I have a Touring MT. I am considering upgrading both my brakes and my suspension and was hoping to get some feedback regarding both issues.

Brakes: My goal is to improve overall braking response and feel and to reduce brake dust. I have not tracked my car, but may consider tracking it in the future. I am mainly looking to enhance street performance.

I have been considering a big brake kit such as StopTech's 13" front kit or the soon to be released 13" four wheel kit. However, recently I have seen discussions regarding Hawk's HPS pads. I am now considering trying these pads alone or in conjunction with StopTech stainless steel brake lines and perhaps Motul brake fluid. For those that have either setup how do you like them and what are the pros and cons of each? Any other thoughts?

Suspension: My goal is to improve overall response and feel while reducing or eliminating bounce without making the ride to stiff/harsh.

I have looked at the Nismo S-Tune kit and sway bars, but the entire kit is rather expensive ($2,000 plus installation). What other aftermarket suspension components are out there (such as shocks or shocks and springs) that would allow me to meet my goals? What are the pros and cons of these components? Any other thoughts?

Thanks.

 

With the brakes... I suggest starting with new pads, the lines and new fluid. If you don't plan on doing track events, then new pads and lines will improve street performance for not a lot of money.

If you do decide to go with a big brake kit, the Stoptech 13" front is a good way to go. You really don't need the 4-wheel kit... it's all show, no real performance gains. There are other lits out there, so you might want to do some research and decide what you like. I'm a Stoptech fan, having used them in the past and I really like them.

For suspension, check into the new Koni shocks and Eibach springs. I bought this set up from 350EVO.com for about $900. I also have the 350EVO.com sway bars... I think that set is about $300.. anyway, all that is a little less than the S-Tune kit.

Hope that helps,

PeteH

 

PeteH,
What are your impressions of the Konis and 350EVO sways? Still waiting to get mine installed. I am going with the OEM springs.

 

Mark... I'm scheduled for the install next Friday. The shipment just arrived yesterday at the shop, and I can't get there any sooner. I'll post comments/review after that. And, my next track event is in June, so I won't know how they perform under those conditions till then.

PeteH

 

Not really. while huge gains aren't seen by simply bolting an oversized kit on the rear, a well engineered front and rear kit with an aftermarket proportioning valve will allow the rears to work substantially harder and really use the larger rotor and piston area effectively. If better brakes on the rear were all show and not necessary, track cars would run drums, no?

 

ok... who with a street car is going to go to the trouble to install a proportioning valve??? And, who really knows how to properly bias brakes??? You put too much rear bias and you will be spinning coming into every turn. In a full-on racing aplication, sure... go for it.... but I don't think our original thread-starter is planning to strip his car down to bare essentials, weld in a cage and go after the Grand Am championship.

Larger rear brakes do not mean better rear brakes... I'm not saying you don't need rear disk brakes... I'm saying that the 14" and 13" four wheel kits will have little effect on braking performance in a track event/HPDE environment. And, they have no effect on street performance.

If larger rear brakes were necessary, the teams running the 350Zs in the Grand Am would upgrade to larger Brembos. Instead, they add cooling ducts to the front, racing brake pads, better fluid and two-peice rotors. They add the things that really makes a difference in a competition environment.

The original thread starter said he may do a few track events.... he can buy the 4-wheel kit... it's his money, but my suggestion to him is to not spend money on something he's not going to benefit from.

I used Stoptech's 332x32 front kit on my Audi A4 for more than a year and close to 5500 track miles. And, I had the tiny little solid rotor and puny single-piston floating caliper on the rear. I never had one instance of overheated brakes, pad fade, pedal fade or overheated fluid. I could have put a 355x32 4-wheel kit... but why? It does not work any better.

4-wheel BBKs on street cars are for show... nobody on this board is doing any sort of racing that will make use of a 4-wheel BBK.

 

Audito350Z, Thanks for the information. I will look further into your suggestions. What do you think of the StopTech 13" front kit with the Hawk rear pads, stainless steal lines and Motul brake fluid? I believe you can get the Hawk pads as an option with the StopTech kit.

 

Dude, chill.

I'm merely stating that aftermarket rear brake kikts are not" just for show" when used properly. Also, 350z rears are notorious for eating through pads, this is a result of car manufacturers (VW also) finally taking advantage of ABS and adding a lot more rear bias to factory cars to bring down stopping distances but the rear brakes weren't designed to handle this new burden. I believe a rear brake kit would help even with stock bias settings.