I am a lame question but i thought i might as well ask and get flame. but i rather find out the answer and get flame instead of not knowing the answer.

I saw people selling lots and lots of after market brakes. and i cannot help but wonder if the after market brakes are better than stock brakes. Can any one please tell me the major discrepancy. thanks so much. I drove my friends Z and it has stock brakes which are non brembo. I got my brembo as part of gt. and also drove others with stop tech and something else that i forgot the brand. I dont really feel the different in term of stopping distance. but my friends said there is a different. please let me know the difference. thank you

 

oops .. posted in the wrong sections.. sorry mode please move.. thanks

should be in discussion for 350z

 

Eh, people are quick to flame here. No worries, imho I think the manufacturer did the best job they could in terms of optimizing the brake feel with the shortest braking distance. I believe that the stock brakes will offer close to the shortest stopping distances you will see in that vehicle without changing wheel/tire and suspension setup. The difference between the BASE setup vs the upgraded sport package (akebono multi piston package), vs aftermarket big brake package is the resistance to brake fade in multiple stops or road course racing situations. The bigger the setup you have the more resistance to fade you get not necessarily the shortest all out stopping distance you get for one panic stop. That being said you have to ask yourself: do you really track the vehicle on a consistent basis in order to justify spending xxx amount of $ for a higher level braking package? Are you more concerned about the look of the bigger brakes or are you really after the greater fade resistance? After you answer those questions the rest is easy.

 

Science tells you YES.

Going from a 2 pot to 4 pot calliper, for example, has twice the clamping power. This should decrease stopping distance.

Same with bigger rotors and pads. Greater friction surface should decrease stopping distance.


Lots of science and real world testing goes into brakes such as above. BBK for the 350Z is an attempt to mimic above without the cost of $10,000/wheel.

On the other hand one brake stops your car from 60 MPH in 100 feet.
Another brake 95 feet. Does the 100 feet brake have a practical advantage on the street? Doubt it.

 

There isn't a whole lot of difference in stopping power between non-Brembo, Brembo and aftermarket brakes, especially at the speeds and conditions you drive in daily. While measurable in a controlled environment, you won't feel or notice it. We're only talking about 2-3 ft differnce over 100ft stopping distance from 60MPH.

A BBK is all about heat management. If you are racing/tracking the car, then the brakes heat up and you lose stopping power. A BBK is more capable of handling those higher temperatures.

 

Also, some people get aftermarket pads for less brake dust/less noise.

 

Anyone willing to put in some info about the ideal usage/limitations of oem brembos vs akebonos vs a more expensive aftermarket kit?

 

A - B comparisons are few because of the expense. You can quantify stopping distance. Not certain how you can accurately measure fade.

 

Ahh fade was actually what I was wondering about. I am mainly doing my setup for the street and maybe a track day or two once in a great while, I highly suspect akebonos would be very functional for that role.

 

As long as you can engage the ABS with the base 350z brakes then your only limitation (in terms of braking distance) at this point is your tires. Tires play a huge role in braking distance.

 

The "track" can mean many different things. I have participated in HPDE. 4 - 20 minute sessions. 2 morning. 2 afternoon. Plenty of time between for cool-down.

I went from 2004 OEM brakes to 370Z Akebono brakes. The first day I had the 370Z I was literally sliding to red lights. Not sure if it was the brakes or peddle presser. Took about a day to adjust my braking technique.

 

What did u mean by sliding? :/

 

i will do a distance test on a fresh set of r compound tires eventually.
this should confirm that my car is stopping pretty "quickly"

i am already convinced i've improved my cars braking significantly w/
the r35 setup.... but i'll let the numbers do the talking once i'm setup.

 

Skidding. The brakes catch and the tires skid to a stop.

 

Pads can make a big difference. I'm using Endless pads and they grip harder than OEM pads by a mile. Sometimes they're a little too grippy on the street.

 

the biggest difference i noticed was the feel. The brakes felt more linear and responsive then compared to the stock sliding mechanism. Its definitely one of the best upgrades ive made to the car. Tints are first

 

no it doesn't - clamping power (however you want to define that) is a byproduct of the size of the pistons relative to stock (and how they interact with the hydraulic system of the car) and the compound of the pad and how they interact with the rotor (coefficient of friction, aka 'mu').

no it shouldn't - it will give you better pad life though, as more pistons typically = a more even force being exerted onto the pad as it interacts with the rotors (again, variables exist in the caliper design, but this is the general trend one can expect assuming the same compounds are used and the same rotor materials)

if you want to reduce braking distances, there are 2 basic ways - less weight, and more traction

the purpose of a properly engineered big brake kit is to allow that same stop to be repeated over, and over, and over, and over, and over (you get the idea) again, without any meaningful degredation in the stopping distances (ie it's for consistency). Braking works via friction, and friction causes heat. The larger brake kits simply are far better equipped to deal with that heat, and as a result, are far more consistent than the smaller factory counterparts

 

thanks for all of the responses guys. i now understood the braking system better. thank you. i dont track my car so i dont think i need to upgrade... plus i already got the stock brembos so no need to upgrade anyways. am i right? or stock brembo is still not as good as after market. i mean in a daily driving routing it should be the same right? except for fading and all those stop but stopping distance should be the same right? thanks

 

ok, for anyone that says there is no difference, either u dont own a BBK, or u dont drive hard enough to notice.... i upgraded to wilwood 6 piston fornt 4 piston rear, and the stopping distance has improved drastically. the brakes grab so hard its ridiculous in my opinion. probably the best upgrade ive done thus far.

and for all the scientific geek stuff in this thread, it definitely feels a lot better than stock....... i dont know if its in the mind or not lol

 

the stock brembos are fine. dont waste ur money on something you wont benefit from.