Greetings!

I purchased a 350z Track Pack. Side note: I tried searching for this but the search function is apparently broken! So if you know of a thread about this, please post it up...

If you look carefully at the 'name' it clearly says "TRACK". Now, how odd that I would take my car to the "TRACK". So, my car has 7,421km or approximately 4,600 miles on it. The car has been to the track for 3 road course sessions. I estimate that it has had between 500km - 700km (310 - 430 miles) put on it at the track. The rest of the usage on the vehicle is normal, as I keep my aggression on the track!

My front pads are completely gone. (Metal on metal now) My rotors have gotten so hot, that the metal is blue and the rotors now require machining. My mentality says it's a waste to machine the rotor, and stick new OE pads on this car. My rotor will be thinner, meaning it'll be hotter faster, and I'll be back at my dealer after my next visit to the track!

I've had people in the performance component industry tell me that they get a lot of calls about the brakes/rotors on this car being completely gone in a very short period of time. What I am trying to find out is whether or not anyone out there actually uses their "Track Pack" at the Track once in a while, and if so, are you experiencing this type of problem.

Let me know your experiences with this...

Thanks!

 

I purchased a touring model in Feb. '03. At end of march that year I started doing track days in the northeast. My brake pads and rotors were totally inadequate to this. Long story short, by august, after many rotors and pads, I had stop tech big brakes installed on all four wheels. No more problems with brakes!
Would like input on modifying suspension for track.
Thanks

 

The problem I've got here is that I would expect that with the touring model. However, in my mind, I already paid for upgraded brakes and pads with the Track Pack being BREMBO! So this is my problem with the whole thing...

Thanks for your experience on it in your touring model...

 

i got a track pack here.
and i did 5 or 6 track eventz last year.
my brakes and rotors are still fine.
but i think i need to change the pads after the up coming event.

 

TrackN350z, get some track pads and high temp brake fluid and you will be fine for a year or two with what you have. If you stick with it and get fast, you'll maybe need to upgrade to cooling ducts or a BBK in the future. But for now all you need are pads and fluid designed to handle the high temps of track driving.

No street car (with the exception of things like the Porsche GT2 and GT3 or the Ferrari Enzo with ceramic brakes) comes with pads or fluid that are adequate for track driving. The pads are just too different to be used for both street and track.

 

I agree 100% with what Jason Bourne says....

my Track model Z has about 5000 road course miles. However, I have always used a dedicated racing brake pad... in this case, Carbotech XP front and rear... and MOTUL 600 fluid.

I'm still on the original rotors... I see no need to change them out until I wear out every last useable millimeter of them. I have also never machined the rotors. It is highly unlikely that you need to machine yours... after you drive them on the street for a week or two, the blue will be gone.

So... follow Jason's advice and get solme good track pads and better fluid and then go out and have fun!

Cheers,

PeteH

 

Thanks for the info guys...

Now, my dealer is telling me they must get machined because of the metal on metal wear. I put about 40km on it driving it to the dealer 'with the problem'. So do my 'ear' that's the only distance driven in bad shape.

They tell me the rotors need maching because they have a groove from the metal on metal problem. Is this a big deal that's going to screw me long run if I just get pads?

Need opinion fast as I gotta talk to the dealer in a couple hours.

Thanks!

 

well... if you can feel a groove in the rotor surface, then you probably did some damage and need to have the surface machined. If the groove is too deep, then you may need to buy new rotors.

Having the current rotors machined will not causing yourself any problems later on... you will need to bed in the new pads properly, but that is about all. The machining process will not take off enough material to cause problems... but you also won't be able to machine them another time. If you put "metal to metal" agian, then you need to buy new rotors.

 

My stoptechs blued after my first track day, but this is normal. Dont worry about that. Stock pads will get eaten up fast on a track, you need a dedicated race pad, not a street pad. Call Cobalt Friction Technologies.

 

Stillen sells slotted rotors that fit, and nismo has out great pads.

 

Thanks for all the information guys.

Basically I've decided not to replace the OE equipment with the same junk. <smile> So I'm not rich so I'll be stuck with my Calipers, but I am going to the slotted rotors via Stillen with both a street pad and a race pad. On the race days I'll just put the race pads in before I go to the track. Track is close, so no real worries about getting there. Plus I know what's gonna happen on the street with race pads...lol

I'm just really surprised that the brakes wore out that fast. I think Nissan saying this is a trackable (THUS: "TRACK PACK") car is an absolute joke at best. It's misleading, if not basically false advertising. It's not trackable that's for sure. Unless you consider 300 miles and then you're DONE trackable. To me, that's laughable.

I'm fully understanding if I want to drive aggressively then pads and rotors are consumables. But this was just way too soon for my liking considering I've bought a car where the highlights are the Brembo's "for the aggressive driver". LMAO

Thanks again for all input. Much appreciated.

I still love my Twin Turbo. It just smacks my 350z's *** all over the place...you know what I mean?

 

TrackN350Z -

Relax, the car is perfectly trackable with the right components. There are plenty of members on this board who track stock 350Z's with just pads and fluid with great success. I could cook the pads on any street car fresh from the factory in under 30 minutes on a track.

When you get your fresh rotors and track pads you'll be fine.

 

I think your only mistake was the metal-to-metal contact that wore the rotors. I've been to 4 track days, and pretty much had to replace the pads after every 2 (but I have the standard brakes and use the stock pads). Once you get the rotor and pad situation taken care of you should be good to go.

You also might want to get a second opinion on the rotors from a different brake shop. Also, maybe with some turning and race pads you will get good life out of the remainder of the rotors, and can save your money for a BBK if you start using race tires or getting much faster.

-D'oh!

 

no...not really

 

Right, 300 track miles on stock pads is huge. I don't think any pad will last that long on the track. The demands on the braking system on the track are orders of magnitude larger than from street use. Try Cobalt Spec VR pads.