Is it normal for 350Z's to have extremely high brake temperatures?
 

I recently went to a track session with a 350Z (non-Brembo) and was surprised by how hot my brakes got compared to the other cars (mostly RX8s). Smoke was literally coming out of the wheels and I noticed the paint on the outer surface of the pad started bubbling and changed colour. Is this normal?

I was using EBC Yellowstuff pads and Wilwood 600+ brake fluid.

The braking was pretty good, little to no fade, and consistent braking. Should I be concerned about the brake temps?

Are there useful mods to allieviate the heat? I searched around the forum and read that the Stillen brake ducts are not effective. Any other solutions?

Here's a few pictures to show the bubbling:
https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2516...ae943d62_b.jpg

Closer look:
https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2467...86e71b53_b.jpg

Yeah the Z standard rotors are pretty small and don't shed heat well. Plus I think the veins in the rotors might be straight instead of directional curves.

The RX-8 has pretty big rotors, not to mention it weighs about 500 lb. less than the Z, so it's brakes will not overheat as quickly.

You can try using slotted rotors, that should help disapate heat. If your a baller you might as well just get a BBK!

I don't think slotted rotors help cooling in any way. If anything drilled would cool a bit better, but I can't imagine by much. Cooling could be done by some sort of cooling vents installed.

But when it comes to heat dissipation it's a world where bigger really does mean better. A BBK would be the best way to go. Or carbon ceramic rotors.... oh yeah

Unless you put a infrared temperature gauge on them, then you don't know if they're "too hot" or not.

If they were too hot, you'd have to worry about your pads, not the rotors. That would be one of the first things you'd worry about - getting some track pads.

Don't waste your time or money on drilled rotors. Slotted rotors help the gases to escape from between the pads and rotors, they're not going to do anything to help temperatures.

Yes, a BBK will help you run cooler at the track. You have to ask yourself if you really need them in light of how much track activity you're going to be doing vs the cost. Again, I go back to my original question - without having measured temperatures, how do you know???

PS - I've come off the track with rotors smoking. But I never experienced problems with pads or fade so I'd say they weren't too hot in my case.

As mentioned before, I have the EBC Yellowstuff pads which are fairly track-oriented.

My question was: is the smoking rotors and bubbling paint coating normal. I would have thought that fact that the coating was bubbling would be enough to indicate 'too hot' temps, but I guess not.

Dave is right you could get a IR temp gun and get some readings... but considering yours were smoking and the RX-8's weren't, assuming you did the same number of laps and have similar braking styles/usage, then your Z's probably were hotter. Again the Z is heavier and has smaller rotors, both of which are going to contribute to higher temps.

BBK and some good air ducting for cooling would be the best way to go, but of course this will cost $3K plus probably, so unless you track the car enough to justify that cost you may need to try some other things.

The first thing I would do would be look at your braking technique, perhaps your using your brakes too much. Next I would look at pads, there are many diff types of pad materials and they will all react a little differently in different situations.

I think some cooling ducts would help a lot... but I have yet to see a clean and easy to install offer from anyone.