Brake upgrade
01-06-2008, 04:39 PM
#21
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i feel you man, i started my car in 2004 as a seriously broke college kid. its stil a work in progress, i have however held out on doing the cheap fix and saved to do it right. those brake ducts are cool though.
01-06-2008, 04:48 PM
#22
Originally Posted by Grip_corners
i have very little, If i do it i will need to save, and even then, its blowing my life savings
Sad but true
Sad but true
Tracking 350Z's is for old farts like me who have families and mortgages and long ago gave up serious racing because we chose the wife over the car....
01-06-2008, 05:20 PM
#23
Originally Posted by SteveA
Actually, to be honest, if I was 19, lived in the US and was as interested in racing as you seem to be, I would stop spending money on the 350Z. Take the money you save up for the BBK and spend it at Bondurants or Bridgestone up in Canada. Do a driver search program and get into a school series. Get into a real race cars and forget about tracking road cars. You can buy the BBK for the 350Z when you get that nice fat Indy Car deal
Tracking 350Z's is for old farts like me who have families and mortgages and long ago gave up serious racing because we chose the wife over the car....
Tracking 350Z's is for old farts like me who have families and mortgages and long ago gave up serious racing because we chose the wife over the car....
Removing 100 pounds will have a bigger effect on braking than you probably realize. Shoot, my car in Stock class autocross trim is 3204 (with 18" 285s), so 3212 on 17" 275s is REALLY overweight, especially since you can do a lot more for road racing than you can for Stock class Solo.
I've been through the Russell Racing school system in California as well as the Evolution autocross schools. Professional race craft instruction is essential for anyone who wants to become a professional race car driver. It's as critical to a driver as medical school is to a surgeon!
In fact, I'll imagine that you'll find that after the professional instruction that you'll actually be quite a less abusive on the brakes (and probably tires and the rest of your equipment as well) than you are now.
01-06-2008, 05:38 PM
#24
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Originally Posted by terrasmak
what wheels are you running , there are a few 17's that will fit 14 inch brakes. I know Megan 14 inch , Racing Brake and any other kit with similer dimentions will fit under my 17 inch wheels.
01-06-2008, 05:44 PM
#25
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Originally Posted by z-u-later
Do you know if the Megan 14" BBK will fit the stock 17" rims? If not, which BBK would? Also, is there a BBK template I can print out so I can find out if they fit my rims?
01-06-2008, 07:34 PM
#26
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Originally Posted by z-u-later
Do you know if the Megan 14" BBK will fit the stock 17" rims? If not, which BBK would? Also, is there a BBK template I can print out so I can find out if they fit my rims?
01-06-2008, 07:41 PM
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Originally Posted by terrasmak
You can get the template from any of the websites, and i dont know about the stock 17's i've never had a set to play with.
01-06-2008, 07:41 PM
#28
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Originally Posted by n1cK!
i also wondered the same thing. unfortunately, megan does not have a template on their website (like stillen). when i called and talked to their "tech," they said that it would only work on 18's (though others say that that it may fit under wide 17's). i was waiting for confirmation on this.
And i can't find that one right now either.
01-06-2008, 09:12 PM
#31
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Originally Posted by SteveA
Actually, to be honest, if I was 19, lived in the US and was as interested in racing as you seem to be, I would stop spending money on the 350Z. Take the money you save up for the BBK and spend it at Bondurants or Bridgestone up in Canada. Do a driver search program and get into a school series. Get into a real race cars and forget about tracking road cars. You can buy the BBK for the 350Z when you get that nice fat Indy Car deal
Tracking 350Z's is for old farts like me who have families and mortgages and long ago gave up serious racing because we chose the wife over the car....
Tracking 350Z's is for old farts like me who have families and mortgages and long ago gave up serious racing because we chose the wife over the car....
Last edited by Grip_corners; 01-06-2008 at 09:15 PM.
01-06-2008, 10:17 PM
#32
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Originally Posted by SteveA
I have a 06 with Brembos which has been tracked regularly since it was run in. I had terminal fade since the first track day and went down the improvement road of braided lines, RBF600 fluid, and several different pad compounds from Axxis ULTs, Hawk HP+s and eventually getting best results out of a PFC01/PFC97 combo.
All that happened was the brakes got better and better at generating heat so the braking improved for shorter and shorter periods until my calipers were black and my dust seals were crispy.
I then added some home made brake ducts which at least looked cool while my brakes continued fading.
At the end of the day the stock brembo setup is just not designed to get rid of the heat generated by hard tracking a heavy car.
When I first bought the car I thought the progressive brake upgrade would be sensible, but it hasn't been cost effective. I've used 5 different sets of expensive pads, ruined the stock calipers and rotors and I still don't have a great brake setup.
I have now resisted the urge to just try changing the rotors and have ordered a set of stop-techs. My advice is that if you see yourself doing a lot of tracking in the future, don't bother with the step by step improvements, just buy a BBK now. You will save money in the long run! Plus your stock brembos will still be in good condition if you ever want to put them back on the car or sell them.
All that happened was the brakes got better and better at generating heat so the braking improved for shorter and shorter periods until my calipers were black and my dust seals were crispy.
I then added some home made brake ducts which at least looked cool while my brakes continued fading.
At the end of the day the stock brembo setup is just not designed to get rid of the heat generated by hard tracking a heavy car.
When I first bought the car I thought the progressive brake upgrade would be sensible, but it hasn't been cost effective. I've used 5 different sets of expensive pads, ruined the stock calipers and rotors and I still don't have a great brake setup.
I have now resisted the urge to just try changing the rotors and have ordered a set of stop-techs. My advice is that if you see yourself doing a lot of tracking in the future, don't bother with the step by step improvements, just buy a BBK now. You will save money in the long run! Plus your stock brembos will still be in good condition if you ever want to put them back on the car or sell them.
SteveA, thanks for shareing, I see people go through this all the time. It is just not worth the money, headache's, expensive track time lost (when you burn up your brakes and have to go home), and the overall frustration.
It is a simple choice, save and go with a BBK.
01-06-2008, 10:25 PM
#33
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Originally Posted by SteveA
Then they are easily pleased..
Not familiar with the category, but more likely they are restrained by rules to a lack of choice to go bigger which I am betting they would if they could.
Not familiar with the category, but more likely they are restrained by rules to a lack of choice to go bigger which I am betting they would if they could.
