cheap .

Maybe, as Wes is running some OEM 15" (not piepans) for winter with spacers, but he's only using Z32 brake components.

[lino]

Bigger Brembos an APRacing will fit. How big is your wallet?

I'm only interested in something from an oem application, nothing aftermarket and sick expensive. First, I have to decide which brake setup I'm interested in and then once I know that, search for the parts. I believe I can buy used oem parts for reasonable money from wrecking yards and ebay. I'm in no rush. I just don't want to be due for a brake job and not know what I want and be rushed into buying something on the spot.

For example, I bought a high output alternator as an upgrade for my Mercedes that came from a CL55 AMG and paid $65 from a wrecking yard. That part costs $850 from the dealer.

[RobertsnewQ]

You can use BOTH the calipers AND rotors from the G35/350z if you drill out the brake mounting holes in your current uprights.

The Brembo calipers have the same offset as all Nissan RWD calipers since the beginning of time, but the mounting bolts are 14mm instead of 12mm (IIRC - check yourself before you drill anything).

The bracket just mounts 300zx calipers out further so you can use the 350z rotor with the 300zx caliper. There are some issues with the edges of the pad hanging over the rotor, though. Not a big deal, but it decreases swept area so you will lose some pad life.

300zx TT Brakes work great and are cheap.

R32 Skyline GT-R brakes work great and are not so cheap. (GT-S brakes are same as 300zx)

R33 Skyline GT-S brakes work great, and are even less cheap, and the rotors are even harder to find.

R33 Skyline GT-R brakes are Brembos, the same as the 350z/G35 brembos.

The brembos would be super cool, but you will have to have someone redrill your front spindles.

I have no idea about the rear brakes w/ the brembo setup. I would go to Y32/Y33/Z32/R32 vented rotors/calipers at a minimum. It's no coincidence that no RWD Nissan has had solid rear rotors since the Q.

[maxnix]

I'm only interested in something from an oem application, nothing aftermarket and sick expensive.

Look at the Brembos on a R34GTR.

OEM, but not cheap, but Endless is definitely neither.

[elwesso]

Heres the main thing... The brembos from the R33/R34 GTR and G35/350Z are basically the same calipers as the Z32... They are just spaced differently to accept bigger rotors.

Basically what im trying to say here is, anything outside of the Z32 brakes are a waste of money IMO. Even with really good tires, and good pads, you will be able to lock up the Z32s in many conditions... Those big brake kits from wilwood or whatever, forget about it. Theyll just lock the tires up, and no one wants that...

Why do people insist on thinking that if you want maximum braking performance that oyu have to pay big?? YOU DONT HAVE TO!

Get Z32 brakes, you wont regret it.

To be COMPLETLEY honest, you probably arent even using your Q brakes to their fullest potential. The Q brakes are very adequate for the car... Just get some good pads and some fresh fluid and thats a great upgrade..

I cringe (and laugh due to stupidity) of people that overpay for the OEM nissan brembo stuff, because its not much better than our trusty Z32 equipment.

[Q45denver]

Wes, I bought some R32's and wanted to rebuild the calipers before installing but Scottsdale says they are out of production. Any idea where I could get a rebuild kit?

[elwesso]

Are they the GTS-T or GTR brakes??? Either way, they use the same pads, but the GTR calipers just have different dimensions. What im getting at, is you should be able ot use a Z32 rebuild kit.

However, on the 2 Z32 conversions ive done on a Q, ive never rebuilt them, and im almost at 1 year on my Z32 brakes.

[RobertsnewQ]

Wes - R34 skyline GT-R brakes are the same as 350z and G35 Brembo brakes.

The calipers are NOT the same as Z32/R32/R33 non-brembo calipers.

The Brembo calipers are made in Italy, by Brembo and are the same as Mercedes AMG Brembos, Porsche Brembos and others.

The Z32/R32/R33 calipers and those on 4Runners, Land Cruisers, Subaru WRXs (not STI), RX-7s and others are made in Japan by Sumitomo.

Similar design but totally different with no interchangeable parts.

[elwesso]

I was just comparing them in the sense they are 4 piston calipers and things of that nature.... Also youll notice that the total clamping force is going to be very similar..

Also, people bolt Z32 brakes onto the G35s without brembos and they get nearly as good of performance as the G35/350Z with brembos....

[Q45denver]

Are they the GTS-T or GTR brakes??? Either way, they use the same pads, but the GTR calipers just have different dimensions. What im getting at, is you should be able ot use a Z32 rebuild kit.

However, on the 2 Z32 conversions ive done on a Q, ive never rebuilt them, and im almost at 1 year on my Z32 brakes.

Yes they are GTS and apparently Nissan doesn't carry the rear caliper rebuild kit for the R32 or Z32 anymore. Probably will be OK w/o but I was trying to eliminate any potential causes of a brake modulation problem I was having.

I noticed the new BMW M5 and M6 also use a two piston front and a one piston sliding rear caliper like the Q45 but the rotors are much bigger. 500hp from a 5 liter NA engine.

[elwesso]

You can get the rebuild kits other places, but generally you dont have to worry about it.

[RobertsnewQ]

44120-43P26 is the rear seal kit (rebuild kit)44080-43P25 is the rear hardware kit (pad shim/retractor spring kit)41217-43P00 are the pad pins for the rear41090-43P00 is the anti-rattle spring "H-spring" for the rear

All of these parts are still available through any Nissan dealer (as of last week).

[Q45denver]

44120-43P26 is the rear seal kit (rebuild kit)44080-43P25 is the rear hardware kit (pad shim/retractor spring kit)41217-43P00 are the pad pins for the rear41090-43P00 is the anti-rattle spring "H-spring" for the rear

All of these parts are still available through any Nissan dealer (as of last week).

Robert, 44120-43P26 is no longer available according to Scottsdale, I'll try NAPA. Do I need to get the other parts as well?

[elwesso]

You dont have to get the other things (also known as "hardware kit") unless theyre missing or need replacement.

[RobertsnewQ]

http://www.nismoparts.comANDhttp://www. ... yparts.com

THey both have the seal kit for around $40.00. If that fails you can go to a Subaru dealer - the same calipers are used on the rear of MY 06 WRX (not STI).

You don't need the other parts unless your shims and pins are missing or rusted.

DO NOT run them without shims or the squealing will drive you crazy!

[one ton garage]

Full brembo upgrade from an oem nissan application will run you 1500 if you're extra lucky, to an average of closer to 1800-2000. Depending on the brembos you get, replacement parts for them can actually be easier to source than for the nissan 4pot front/2pot rear brakes, as a lot of other cars that use brembo brakes as oem used similar components... for example, you can get the bmw 850 brake pads for r32 vspec2 brembo calipers, etc...

[maxnix]

Full brembo upgrade from an oem nissan application will run you 1500 if you're extra lucky, to an average of closer to 1800-2000. Depending on the brembos you get, replacement parts for them can actually be easier to source than for the nissan 4pot front/2pot rear brakes, as a lot of other cars that use brembo brakes as oem used similar components... for example, you can get the bmw 850 brake pads for r32 vspec2 brembo calipers, etc...

Fronts only, I presume.

[lino]

Found some links. Sorry if they are a repost.

http://www.yugobernie.com/brake_adapter.html

http://s95014253.onlinehome.us/63104/104050.html

http://importnut.net/300zxbrakeswap.htm#compare

[elwesso]

that last link wuld be very similar to how to do the swap on a Q45, except the 300ZX rear brakes go right on.

[nismofly]

just to add something to what wes was saying

bigger brakes do not shorten stopping distances, in many cases theyll make it longer

pads with more bite and better tires will shorten stopping distances

larger rotors will resist fade better, but only if the pads you have are not the reason you have fade in the first place

because of this, z32's and comparable are fine for pretty much any street driven car, anything more is just for looks

[RobertsnewQ]

Will this help?

http://www.yugobernie.com/brake_adapter.html

No - I was speaking specifically of using the Brembo calipers AND rotors. The Yugo Bernie kit is nice, but does not use the Brembo calipers.

[elwesso]

just to add something to what wes was saying

bigger brakes do not shorten stopping distances, in many cases theyll make it longer

pads with more bite and better tires will shorten stopping distances

larger rotors will resist fade better, but only if the pads you have are not the reason you have fade in the first place

because of this, z32's and comparable are fine for pretty much any street driven car, anything more is just for looks

Even with the brake deflectors you still gotta be on the pedal PRETTY hard to fade the Z32 rotors.

[nismofly]

you think its hard on a Q, imagine on my s13 that weighs about 1200 lbs less