Does anyone know the exact measurements of the front and rear brake lines? I want to upgrade to stainless steel lines...but need to know the lengths. Also, what other lines can I upgrade to stainless steel? I'd like to upgrade every line that I can...which ones can be done? Has anyone done this upgrade? What's your opinion?

 

I used all braided lines and aeroquip fittings on another project that I had and it they a pretty easy to use. The biggest problem that you will probably run into is fabricating the adapters to thread the AN fittings onto the factory parts. I do not see why it couldn't be done if you know how to weld aluminum. It can get to be a little expensive when you start to deal with larger hoses like radiator hoses. Summit Racing and Jegs have pretty good prices on the hose (which you cut to length) and the fittings.


HTH,

Rob

 

djkern
Check out the link below for a set of Stoptech Stainless Steel break lines for the Z. I've got the exact same thing on my list of mods. Peace, Jeff
http://www.350tuner.com/stoptech.htm

 

BEWARE that the StopTech SS brake lines replace two stock rubber brake hoses, one connector block, and one hard line in each front corner! djkern, you might note that the StopTech SS line length is shorter than the combined length of the replaced lines. HTH....

 

Actually, they replace three rubber lines and two connector blocks.

BEWARE of what? Are you implying that the StopTech lines don't fit? I had no trouble installing them.

I've never seen such a convoluted set of brake lines as the ones that came off the factory 350Z! It's like they designed it on purpose to be as complex, expensive, and hard to work with as possible!


Check this out!


Have you ever seen a brake line like this? Yikes!

 

roger that!!!!!!




dan

 

Hi Dave. The original poster was asking for OEM brake line length so he/she could have custom lines made. I just advised that measuring all the replaced lines for length would not work because of the convoluted routing of the OEM lines. I made no implication that the StopTech lines would not work, but implied that the ST SS line routing took a different routing than the OEM, thus cutting one SS line the same length as OEM system of hard/flexible lines would result in excess length on installation unless the OEM routing was maintained. I guess my implication was that instead of the original poster replacing EACH rubber brake line with a SS line, that the ST SS line replaced a series of flexible and hard lines.
Hope this explanation clarifies things to everybody,

 

Got it. Thanks for the clarification and sorry I misinterpreted your post.

 

ChinaClipper: So basically it is still a simple task involving unbolting the old and bolting on the new single braided line?

 

That depends on what you mean by simple. Do you know how to bleed brakes? I assume you know about using a flare wrench, rather than an open end wrench to loosen the hyraulic fitting to avoid stripping it?

The StopTech line has a metal fitting partway along its length so that it can be bolted to the stock attaching point. It doesn't just flop around.

Hope this helps!

 

My experience is based upon rebuilding a couple of 510s...just love 'em. Changed both solid and flexible lines on one of them. It sounds as if the 350 will be just as straight forward. I really like the performance of the Brembo brakes.

I'm hoping that my pedal will feel firmer with the braided flexible lines. I certainly noticed the difference with the 510s, but the 510 doesn't have boost or electronics which probably affect pedal feel.

 

With your experience level, you will have no problem at all. Sounds like you didn't need me lecturing you about using a flare wrench!

There's plenty of rubber in those long factory lines. As long as you do a good job bleeding, you should have a noticable difference in pedal firmness during hard braking with the StopTech lines. Good luck!

I really like the StopTech lines, by the way. The plastic coating is nice, but mostly I appreciate the fact that they bench test EVERY line to 4,500psi before shipping, not just samples. I plan to add photos and write-up on their caliper and line testing to my web page soon.

 

Thanks Dave.
Just checked out your website. Yudamanfobrakes!!

I see that you already have the stainless lines under 350Z tab. I've saved your website and will drop you a line when I'm ready to upgrade to braided--definitely want to upgrade before I do track day/autocrosses at the annual 510 convention at Mt Shasta in July.

 

If you look at the caliper when it is mounted on the car you will see the bleed nipple is not fully on top of the brake.

The stoptech guys who installed mine actually removed the bolts holding the calipers on over the rotors and rotated the calipers forward, set them on top of a large box (large shoe for comparision) and then bleed them again.

Do not remove the brakes from the rotors, just let them slide forward until the nipple is at 12 oclock and then you will get ALL the air out of the line.

It made a difference in mine!




(if you already knew this, forgetaboutit!)

 

It's not an issue with the stock calipers, but it is an issue with the StopTech calipers the very first time you bleed them.

It may help you understand what's going on if you see a picture of a raw StopTech caliper half right after it is taken out of the milling machine in Torrance, California.


Raw caliper half

The angle of the photo doesn't show it, but there is a small hole at the bottom of each of the two piston bores located at the top of the bore, where "top" is defined as the side closest to the bleed screw. When the caliper is mounted so that the hole is at 12:00 (plus or minus 30 degrees) any air trapped in the piston bore is easily removed by bleeding. But if the caliper is angled more steeply than that, it needs to be disconnected from the mounting bracket and tilted so that the little hole is at the top and the air can escape. The 350Z has an unusual caliper mounting position, so the technique is required with this kit. (Again, it's only required the FIRST time you bleed the brakes.)

This is an issue only when bleeding the brakes for the very first time. Air can't get into the piston bore after the brakes have been bled. I wrote the installation manual for the 350Z kit and you can see a description of the bleeding technique on page 18 of the manual: http://www.stoptech.com/installation....B12-17-02.pdf

However, none of this is relevent if you are just changing out your lines to the StopTech stainless-braided Teflon lines. You can bleed your brakes without tilting the stock calipers.

 

Probably makes sense to be aware of this when I change to synthetic brake fluid down the road? I guess there still wouldn't be any air trapped at the highest point in the caliper...so maybe it doesn't matter.

lol. I never think about this level of detail when I'm flailing around on my cars....these posts are great!!

 

Hey, I'm just happy I watch (and remember) the things I have done to my car!

 

If you're just changing your lines and keeping your stock calipers, then this entire discussion about tilting calipers to bleed them better does not apply to you.

I know you didn't ask, but I would like to suggest Motul 600 brake fluid, especially if you are staying with your stock brakes. It's reasonably priced (not crazy expensive like Castrol SRF!) and doesn't absorb moisture as quickly as some of the lesser fluids, so you can put it in your daily driver and change it once every year or two. What I like is that the dry boiling point is almost 600 degrees, which is 50 degrees higher than ATE Super Blue Racing.