Brake upgrade

[duffymahoney]

2 minutes ago, jalexquijano said:

I only use this car on weekends to cruise but would like to have a better response during braking. Would you still recommend doing the brake drum conversion at the rear or would it be greatly improved by just having better brake pads?

I have not driven mine, but the consensus on all the Z forums and facebook is that the rear disks aren't needed.  Most people either can't tell a difference or any gain.  Some claim loses in braking power.  I did it because my drums were toast and i like the look and ease of disks.  That's about it.  Hope that helps

[gnosez]

We have run the stock drums (steel) in our 240Z race car for over 10 years with comp shoes (CarboTech or Portfield) and the SW13 Toyo calipers and Z31 front rotors. For street use you could run aluminum drums instead.

[gnosez]

As to getting a better response you could swap in a different booster and MC.

Try bleeding your brakes more often using high quality fluid first before spending time and money doing a parts swap.

Edited December 13, 2017 by gnosez

[cbuczesk]

We use stock calipers, rotors and drums on our race cars and have no fade issues after 30 minutes of racing. The key for us is the Carbotech pads/shoes and high temp brake fluid. A guy in a 280Z doesn't even use any brake ducts yet he has won many races and a championship.

Chuck

 

[Jeff G 78]

We run stock brake hardware on our endurance racer with just high temp fluid, braided hoses, and Porterfield linings.  We did finally add brake ducts in front but I'm not sure it was needed.  Our races are up to 25.5 hours long and fade has not been an issue. 

That said, keeping the drums adjusted is a pain and our plan is to finally upgrade to vented fronts and rear discs.  As the car gets faster with more mods, we will need more brake performance.

[siteunseen]

With flower bed edging for the front spoiler the brake ducts are downspout extensions? 

[Jeff G 78]

  Close Cliff.  The ducts are made from ductwork.  

I hate this pic.  The temp dropped overnight and my headlight covers developed small cracks at the fasteners.  I had to tape them up to keep them from cracking further.  My car looks like Alice Cooper.  

[gnosez]

Jeff - how much HP are you running in the enduro Z?

I ask because our earlier version race car had numerous engine builds and was mostly a momentum car meaning it didn't go very fast and hitting the brakes slowed you down even more. When we finally got around to building a real race engine (13.7:1 CR making over 300hp) corners came at us much quicker making braking a necessary not a impediment to getting through the corner.

As for brake ducts, I run them through the 240 turn signal cutout and they are from a newer ZO6 Vette. I'll post a picture once the car is back from the body shop.

Edited December 14, 2017 by gnosez

[Jeff G 78]

I haven't dynoed it, but based on a friend's engine that was built the same, it should be making about 170 at the wheels.  I drive 500+ HP cars on track for a living, so I am pretty well immune to HP at this point.  The Z is a momentum car for sure, but it has a great handling balance and is a lot of fun for a car with 1/3 the HP per lb. as most cars I track test.

I look forward to the brake duct pics.  I looked, but apparently never took any pictures of my ducts with the wheels off.

[cbuczesk]

My race car had a home made aluminum air dam with downspout brake ducts when I bought it. You can laugh all you want but it had won many races and a few championships!

Chuck

 

[gnosez]

Z06 front brake ducts

 

[jalexquijano]

So bottomline my car is not used for any racing purpose. I do speed it everytime i can at the highway and just want a firm and precise stop without getting into a conversión that is not needed. Based on my needs which most of all concern safety in the event that some crazy driver shows up and i need to stop the car immediately. Any better brake pads, hoses or drum shoes i should consider?