Sup peoples, so it dawned on me that perhaps I should upgrade the front calipers on my 93 hatch and get much better braking power. I know this topic has been bled to death over the years, but I wanted to see if anyone here has actually done the q45 upgrade to their 240's and if so, can give me some insight. First of all is it worth just to upgrade the front calipers only? I wouldn't be doing the rears. Secondly I would assume the front pads would need to be replaced with larger pads to fit the q45 calipers. I know this is suppose to be a direct replacement, any obstacles during the install? Last but not least how much of a difference do they make? I was looking at these on ebay, not sure if these are it.
Any feedback appreicated.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARDONE-19-B155 ... c4&vxp=mtr
Q45 Brake Upgrade Worth it?
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jsturges18
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2010 1:42 pm
- Car: 1990 240sx hatch - totaled/parts car
1990 240sx hatch - replacement
2005 pt cruiser
2004 350Z - Location: connecticut
Re: Q45 Brake Upgrade Worth it?
i plan on doing it. it seems worthy, frsport sells it as a kit (calipers,pads,rotors) for $400. extra piston for stopping power, no need to upgrade bmc like the 300zx brakes. fits under stock alloy wheels. frsport says that it will bolt on but you have to remove the oem backing plate. i think thats the dust shield. but it sells it with 11" rotors. i dont know what the stock 240sx rotors are.
Re: Q45 Brake Upgrade Worth it?
Q45s are a direct swap, only issue is that the rotors are drilled for 5 lug, so you'll need to redrill them for 4 lug hubs.
A nice upgrade for cheap, since you can grab calipers + pads and rotors for cheap at the junkyard.
If you're not doing a lot of quick stops, stock calipers with nice pads are probably going to be nicer.
With the Q45s, you may get less brake fade, but the brake bias is going to be way off now.
I felt like the front wheels locked up way too quickly, without slowing the car down that well.
However, I had some cheap pads from Pepboys, so nicer pads might've remedied this.
After I upgraded my rears to a larger Altima rotor + Z31 bracket ,it felt slightly better, but the fronts were still locking too quickly.
I would've upgraded to better pads, but I ended up switching to a Z32 setup.
A nice upgrade for cheap, since you can grab calipers + pads and rotors for cheap at the junkyard.
If you're not doing a lot of quick stops, stock calipers with nice pads are probably going to be nicer.
With the Q45s, you may get less brake fade, but the brake bias is going to be way off now.
I felt like the front wheels locked up way too quickly, without slowing the car down that well.
However, I had some cheap pads from Pepboys, so nicer pads might've remedied this.
After I upgraded my rears to a larger Altima rotor + Z31 bracket ,it felt slightly better, but the fronts were still locking too quickly.
I would've upgraded to better pads, but I ended up switching to a Z32 setup.
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240hatchsx
- Posts: 183
- Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 7:17 pm
- Car: 93 s13 hatch
Re: Q45 Brake Upgrade Worth it?
I'm thinking of doing the Q45 brake swap as well. I saw on here that u can use 02 Altima rotors bc there 4lug. Also there this Megan rear brake kit for I think would help with the Q45 set up but for the money I think going with the z32 setup would be better. http://www.frsport.com/Megan-Racing-RS1 ... 27007.html
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float_6969
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Re: Q45 Brake Upgrade Worth it?
Any reason that wouldn't work on an S14?
I have Q45 in the front on my S14 and Z31 + Altima on the rear. I do not have a stock master cylinder, but a simple single chamber Wilwood and an external proportioning valve. When I installed all of this, I set the rear bias to full on (50% reduction in rear pressure) and there was WAY too much front brake bias. I turned it back to about half way, still WAY to much, but a little better. So I turned it off. Better, but still to much front bias. So then I did the Z31+ Altima. It helped a little, but still not enough. I'm running the same pads at all 4 corners (Wagner ThermoQuiet). I'm going to try putting aggressive pads at the rear and see if that gives enough rear bias. If THAT doesn't work, I'm going to call Wilwood and see what they have for large diameter solid rotors for the rear and build a custom caliper bracket.
In hindsight, i should have kept the stock front setup. The Q45's really need something done with the rear to balance out the front, and Z31+Altima isn't enough.
I have Q45 in the front on my S14 and Z31 + Altima on the rear. I do not have a stock master cylinder, but a simple single chamber Wilwood and an external proportioning valve. When I installed all of this, I set the rear bias to full on (50% reduction in rear pressure) and there was WAY too much front brake bias. I turned it back to about half way, still WAY to much, but a little better. So I turned it off. Better, but still to much front bias. So then I did the Z31+ Altima. It helped a little, but still not enough. I'm running the same pads at all 4 corners (Wagner ThermoQuiet). I'm going to try putting aggressive pads at the rear and see if that gives enough rear bias. If THAT doesn't work, I'm going to call Wilwood and see what they have for large diameter solid rotors for the rear and build a custom caliper bracket.
In hindsight, i should have kept the stock front setup. The Q45's really need something done with the rear to balance out the front, and Z31+Altima isn't enough.