In doing my research on buying a new Z, I'm slowing realizing that the main reason I'm so drawn to the Track model is because of the included Brembo braking system. Pretty much all of the other things that make the Track different from the Performance model I can live without (i.e., Rays wheels, front and rear spoiler). But, I do like those Brembos.

I'm sure the stock Z brakes work just fine. I don't know why I'm so torn over this, though. Anyone feel the same way? If not, why not?

I'd really like to know, because if I can be convinced that it isn't worth spending the extra $ for a Track over a Performance model it saves me quite a bit of money. Thanks in advance.

 

Benefits of Brembos

they look damn cool
and they don't have brake fade, meaning that when you brake hard over extended amounts of times, the brakes don't start to reduce in performance.

whereas the normal brakes will have fade.

if you are planning on racing on a road course or AutoXing, then get the Brembos. otherwise the normal ones are good enough for street application.

hope that helps.
victor

 

Thanks for the heads up, Victor. To be perfectly honest, I have no intention of running the car on a track or autocrossing. I suppose the only reason I'd want the Brembos would be for the coolness factor.

Damn Nissan! Why couldn't they have outfitted all of their 6MT Z's with Brembos like they do with their 6MT G35s??

 

my suggestion is to get the performance and upgrade to the brembos later.

there are usually people selling their brembos for around $2100-2200

 

For me - At least on the "G" the Infiniti (Nissan) brakes are too touchy. I have never driven a "Z", so I don't know if you guys have the same issue. The Brembos are great however, feel, fade resistance, and they stop you right now. One thing that's driving me crazy though - DUST.

Lou

 

replace your pads with hawk hps, less dusting

 

Woah! The brakes are a $2100 option??? How much would it cost to install something like that?

 

no, they are much more than that from the dealership, the price i gave is what people sell them for.

i don't know the installation cost since i do everything at home.

 

dont you have to have 18in. rims for the brembos to fit? also, how much would brembos be new? the dealership price is prolly more then other places.

 

EnthuZ has 13" STOPTECH brakes on his enthusiast 17" wheels.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=25673

Brembos shoud be fine.

 

The dust from the brembo brake is CRAZY!!!! It'll be everywhere in 1 day!
Btw, I noticed the brembo brake on my Z makes some noice when stopping, is it normal for Brembos on Track Model? How about non-brembos?

 

I bought the Track for both the brakes and the wheels. I do not race and currently do not AutoX (future maybe), and in all honestly, I probably get little benefit from the Brembos. From what I read, the only Benefit from the Brembos is fade resistance. Yes, they do look way cool, and they stop fast. They've helped to keep several small animals wandering aimlessly in front of me alive to see another day.

Mike: The brake dust from the Brembos tends to get the gorgeous Rays wheels dirty very quickly. What's the deal with the hawk hps pads? Are they similar in performance to the stock pads?


I think I get more benefit from the Rays wheels. For one, they look great, which is the selling point for many aftermarket wheels. The main reason: they are about 7-8lbs lighter than the other stock 18's. You can buy these or similar rims later, but they are not cheap. The ligher rims means less unsprung weight. Reviewers have complained (esp. Edmunds) about the rough ride of the Track model because of its "performance suspension". What they're feeling is every bump in the road - the lightweight rims can react very quickly to a road surface. Personally, I like it. If a wanted a Cadillac, I would've bought one.

 

HPS have better braking performance over the factory Ferodo pads. They dust less, they are less harsh on the rotors and are noiseless.

 

For what it is worth, Brembo's are standard on the 2 UK versions and I think also on the European versions. I believe they have also tweaked the suspension.

All down to how Nissan see different market requirements.

I had sort of decided on the Track for the brakes and wheels, forgo the DVD, and then the local dealer gets a convertable in and having seen it, I just do not know what to do. No Brembo option on that.

 

Thank Dave Zeckhausen for this info... I got it from him.

The purpose of bigger brakes is not to grab the disk harder. Stock brakes will lock up the wheels. The purpose of bigger brakes is to dissipate heat better. Heat = fade. Bigger brakes handle more heat. Better brake pads handle more heat, etc.

So I'm thinking that I can't afford an upgrade to StopTechs at this point in time, I might as well upgrade everything else. I put Axxis Ultimate pads on front and Porterfield pads on back. I upgraded to StopTech stainless steel brake lines. I replaced my brake fluid with ATE Super Blue Racing (Dave recommended Motul 600 if I was going to really race, but ATE Blue is good enough for casual track use). I also cut away the dust guards on the back wheels, allowing them to breathe better.

The result: an entire day at the track (challenging circuit track, not drag) driving hard (I mean actually race driving, where you brake at the last possible moment and brake HARD to set up for the turn). No brake-fade at all. My brakes worked great. These are standard Touring brakes.

Now, I am still an amateur, so I am sure I did not push the car as hard as a pro would. And of course, we spent 50% of our time off the track because there were two groups. In spite of that, I put in roughly 150 miles of track driving that day. While driving, I took this philosophy to heart: if you want to be a seriously competitive race driver, your right foot should only be one of two places: with the gas pedal to the floor, or the brake pedal to the floor; anything else slows you down.

I was extremely pleased with the results of my upgrades. Like I said, Dave recommended that I choose a more serious pad than Axxis Ultimate if I was going to be doing serious race driving all day long, since the AU has a lower breakdown temp than many club racing brakes, but it's a good compromise for casual track and street use. He also recommended Motul 600 for serious track use, but said ATE Super Blue costs a lot less and will be more than adequate for casual track use.

 

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

 

Which reiterates my point, but I think you just discounted what I was saying. The stock brakes fade sooner because they can't disipate as much heat. Just because you upgrade components doesn't mean they are still going to fade after the same ten stops.

Upgrade the pads, upgrade the brake fluid, cut off the dust shields, and you've moved even closer to the Brembos. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not under some delusion that my brakes are now just as good as Brembos. But I am saying that they didn't give me any competitve disadvantage at the track.