Brake Pad & Shoe Question

[SN8BYTE]

Hey gang;

I just bought my first Z-Car… A 73’ 240, Woo Hoo !!

I’m in the process of prepping it for an ITS car but am so new into Z-Car’s I'm at a loss with some elementary parts. Seeing that I need to keep the stock Calipers and Drum Brakes does anyone have any suggestions on a brand and compound of Pads & Shoes?

Any help is much appreciated!

[2ManyZs]

Well, as far as I know most of the Z-racers in my area went to the Carbotech pads many years ago and still use them. I believe they call them the Panther Plus pads now. You will need to duct as much air as possible to the rotors and calipers as you can. I'm not sure if they are having their rotors heat treated or not, but the Carbotechs seem to be the most rotor friendly.

Rear shoes are a bit of a mystery, you could try and see if Carbotech does the rear shoes too or maybe they will take your cores and do them. I used el-cheapo rear shoes from Napa for the last few years I raced back in the early 90's. The Nismo shoes are expensive and they only lasted a weekend or two on my 280 if I was lucky. The "Wearevers" from Napa lasted the longest, and were less than half the price of the Nismo shoes. I know Porterfield used to take cores for shoes and put their linings on them. I used the Porterfield R-4's on my car for a couple seasons and they ate up rotors like mad.

Hmsports may have a better shoe or pad since he is still racing in IT. I've been "retired" since 94, so things probably have changed a lot since then.

[SN8BYTE]

2ManyZs;

Thank you for the suggestions... Good place for me to start.

BTW: Cute doggie.

[Zvoiture]

Hey! can I tag on and ask another question? Which sheds heat better the AL drums or the CI ones?

steve77

[santamaus]

What about for daily use? Not using the brakes quite as much... are the Carbotechs a good daily driver brake?

Chris

[shock96]

The Carbotech's are strictly a race only item. They require some time to heat up.

I have been talking with Ross Corrigan at Modern-motorsports.com and I have ordered a full set of the KVR pads for my 300zx brake conversion.

My car as some of you may not have heard is a 1973 240 built to drive on the street with a few open track events in there. I am hoping the KVR pads will hold up.

Mike

[2ManyZs]

I believe Carbotech does have a street oriented pad available. I can't seem to find the new GRM magazine I just got but they have an ad in there and I believe they offer a choice of pads for racing and street.

As far as which drum dissipates heat better, the aluminum may have a slight advantage, but it would only be a slight one. You still have to contend with the heat build-up in the cast iron insert. Aluminum should transfer the heat better than cast, but being a two piece drum it will only help but just so much.

[SN8BYTE]

Cool, I use Carbotech pads on my Shelby Cobra Replica... Anyone know the Part Number for Stock 73' calipers?

Still looking for help on the Shoes...

[hmsports]

I've never used any shoe for my 72 ITS racer other than the cheapest I could get from Napa and I've never had a problem. They wear quite a long time.

I've always run aluminum drums. More for the 'perceived' notion that they may be lighter and therefore remove some of the un-sprung/rotating weight -- ok, so we're not racing F1 and this won't make the difference between winning or losing but every little bit helps.

I've never had a problem with heat in my rear brakes much - one of the things you can do is make a small sheet metal scoop that fits into the lower control arm's rectangular opening (see attached attempt at a drawing) which will direct air into a 2" flexible hose that terminates at an inlet at the backing plate for the drum. It is important to make sure the air that goes in has a way to get out... so make some exit holes - at least the same total area as your inlet hole. These can be placed at your discression.

[Z-point]

Hey gang;

I just bought my first Z-Car… A 73’ 240, Woo Hoo !!

I’m in the process of prepping it for an ITS car but am so new into Z-Car’s I'm at a loss with some elementary parts. Seeing that I need to keep the stock Calipers and Drum Brakes does anyone have any suggestions on a brand and compound of Pads & Shoes?

Any help is much appreciated!

try this link http://www.ebcbrakes.com/

its very well known in the race world.

Guus

Z-point

[2ManyZs]

Hmm, guess I was right about the "Wearevers" from Napa. I thought maybe I was the only one crazy (or cheap) enough to try them.

They are hard as a rock, don't fade out any worse than anything else I tried, and for about 40 (?) a set they are a lot cheaper than the Nismo (over $100 a set) I tried.

hmsports, nice idea for the rear brakes. Most of the people here just ran a hose up the tunnel to catch air for the rear brakes.

BTW, wheel choice is another factor in brake cooling as well, the more open the design of the wheel, the better cooling you can get for the brakes. Just something else to consider when you are getting ready to buy wheels. But be careful, there have been wheels that were open but not strong enough for racing that got the owners into a lot of trouble too. See what everyone else is running before you make your final choices.

[santamaus]

About the Carbotechs...

Yeah, they do make a street compound set: The silvers (actual drum shoes) and greens/golds for the front disks. Ambient activation temp up to about 700 degrees. CF about .48 on both, IIRC.

http://www.carbotecheng.com/prod-ct-compounds.htm

Check them out. I found a couple of reviews that said they rocked too. A lot cheaper than a full brake swap too. These combined with some decent brake lines should haul that Z back to zero.

Chris