for the record, im swapping the engine too, which means im not really in the stockish category.

not that I wont have less kinetic enery to disperse than a 350z... but i will have more than the average 240 does

fireslave wrote:for the record, im swapping the engine too, which means im not really in the stockish category.

not that I wont have less kinetic enery to disperse than a 350z... but i will have more than the average 240 does

My turbo KA was putting out almost as much as a stockish VQ. Not sure of the difference in weight between the motors, but if your target is 2500-2600 lbs in completed form, I think you're still in pretty good shape. The lightest 350Z was 3188 lbs based on the brochures...

I think the engines weigh within 5 pounds of each other. VQ transmission is supposedly a bit heavier though.

From the dead, I was only lurking without purpose to post but I got reading this old stuff, someone from this 3 yr old conversation still here or anyone please chime in..

I am doing something similar, 2900lb J30 gutted/ 8 point cage, 1990TT calipers, carbotech pads, 2x3in brake ducts each side, now attempting to fit 12.75 350z rotors, we have been successfully running in lemons/chumpcar.(7000+ track miles)

Where do I start? Talking about fade and fluid are moot as there is real no issues in those depts, our greatest failing has been rotor warpage thus the attempt to fit different rotor.

Previous rotors were
Stock j30(pretty much the same size as a 1990 z32na) toasted black in 12 hrs
Slotted high quality 93 z32 rotors toasted in 28 hrs
2000 crown vic police (almost 350z size but stock j30 thick) warped in 8 hrs but never toasted in 12 hrs
And now attempting to fit 350z rotors.

Why the post? Not sure, perhaps start bouncing things around.

I don't know that 350Z rotors are going to offer you any different results than the HQ rotors from the Z32 did - the cars (if the Z32 was a TT model) have similar weights and power outputs. What exactly were the HQ rotors from the Z32 that you were using?

By HQ rotors I should specify design/material, they were 1 piece and stock 11inX30mm I forgot the brand as they were purchased without packaging, if its important I can dig em up, the set was originally about $225 and made in USA.

The Crown Vic units by design did not cool well(not to mention the track rubber accumulating in the small cooling holes), they were thin like a z32 1990na but almost 12.7 around, they never blackened like the others, just warped, so my rationale is the brakes like the extra leverage from the diameter + getting the 350Zs width + huge cooling should do something.

We are budget limited and currently are not in a position to buy 17 in wheels so I guess this is my last gasp before the jump to 13+ inch rotors/Cobra 17X9 wheels. What brands does the 350z world use when working with the 12.75 rotors? OR are these already considered inadequate?

Note: I know someone will call me out. Yes, 16X 7.5 mustang wheels can work, I have about a week of grinding and fitment mock-up that proves they fit, barely.

J30tChumpCar wrote:By HQ rotors I should specify design/material, they were 1 piece and stock 11inX30mm

You might want to consider going with a two piece rotor, keeping the rotor hat and disc separate should help keep the rotor from warping since it can expand and contract without stressing the hat. And since you mentioned Performance Friction pads I know that Performance Friction also makes some two piece rotors.

And if you don't already have some you might want to consider getting some temperature indicating paint to see how hot you're running your rotors. If the brake are getting ridden endlessly it won't matter how good they are, they're not going to hold up.

BTW, depending on how hard they were used, 28 hours for a rotor in a dedicated track car doesn't exactly sound like a short lifespan.

In Chump Car (our primary interest) a 2 piece rotor will be very difficult to legally incorporate, if we do succeed it may cause lots of grumbles in the pits and forums, something I am really trying to avoid. Not to mention our team is pretty cheap.

As a team we talk about proper brake usage and even installed a interior brake lamp to alert the driver if he is riding them.

Sure 28 hours sounds great but that's till the rotor is useless scrap, its only about 8-9 hours before the steering shakes bad enough to force us to slow from a competitive pace, exactly the time when the competition is speeding up. Stopping for a rotor swap @ hour 10 of a 14 hr event can crush any chances of a podium.

Does anyone actually/successfully track their 350z with this rotor?

Next week I will snap a couple new pics, something to keep this chat going, maybe someone will chime in with something new.

Ok 2 months later, I have been making and fitting, getting side tracked with real work fitting more and such.
Pics as promised.. finally

12.75 rotor with 300zx caliper

with 16 in mustang wheel, a little smoothing of the calipers outside + 3/16 wheel spacer it actually rolls

17x8 mustang cobra R wheel

out driving around


Right now I am rolling on 17x9 cobra wheels road driving/heat cycling the new pads and tires, daytona rolex course for 14 hours at the end of the month..

Unlike the original poster I have finished the brake swap and raced it successfully.
Daytona/Rolex for 14 hours topping 135mph in the tri oval. The first 7 hours were glass smooth and happily braking hard with the eventual winners, the last 7 hours started a rotor hop that got pretty bad but never failed, it is suspected the RF caliper is sticking but have not had time to break it down yet. Overall very happy with the setup but going to look into some better blanks or frozen rotors for Sebring in Sept.
Finished 12th out of 121 cars.

Outside the fence
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYaXnqrc ... plpp_video[/youtube]
In car vid
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kak2xaCO9-s[/youtube]

Awesome, your team finished in the top 10%! Congrats!

I edited your post and embeded the YouTube vids so that even the lazy members here would be inclined to watch!

I track the s*** out of my car. Out of the last 2000 miles, at least 700 of them are 8+/10ths lapping miles.
Car has the Brembos with 2 inch ducts, HP+ pads with OEM rotors. I have not experienced any rotor warping. Still on the first set of rotors. One recent session lasted at least 2 continuous hours at race pace. Rotors were visibly red (was at night though) and the pedal was still firm and slowed the car just as well as it did in the first few laps after it was all warmed up.

J30, are you guys the same team that ran the 24 horas del cuba de norte years ago at PBIR?

anyone who tells you the oem brakes arnt good obviously have done zero research or havnt even tried it. i can tell you right now the oem 03 singe piston brakes will hold up to track abuse fine if you us the proper parts. head over to concept z performance and pick up one of there packages, $700 bucks gets you stainless lines, centric slotted rotors, axxis ultimate pads, and motul fluid this package slows me down just fine from 150 mph multiple times in succession with little brake fade issues on my 03. since your car is significantly lighter you will have even less issues, going bigger means your increasing unsprung weight which is going to adversely affect your handling. at MOST get the oem brembo's with some two piece rotors, air ducts will help some too but in a 240 your not going to have issues most serious track guys use brembos or oem a few upgrade to 13 and report no major improvement. also remember theres a nasa z spec now that REQUIRES oem brembo brakes obviously if they wernt good they wouldnt have them as a requirement.
also dont go with hawk the axxis or ebc are FAR better when comparing track pad to track pad, axxis will be the best but have the most dust and noise.

edit: dammit i never see the original post date on this crap.

omg its weasel wrote:I track the s*** out of my car. Out of the last 2000 miles, at least 700 of them are 8+/10ths lapping miles.
Car has the Brembos with 2 inch ducts, HP+ pads with OEM rotors. I have not experienced any rotor warping. Still on the first set of rotors. One recent session lasted at least 2 continuous hours at race pace. Rotors were visibly red (was at night though) and the pedal was still firm and slowed the car just as well as it did in the first few laps after it was all warmed up.

J30, are you guys the same team that ran the 24 horas del cuba de norte years ago at PBIR?

Wish we could say the same, half way, or about 450 miles continuously lapping Daytonas Rolex course (minus 5 min pit for fuel every 2 hours) was unbelievably perfect, new car smooth, but one slightly binding caliper piston got things wobbly, still have not had chance to measure/compare rotor runout nor pull the calipers but one wheel is harder to free spin then the other, pads still are about 50%, no reports of glowing brakes, smoke or fade. Pics already taken but not downloaded.

Yep, 24 horas del cuba de norte, same team and about 60% of that car, as far as I can tell the only *active* J30 road racing in ANY series.

What team were you with?

P.S. Thank you Mr. Badger for the lazy man edit.

jerryd1987 wrote:anyone who tells you the oem brakes arnt good obviously have done zero research or havnt even tried it. i can tell you right now the oem 03 singe piston brakes will hold up to track abuse fine if you us the proper parts. head over to concept z performance and pick up one of there packages, $700 bucks gets you stainless lines, centric slotted rotors, axxis ultimate pads, and motul fluid this package slows me down just fine from 150 mph multiple times in succession with little brake fade issues on my 03. since your car is significantly lighter you will have even less issues, going bigger means your increasing unsprung weight which is going to adversely affect your handling. at MOST get the oem brembo's with some two piece rotors, air ducts will help some too but in a 240 your not going to have issues most serious track guys use brembos or oem a few upgrade to 13 and report no major improvement. also remember theres a nasa z spec now that REQUIRES oem brembo brakes obviously if they wernt good they wouldnt have them as a requirement.
also dont go with hawk the axxis or ebc are FAR better when comparing track pad to track pad, axxis will be the best but have the most dust and noise.

edit: dammit i never see the original post date on this crap.

Blame me for digging up the old stuff, glad you left the post, its still good info.

J30tChumpCar wrote:
What team were you with?

The Z=Zero roofless Z32. I crewed with them that one event on their maiden track voyage. Haven't had the opportunity to get with them for ChumpCar.

omg its weasel wrote:

J30tChumpCar wrote:
What team were you with?

The Z=Zero roofless Z32. I crewed with them that one event on their maiden track voyage. Haven't had the opportunity to get with them for ChumpCar.

They did not have a good time @ Daytona,the car was off somehow then a bad (?) flag killed the potential for a podium. I expect them back for Sebring in September, our next local race.

In my Nissan 350z i installed these brakes. Those are still going great.

http://www.boostparts.com/goodridge-sta ... -2007.html

Might wanna look at it.

Nice, what did you feel different?

A year later the J30 has now almost 15,000 track miles in full race mode to its credit, this past weekend was Daytona again, 125 cars showed up, if it weren't for this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnwLIceK ... r_embedded early race incident we would have likely pulled a top 5! We finished 13th
3 races ago it was finally deduced the pad compound itself was the issue, things have been glass smooth since.

Thats alot of useful equations Glad to see those come in handy sometimes!