Z32 Brake upgrade (advice and build pics)

[Eikon]

Hey everyone,

I've recently picked up a new S14 and it needs brakes! But, since I have to spend the money on new pads and rotors, I thought I would just go the extra step or two and upgrade them.

Just to make things interesting, I already own a set of Z32 30mm aluminum calipers. But, the cost and complexity of the rear ebrake setup is making me think that perhaps leaving the rear stock and going Z32 or Q45 brakes in front would be the better choice.

One other thing to note: My car is a 98 240sx SE automatic transmission. Yes, sucks to be automatic, but one small silver lining is that the automatic cars came with a 15/16th brake master cylinder. Which, from what I've read so far, make a big difference when upgrading brakes.

Option 1: Q45 front calipers ($100), rotors ($130), pads ($70) - stock rears ($120 rotors and $50 pads) (- $200+ from sale of my z32 calipers) [total= $170 or so after selling my z32 calipers]
Option 2: Z32 front calipers (already own), rotors ($140), pads ($65), lines ($60) - stock rears ($120 rotors and $50 pads) (From what i've read, this setup is great with the 15/16ths MC) [total= $435]
Option 3: Z32 front and rear calipers (already own), rotors ($280), pads ($120), lines ($90), plus ebrake assemblies and cables - ($200?) [total= $690]

Yikes - after adding up all those totals, I can already see that I'm not a big fan of the third option... or even the second option for that matter.. But, I'm still open to ideas and advice.

Anybody have personal experience with running just Q or Z front brakes?
I'm assuming my car has ABS, but I haven't actually verified that yet... I just assume that S14 SE Automatics came with ABS. Does the ABS still work with Q or Z brakes or does that cause an issue?

Thanks everybody!

[numbnuts240]

abs is wicked easy to spot under the hood. i have z32 fronts and rears (with working e-brake) and my car has abs. in theory, it should still retain the abs feature, but i'm not too keen on testing it out just to know. i will say that the stopping power is amazing. it can get pricey, especially for me since i rebuilt the calipers after having them powder coated.

[ghx407]

I'm running Z32 front brakes (26mm) and stock rears on my S13 (manual trans) with SS lines, a 15/16 BMC, and Axxis ULT pads. Pedal feel is great (firm but not stiff) and braking force is easy to modulate.

No stock ABS on my car, so I can't help you there. Also, I'm guessing that the above setup might have a softer pedal feel on an automatic car.

[biggie]

I too am running Z32 on front (30mm) and stock rear, but with 17/16 BMC, feels very good to me.

I'm thinking of Q45 on my Vert, but haven't decided yet (since Z32 would require new wheels to clear).

[Dano]

I've had Z32 30mm alums., brembo slotted rotors, Hawk HPS' fr/rr, stainless lines, with stock rear calipers since '03 and love it. My car was originally auto too, but it does not have ABS. SOOOO much better than stock.

Do option 2, it'll be great, and you can always upgrade the rears down the road if you need/want to!

[aaronscomp]

Well its really up to you i have both 300zx and Q45 brakes the 30mm 300zx brakes are on my hatch and my Q45 brakes are on my coupe to be honest i like the Q45 brakes better they feel more firm then the 300zx they seem to have more stopping power too. IDK maybe its just me

[Eikon]

I'm leaning toward running the very same setup as you mentioned Dan. The Z32 fronts and slotted rotors. I love Hawk pads! It's just the money ads up really fast... Maybe I'll take it one step at a time and it won't seem to bad. I guess going with new stock stuff would cost a couple hundred anyway, so upgrading isn't as expensive when you figure what you have to spend just to get stock stuff.

Maybe I'll just start with stock rear stuff since those are is big need of replacement and I'll slowly save up for the fronts... I can send out my front calipers for powder coating in the meantime..

Anyhow... thanks for the input you guys! I'll take any more input I can get!

[TheRealNap0le0n]

I had just Q45 brakes on the front of my S13 and the diff between that and stock is night and day.

Then i put the Z32 Brakes on (30mm alum) and the difference between the Q45 brakes and the Z brakes is still good. I'll say the price vs stopping power of Z32 vs Q45 fronts is not worth it especially adding in the hassle of wheel selection.

I still bit the bullet because the Z32 calipers = Baller looking. Doing the rear Z32 calipers and having the ebrake work is no big deal. All you need is Z32 Rear ebrake assmly and hubs. you can re use the S chassis upright. Then you get the Z32 2 + 2 E-Brake cable ( you can tell by the chassis mount design on the cable.) and you make a bracket to attach the cable to the chassis

All in all i did the Front and Rear 5 lug conversion, Z32 Brakes, Z32 rear alum uprights, Z32 rear shocks, ebay rotors + pads, conversion lines etc for just around $1000 or so.

Mind you I use the stock MC and my car was originally an auto. The pedal feel is natural and very nice. And the car stops very nicely

[numbnuts240]

Then you get the Z32 2 + 2 E-Brake cable ( you can tell by the chassis mount design on the cable.) and you make a bracket to attach the cable to the chassis

he's got an s14, the z32 cables won't work. he'll need r33 cables.

[mattblancarte]

I like option 2!

Don't mean to be the negative nancy, but I gotta offer up the option of just keeping stock rotors/calipers and upgrading the pads and lines. All in the spirit of frugality, of course.

From what it sounds like, speeds will remain within safe limits 99% of the time, so heat won't be an issue. With Hawk HPS pads you'll have more responsive grab. You probably don't even need to upgrade the lines, but it couldn't hurt.

There are a handful of other reasons to keep the brakes in stock configuration for this car, but I don't need to point them out to the folks participating in this thread.

[Eikon]

You know Matt... I think you are dead on.. honestly, the ability of the stock brake system with quality pads and good rotors will be more than enough to handle what little aggressive driving I will ever throw at this car.

But, what I probably should have mentioned in my first post is that asthetics are also important to me. The current calipers are horribly corroded and nasty, so they would require a lot of work to make them pretty again.. if I'm going to put in that work, i'd just assume upgrade to something that will give me additional performance (to talk about at least )

I think that's the only reason I'm currently leaning toward the Z32 fronts over the Q or stock brakes... I love the raised letter Nissan logo.. lol.

Pathetic huh? Does that make me a ricer?

[mattblancarte]

Haha, definitely not ricer for improving looks. I still like option 2 in your case. z32 is major hotness, and a sensible upgrade.

[Dano]

Matt is a smart dude, and just for aesthetics sake and contributing to your financial decay, an old pic after I got rid of my SPL v1 tension rods, right before the v2s were put on

[liquid_cool]

Haha, definitely not ricer for improving looks. I still like option 2 in your case. z32 is major hotness, and a sensible upgrade.

well....rice stands for "Race Inspired Cosmetic sumpin or other" you get the idea....its cool to upgrade brakes...if..you plan on adding some more power under the hood as braking is one mod most think of doing last when building there rides...there are some things to concider too..will upgrading your system at this point add to much braking?..will you be using pads made for a race aplication.."need to be warmed up properly befor they even work correctly"..lots to think on man...but....just if someone asked you ..you might wana tel em your sourcing some parts for your 5 speed swapp and turbo build...then they wont call ya a ricer..they will just say.."Ohh..cool man"..thats about it...if it was me thou..and i was runnin a bone stock 240-O-Matic...id skip it and just buy oem replacments...good luck thou

[TheRealNap0le0n]

I like option 2!

Don't mean to be the negative nancy, but I gotta offer up the option of just keeping stock rotors/calipers and upgrading the pads and lines. All in the spirit of frugality, of course.

From what it sounds like, speeds will remain within safe limits 99% of the time, so heat won't be an issue. With Hawk HPS pads you'll have more responsive grab. You probably don't even need to upgrade the lines, but it couldn't hurt.

There are a handful of other reasons to keep the brakes in stock configuration for this car, but I don't need to point them out to the folks participating in this thread.

another thing to consider is the rotor size between Z and Q brakes is basically the same. But the Q brakes have a larger surface area

[motoman399]

i had the 30mm z32 on the front and the stocks in the back. i didnt like how the front locked up so fast and the back didnt really do anything. if i were you and you dont want to spend the money on the rear e brake setup, i would get the (i think its) maxima rotor and z31 brake bracket upgrade for the rear.

also i have a set of e brakes from a 94 tt z32 that i would sell...

oh and i have a 98 240sx se that was an automatic, and it doesnt have abs. but running the z32 brakes will not affect it if you do. the z32's all had abs i believe.

[numbnuts240]

I think that's the only reason I'm currently leaning toward the Z32 fronts over the Q or stock brakes... I love the raised letter Nissan logo.. lol.

Pathetic huh? Does that make me a ricer?

yes, yes it does...



(bad shot, but you get the idea)

[Eikon]

My wheels are very thin spoke, so they make the brake very visable... making the attractiveness of the caliper and rotors something to show off.

Course, this picture has some shading that doesn't really show the brakes, but you can tell from the wheels that the brakes will be very visable.

[numbnuts240]

some white z32's would look awfully sexy behind those gram lights...

[Eikon]

some white z32's would look awfully sexy behind those gram lights...

I completely agree!

I'm going to look into powder coating options.

[Bumnah]

Tires are one of the biggest factors in good braking.

If you aren't going to race the car, then you should just keep it simple. OEM brakes, with good pads and fresh rotors. Spend the big bucks on the best tire you can afford.

[idahotuner]

if you powered coat you calipers make sure you remove every little seal from the pistons otherwise they will melt. i work at a place that does powder coating, and have done some calipers for people, but most places that powder coat dont want to mess around with prepping your calipers for you so make sure when you take them in they are masked off and ready to go.

the only complaint i have about my z32 rotors and calipers is the rotor looks small behind the wheel. seems like it needs to be an inch bigger all the way around.

but they stop awesome

[motoman399]

Tires are one of the biggest factors in good braking.

If you aren't going to race the car, then you should just keep it simple. OEM brakes, with good pads and fresh rotors. Spend the big bucks on the best tire you can afford.

the only problem i see with stock rotors is that every 240 i have owned has had warped rotors. i dont like that and its a lot harder to warp a bigger rotor.

[Eikon]

if you powered coat you calipers make sure you remove every little seal from the pistons otherwise they will melt. i work at a place that does powder coating, and have done some calipers for people, but most places that powder coat dont want to mess around with prepping your calipers for you so make sure when you take them in they are masked off and ready to go.

the only complaint i have about my z32 rotors and calipers is the rotor looks small behind the wheel. seems like it needs to be an inch bigger all the way around.

but they stop awesome

Yes, I'll take them apart before sending them out, and get a rebuild kit for the calipers before putting them back together.
You think the Z32 rotors are too small? They are more than an inch larger than stock rotors though...

the only problem i see with stock rotors is that every 240 i have owned has had warped rotors. i dont like that and its a lot harder to warp a bigger rotor.

I agree, I think every 240 i've ever owned has had warped stock rotors. The bigger rotors should hold up better for a long time period.

[Bumnah]

If you aren't racing the car and are warping the rotors, it must be how you are driving the car.

[eds13]

Or it could be how your torque down your wheels...

[numbnuts240]

the only rotors i've ever warped were on my old b14 sentra, and i beat the snot out of that car.

[Eikon]

Or it could be how your torque down your wheels...

I've never gotten into the habit of using a torque wrench to tighten my lugs. I should do that...

But, when I said every 240 i've ever gotten had warped rotors, what I mean is they were warped when I bought the car.
Funny thing is I've never put enough miles on a 240 to warp any rotors myself. My 240s have never been daily drivers... Just toys.. sit in the garage and get worked on... and taken out to play once in a while. I think I put about 8k miles on a 96 that I had 5 years ago. I probably put about 4k miles on my old convertible... which makes for a very depressing dollars spent vs. miles driven calculation.. lol.

[eds13]

I seriously think option 2 would be a great option. unless you wanted to just sell all your calipers to pay for stock brake parts.

[idahotuner]

no the z32 calipers are fine. i just want to run the adapters to use a rotor that is like 14 or 15 inches that would give more stopping leverage