superduner Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Just bought a 70 240z she'll and came with absolutely nothing for the stopping game, including but not limited to brake lines! :'( done a lot cosmetic and body work but finally getting to the fun part.the Mechanics! Since the car has no brake lines or distribution block, booster etc etc etc. Just wondering if anyone knows if the diameters from various S30 /s130 were bigger than others of the actual lines vary. I've read more fluid & pressure = better so looking to source some lines for this lady. Or would oem 240z lines work just as well as say 280z lines. I'll be sourcing a 15/16 master cylinder $ fitting either 280z or maybe zx booster for the better stopping power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I think that the lines were all essentially the same over the years. Probably the same for all Datsun/Nissan/Infiniti platforms. It's the actuating cylinder sizes that affect pedal effort. The metal lines just allow fluid movement so size doesn't matter. The booster has to fit the mounting studs and clear other parts. The master cylinder should be matched to whatever it's pushing on. An all disc setup would need a different MC than discs and drums to get a good balance of travel, effort, and stopping power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Lots of posts in the brake section on stock brake line diameter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superduner Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 I think that the lines were all essentially the same over the years. Probably the same for all Datsun/Nissan/Infiniti platforms. It's the actuating cylinder sizes that affect pedal effort. The metal lines just allow fluid movement so size doesn't matter. The booster has to fit the mounting studs and clear other parts. The master cylinder should be matched to whatever it's pushing on. An all disc setup would need a different MC than discs and drums to get a good balance of travel, effort, and stopping power. Thank you kind sir pretty much sums up what I needed to verify. 4 piston front calipers & zx/sx rear disks would work well with the 15/16 Mc and 280z booster in your opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 (edited) My brake set up on my 240Z is similar to what you mentioned above: Toyota 4 piston front, 240SX rear, 1 inch Wilwood MC and 280Z booster. Originally I used a 280ZX mc but replaced it when it failed with the Wilwood 1 inch mc. I installed the 280Z booster to off set the heavier pedal caused by going to a larger diameter mc. It works! With the 280Z booster, the pedal is easy to modulate with minimum foot pressure. Now the facts: The popular 240Z brake swaps (Toyota, Maxima, 280ZX, 240SX) are not balanced front to rear. There is too much front brake bias. With the Toyota front and 240SX rear the ratio is 60% front and 40% rear. So performance suffers. There has been much debate about these brake "upgrades" so I took a year and did them all so I could see first hand how they perform. I experimented with a variety of front and rear pad materials as well. I found all of the various brake configurations to be overly front biased. Some of the racers will use high friction pads on the rear and then dial in the front-rear bias with a proportioning valve for various degrees of success. I tried it, but didn't like the idea for a daily driver. Edited June 26, 2015 by Miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Just get a roll of 3/16 brake line tubing from the parts store and start laying it out. Get the fanciest flaring tool that you are willing to pay for. If it is to be a race car, convert to AN fittings. If a street car, put your brake kit on it and reverse engineer it from the caliper to the master cylinder. Determine what size and style flare each component needs and put that style flare on it. If staying totally stock, each flare is a female double flare (not bubble flare) with an M10x1.0 flare nut. If I were starting from scratch building a race car, I would increase my pedal ratio from 6:1 to 7:1 and eliminate my booster altogether. Or, just mount masters low in the floor to leave room for a turbo in the space where the booster is now. The sky is the limit, but be ready for some sore hands. Above all, if varying from stock routing, think about future maintenance and try not to "paint yourself into a corner." Keep components accessible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Brake line flaring tool: http://www.eastwood.com/professional-brake-tubing-flaring-tool.html Works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superduner Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Sweet! Yeah on my previous z I had the stock drums on the back and it felt more balanced than breaking on the zx / Toyota set up my buddy had. Definitely going for street use and I'm sure the rear drums might not looking as cool/fancy but do you think 4 piston front and rear drums would be a good set up? (since we're talking brakes already) haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 My first brake mod was the Toyota 4x4 pickup caliper on stock rotors with stock drums. They worked fine. The reason I went to rear disk was the constant maintenance the drums required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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