As most of you know there are only a couple big brake options for our cars. I have nothing against Brembo or Stoptech, but we are interested in getting more entries into the market. It makes for good competition and more options in the long run. With a couple phone calls we potentially have a new player in the stopping game. Crawford Z Car service (dougrace zs) has discussed a 350Z Big Brake Kit with Wilwood. Before you go and say they make NASCAR brakes and are for domestic muscle cars and trucks, please check them out. The have great kits for the WRX, RSX, and several other import autos. They are well respected in several auto arenas. Now there are no specifics as we are mainly trying to feel the market and see what is needed. Kits would most likely be priced very closely to the WRX kits. I will not post any prices as we don’t have specifics yet. As a comparison, the WRX front brake kit is between $500-$600 cheaper than stoptech depending on rotor options. This is a 6 piston super light caliper system with 12.9" rotors. The 350Z setup would be extremely similar to the WRX. This is for the factory replacement. Other larger rotor kits (like stoptech) are also a possibility.

Would any one be interested? Comments? (Please no personal preference slander unless you really feel the need and can back it up)

 

Would they design and test the system specifically for the Z? By testing I mean like Stoptech, where they chose which pistons to use based on their own testing.

 

honestly, if a brake company wants me to buy their product, heres what they need to do.

make a kit, then buy and test others kits. show that their kit CAN AND WILL outperform other's kits, for SIMILAIR price, they can be 400$ more if it means they are BETTER.

a company that can show that(and this would include like a series of 20 stops in a row with distance on each) I would buy. I never understood why many companies didnt do this teqnique. sure, only 1 company could do it. and if it didnt put them on top theyd just shred the results, but thats fine.

anyway, thats about all I care about, and thats all they need to get my money. and Id bet theyd get EVERYONE elses money too. who would buy the other brand if they know this one is the best?

 

I would buy stoptech even though I know at the limits Brembo's are "better". As an occasional hard street driver, I wouldn't be as concerned with 10/10ths performance as much as saving a few hundred bucks. Gimme a $1500 front only brake kit that has 80-90 percent of the fade characteristics of a Brembo anyday. I'm not into paying for brand names. Oh yeah, gimme some cool blue rotors to match my DB(when it gets here)...that I would pay more for, cause we all know it's better to look good than to stop good.

So to answer the original post, I would be interested.

 

I would be interested.

I currently favor the stoptechs over the brembos for the following reasons:

Same performance (from C&D WRX Brake Kit Test).
Better Price.
Awesome Website with very intersting scientific papers.
The people have posted at this site with very honest attitudes.

They currently offer the 13", 4 pistion caliper front brake kit for $2000 (but only in red or black calipers)

If another company was to offer similar performance, similar customer service, but at a reduced price, I would definitely be interested in their product. More options are always better. At this point I don't think improved performance will really be much of a selling point for me, since the stoptechs already seem to have excellent stopping distances with no fade. It will come down to cost and customer service. Oh yeah, weight is a big factor as well, so if they weigh less, that would increase my interest.

-D'oh!

 

Great feedback! Keep it coming. This kit will be a good kit. There will be tests and comparisons. The hurdle right now is to show the market. Wilwood makes awesome systems for the price. The only way to know is to test. It will be done. All I am asking is that would people be interested if it is a comparable solution to some others.

 

Personal Opinon............
Dont go with the Wilwood's!!!!!!!
The factory brembos are much better.......There will be some new rotors coming out in the near future that will work really nice with the factory calipers........save your money! All you need is some new poads for the track.

 

The problem is for those of us that don't have Brembos to begin with, any suggestions there at a price we don't regret not getting the track model.

 

The one things if you dont have the fact brem sto start with is this........if you upgrae to the facty ones i amsure they will be covered under warranty
They work very well. The one thing one the street you wont to not have problems with is brakes.
Cannot go wrong with the Bremb's..........
Second choice is warrantyisnt a concern is Stoptechs........they are very good.

 

Upgrading to factory Brembos on all four corners would cost around $6000, and wouldn't be covered under the vehicle warranty. They would probably be covered under a 12/12000 parts warranty, if I had to guess.

I say the more competition the better. I would consider an upgrade if it was that much cheaper than the Stoptechs, and had good engineering behind them.

I do think brake changes with all the electronics on these cars should be investigated in detail, though. ABS and EBD effects should be considered.

 

The brembo's aren't even desinged specificly for the Z. Brembo just takes brakes off a F-40, F-50 and Porsche. They then figure out how they can get i to fit on a certain car. That is it. The track model is also true. The track model will be like maybe 1 or 2 feet shorter than the lower Z models, but the track will be able to do it for a longer period of time. The stop z brake will probably start to get worse after 5 constant stops. Willwood is a very good company. I worked with them on both their civic and wrx kits. I tested both kits for them before they went into production. They really do a great job.

thanks,
Greg

 

One thing to consider about Wilwood: They don't have dust sheilds in the pistons. You have to rebuild the caliper about once a year. They may have changed their design, but be ready for a LOT of maintenance on them.

PeteH

 

This is totally untrue. I have been running Wilwoods on my old miata and my s2k for quite some time now. Both on the street and the track. Rebuilds are no more necessary than stock calipers.

The only thing suggested is that when changing pads, clean the pistons with some scotch gaurd so that when you push them back in, they dont damage the o rings. This rule pretty much applies with any piston.

Another note, Wilwoods calipers are manufactured here in the USA as oppossed to Taiwan.

 

I was wondering when Wilwood would start making brakes for Zs .

 

Just the man i wanted to talk to. Sent you a pm buddy, hit me up when you get a chance