Full z32 brake swap. Is It worth it???

[stacy]

Whats up Nico! SO hears the deal im all ready to do the front and rear z32 brake swap on my 1990 240sx, and keep my 4 lugs... Most of the guys are telling me its not worth the hastle to do the rear. Whats up guys tell me what the deal is anyone who did the swap wanna give me some advise. I already have all four calipers with the rear e-brake assembly and the BMC. SHould I go with the swap or should I just do the front??

[skydragoness]

Just keep in mind that if you do insist on staying 4 lug you are going to have to find a machine shop (or yourself--if you have the proper equipment and know-how) to drill the extra holes in each rotor whenever you need to replace them.

You may as well go 5-lug while your'e at it, at least that way you will have a good selection of wheels out there. Because your stock wheels will not clear your Z32 front calipers (unless you have 1991-1992 S13 7 spoke alloys) or a 5mm spacer.

[stacy]

YEh thanks I kept that in mind Im actually just buying the rotors from heavythrottle so Jeff is gonna drill them for me, but if theres ever an emergency I can go up the block to a machine shop by my house. I also forgot to mention that im not using my stock wheels I have a set of 5zigen FN01R-C 17 x 8

[Nismo_Freak]

The braking balance with the Z32 brakes up front and stock rear is really not that great. I ran the complete setup on my car and it felt much better even with the OEM master.

You can try to supplement the braking torque difference by changing the master cylinder, or going with a higher friction pad in the rear. That will help some of the bias.

But to be completely honest unless you are tracking the car, or have a good amount of power the stock brakes are fine.

If you aren't already try just running some good pads like Hawk HPS / Axxis Ultimates. They work wonders for small brakes.

[positron1]

If you do plan to do the rears, speaking with experience, I can say that it's really not as difficult as some people say it is. With the right tools and a little mechanical knowledge, it's a complete bolt off/bolt on affair unless you run into some problems. Right now I just have the rears done with the parts for the front sitting at home on standby. Since I kept hearing that the rear was unnecessary or difficult I wanted to jump into that part head first and get it over with.

[stacy]

Thanks for now I think imma do the front and then do the rear later on so Ihave some more time to decide

[stacy]

did you do your rear swap with the z32 ebrake cables or the 240sx ebrake extension kit ??

[positron1]

Both, but it turns out I didn't even need the extension kit. S13 300ZX Rear Brake Install zerothread/277821The Definitive 300ZX Brake Swap! http://importnut.net/300zxbrakeswap.htm

[naed240sx]

Just keep in mind that if you do insist on staying 4 lug you are going to have to find a machine shop (or yourself--if you have the proper equipment and know-how) to drill the extra holes in each rotor whenever you need to replace them.

Not true. Rotors are hubcentric, not lugcentric. You can drill the holes with nothing more than a handdrill and a clamp.

[stacy]

is it true that the rear z32 calipers only make a 2% differnerce in stopping power from the oem 240sx rear calipers?

[94_240sx]

is it true that the rear z32 calipers only make a 2% differnerce in stopping power from the oem 240sx rear calipers?

I doubt it. It's gotta be more than that.

[positron1]

Don't know how much stopping percentage to stock but in the overall setup I read that they are only 20% whereas the front Z32 are 80%.

[Nismo_Freak]

is it true that the rear z32 calipers only make a 2% differnerce in stopping power from the oem 240sx rear calipers?

Braking torque is a function of pressure (line pressure / area of piston), friction coefficient (brake pad material related), and rotor diameter.

The Z's have a much larger rotor diameter, can run the same pads, and the line pressure is equal but with a larger overall piston size.

I would say the rear Z brakes are 20% more effective than the OEM 240SX brakes; all things considered.

[skydragoness]

Not true. Rotors are hubcentric, not lugcentric. You can drill the holes with nothing more than a handdrill and a clamp.

I'm aware of the former, but as for the latter, I was told you couldn't drill rotors w/ anything less than a drill press or you'll stress the rotor hat. (ho ho ho)

[naed240sx]

I'm aware of the former, but as for the latter, I was told you couldn't drill rotors w/ anything less than a drill press or you'll stress the rotor hat. (ho ho ho)

Why would using a hand drill stress the hat if a drill press does not? That makes no sense. Tons of people use just a hand drill. It's fine.