Raybestos ST-42 front and rear. They work well even when cold so you can drive to the track with them and are easy on the rotors. Exellent stopping power no heat problems. I have burnt up Hawk HP pads on the rear from tracking.

 

Lots of good info on your posts, I'll keep on thinking in the idea of the BBK, but for know I hope just track pads, ducts, and cutting the backing plates help me resolve my issues.

 

It works for me, just prepare to buy a lot of pads, bleed the fluid a lot and stop after 10 min. of hard driving.

 

The problem stems from not having enough cooling to the rear rotors. Have you cut away your dust shield in the rear? If not do it. The problem with the 350Z rear brake design, is it's trying to use a tiny 12" rotor to dissipate heat generated by slowing down a ~300hp motor. The result is heat can't evacuate fast enough, pads over-heat but since the front pads are working okay, you don't notice it until the rear pads are starting to melt and sheer off in chunks.

Problem will be alleviated somewhat by cutting away the dust shield behind the rotor to allow more air flow through the center of the hub, or use a compound rotor design that has openings on either side to allow air into the vanes inside the rotor to speed up cooling. It should extend your rear pad life.

 

I remember my rear rotors were still at 400F after I sat down for a good 8 min. after the session, now thats hot. Cut the shield, it makes a huge difference. I actually didnt cut it, I just made relief cuts and bend it straight back. I was hoping for some ram air affect.

 

I will be putting somesome ducts in the sills of my greddy sideskirts for my rear brakes.

 

That's actually not TOO bad...Since fluids typically boil at 500+ degrees.

However that means you're probably reaching much higher temperature on the track, and that your fluids may be susceptible to boiling. Typically a good set of track compounds that will stand up to the heat will last me 4-8 2 day events, but the 350Z's rear rotor design seems to be problematic with rear pads, especially with the non-brembo smaller brakes.

 

400C or 400F ?

Either way, it isn't that high. Rotors will reach in excess of 1,400F on the race track. The caliper body of my front Brembo will usually go to ~450F.

 

Pads have an optimum range of operation, most pad compound manufacturers will list their pad's operating range. Typically a street pad is effective between say, -50F degrees to ~750F degrees. Anything hotter than that the pad will simply melt and glide above the rotor and your car won't be stopping. Track pads will vary from needing some heat, like up to 250F degrees, before they'll start working, but they'll work all the way up to 1,600F degree (some will) before they give up the ghost.

Also, keeping the pads in their optimum operating range will help prolong the brake pad life as well. But keep in mind, brake fluids boil between 450F degrees to 600F degrees (depending on what you use, of course). If your caliper is reaching 450F degrees, make sure you're running something like ATE Typ200 or ATE superblue or Motul 600 since their dry boiling points are higher than 450F degrees.

But I'm pretty sure you know that already.

 

I'm using RGS610 brake fluid. I love it.

610F dry boiling point
421F Wet boiling point

And for the good bit: very low viscosity a sub zero temp. So I keep it in the car year long.

http://www.renugroupllc.com/rgs610/product_page.htm

 

400F is not bad when you are on track, it is after your cool down lap and waited 8-10 min before any temperature reading...

I like my Wilwood fluid more than the Motul I used. They seem to hold up against heat much better and they have less tendency to attract water.

 

At 400F, my old Spec VR pads haven't reached their operating temperature yet...

 

Where is the best place to purchase Motul brake fluid. I really need to change my brake fluid. Also, what pads can I replace my stoptechs with. I have the 355mm(14in) front and rear. Thanx

 

I dont know where you could buy it online, but I always buy it from a local Kawazaki. You may be able to find a kawazaki dealer close to where you live.

 

Bought mine from Performance Nissan:

http://www.mynismo.com/products/?id=3901

 

Local Motorcycle shops, Motul is a popular brand with crotch rocket crowd.

 

Thanx guys, Ill check em out!

 

I bought my fluid from a motorcycle shop as well since I used the same thing on my race bike...

Regarding pads for the 14" F/R, there are many choices for the front ST40's. For the rear ST45's you only have BHP XPS and the OE ones which are Textar I beleive. From my research though, Mintex also makes pads for the ST45 caliper as does Pagid. StopTech only sells the ones I mentioned first though. The BHP XPS is supposed to be a dual purplose street/light track use pad and doesn't have to be changed between applications.

From talking with StopTech directly though, they say that the pads they supply with the kit on the rear 14" kit will do fine at the track since it won't generate enough heat anyway since the 14" rear is way overkill. I'm doing trackday on june 5th when i will put them to the test, of course I'll have a spare set of rear pads just in case, but I'm inclined to belive the StopTech guys

HTH