Under regular, aggressive driving?

I am not talking enduro racing or crazy lapping?

Also, is it possible to fit the track brakes to a performance? Will the caliper brackets and disks fit or do I have to change the hub/knuckle/suspension arms?

I just drove a track model and I liked the brake feel, wondering if its the same on the others.

Thank you.

 

in both models you can engage ABS, and they have the same tires. meaning both sets of brakes can stop the car faster than the tread can.

they will feel the same for 1 stop, maybe 2, 3... 4 or 5 its gonna start to fade while the brembos stay the same. thats gonna be the only difference, this will become more apparent if you put stickier tires on it.

you can do a brake swap for about 3-4grand. these would be better brakes than the track model brakes.

 

Thanks for the detailed answer.

Also, has anyone slapped on the track version calipers on a non-track?

I am just curious at the feasibility, I doubt I will do much track with to start, but you never know...

Thanks

 

I still have the stock non-Brembos and have replaced the lines, fluid, and pads. I will also have ducts put in next week to cool off my calipers. This should maximize the stock brakes. Mine got a little hot at the last track session. The track we were on is notoriously bad on brakes and should have been worst case scenario as far as fade and heat go. I think I will be fine after the ducts are in place, but will be sure to tell everyone how they hold up. At our track session a few weeks ago I was the only Touring/Performance that didn't have fade issues.

 

Do any of the major race pad manufacturers like hawk and porfield make ones for the Z yet?

HP + anyone?

 

PLEASE keep us/me posted on your cooling ducts.......I have a few ideas also. Front should be easy. getting sufficient flow to the rear is what bothers me. NACA duct in rocker panel behind door?

Please post pics of your install.

 

Yea, i'm also a bit dissatisfied w/the non brembo brakes...they're just not responsive enough and they feel a bit "soft"...i think i'll be upgrading soon

 

what type of cars did you guys drive before that you dont think the stock brakes are good enough? I think theyre fine...... but i guess ive never felt the "best."

 

I currently am driving an s2000, I want to get a Z, i just drove a track version today and liked it but I want a CDN performance version instead as it has more of the stuff I like... I really liked the brake feel in track, compares well to my s2k.... I was just wondering how the performance with the non-brembos would feel.

 

Actually, the standard brakes pretty much keep up with the Brembo's (at least in stopping distance) for about the first 10 stops and then began to fade after repeated stops from 100 MPH. The stock brakes perform very well for normal use, but, of course, the Brembos would be much better during track-use. This was reported in a test by StopTech in Torrance, California in December 2002. Here are some of their findings after testing a Perf. against a Track.

"After ten stops from 60mph, ...the average stopping distance was 118.0 feet, which was less than one foot longer than the Track model. Very interesting. We figured the difference would become more significant at higher speeds, so we pressed on.

"After six stops from 80mph, and then four stops from 100 mph,...the stopping distances began to increase as fade set in. Stopping distances from 80mph and 100mph averaged 210.5 and 333.6 feet respectively. That's within 5 feet at 100 mph and within 2 feet from 80 mph of the 350Z Track Model's performance. The Brembo brakes didn't seem to make a significant difference on stopping performance until the cars started doing repeated 100mph stops..."

For the full story, see HERE.

WayneTN

 

magazine reports confirm this as well, they say that after multiple laps is when the Brembos finally started to distiguish themselves from the Stock, the stock brakes are VERY very good, look it up sometime, you might be surprised how good they are.

 

Yes, the stock brakes are fine on the street. I'm not talking about the street. I am talking about going 120 and slamming on the brakes to take a hairpin turn followed by other long, high speed straights and turns for an hour at a time. With lines, high temp fluid, and track pads (I use Carbotech Panter+), my brakes were fine, except for the high temps my brakes saw. All the paint on the calipers, brake pads and even rotors cooked clean off and turned white. This is not a good thing and I will try to aleviate this in the future. I did notice a great difference in pedal feel once I bled my brakes w/ Motul 600 and put in the SS lines though.

 

Thanks for the informative post. It sounds like the stock performance brakes should be ok for my use. I will track the Z for fun. I have a fully prepped CRX for track competition.

One last question:

Does Hawk or portfield make "plus" brakes for the Z? I know carbotech does.

Thank you for all your help everyone, very informative.

 

you will need the brakes lines, calipers, rotors as well as the rear backing plates and rear caliper bolts off the track model if you convert your non-brembo brakes to brembo.

 

Thanks. Its probably best to upgrade once the stock set gets used up.

I'll probably throw on some race pads to start with...

 

You will need a new set of rim. The stock performance model rim will not be able to fit over the track brake.

 

yeah it will, hell the 17" rims will fit over them.

 

Yes they are, its funny how the magazines and the internet test reports have never tinkered with the stock brakes.

If i was a betting man, I would say a pad switch in the stock brakes would bridge the gap and exceed the performance of the brembo's.

Just remember folks, we are talking of a 12-24 inch difference here. Also, do not forget the Track wheels are lighter than the touring and performance versions which could account for the 12-24" difference.

However, lets get real here, the last 12-24" you are moving at 4-5 mph. So we are really not talking of a difference at all.

Under normal or sport driving street conditions that is.

Eric