My brakes are coming up for renewal, I'm pretty sure they are just OEM.

I'm not willing to spend the money for a BBK, or a 2-piece rotor setup. I just don't have the cash, and lets just say my current racing class doesn't allow bbk's. Is anything really considered an upgrade from stock brakes without going BBK?

I see alot of people buying stock sized STOPTECH rotors, Drilled and Slotted, and spending $400+ dollars. Why not just buy Centric Premium blanks for half+ the price? What a complete waste of money, as every intelligent person knows that Slotting and Drilling rotors are just for show, and don't really help dissipate the heat, or at least it's not worth an extra $60-70 a rotor. Same with the premium R1concept brakes, they are just centric cores. Anyways, went off-topic.

So I guess the question is.. without going BBK, am I going to get better braking then stock? And less brake fade?

My current plan is to get 4 Premium Centric Blank Rotors from Rock-Auto, for $44 a piece, and then a set of HAWK pads. Spending considerably less then a stoptech setup, for the same braking power.

Thoughts?

 

If I was looking to stay in a specific class in racing, which did not allow BBk upgrades, I would do centric blanks, race pads (XP12/10) and a cooling duct. It would be almost as good as a BBK in terms of stopping power i feel..

 

Interesting.. I'll take a look at those pads.

I am considering stoptech or r1concept blanks (which are similar to rockauto's price), only because of the ZINC coating they put on them which helps them not rust.

What about different brake lines? Wouldn't that help the brake fade by not allowing the hoses to swell? Probably alot better then spending an extra $200 on holes and slots.

 

Performance related upgrades (Street/AX related):
Performance street pads, stainless steel brakelines, brake cylinder brace, better tires (can only brake as good as your tires stick), speed bleeders (clean, air/water free fluid from routine bleed/replace), driving school (mod the driver), lighter wheels/unsprung mass, lighter car, caliper overhaul/new seals, promonently displayed brake vendor sticker (proven to take 3ft off 60-0 stopping distance!)

Temp (Track) related::
high temp brake fluid (e.g. ATE Superblue, Motul 600), dedicated track pads, titanium shim heat shields, cooling ducts, R compound tires

 

Honestly you seem more educated on the subject than most of the people you are asking.

Before I bought a bbk, I just went with a 600 fluid, new lines, and new pads. Which reduced fade a decent amount. Depending on what kind of racing you do, a decent pad and lines should be a cost effective upgrade.

 

I didnt notice any difference with SS lines, but for 60 bucks you can't go wrong. Pad choice made the biggest difference. I am currently using a Wilwood 6 pot BBK, running E compound (similar to carbotech XP12, just softer), and carbotech XP10 in the rear for a good brake bias. It feels great. I don't think the increase pad area would make a difference in stopping power.

 

^True, most of the time braking power isn't the issue, it's thermal capacity.

Another advantage of BBKs, is the fixed caliper. Fixed calipers tend to reduce flex and increase pedal feel allowing better threshold braking/modulation.

 

You can do the budget upgrade:
Fancy rotors
Stainless steel lines
New pads
Fresh brake fluid

Doubt that any of the above will decrease stopping distance. If you want better brakes the only way is to go with multiple cylinder big brakes.

BTW going from 350Z OEM to 370Z Akebono brakes is like WOW

EDIT: Can not believe I said cylinder. What was I thinking. Piston.

 

I guess i'm more concerned about brake fade.

I think the ultimate OEM sized budget "upgrade" would be:

Centric Premium Blank Rotors ($44)
Brake Pad of your choice ($40 - $80?)
Fresh fluid
Stainless Steel Brake lines.

 

By no means telling ya to buy cross-dilled slotted rotors, but the idea behind them was to allow gases from the breakdown (at higher heats) of the bonding agents in the pad compound to escape through the rotor instead of being trapped in between the rotor and the pad. Thus keeping the pad from "floating" on the gas during hard (high-speed, repeated, track use) braking. But that is just in theory.

After I melted the seals in my caliper at the track I rebuilt and went with Hawk pads, SS lines, and A 600 fluid.

Hoping it helps.

 

Good Fluid
Good Pads
SS lines

all you need unless your boiling your fluid on track

/thread

but i can't even convice my own self of that.... BBK just look so sexy.

 

What brakes do you have now? OEM brembo or the others?

 

Oem 370z ftw!

 

Right now I have the standard brakes. 2003 Touring.

So without going BBK, or 2-piece rotor setup.

I am going to do:

SS Lines
Hawk HPS pads
Centric Blank Premium Rotors
New Fluid (not sure what yet)

I guess I am trying to eliminate brake fade. The above is not going to make the car have any better stopping power then stock, but I'm hoping it will eliminate some of my fade.

 

Are you allowed OEM brembo's , how about OEM 06+ brakes. The stock 03 to 05 brakes really suck for the track, i went to 06's for a while and it helped, then i bit the bullet and bought a BBK.

 

I'm not 100% sure.

Ither or.. I can't really afford to buy the '06 calipers tho. Money is kinda tight.

 

PM nforce1 he has a set he just took off, probably get them with brackets for under $150 , then you would just need rotors and pads.

 

hust got drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads on my 08 on all four corners for 250 cant beat that there even cheaper for 03-05

 

LOL, so how do they hold up in race conditions, how many laps do you get before your pads start to fade, any problems with your rotors cracking after being brought up to temps involved in a race?

 

sorry no track yet just put them on a week ago then sent the car in for recall work hub assembly was smoked i will let you know later cause i just got the car back today so i will test them soon