I did some searching for these on here and Google, maybe I am just not wording it correctly. Looking to put bigger rotors using the stock calipers. I know there is someone out there making an extension bracket to do this, just can't find them. Any help? do's/dont's???

 

This is definitely a don't. Get a good BBK or go home. Your best option is better pads on the stock rotors and some better tires.

 

i am running hawks on the front, and they are definately better then the stock pads. however, not cutting it anymore.

what i will prolly end up doing is BBK on the front, upgrade rear pads. Money just isn't there to do all 4 yet.

 

I don't see why you couldn't and shouldn't run caliper extenders, especially for a car that's not going to see any track duties. And if it's going to see track duties, I still don't see why you shouldn't use them if you have a quality vendor with quality parts.

There are some benefits to having larger rotors, they provide better heat sink to prevent heat fade and also they provide better brake torque. I do think that if the car is going to see a lot of track work, caliper extenders aren't going to buy you a lot more performance than stock. But for street? They certainly look much better than the puny 11" rotors under massive 19" rims.

http://www.racingbrake.com/350Z_s/2432.htm

Especially if you're in need to replace rotors anyway, this is only marginally more expensive than replacing all the rotors on the car. And it weighs less so that gives you a little bit more performance benefit without having to shell out $2,000-$4,000 for a complete big brake kit.

 

The reason caliper moveout kits are a poor choice in general is that they will shift the brake bias of the car and can easily lead to worse performance, especially if only a front moveout kit is used. The brake torque must be increased proportionally in the front and rear for the brakes to perform any better. Also, the increased radius of the larger rotor will not match the curvature of the stock caliper which is designed for a smaller rotor, which could lead to the pad not making full contact with the rotor and leaving a lip on the pads like this:

 

I've seen that before on other kits...

My experience with "extenders" comes mostly from the BMW side, when my E46 323Ci shares the same identical caliper and pads with the E46 325/328 but different size rotors and caliper mounting hardware. I upgraded from the 11.8" rotors to 12.6" rotors up front, and the rears as well. When engineered properly it works fine. Typically on the BMW rotor the pad sweeping area is slightly smaller than the rotor anyway so it all worked well.

On my 350Z (well, someone else's 350Z now) that I tracked extensively, I had the 4 piston fixed caliper kit from RacingBrake up front and the OE caliper "extend" kit in the rear. The RacingBrake rear kit was engineered in a way that the sweeping area is slightly larger than the sweeping area of the OE rotor, so the pad's sweeping area is slightly smaller and centered on the rotor surface. At least with my experience with their OE caliper kit there doesn't seem to be an issue with the curvature of the pad not matching up to the sweeping area of the rotor.

And I do agree, that you shouldn't just upgrade one axle, if this is the route that you choose you should look into upgrading both ends, especially with a caliper extender kit.

 

Here is our take on move out kits: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/St...Out%20Kits.pdf

Cliffs - We dont like them

 

ok i understood about 30% of that...MAX! ok not really but just for clarifacation......

BBK/front and caliper extender/rear is bad as well.

i know the extenders are frowned upon, but did i read that a extender in front and rear will work?

BBK up front only = poor performance?

 

Its all relative...if the BBK up front increases torque output, then a move out kit can help to bring the balance in line, but it will also lead to an overmaplified system..essentially too much torque output at all 4 corners. That can lead to early ABS activation, higher brake teperatures and poor pedal feel.

This is really dependent on the BBK in questions. If the front kit has been sized to the stock master cylinder and factory rear brakes like the ones we offer, performance will be improved. If the BBK does not take special consideration for these variables and has more torque than stock, stopping distances will likely increase, ABS will not function correctly, etc. These are the same kind of issues that come up with caliper move out kits although the BBK will have more heat capacity.

 

I understand upgrading to BBK for track use. I understand upgrading to properly engineered kits. I still don't understand why "extenders = bad."

On my E46 323Ci I swapped in front and rear E46 325/328i caliper brackets and rotors, and kept the pads and calipers the same (because they were the same parts). No ill effects on the street AND on the track. It's essentially the same concept as the "caliper extender" concept. Visually it filled my 18" wheels much better and performance wise, with a good set of pads (CarboTech Panther Plus) they performed admirably on track. In fact better than some friend's 350Z's OE Brembos.

Unless the 350Z is engineered so differently that the same concepts wouldn't work on a well engineered kit? I thought the 350Z has electronically and automatic bias adjustment? the only problem I see with using the OE caliper rear is that on the non-track version the pads are about as big as my thumb, which isn't saying alot...And that's still the biggest weak-point for the 350Z brake.

The way I see it, for a street only car a good "caliper extender" type upgrade isn't going to decrease your performance per se, if you do front and back. And even for moderate track use, if you have the right pad choice it'll work. If you are going to do a lot of track use, obviously the OE caliper is going to be a weak point and you should consider BBKs.

JMHO. I welcome the other experts thoughts and opinions here as well.

 

The only advantage to the caliper moveout kits is looks and possibly higher heat capacity due to the larger mass of the rotors. You don't gain anything in terms of braking power or shorter distances, because the stock brakes can already lock up easily, and are limited by weight shifting and tire. You DO lose brake travel and modulation which will mean it will be more difficult to control the car entering turns etc. You also have no way to be sure that your brake bias hasn't shifted, most of the kits are made to use existing rotors from another car that are larger, but not necessarilly meant to be used together on the Z. There are more disadvantages than advantages so thats overall, they are a poor option.

 

All great points. Most of the kits on the market, when not engineered and develop right, MAY be detrimental to the brake performance. Same can be said of Big Brake Kit too. I've seen 4 and 6 piston kits engineered so poorly that the pistons end up pushing the bottom end of the pad in first and you get the backing plate grinding against the rotor after a few sessions, but from a quick inspection it would appear you still have plenty of pads left. Or I've seen kits engineered for a small(ish) car with 8 piston calipers but OE calipers and rotors in the rear.

That being said, there are certain products that fits well within certain price range and performance needs. Strictly speaking, if you have budget for just replacement parts, OE blanks or simple slotted rotors in combination with better pads would suffice. But I wouldn't track a 350Z/G35 with that combination. If you don't have the budget to go fixed calipers and big rotors, but want better torque without fade at the track, then I think a set of track pads (Hawk DTC-60, Cobalt Spec VR/XR, CarboTech Panther XP...etc) will probably serve for light to moderate track duties. If you want to go big rotors to fill the large space in the wheel well, want slightly better heat capacity, but don't have the $$$$ to spend for a 4 or 6 piston kit all around, I'm sure a set of well engineered caliper extension kit would be the right choice for the right budget. If you NEED consistent brake feel, larger pad friction surface, better pad choices, and better fade management on track, then the choice is pretty simple...Fixed calipers with floating discs. But they're bank and a waste of money if you don't intend to track the car.

Not everyone needs to go big brakes with 8 piston and 14" rotors that's all.