Does with or without Brembo brake makes a lot of difference in the performance of Z?
According to Japan review, the main problem with Z is the car weight and contribute to the problem of braking power.

 

The Brembos will make little or no difference in the first few hard stops you make...either set of brakes has more than enough power to invoke the ABS (available traction being in this instance the limiting factor in your breaking distance). However, after repeated heavy braking, of the kind usually encountered only when tracking your car, the non Brembo brakes will start to experience fade before the Brembos do, which will result in poorer braking performance. Under normal driving conditions, the difference is probably negligible.

 

i see people are reading, but some comments would be nice. thanks.

 

What am I...chopped liver?

 

tbcz' comments are right on the money, the only reason to upgrade brakes is for looks or for tracking the car, street driving doesn't require it.

 

I do not track but i do street racing. (not drag)
at times, it does require pretty hard braking as traffic tends to jump out to fast lane at times.

Sorry about that, tbcz. i posted and net got off and repost but guess u came in at that time.

 

I have read here that the Brembos wear faster than the stock brakes and they cost more to replace.

Also, pads are always in contact with the rotors, so even though the Rays are 10lbs lighter, the Brembos give more drag than the stock ones, probably not that noticable.

I think the Brembo front calipers are dual piston.

If you are looking for improved stopping distance...try new tires.

 

Well, I wont even touch how you should not street race and put others in danger . , but the reason to upgrade brakes is if you will be doing the braking constantly, the stopping distance between the two is very similar and the upgraded kits help if you are braking alot and not allowing the brakes to cool.

 

The larger diameter rotors with the Brembo equipped Z will allow for more high speed stops before fade sets in, also partially the result of better brake pads as well. If shorter stopping distances are what you're after, buy ultra high performance or R compound tires. Afterall, it's not the brakes that allow you to stop quickly, it's the tires you're using (proportion of tire in contact with the road, wear rating, sidewall and tread flex, etc.).

 

Illogical. All disc brake systems have friction, its all a matter of how much is considered normal. If anything, I would imagine the Brembo brakes would actually last longer since they ARE larger. Besides, fixed piston is just a better design over the OEM single piston, sliding caliper. FYI, the front Brembo calipers are four-piston and the rears are dual piston.

Many 240SX owners upgrade from the stock sliding caliper to the fixed quad/dual piston Z32 300Z brakes, its a very cost-effective upgrade that performs really well. Actually, I know many 240SX owners waiting to find a scrapped track model so that they can snag those Brembos, because those also fit the 240SX chassis.

It all comes down to friction, the Z32 is a heavier car and many Z owners complain that their brakes are inadequate. I've heard the stock 350Z brakes are actually pretty good, but I am sure they are not sufficient for track or heavy street driving. The Brembos are indeed useful if you find yourself heavy-footed with your braking, driving a loaded (heavy) 350Z, or just a hard driver.. especially one who goes to the canyons.

- Mike

 

I take it then that the slotted and drilled rotor which decreases heating would be an important upgrade?

 

Personally, I am not a fan of cross-drilled rotors unless they are top-dollar rotors. Again, top-dollar big-brake kits do not used "drilled" rotors, those rotors are CAST with the holes in them. This results in a much stronger rotor when compared to one that has been "drilled." The other downside with drilled rotors is that there is less surface area for the pad to contact with the rotor.

If you're going to spend the money on fancy rotors, you might as well get a set of blanks (or slotted) and have them cryo-treated. This is a good upgrade which SO many people dont care about. But, if you are hard on your brakes and have a tendancy to warp rotors.. you should definately consider this method. A set of cryo-treated rotors and a set of good pads (axxis metal masters work great for me), and that should be more than enough for street and light track use. Its simple, if that setup is not sufficient enough.. upgrade to a hotter pad -- period.

- Mike

 

This article will answer all of your questions.

http://www.zeckhausen.com/testing_brakes.htm

 

I would actually disagree with this based on general information about brakes. When you apply the brakes and the pads heat up, they push out gases. These gases need a place to escape to. This is the reason for slotting and drilling. When the gases have no place to go, two things happen. They can cause wrapping of the rotor (albeit rare), and they push the pad surface away from the rotor causing brake fade and reduced braking power. Even though slotted and drilled rotors have less surface area, they tend to have better performance under heavy and repeated braking because they are not effected by out-gasing.

 

Are you serious? This cannot possibly be true.

Properly installed and functioning brakes should never make contact when you're not actually braking. Yes the gap is very very small, but there should be no physical contact. If there is you need to adjust those puppies.

 

slotted lets the gasses out, drilled helps cooling but my uninformed opinion would be it is largely in the case of street rotors being drilled, a cosmetic modification.

when we say fade, the stock brakes are not like crap by any means. the differences we are talking about are as follows 60-0 repeated 10 times consecutivly gets 3 feet shorter from the brembos, 100-0 10 times gets 5feet.

these are not huge differences, since at 60mph its like 115 vs 118, at 100mph its like 200 vs 205 or somethin. if you cant win with stock brakes, its unlikely the brembos are gonna put you ahead, they are negligable, and street racing is hardly an exact science. other factors would have a way larger impact.

as for life, I have no clue, but its possible that the brembo pads are softer, and thus would wear out faster. but again, I have 0 information to back that up, but it is possible.

 

I 100% agree with you Ares...which is what made that above article I linked to so interesting. I haven't re-read it, but I recall the only advantage the brembo's have is that they run cooler. But even so....the didn't perform much better. If you have the money their cool to have, but I agree with Ares, I doubt the advantage will be that big. I am happy with my stock brakes.

 

I notice that the people posting here telling you that there is negligible difference between Brembos and the other stock brakes are NOT Track owners!

I drive a Track model and I will tell you that I am convinced there is signifigant difference in the Brembo brakes, and not only after many stops where they don't fade, but for every hard stop. Bigger calipers, bigger discs, you can't tell me they don't stop the car signifigantly better! Those Brembos really bring the car to a stop.

All of you people who love to quote the Stoptech article should consider the fact that Stoptech has a financial interest in convincing you that the Track Brembos aren't much better than the other stock brakes, and that you would be MUCH better off buying their product instead.

As for how long they last, and how well they do on the track.....some of you who have read my posts before have heard this story before, but it's worth re-telling for this thread.

In mid-April I attended a high-speed driving course at VIR; basically six 30-minute hot track sessions over the course of a weekend, not an oval but a road course with a lot of twisties and elevation changes. There were three Tourings that attended with me.

https://my350z.com/forum/motorsports/25980-350z-s-at-vir-road-course-in-va-video-inside.html

All weekend I had one advantage over the Tourings. I could start braking later and brake harder for the turns, which means I could consistently pull away from them over time. As far as capability of the car goes we were pretty even in acceleration (of course) and in how well we did once we entered the curves, but being able to enter the braking area hotter, later, and with more confidence in my braking ability made a noticable difference in my track speed.

At the end of the weekend, all three Tourings had brake problems. One (who took it relatively easy all weekend) made it home but was braking on metal pad holder, IIRC. The second, who had changed to Motul brake fluid and Carbotech pads, fried his caliper bushings and had to have the calipers replaced (under warranty at the second dealership he visited; the first refused to cover it, saying he had abused the car). The third Touring went off the track twice, going straight off instead of making the hairpin, because his brake pedal went to the floor. He was the one whose a$$ I was riding, who was determined not to let me pass; the last thing I saw him do before he went off the track ahead of me the first time was he tried to wait and brake at my brake point instead of braking earlier at his brake point.

We had to replace his brake pads before he could drive home. He had 4000 miles on the car. That was mid-April. I'm still driving on the factory pads at 10000 miles. I expect them to go soon, but so far they're fine.

'Nuff said?

 

Yes, they do really help bring the car to a stop, over repeated braking, as has been stated already, nobody is disputing this. It's a fact that larger diameter, thicker rotors handle heat better and delay the onset of fade, signinicantly over the stock set-up. What they said was there isn't a huge difference between the stock vs Brembo in the 60-0 and 100-0 stops. However, this is not the same game as 120-40 mph deceleration, such as found on many race tracks. MUCH more heat is generated from a full ABS stop from 120-40, than from 60-0. That is where big brake kits excel. Now you guys really wanna improve your braking times, lose the comparatively lame stock rubber and get yourselves some R compound race tires. Afterall, it's not the brakes that reduce stopping distances, it's the tires.

 

ares in your reply you said...as for life, I have no clue.... I know it's not what you were talking about, but me either !

Sorry, that just struck me funny.

Peace, bro