Jergens

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys, sorry for this question but I need to learn these things. I have looked at the various brake upgrades I've casually come across on the website.. and they are REALLY expensive.

5k for upgraded brakes? Yeesh. I was curious if the improvements are really worth that sort of overhaul? I am not tracking my car very seriously. I might go to a few events. I do want to go and work on some force induction, and having all that power on some subpar brakes I have to say is more than a little scary. My question is why do the brakes cost nearly as much as the turbos? I know this is probably a dumb question in many people's eyes. But for me I WANT to buy top quality, but I also want to know as much about every system on the car as possible. I am trying to educate myself and this is the first car I will own with a strong offering of aftermarket options. Anyone who has a good breakdown for me or could just offer little tidbits of info about things I would greatly appreciate it. I need a guru

~Josh

ecnal123

not a guru but i will tell you this: If you want top quality you'll pay top price. Cant compromise. I agree though the prices are steep. I would recomend you not worry about the brakes till later on(after the forced induction). You'll have downtime installing the FI and tuning it so you really dont need top quality brakes for awhile untill you really want to push the vehicle to its limits. But, if you want to make sure you have all the aspects of the car covered before the FI then by all means do it. Or, if you just like the look of big brakes like most people then by all means go ahead and get them.

mcclaskz

If you are looking for straight function, not looks, you should be fine with a front upgrade only. Personally I upgraded my Perf brakes with 14" stoptechs. I just ordered some for Christmas. I have ridden in my instructors car who had this kit and we outbroke every other car in the instructor group. His 350 was stock other than front brake kit and race tires. Check out N-tech engineering. Nick was my instructor and is in Winter Park. Maybe he'll give you a ride. If he does you'll be sold.

Moroccan_Mole

iTrader: (5)

you can get stoptech or rotora front kits for under 2k.

dwnshift

iTrader: (1)

We use the DBA 2 pc slotted front rotors and DBA 1 pc slotted rear rotors with the Brembo track model calipers and PFC pads for the track. Throw in a set of SS lines and your good to go.
If you are wanting to upgrade to a whole new system the Stoptechs are the best bang for the buck.

ElvishasaZ

what about out of these three..

willwood, rotora, or ap racing? how are these in quality and performance? they are under 2K and I belive the ap 's come as front and rear as well.

D'oh

When I've been to the track, I see tons of Stoptech kits on all kinds of cars: Vipers, Vettes, WRX, S2000, etc.

It seems like that kind of representation is an indication of something.

I've heard of AP, Willwood, and Rotara, but I haven't seen the same level of use as I have from the Stoptechs.

Brembo's seem to be great if you get them as OEM, but a bit more expensive aftermarket than the others.

Therefore, I'd recommend the 13" front Stoptech kit which is less than $2000 (although I'm sure some of those other kits are similar).

-D'oh!

mcclaskz

Shop around, you can find the 14" kit for that...

Jergens

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys thanks for the input. Like I said I want to stay in the upper levels with my 350z. I know that there ARE companies out there with great products for less, however I have had some MISERABLE experience with my BMW when trying to shave a few bucks here and there. Yes I could buy for less and maybe do okay but I wouldn't be suprised if things weren't what I wanted. Thank you for the info on Stoptech... I started shopping around and am pretty pleased

~Josh

RIVET

Williams and Maclaren F1 teams, a few WRC teams(can't remember which ones) ,about a third of the NASCAR teams as well as countless sportscar racers all use AP. Check their website or look at a catalog if you get the chance, they do some freakin amazing calipers and rotors.

dwnshift

iTrader: (1)

AP is very good!

React3

AP is very good I agree...But support like Stoptrech is hard to find..
Go with Stoptech.. If you don't care about support go with AP Racing or Endless

LaoSiFu

iTrader: (97)

How about Endless? I didn't hear anyone mention them.

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

Endless and AP have lack of support? Not from where we sit.

Endless is an excellent company as well.....but defiantely at the higher end of the price spectrum. For those that buy them, they are as much a personal statement of taste as they are a brake upgrade.

daytona350z

iTrader: (19)

when i drove the endless race kit , they made me feel liike my stock brembos are wimpy

hehe, well, i guess i will just have to change that

Moroccan_Mole

iTrader: (5)

if you have the $$$, endless is the way to go!

z1's statement "they are as much a personal statement of taste as they are a brake upgrade" couldnt be more true.

MSM Racing

I run the stoptech 4 wheel 14" kit on my car. I couldn't ask for more brakes... With my race pads on at the track, the car can stop on a dime.

If you are looking for a good deal on the stoptechs (any of the kits), let me know, I might be able to hook you up..

Steve
MSM Racing

dwnshift

iTrader: (1)

We are offerig a package special on the same set up we race with on the Schuitemaker Motorsports 350Z. This is for the Brembo calipers and includes 2pc slotted fronts,1 pc slotted rears, and SS brake lines.
The rotors alone make a huge difference!
www.350EVO.com
Cheers
BJ@350EVO.com

J Ritt

iTrader: (4)

Jergens,
Shop around, talk to owners that seriously track their cars, and you'll make a choice you are happy with. There are a lot of factors to consider...quality, price, support, etc. Some other things to consider are the balance of the system, and testing. I was at a test session at the airport 2 days ago. We take the cars out with the radar gun, and make sure the kit is right for the car. If it's not, we don't sell it. Period. Other companies are not doing this, and a lot of them take the 1 size fits all approach to brake fitment. Check out the technical page on our website for enough brake info to make your head spin. http://www.stoptech.com/technical/

As for this statement:
I don't know if this is a direct shot at StopTech or not...but I think if you check out the 'news' section of our website, you'll see that we have 15 cars running in the Speed World Challenge, as well as cars in the Grand Am Series, USTCC, etc. As for the product itself, you really don't think that the parts on an F1 or WRC car are the same parts you are buying for your street/track car do you? Those parts are very different in composition from what those companies sell for the street, and prohibitively expensive for the average individual to purchase. Finally, if you look at the most recent offerings from Alcon for example (exhibited at the PRI show last week), you'll see that other companies are taking our lead and putting a bridge on their calipers. It is a fixed cast bridge, since anything else would violate our patents, but it is a bridge nonetheless. They were willing to sacrifice the ease of a pad change for the extra strength the bridge provides.

Let me know if you have any questions.

RIVET

B] I don't know if this is a direct shot at StopTech or not...[/B]

Not a shot at any brake company it just seems that people don't recognize AP as the premiere brake manufacturer that they are. And while They are a bit pricey, it's only money right.

Speaking of Stoptech and the 350z, Looking at your kit for the 350z it appears your using the same caliper and rotor for the front and rear( if i'm wrong disregard the following). That appears to be far from balanced to me. Auto manufacturers typically use a larger rotor and a caliper with more piston area on the front because the majority of the braking force is accomplished with the front wheels, I thinks it's something like 70%-30% front to rear depending on the vehicle weight bias. They also design their ABS and proportioning with the differences in clamping force between the front and rear in mind. By running the same caliper and rotor with the same clamping force on the front and rear of the Z wouldn't this create an inherently unbalanced braking scheme? In fact without ABS that setup would seem to create unwanted oversteer on turn in braking. While ABS may make that system driveable it would hardly seem ideal. I may be completely off ( I am.....sometimes. :0) as these are just my observations.

Also, Bridges are nothing new, Brembo and AP been building race calipers with bridges for years.