Silver Mine Motors Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) This forum is intended to gauge the interest in a 280zx brake kit. Our company is currently in the middle of the designing stages of producing a brake upgrade for the 280zx. I just wanted to get the opinions of my fellow Hybridz members. Pleas post your: - Wants for a brake upgrade (eg. Rotor diameter, # of pistons, minimum rim diameter etc.) - desired price (be realistic) - desired features - any other comments you think would be useful Also I would like to know what wheel diameter you have on your 280zx? Edited March 6, 2012 by bajaracer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZUL8TR Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 12" vented rotors 4 piston calipers Available for front & rear Rear parking brake It would be great if we have easy aftermarket access to replacement rotors. Ease of finding brake pads in varying types of compounds. Reasonable pricing. Current option is $795 for front or back via AZ Z Car. Seems steep to me, but I have no reference point, so I could be wrong. Currently running stock 15" rims, but 17" are in the future plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1QWIKZ Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hey Edan, As we've been emailing back and forth over the last month...here's my list. - 12" vented disc (preferably slotted) - 4 pot caliper - adapter brackets, pads, stainless lines included - I would be fine with a front kit only since the 280zx had factory rear disc...a prop. Valve should be sufficient - price...roughly $400-$500 (Agee that the AZ kit is priced kinda high) My Z has the old school 16"x8" mesh enkeis on (0 offset) Thanks again! Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I would actually like the idea of just using z32 re drilled rotors and possibly even the calipers up front with some kind of adapter, one problem is I have s13 coils and I've seen other people do it and they had to orient the caliper all funny to get it to fit. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php?topic=2546.0 It would be cool if it could be had sub $500 One quick note, the earlier 280zx had a different rear setup that had the elephant ear caliper. That caliper had a different bolt pattern (smaller). the later 280zx's had a pattern that is the same as a 240sx/s13 rear. I have 16x8 0 offset up frontand 16x10 rear, but for DD I use the turbo swastika 15". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Mine Motors Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Ok so it sounds like the kit would need to fit under 15 or 16 inch wheels. So I guess I’m going to have a large 4 piston caliper with a smaller 11-11.5 inch rotor. And I should try to move the caliper back towards the center of the car so it doesn't stick out much past the hub mounting surface. I do want to use all OEM calipers and pads of other cars so replacement parts could be bought anywhere. The rotors will for sure have to be modified to fit the zx hub. Blu destiny - At first I wanted to use 300zxtt calipers but after checking the amount of available calipers I decided not to use them. About 2 years ago those calipers could be bought rebuilt for $90, today they are going for 140 and there are 5 pairs kept on hand compared to 40 pairs two years ago. These calipers are going to be extremely hard to find in the near future (just like the 15/16 280zx master cylinders today). I have 3 different calipers and 5 different rotors I’m going to try to fit on the hub. I should know which combination I want to use in the next 7-10 days. Then I’ll start making the cad file for the bracket. I’ll post my progress… Thanks for your input! Please keep posting your info so I have a better idea of what the Average demand is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1QWIKZ Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Subaru 4 pots are similar in size to the 300zxtt...even use the same pad as far as I know. I think stock WRX rotors are around 12" as well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZUL8TR Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Safe to assume you've taken a peek at these? http://www.arizonazcar.com/510brakes.html 12.2" rotor and 4-pot calipers will fit in a 15" wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Mine Motors Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 i just checked the availability of the Subaru calipers and they are even more scarce than the 300zx calipers. yes I've seen the AZC kit. let me do some more research and see if i can find a 12 inch rotor with the dimensions i need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1QWIKZ Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Hmm...I'm not sure what the availability will be like...but maybe the brembo caliper off the 350z or sentra spec-v? Similar in size to the 4 pot you'd like to use but maybe easier to source? Price may be the killer on this one though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Mine Motors Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 i checked the availability and they are basically not available. each caliper cost $265 so it's not an option. i'm leaning towards Toyota calipers. they have larger pistons that the Brembo calipers, cost less, are more reliable, and are readily available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 What about something more...domestic? Mustang brakes or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Mine Motors Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 mustang brakes are dual piston and Toyota's are 4 piston. which would you prefer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ghtymaxXx Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) So far I agree with pretty much all BluDestiny's input. I think a large rotor/bracket option would be great too for those with bigger wheels, but I think a lot of people prefer to run 14-16" wheels on these cars. I take it you are designing a mounting kit for existing calipers? I think low price point would be key since AZC already has a nice kit for those who can afford it. Edited March 9, 2012 by m1ghtymaxXx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZUL8TR Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I would suspect 4-piston would be preferred. Avoid boat anchor heavy calipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoC MATADOR Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Hey Edan, As we've been emailing back and forth over the last month...here's my list. - 12" vented disc (preferably slotted) - 4 pot caliper - adapter brackets, pads, stainless lines included - I would be fine with a front kit only since the 280zx had factory rear disc...a prop. Valve should be sufficient - price...roughly $400-$500 (Agee that the AZ kit is priced kinda high) My Z has the old school 16"x8" mesh enkeis on (0 offset) Thanks again! Rob. Ditto, except im on the stock 15's. But would definitely jump on this if available, it's roughly what i paid for my S30 upgrade and LOVE the difference. Definitely go with four piston, the more the better, and so far, toyota hasn't let me down on my S30 (including some less than legal punishment that will not be discussed...) But know you have interest on my end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger280zx Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Z32 calipers are NOT hard to find. The early aluminum calipers are very light. They are the same caliper that was on the GTR of the same era, both cars are quite heavy and they will fade when pushed hard. This means they are often upgraded and can be had for cheap. In a 2500# car you can repeatedly slow from 150+ on slicks with no fade. Those BIG and HEAVY cars have given these calipers a bad reputation, but they are an exelent upgrade for anything under 3000lbs IMO. And you might get lucky and find a few sets at the pick n pull for $16.11 per front and $12.28 per rear corner like I did;) I would lend them to you for a mock up, or I might even be able to help out with the development in some other way. I have 15 inch race wheels, so mine have to fit 15's, you really don't need more than 11.5" if its a quality rotor on these cars. 12.2" is defenitly adequate and will fit most 15's. Edited March 9, 2012 by roger280zx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Mine Motors Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 OK guys thanks for your input!! i will use a 4 piston caliper, don't worry. roger: you're right the 300zx calipers are great and i have not had any problems with them after selling hundreds of them for over 5 years now. but the availability is getting quite low. you might not see it yet but if you call a rebuilding company and ask what they have on hand at that time they will probably tell you a number under 10. on the other hand they have over 100 Toyota calipers in stock. i'm just being conservative in my thinking. yes 12.2 inch rotor could easily fit under a 15 inch wheel, the caliper is what gets in the way. i'll let you know if i need any help. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Mine Motors Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Ok I need your opinions on something. Initial goal was to use an OEM rotor. The problem I’m having is finding a rotor with the dimensions I need. I want to mount the rotor in the stock location which is in back of the hub. Most cars come with front a mounted rotor, which means that most rotors are much higher than what I need. I was thinking maybe I could mount the rotor in front of the hub. This would greatly open my options. Two problems with this are: 1. This would cause your wheel to move out toward the fender about 1/4 inch. 2. The wheel studs you have will be 1/4 inch shorter. My 2 questions: 1. Do you guys have 1/4 inch of room between your tire and fender? Would moving the wheel out a quarter inch cause rubbing issues? 2. With your current rim, do you think you would have a problem with having 1/4 inch less thread to mount the wheel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1QWIKZ Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 The car typically has the from wheels tucked pretty far in under the front fenders. I'm running an 8" wide wheel (225/50r16) all around and I'm not even close to rubbing. There's more than enough room to move them out a bit without any issues. Longer wheel studs are relatively inexpensive and would be good to add to the kit if you go this route. Thanks. Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1QWIKZ Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Nobody else has input on this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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