Are 300Zx brakes really worth it?
 

After just being BEARLY outbid on a very good auction on 300zx brakes, I was wondering actually how much better the 300zx brakes would be over a very good brake pad/rotor combo with stock brakes.

I know the 300zx brakes have more pistons and more leverage with a larger rotor so they would have very good stopping power.

But how do the stock calipers with Hawk HPS pads and Crossdrilled and slotted rotors fair. I make alot of hard down hill touge passes and have suffered from brake fade in the past. And would like to know if the Hawk/Rotor combo work well for this application, Or should I just spring the extra for the 300zx brakes( or is that over kill)?

Thank you for your imput.

-Chris

yes they are dramatically better in stopping power

i have hawks w/ brembo blanks (u dont need slotted or crossdrilled) with j30 brakes..the braking is better than stock but still not near the 300zx

if u really are a touge driver as you claim you would might wana invest in the front AND the rear combo to keep your braking evenly matched...there no such thing as braking overkill...necessary? thats all up to you..

Yes, I totally agree. Im not much of a touge 'master' :p but i do run my car pretty hard and the pads i have now fade out very bad after a while. I just wanted to know from some one with some experience as to how much better the 300zx brake combo is over a good pad/rotor combo w/ stock rotors. thanks again.

am i retarded if i dont know what touge is? probably. i know my brembo blanks and ceramic pads are squeeky as hell, but do stop better than stock stuff.

try looking into q45 brakes. not as good as the z brakes, but damn close. more affordable and no need to change the MC and brake lines.

yea its just a japanese word. means mountain pass.

as for a braking upgrade, Z32 30mm calipers are cool. but this is pretty interesting.

http://www.stillensucks.com/big_red_info.htm

that is interesting. good find.

Ok, Well I decide to go with the Q45 calipers. I just won a pair of front calipers from a 95 Q45 for 100 dollars shipped. I also order some Hawk HPS pads and power slot rotors. I got all of this for less than 220 bucks. So that is less than half of what the 300zx calipers would have cost and Im sure they will work alot better than stock. Thanks again for everyone's imput.

One more question. Are the Q45 rear calipers worth swapping out? Or is there not that much of a noticable difference between them and the stock rear calipers? If they are better, how difficult is the swap?


-Chris

go for wrx sti rear 2 piston calipers, they bolt right up with no brackets, even the brake lines fit. now the e-brake is another thing.

thats also an interesting tidbit. im assuming u did it to your car. do u have a pic?

Wow, that is intresting about the STI rear calipers, but a little out of my price range for what I would like to spend on rear brakes. I just called a local salvage yard and the told me that they would give me the rear calipers and everything that has to do with the parking brake off a 90 300zx n/a for 80 dollars as long as i take the pieces off myself. So i think i going to go that route.

Has anyone here ran Q45 calipers up front and Z32s in the rear? If so, do you think I will need to get a new master cylinder. I know its recommened for z32 all around. Thanks for the input.

double post.

triple post. damn lag.

me personally have not installed them, i rock the 300z caliper all around(no e-brake)but my buddy has full sti brake conversion on his s14. the fronts require brackets.

bah i got z32 rear calipers but im not sure how to make the ebrake work and i need my ebrake... is there a write up on rear z32 calipers on a 240?