The 06-08 model Z's have revised standard brakes (bigger rotors and 2 piston front calipers) compared to the 03-05 models. To my knowledge the brembo brakes have remained the same since the Z's reintroduction in 03. And while the brembos have stayed the same, the Z has evolved both in additional weight and power over the years. I'm curious about the difference in performance between the three (03-05 standard, 06-08 standard, and the OE brembos). I would think that with the upgraded standard brakes in the 06-08 models, the gap in performance compared to the brembos was shortened. Maybe? Just curious as the time will come when I have to decide between OE brembos or aftermarket. Thoughts?

 

Brembos.....a used set and a rebuild will be half the price of a aftermarket setup!

Also it's gold

 

I upgraded to Brembos... The plan is to have them installed by the end of the week. I'll chime in with my thoughts...

I bought my car brand new back in 06 and the GT package was about $3800 more with the major component upgrade being the Brembos. I have to believe that the Brembos are a significant upgrade over my current non Brembo set-up. If not, I'll be crying myself to sleep for the next couple of weeks

 

i'm also curious to hear about how much of an upgrade it really is. i eventually wanted to upgrade to better brakes, and i had stoptec in mind. let us know how it turns out!

 

If you track your car or drive like a total asshat in the canyons, brembo will be an upgrade. If you drive around town, Brembo will do nothing for you.

 

Nice! Please share your thoughts once the swap is done.

terrasmak, thanks for chiming in! To what would you attribute the main difference in brake fade experienced between Brembo and non brembo brakes? Number of pistions in caliper? Caliper design? All things equal (lines, fluid, pad type and material, rotor size ect.), what about the Brembos gives them the upper hand? Thanks.

 

more pistons just mean better intial bite, better brake feel, and smoother fade compared to one piston...

braking distance is all on the tire...

It's really what you want from the car! If you not using it, just makes expensive brake pad/rotor replacement.

 

http://zeckhausen.com/Testing_Brakes.htm

^ + Better heat dispersion. For a daily driver that won't see track time, the 06-08 + HPS + SS Lines + Rotors will be fine.

 

I am interested in this as well, as an autocrosser I was thinking about changing the fronts to brembos. However, I have read that it is not much of a difference compared to the HR stock brakes and I was a little hesitant about getting them after driving my buddies' Sti and Evo and not really liking the harsh initial bite that the brembos gave on them.

If anything I will probably dish out the extra cash and get the Akebonos.

 

Pad compound will dictate the initial bite.

On a different note , the Brembo kits also have wider rotors for more thermal mass.

 

Suwaidi, great article! Thanks for sharing.

 

The Akebono's rotors are extremely heavily, and the 2-piece rotors are limited in selection thus pricing is expensive too (eg. CZP 2-Piece is $750 a piece for front). For the price of a complete Akebono kit, you could get a set of used Brembos, rebuild, repowdercoat, and add in the rotors, lines and pads. The Akebonos do look good, however, and I would assume some people prefer them over the Brembos because you're getting a new rather than a used set.

On a note, I changed my brothers Genesis Coupe's brembos pads to HPS (same pad as I run with the Z), and after going through the break in procedure and a couple of weeks of driving I didn't feel much of a difference if any (we also run the same tires, and temperatures/roads were similar). In the end of the day, the tests in the link show that there is little difference in stopping distance when comparing the few. The biggest diffrence is the temperature variation between the base, Brembos and the Stoptechs; a good set of tires will make all the difference

When the time comes;

- If you're going for looks, Akebono
- If you're a daily driver, pad+fluid+rotors+lines
- If you track, OEM Brembos or other lots of other options

 

If you're not a hardcore autox or track racer, then the 06+ standard brakes should be fine assuming the rest of your brake system is up for the job. You'll want to eventually upgrade in a couple of years or so, though.

 

So with performance being the only measure, the general consensus is that the Brembo brakes, despite being developed for the '03 Z and not being improved since, are still better performers in all aspects than non-brembo 03-05 brakes and the revised non-brembo 06-08 brakes. Sounds good to me.

I can't help but wonder how much better (again just looking at performance at the limit) an aftermarket brake kit (AP Racing, Stoptech ect.) are, compared to O.E. Brembos. The article linked above by Suwaidi does go over a comparison test, and I know there are many variables to consider like rotor size and number of pistons, but I'd like to hear from members with real world experience. Perhaps some of the more track savvy Z owners can chime in with their thoughts or experiences.

 

Interesting that you brought up the Akebono option as I was going to reference it. I have also read that the Akebono setup is a bit heavy and thus not considering it. One of my top priorities with the car is weight, and trying to keep it down. Two pice rotors are simply out of the budget lol, but those of us who are OCD about our cars' weight sure would love to decrease the rotational mass in that area! Also, interesting data point with the brembos on your brothers Genesis. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

The Akebono calipers are slightly heavier than the Brembos, about 2lbs front and rear I believe. In the end of the day, it comes down to what your uses are. I'm at the daily driver stage so I've opted for Hawk HPS Pads with SS lines, but for the future where this will be a track/weekend car, I'm looking at getting the Brembo option I mentioned earlier (rebuilt, powdercoated).

If you define your budget and your goals, you'll be able to see what directions are a possibility.

Example Price Points:

$600: Pads/Fluids/Rotors
$1500: Used OEM Brembos, new lines, rotors and pads
$1600: New Akebonos but branded 'Infinity' instead of 'Nissan'
$2000: Rebuilt Brembos or Akebonos
$3500+: StopTech (F+R), Brembo GT, etc.

 

Standard brakes with minimal upgrades will be fine for autocross. Autocross hardly works your brakes compared to a true track event. When I ran my Z at Barber last year for Z Nationals I was extremely thankful for my Brembos/SS lines.

 

Brakes have not really changed much in our budget for a lot of years, and it has already happened.

 

I recently upgraded to brembos and I can not feel any difference from stock... stopping power wise. I mainly did it for looks, really didnt care for the extra stopping power. Guess I expected it from the upgrade. I'm running hawks pad with techna brake lines.