S-14 Rear brake Upgrade questions

[TigerBill]

Will the Q45 rears bolt right up? Also will the parking brake work? I did a lot of searching but never found this answer. Every time it was asked the topic would die or continue on without answering it. From what I gather they will bolt up, but I really want to know about the parking brake. Thanks in advance for any help.

[hybrid_flyer]

well my z32's bolted right up but the parking brake is different so i would imagine the q45 is the same as the z

[TigerBill]

From what I've read they (Q45) are closer to 240 brakes, I even remember reading that the NISMO upgrade for 240's is just Q45 calipers and rotors. I haven't tried to verify this. It sounds like they (Q45) use the same connection as the 240. I'm looking for someone who has used the Q45's in the rear.

[ShortyS14]

A buddy of mine was telling me about this. I believe they bolt up fine, but you have to link up the parking brake like you would with the 300 rears. And yes, the NISMO upgrade is the Q45 calipers. The fronts are easy.

[TigerBill]

Do you think it would be possible to just scavenge the entire parking brake assembly from a donor (hand lever, cable,etc...) and use that instead of splicing cables? Or would the lengths be way off? I guess my question is, does the Q45 actuate the caliper like the 240, or is it a separate drum like the 300?

[ShortyS14]

That I couldn't tell you. I haven't had any first hand experience with the Q45 rears, but if I find out I'll be sure to post it up for you.

[hannibal]

Its a separate drum like the Z32. I believe the Q, Z32, and J30 use a similar parking drum setup. I'd like to know if the drums are in fact interchangeable.

Tiger, the Nismo upgrade is just the fronts. Splicing the cables is much simpler than what youre suggesting. I dont know if the hand levers are similar enough to swap out. I may be possible to run all new cables from your existing hand lever to the new parking drum.

[TigerBill]

Didn't know that on the NISMO kit, was only fronts. I know that splices are easy and relatively strong, but i figured that a whole cable would be the best way.

So just to clarify:

The rears will bolt on, no need to change out anything with the Q45? Just the rotors and calipers, I'm already 5 lug. Am i missing anything like lines, nuts, bolts, clips....etc?

The parking brake will still need to be spliced like with the 300zx.

Will the Q45 master cylinder interfere with my future 5 speed swap? I hear that the 300zx MC protrudes slightly into the clutch MC spot.

Which proportioning valve should I use? I hear the Q45 is really biased to the front. Could you maybe use the 300zx one?

[AJ1356]

try this month's modified they had a pretty cool idea about linking the parkig brake cable together. but again i would not know since i have not doen the rear brake upgrade on mine, or you could just take the easy way and go with some better pads like endless or project mu and keep the rest stock..

[TigerBill]

Any idea where I could get a copy of Modified? I live in small town, Ohio, and don't remember seeing it on any of my local newsstands. Don't really feel like subscribing for one issue, doesn't seem like the type of mag I usually enjoy reading. Or if anyone could give me a rundown of what the article in question said.

[Riley2.4L]

As far as import tuning is concerned. Modified likes the best mag out. I don't want to sound like a sales rep or anything but I've learn alot from that magazine

[98s14inaz]

As far as import tuning is concerned. Modified likes the best mag out. I don't want to sound like a sales rep or anything but I've learn alot from that magazine

I might have to start reading that one, scc has really started to lose it's edge. More advertising now than actual content I can read cover to cover now in one visit to the cr@pper

Anyways to contribute to the thread...the rear 240 brakes don't really do much on these cars, basically there to stabilize during braking. I thought the same way you thought until I put in my r33 skyline front calipers and rotors. The front brakes do most of the work. I would say to just get a good set of rotors/pads and leave the rear calipers alone. Just my two cents.

[TigerBill]

I realize the whole front does all the work thing. But I've got a leaky rear caliper, that needs fixed. Figured while I'm back there might as well upgrade parts. I don't even use the parking brake now I'm thinking of ditching it, it causes the caliper to really leak, so I don't use it. Plus I like to keep all the parts from the same car, it makes it easier when ordering parts.

As far as the magazine thing goes, I don't really read them for sport compacts, I read mostly off-road ones. And, I don't even read those on a regular basis, just when they have something on designing of different things, like suspensions. Any info I need for cars usually comes from excellent forums like this one. I have at least two forums I visit for each type of car I work on. I tinker alot so I've got a lot of forums that I visit.

[hannibal]

Didn't know that on the NISMO kit, was only fronts. I know that splices are easy and relatively strong, but i figured that a whole cable would be the best way.

So just to clarify:

The rears will bolt on, no need to change out anything with the Q45? Just the rotors and calipers, I'm already 5 lug. Am i missing anything like lines, nuts, bolts, clips....etc?

The parking brake will still need to be spliced like with the 300zx.

Will the Q45 master cylinder interfere with my future 5 speed swap? I hear that the 300zx MC protrudes slightly into the clutch MC spot.

Which proportioning valve should I use? I hear the Q45 is really biased to the front. Could you maybe use the 300zx one?

First, the rears will NOT bolt onto your 240sx. You need the rear parking brake drums. The S13/S14 are the only ones that dont use a parking brake drum. Q45, J30, and Z32 rear brakes all will 'bolt on', but you need to use the parking brake drum from that the same car.

Definitely upgrade to stainless steel lines. SPLParts.com sells teflon coated ones for $45 shipped per axle. IIRC, Ive heard they have some fitment issues, so ask about that before you order. Phase2Motortrend.com also sells lines for a reasonable price.

You only need to upgrade you master cylinder if you feel the pedal is too mushy after the upgrade. Ive never heard of anyone using the Q45 M/C, but if the 240sx and Q45 can both use the Z32 M/C, I cant think of a reason the Q wouldnt fit on your car. Most people go with the largest Z M/C, the 17/16" size.

The proprotioning valve is part of the M/C. I'm not sure of the brake bias of either one. Someone compared the split point (front and rear bias increase equally until this split point, then the front increase faster) of the Z and stock M/C and concluded that Z didnt ahve too much front bias. I forget the logic behind it, but I remember and agree with the conclusion.

[98s14inaz]

I realize the whole front does all the work thing. But I've got a leaky rear caliper, that needs fixed. Figured while I'm back there might as well upgrade parts. I don't even use the parking brake now I'm thinking of ditching it, it causes the caliper to really leak, so I don't use it. Plus I like to keep all the parts from the same car, it makes it easier when ordering parts.

I'm not going to tell you what to do but will offer advice. If a caliper is leaking...rebuild it (rebuild kits are cheap)...or get a spare caliper from someone, in fact Autozone sells rebuilds and you turn in your old caliper as a core. At any given time there has to be a 100 parts 240's laying around waiting for someone to take parts off and give them life. The rears are really not worth the hassle of upgrading. But good luck in what ever decision you decide to go with.