Xzero

iTrader: (2)

*Crosses fingers for this to be made into a STICKY*

Every week new members come to the BRAKE/SUSPENSION board asking if the OEM-to-Brembo swap is possible.
It is VERY possible & has been done by MANY members here, including myself! The Brembo calipers will fit with ALL OEM stock rims,
even the 17" wheels!
The install is actually very simple, there is a GREAT write-up in the DIY section thanks to Michla22:
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...bo-brakes.html



This is what you need for a complete Brembo swap:

-Front & Rear Brembo Calipers
-Front & Rear Rotors made for Brembos
-Front & Rear Brake Lines made for Brembos (Preferably Stainless Steel)
-Front & Rear Brake Pads made for Brembos
-4x Rear Brembo Caliper Mounting Bolt (PART# 08041-2351A) !!!!!!!!*****IMPORTANT*****!!!!!!!!
-2L of Brake Fluid
-Anti-Squeal cream
-Motive Pressure Bleeder (PART# MP-0107) (Not Necessary but will Help ALOT with bleeding)
-Tin snips to cut the rear dust shields ( You may want to sand the edges down afterwards)



As for the question "What is the best ***** to use?",I will tell you that the "search" feature on this forum is
VERY useful in helping you research what pads,rotors,lines,fluid etc. you should buy to suit your style
& needs.




For a reference, here is what I used:




Brembo Calipers www.autosupplyco.com $710+$56 shipping (All calipers are rebuilt & painted your choice of color)
(FRONT)
PART#: 142.42115 (RIGHT)
PART#: 142.42116 (LEFT)
Brembo Calipers www.auotsupplyco.com $510+$40 shipping
(REAR)
PART#: 142.42559 (RIGHT)
PART#: 142.42560 (LEFT)

Posi-Quiet Brake Pads www.auotsupplyco.com $45+$10 shipping
PART#: 106.09600 (FRONT)
Posi-Quiet Brake Pads www.auotsupplyco.com $36+$10 shipping
PART#: 106.09610 (REAR)

Powerslot rotors www.tirerack.com $570+$100 shipping
PART#: 126.42076SL (FRONT LEFT)
PART#: 126.42076SR (FRONT RIGHT)
PART#: 126.42079SL (REAR LEFT)
PART#: 126.42079SR (REAR RIGHT)

Motive Pressure Bleeder www.hrpworld.com $52+$16 shipping
PART#: MP-0107

Project Mu Inner Sports Shoes www.nengun.com $182+$20 shipping
PART#: IS200B

Stoptech Stainless Steel Lines www.ebay.ca $80+$9 shipping
PART#: 950.420004 (FRONT)
Stoptech Stainless Steel Lines www.ebay.ca $70+$9 shipping
PART#: 950.42503 (REAR)

Nissan OEM Brembo Caliper Mounting Bolt www.nissan.ca $22
PART# 08041-2351A (REAR)

ATE Super Blue www.ebay.ca $30+$23 shipping
(3L)

Permatex Ultra Slick Brake Lube www.canadiantire.ca $10
(80ml)

Brembo Calipers Custom Painted Silverstone www.screaminpaintworks.com $350


TOTAL: $2667 + $294 shipping = $2961


Just to let you know, these prices are a year old when the Canadian dollar was on par with the U.S. dollar.
I shopped around for the best prices for the items I wanted at that time. You can lower this price by quite
a bit by getting cheaper rotors & finding parts locally.I also opted for the Project Mu Inner Sports
Shoes & getting my calipers custom painted which added over $550 to the price.If you could find everything
locally & don't mind using generic parts you could get the price under $2000 EASILY! That is a GREAT deal!
Now I know some people are going to say "You could have got ***** brand BBK for around that price!" I have
yet to see a FULL F&R BBK for under $2000 other than used ones from ebay auctions. Maybe I could have gotten something different for the $3000
that I paid but then I'd have to worry about fitment & would most likely have to buy aftermarket rims,
which I do not want.



Now its time for one of the most important things..... Before & After PICS!!!!!!

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

BEFORE:

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

AFTER:

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

UPDATE!

Well, its been just over 3 months & 3700km since I have done this conversion & everything is going well! (61,400KM)

The posi-quiet brake pads work as intended, I have not heard a SINGLE squeal/noise from the brakes yet. They hold up very well in the rain & stopping power is not diminished. The dust from these pads are so minimal, it's unreal! I did a test, I didn't wash my car for 3 weeks & the amount of brake dust that was built up could barely be seen. A GREAT buy for the price!

The calipers do not leak, they have no problems what-so-ever, for re-builts they are superb!

The rotors have no visible scoring, cracks or other abnormalities. The factory machine marks are gone & I have absolutely no rust or corrosion on the hats.

I have not tested the Project Mu Inner Sports Shoes(I do not track/drift the car, it's just my summer cruiser), they were mostly put on because everything was coming off anyways.

My stopping power is excellent as always, I'll have to admit I don't feel a difference between these & the 03-05 factory calipers/brake pads/rotors. As I only use the car for city driving, I wasn't expecting a difference in stopping power, just a difference in looks.

All in all, I am VERY impressed. I know 3700km is not a lot to base results upon but because this car only see about 5000km on the road each year, I thought I would give me 0.02 cents before I park it for the winter this month. Again, thanks to all that helped me with info(especially Michla22 for the great DIY write-up) & to all those reading this thread!

UPDATE!

It has be over a year & 9300KM since the install. (67,000KM)
So far, so good! Everything is working as intended, the system feels the same as if I just installed it.

I had my front left caliper leaking from the banjo bolt very slowly. It leaked fluid on my caliper & ruined some of the paint on the back of the caliper. All that was needed was to tighten the bolt & bleed the brakes in case any air got into the system.
It's best to inspect your work for a while after to catch things that may pop up, such as this. Other than that, the calipers are working perfectly, no sticky/seized pistons, dust boots are still intact.

Washing my rims every second day is now a thing of the past! The posi-quiet brake pads are great for street driving & leave behind virtually no brake dust! I hand-wash my car and hand-wash the rims every second wash now, that's how low dusting these pads are!There is still TONS of pad left & absolutely NO brake squeal! I swear, I have not heard one squeal or noise from these pads! Very impressed!

The Power-Slot rotors have no abnormal markings/wear/grooves. The rotors have not warped. There is NO rust or corrosion on the hats or the veins in the rotors.

The steel-braided lines are fine, no cracks/bubbles/leaks.

The Project Mu E-Brake Shoes have never been used for their direct purpose but i can tell you that they grip pretty well when I park on a hill!

I guess that's the end of my review. If you want a set of Brembo calipers for a great price, check out ASC. They rebuild them well & are a great company to deal with!

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

Reserved

kham25

iTrader: (3)

Before and after thoughts ? Do these really make that big a difference comparing to stock brakes? Im was thinking about this upgrade myself in the near future.. I killed my stock OEM brakes and rotors in only 10k miles
Price is great but were you concerned at all about buying rebuilt calipers?

guitman32

iTrader: (15)

They won't if all you're doing is daily driving. If that's all you're doing, it'll be a waste of mula. The major benefit of a bigger braking system is increased heat management, which usually isn't a factor in one-time stopping situations.

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

I do not track the car & I probably wont get to take it to the moutains this year so I have nothing to say other than the stock brakes seem to stop just as well as the Brembos in daily driving.

My before and after thoughts are based mostly on looks, it's pretty much the main reason for me buying them(I was sick of seeing other Zs & Gs with Brembos ). My car stands out 10x more than it did before when it had the small stock calipers & rotors. I LOVE the color, the silverstone fits the style of the car & the "all silver" look Im going for. The Brembos have REALLY changed the whole appearance of my car.

As for buying rebuilt calipers, the only thing I was worried about was cosmetic damage. You can see some places with imperfections from rock chips through the paint on the rebuilts. I was just hoping my set didn't come off a wreck that had gouges all over them. I have bought MANY rebuilt items for my winter beater & every part seemed to look brand new, has a great warranty & is WAY cheaper than actual new parts. If anything ever fails/seizes up with them, I'll just buy a rebuild kit & fix them myself.

rromero

iTrader: (1)

cant see your calipers now.

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

Thats the whole point, the brake system blends in with the car. My buddies wanted me to paint them red or yellow.....

rromero

iTrader: (1)

Looks like a good job though. just need to put Brembo on them.

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

Nah, the calipers are going to stay stickerless. If I were going to put stickers on, I would have went with the color white & had the bodyshop apply the stickers & clearcoat over them so they wouldn't peel,fade,rip,tear,etc.

Plus, the calipers looks VERY clean without stickers & I have debadged the rear so everything is flowing nicely together(I will fill in the front when I get an 06+ front bumper & NISMO front lip.I found a place that has the bumper for $480CDN NEW).

CLETUS

Pretty Ballsy..... A drop-top in Canada (eh?!?!?) Brakes look good, nice little writeup!

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

Thanks!

Yeah, living in Calgary is good and bad. I get to drive my car 4 months out of the year.
A 2004.5 at 57,700km is pretty sweet though!

gennosuke1

iTrader: (6)

i dont get so what do they rebuild? kidna liek a salvage car?

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

They usually take the whole caliper apart, get all the rust & dirt off them, put in a new piston(s), seals, bleeder valves/screws, etc. You also get all new slider pins & clips plus you get OEM brake pads depending where/what you're buying.

A rebuilt caliper is a caliper that has been used then gets taken apart & everything in it is cleaned & replaced to work as if it were brand new. Only downfall is the cosmetic damage that was done to the caliper before the rebuild.

The rebuilds from ASC are usually salvaged off of junk 350z's from the wreckers. Mine came in GREAT shape, only one small blemish(the other three look perfect), seen in this pic:







Thats how they came from ASC. I wanted them the Brembo orange but it was too hard for them so I settled with gold. As you can see they look BRAND NEW, & perform as such as well!

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

Here's a pic of a basic rebuild kit:

maXmood

iTrader: (16)

nice stuff.. i'm thinking stock brembos too, tho they will be mainly for the looks. just like the OP

cdoxp800

iTrader: (12)

Wow..

You could have gotten a New Akebono 14" Big Brake Kit with stoptech slotted rotors $2,315.00 shipped.
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes/4142...at-1200-a.html

Now I do have to give your credit for a job well done. Looks like you did a great amount of research on the Brembo. To bad the Akebono will not fit the 17" wheels.

Xzero

iTrader: (2)

Thank you for the kind words! I did as much research as I could AFTER I ordered the calipers,lol! It was too good of a deal to pass up!

As for the Akebono calipers, I COULD have gone that way( I have the 18" rims) but there was no choices for rotors/pads/etc., just OEM, last summer when I was buying my brakes but main reason I didn't go the Akebono route is that I dont want 370z parts on my 350z.

My final price of $2961CDN was when our dollar was on par with the US dollar last year & had other things factored into it, lots of shipping charges/ e-brake shoes, paint, etc. That price of $2315US for the Akebono/Stoptech kit right now equals around $2750CDN, maybe more because of shipping. Add the import fees on something such as automotive parts, keeping in mind weight, & the custom paint etc. & it would be around $3400CDN or more in the end.