Track events on the non-Brembo's...
 

Anyone done this, Track event on the Z without the fancy brakes?
Can you put some track worthy pads(of your personal preference) and flush your fluid with some ATE or whatever fancy fluid you like and make it around without fade?

97 gsr

Do a search and you should find a few more threads with additional info.

I spent two days at laguna seca with stock brakes, pads, lines, and fluid. I did experience some fade and therefore adjusted my braking accordingly. It wasn't too bad though. The rear pads wore quickly, but my fronts are still in surprisingly good shape.

I would like to get a front big brake kit, but since I don't see any track days in my area until december, I'll probably wait for quite some time before I see if I really want to go through with it.

I would say that you should go ahead and try out the car stock, and see what you think. The worst that could happen is that you experience fade and then need to brake a little earlier. You can always fix the problem once you know it truly exists.

Good luck!

-D'oh!

To start out with they are fine, and it all depends on the track and driver, if the track has some high speed straights and hard corners you will want to upgrade, if you drive hard to the limit you will want to upgrade, but I would say that for your first few events while you try it out stock brakes are fine just get some track pads and go for it.

Re: Track events on the non-Brembo's...
 

Read this:

https://my350z.com/forum/motorsports/25980-350z-s-at-vir-road-course-in-va-video-inside.html

You can get more by searching for posts by me with the word "Brembo" in it. ;)

BTW: You're in Raleigh? We have a pretty good group here. Check the South East forum.

That is great stuff. I am not yet an owner of a 350z but am looking around for fast and rear/all wheel drive.

I am doing a track event at Roebling Road in september with THSCC/Trianlge Z club though, you gonna be there? I just have my slow ole Integra GSR, but it is my first event.

A friend off mine that kinda pulled me into HPDE's is gonna be down there in his Lancer Evolution. It will be his first track day with that car but he did several in his previous cars(s2k,eclipse). Anyway thanks for pointing me to that thread.

97 gsr

Stock breaks really only disadvantage is their radius, smaller compared to Brembos. Thus, heat dissipation is slower. To compensate for that to some extend, you should change brake pads, my all-time favorites for any car is Porterfield R4S. Porterfield may not sound like a fancy name, but believe me they know their stuff and SCCA Solo I and II circles know them pretty well as well. Low-dust, high-torque pads with tiny bit noise.

Brake fluid is the second most important part. You need to look for the highest wet boiling point DOT 4 fluid. ATE super blue seems to be favorite amongst many, but my favorite is Castrol SFR. Highest wet and dry boiling points in the market, but costs 6 times more than others @ $70-75.

If you go with a 4WD car like Evo, its Brembo's are very nice, but my second-hand information suggests that they are not as durable as the 350Z's. But, this is just second hand info; don't take it as fact please.

Good luck in your choice of cars.

I experienced moderate brake fade using the Porterfield R4-S (ATE Super Blue fluid) at Summit Point and Pocono raceway in my Type R. They are a high performance street/autocross pad, not the best choice for tracks. There are other track dedicated pads out there which will take some major abuse. I ran Ferodo DS3000 pads and was amazed at their performance, not a hint of fade at Lime Rock Park. Got 'em at cobalt friction technologies.

I'm a member of Triangle Z Club, but I don't plan on attending Roebling Road in September. Have fun!

Ditch Roebling and go to VIR that weekend. Mazda has full course.

Well I already paid my money for Roebling so that is where I will be headed. But if I have fun I will definately(sp) be doing this again.

97 gsr

I think the Feredo DS3000s are excellent pads for track, they do perform as advertised :cool:

However, If one is looking for "compromise" pads, my bet is the Porterfield without necessitating pad changes for street vs. autox vs. track.

Have you tried the Castrol SRF for brake fluid? If your fading with ATE was less than moderate, Castrol would have helped. The difference between ATE and Castrol's wet boiling points are significant enough to make a difference up to moderate fading I think.

Flying Toaster, I agree with your interpretation. All I had to do was modulate my braking a little, and I was fine. Afterall, I was at an HPDE, not being timed or racing for money or anything like that. The Porterfield R4-S did fine as long as I wasn't trying to really push the car hard.

I tracked my car at Gingerman in Michigan with only Hawk HP+ pads and it was great on the otherwise stock brakes....but the HP+s are NOT a street pad......loud and have brake dust that will eat your wheels alive if you get it wet.

Yes, exactly. If you on a HPDE-type event, I think the Porterfield R4S are great. I try to avoid giving advice to someone who is asking questions about break pads to go get full race ones. It is obvious they are just starting out on this addictive adventure of having fun on the track ;)

As for pure track pads, I will be trying R4 pads from Porterfield next time however instead of Feredos.

I just got back from Watkins Glen event.
Stock pads lasted 6 sessions. Rears went first. I think that I will be removing the shields from the rear rotors to help with cooling. The heat was so severe after threshold braking that I fear that the rear rotors also got warped. I now have vibration from the rear when braking moderatly hard. I am also considering upgrading the rotors and installing some stoptech calipers. I will be looking for some affordable combination that leaves some money for more track time. Also considering the NISMO suspension upgrade. Anyone have the Nismo suspension?
BTW, the Z was awesome at the track, I finally had enough horsepower to overtake coming out of the toe of the boot!!!

ickyrex, are you using non-Brembo set-up on your car now?

Yes,
I got the base model, no brembos, I figured I would do some upgrades about now. I have explored the limits and find that I need better handling and braking. Any thoughts on removing the rotor dust covers to help cooling?

Seems to be common practice among those who track their cars amd want better cooling. As far as I know, it's a fairly simple procedure. You'll need some sort of tin snips to cut it, that's how I've seen it done. The one thing I don't know about is how this may adversely affect the car. They're on there for a resason, and I'm not sure if the extra heat radiated toward the inner part of the axle will affext things. Anybody know?