Sunday I picked up a set of Brembos and began my installation, it was already 6PM EST so I finished the front assembly. Yesterday (Monday) I began the rear assembly, trimmed the rotor sheild to fit the Big Brembo Rear Rotors and successfully installed the Calipers, Rotors, Pads and Lines. Next I began to bleed the system (keeping the Brake Fluid Reservoir at MAX) in the squence of Right Rear, Left Rear, Right Front, Left Front. I first bled the inside then the outside until there was NO air bubbles.

Once complete, I put on all of my GT-V's and drove the car to pick up some gas. I noticed my brake peddle goes all the way to the floor before I get any kind of braking and the power is very very weak. I am barely stopping!!

Any advice on what to do now? I called my local performance shop and they told me the most common mistake was to open the inner bleeder. The tech told me to only open the Outter and NEVER the Inner. Is this true?

Is the brake system on a 05 Z pressurized? If so, how do I pressurize it?

Thanks guys!

--Vinny

 

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-susp...m-brembos.html

 

Any brake fuild leaks? You likely have re-bleed the brakes (air still could be trapped in the ABS and/or brake lines). Bleed the brake either the old school way (two person job) or for approx. $60, get a Motive brake bleeder that pressurizes the system. Simply add brake fluid to the bledder, pump to pressurize the system, oper the bleeder screws in a plasitc bottle connected from a plastic hose (fish tank hose to fit the bleeder screw) or buy the the Motive catch bottle.

Bleed the passenger side rear brake first, driver rear brake next, passenger front third, followed by the driver's side front brake. If air is in the ABS, then it will take a while to bleed all the air bubbles out of the system. The brake pedal should return to normal.

Good luck!

 

Thanks guys. Question is, do I need to bleed the Inner bleeder of the Brembo or only the Outter? Tech at Performace Motorsports says to bleed ONLY the Outter? He said thats my problem.

 

Just to be safe, I bled both the inner and outer. Make sure to use a rubber headed mallet to tap on the calipers to break loose any trapped air bubbles.

 

I had the same problem when I installed my brembos and also when I installed my rotaras. I bled the hell outa the brakes, but they would still go to the bottom. I just drove it like that for about a week, pumping the brakes each time to stop and eventually it worked its way out and brakes were fine

 

you have to bleed both the inner and outer valves... reason being is because air travels to the top of the caliper, so if it is trapped on either side, just bleeding one side will not remove the air on the opposing side. Bleed both thoroughly, and I guarantee you'll see a huge improvement. I did the samething on my Stoptech calipers only to realize i was being a dumbass, as well as dangerous by not bleeding both sides of the caliper. Make sure everything is torqued to spec as well. I hope you upgraded to steel braided lines (not necessary, but worthwhile), and I would also recommend using motul rbf600. If not, use valvoline synpower. Great quality brake fluid, especially for over the counter.

 

that tech is wrong... Matt @ stoptech, and one of the guys @ rotora, told me to always bleed both sides (same for brembos). If you think about it, how would bleeding both sides have any negative affect at all, besides wasting brake fluid? Just make sure the reservoir never goes empty. It's a ***** getting air out of the ABS system, trust me.. I know. lol

 

I still haven't done this right, I even brought it in to a brakes shop by my house and he couldn't fix it either. Then he him and his guys starting making stabs saying it could be one of the following:

1: Master Cylinder needs to be from a Brembo Z
2: The Brake Booster needs to be from a Brembo Z
3: It could be one of the calipers

Honestly I don't even know why I went there, but after all the bleeds its still the same. any suggestions?

 

Earlier this year I performed a similar base-to-Brembo conversion on my O4 and changed nothing but the calipers, lines and rotors. I don't believe that you require a specific Brembo booster or master cylinder. It took two bleeds using a Motive speed bleeder to restore pedal feel, but I did not have your experience of the pedal going to the floor. In my case, the pedal was soft following the first bleed, but firmed up after the second. Between bleeds I drove the car around the neighborhood and repeatly applied the brakes. Per the Nissan manual I started the bleed process at the right rear.

One thing that I've been warned of in the bleeding process is to allow the pedal to sink completely to the floor or letting the master cylinder run dry. In some cases that will goof up the master cylinder seals thus requiring a rebuild. I recall that happening years ago when attempting to bleed the brakes of my VW beetle.

 

TEF, I got the Motive Speed Bleeder, pumped it up to about 25 PSI, bleed from passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front, performed the bleed from inside bleeder first then outside while tapping with rubber mallet. Since I bled the brakes 4 times using the old school method, it only took me one bleed with the Motive Speed Bleeder to get my brake pedal back.

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like Brembos definatly require the Motive Speed Bleeder!!!

--Vinny

 

Good to hear that the Motive speed bleeder did the trick. Initally, I was reluctant to spend $50 for the device, but weighed against the cost of a mechanic, it didn't seem that expensive. Moreover, all mechanics are not equal, so a bad mechanic will cost more (and not still solve the problem).

Maybe you can support this thought, but in my case the pedal feel with the Brembo conversion seems harder, but more modulated. By that I mean, that one must push harder on the pedal, but the braking is linear. It reminds me of good brakes on a mountain bike. They do not grab unless one really needs that. Instead, braking with the Brembos is very graduated unless you really stomp on the pedal. Not having driven a "Z" with factory-installed Brembos, it's not clear that the same is true or is this only with a conversion.

 

I'm glad the pressure system worked. I can't remember the proper bleeding sequence for our cars, but that is also a source to consider with the mushy pedal feel.

I'm going to have to order that system!