EF Ian Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Hi Ian: Glad to hear you're happy with them! You will see a significant improvement in braking if you switch to a higher friction rear pad. For example, switching from an EE rated pad to a GG rated brake pad will result in brake torque increasing by a minimum of 40%! Keep in mind that the hand brake is meant to engage the brakes for parking, not stopping. The inability to lock the rear wheels with the hand brake while driving in a straight line is not a good assessment of braking ability. On many cars, you can drive around with a properly adjusted hand brake fully engaged and not even notice. However, these Lincoln and Jag calipers will easily hold a nearly 4000lb car in place on a 20 deg slope. So, for our feather weight Datsuns, they're more than adequate. Nigel That's quite an improvement in torque, I'll work out what pads to use once I decide on the fronts. The Hawk HP+ pads are amazing, but I don't think I can put up with the dust they produce. The hand brake definitely performs really well for its intended purpose, I only have to pull it up a couple of clicks to really lock the rears, so pulled up full it would hold really tight. Its unlikely I'll be drifting the Datsun anyway so the fact I can't lock the brakes while moving won't really be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 That's quite an improvement in torque, I'll work out what pads to use once I decide on the fronts. The Hawk HP+ pads are amazing, but I don't think I can put up with the dust they produce. The hand brake definitely performs really well for its intended purpose, I only have to pull it up a couple of clicks to really lock the rears, so pulled up full it would hold really tight. Its unlikely I'll be drifting the Datsun anyway so the fact I can't lock the brakes while moving won't really be a problem. You don't need a high friction front pad with the Wilwood brakes. They're already capable of generating tremendous brake torque. As a point of comparison, a Nissan GT-R weighs ~40% more than a Z, but has front brakes capable of generating only 10% more brake torque than the Wilwoods. So don't fret about going to a lower friction front pad if it means less dust. You shouldn't have any problems getting these brakes to kick the back end out in a turn. But a straight line is another story. Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 One more for the list... Discount Price 1. 280zcar (w/ centering ring) 2. takayuki (w/ centering ring) 3. KyleG (w/ centering ring) 4. Ryan Merrill (w/ centering ring) 5. calpoly-z (w/ centering ring) 6. pchermit (w/ centering ring) 7. xxjoeyxxeb (w/ centering ring) 8. Leon (w/ centering ring) 9. Whitehead Performance (w/ centering ring) 10. SoC MATADOR (w/ centering ring) Full Price 11. Zedfoot (w/ centering ring) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 For those on the list, PM me ASAP which caliper you plan to use, and your wheel size including offset (for example, a 16x8 rim with +12 offset. Again, I need to know ASAP! Thanks! Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 BTW, the reason I'm asking has to do with brake hose clearance. I was concerned that I wasn't going to be able to come up with a single brake hose design that would work with both calipers AND clear the majority of wheel sizes being used. I've been agonizing over this for the past week! My Z is a best case scenario, with 17" rims with 4.5" backspacing, TTT lower control arms and short stroke AZC coilovers. It occurred to me that the brake hose routing on my car may not work so well with stock suspension and some 16" rims with really deep backspacing. So, I put a stock control arm back in, dropped the strut down to stock suspension droop, mocked up a 16" wheel and started experimenting with different hose routing options. Fortunately, I found a local hose manufacturer that was willing to work with me and provide samples of hose end fittings and a length of hose to try out. It was getting pretty frustrating coming up with a solution though. There's so little room to work with, and I have to be absolutely certain that what I decide on will clear all moving parts through the entire range of suspension travel and caliper travel (due to brake pads wear), plus align properly with two different calipers. So, I've spent hours and hours out in my very cold garage, swapping calipers back and forth, jacking the suspension up and down, with and without a wheel, with the hose routed in different ways, looking at it from all different angles. I was beginning to think I'd have to provide a caliper specific hose, but I've finally solved it! However, I'd still like to know what your caliper choice and wheel specs are just to be certain there isn't some odd ball rim size that I know won't work. Oh yeah, I think you'll all be really happy with the brake hoses. They're a premium quality braided stainless steel DOT hose. Everything else is progressing. I'm trying to get parts together as quickly as I can. However, the logistics are challenging. I'm building 15 kits and have close to 1000 parts to acquire and track! Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Excellent work Nigel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Time for an update: It's taken me longer than I initially anticipated, but parts are starting to come into my possession. The water jet cutter completed the brackets today. I picked up samples yesterday, and they look good. I'm picking up the remainder tomorrow. I picked up all 840 fasteners today. The parking brake cables should be on route to me tomorrow and I hope to receive them by the end of next week. The chassis end fitting for the brake hoses is back-ordered, but with any luck I'll still receive the hoses by the end of next week as well. I could have used a different piece that was in stock and functionally would still work, but I'd rather wait for the right part. "Close enough" is not my philosophy! The only part that's really complicating things for me is the centering ring. The machinist that was going to fabricate those for me is a friend of mine, and he was laid off recently! I'm now scrambling to find another shop to do them. It's probably going to cost me more, since I'll no longer get the 'friend' discount, but since you've all been so patient, I'll eat whatever the extra turns out to be. So, we're almost there. Another few weeks and you should have your kits. I really do appreciate your patience. Believe me, I want to get these out to you asap. As the parts come in, the bills come with them, and they're going to add up to thousands of dollars very quickly! Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EF Ian Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Worth waiting for, all the other kits are underpowered apart from the Silvermine one and as we know its the issues from that made you design this to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Thanks for the update nigel. Looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Thanks for the update nigel. Looking forward to it. Same here, glad you put so much work into this conversion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxjoeyxxeb Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Thanks for the update. Had to spend some money, so this little extra wait is giving me more time to build up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steves72z Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Will these work with 15x7 0 offset konig rewinds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) Will these work with 15x7 0 offset konig rewinds?I have no way of knowing. I provided measurements earlier in this thread to check caliper clearance. I suspect 15's will fit up to 4" back spacing. With more back spacing than that, clearance to the banjo bolt head becomes an issue. Nigel Edited March 20, 2014 by Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Good news. Earlier this week, I found a machinist willing to make the rings for $5/piece plus material. That's way better than the $20/piece plus material from the first shop I got a quote from. Their labour rate must be $200+/hour! They must have found out that I work in the nuclear industry and assumed I'd think rates like that were normal. Brake cables arrived this past Monday. Hoses should be ready soon. Last thing to do is send the aluminum bits out for anodizing. I just have to belt sand a small tab of of each of them that is a left over from the waterjet cutting. As a thank you to all of you for your patience, I'm going to include the centring rings free of charge Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoC MATADOR Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Awesome Nigel, I don't mind waiting for a quality part, and you've been doing great at keeping us updated. Thanks again for your dedication! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 Rings are done. I'm picking them up this weekend. Brake hoses should be finished by the end of the week. Last thing to do is have the brackets anodized. However, first I need to sand a small tab off of each piece that is a result of the water jet cutting process. Working 12+ hour days at the moment, but I hope to find the time tomorrow evening so I can drop the parts off at the anodizer by Thursday. Looks like I could have everything on hand early next week. Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Awesome, looking forward to it! Thank you Nigel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Got the tabs sanded off and dropped the brackets off at the anodizer tonight. Thankfully, they're open until midnight. Here's a sneak peek at the brackets before anodizing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin.pk Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Looking good! can't wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jozh Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Can I still get in on this current group buy. I just saw the thread now and I am very interested. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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