auxilary Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Since we have so many newbies asking so many questions, I wrote up this faq with links and pics (most from my own conversions) for hybridz. Please feel free to correct any info and add your own. jmortensen's FAQ is also listed in the FAQ section of the forum here Mods, please STICKY this: Front Brake upgrade options: Toyota 4 piston bolt on conversion Description: direct swap, only modifications needed are to trim the dust plate and bend brake lines. MSA offers this as an overpriced kit here trimmed backing plate Parts needed: -a pair of calipers from a 79-84 toyota 4x4 pickup with S12 stamping on the side. Napa carries these rebuilt units for about $50-60/each. -good pads. EBC, Hawk, or Porterfields -recommended, but not required: a 15/16 master cylinder, SS brake lines, and new rotors Toyota 4 piston vented swap Description: wider toyota 4x4 calipers using 300zx vented rotors. You can buy the whole setup from Ross C. at http://www.modern-motorsports.com, or at Motorsport Auto. Both offer the exact same thing (spacer, calipers, bolts, rotors. MSA offers crossdrilled rotors in their more expensive package comparison of new vented rotor set caliper vs. stock caliper on the right Parts needed: -pair of '86-95 Toyota 4x4 or 86-91 4runner calipers stamped S12/W on the side '86 toyota 4x4 pickup 94 toyota 4x4 pickup this is the caliper shown for the 89 4runner v6: -new pads -pair of '84 300zx non-turbo front rotors (4 lug, http://www.buyautoparts.com has them for under 50/ea) -machined spacer to correctly move the hub from the rotor for wheel clearance and matching bolts (see pic above). You can buy these spacers separately from Ross at Modern Motorsports following the link specified above. -15/16 master cylinder from a '79 280zx (it will have 15/16 stamped on it) and SS brake lines. Also get some ready make hard brake lines in 3/16mm pitch at 6" long. Pictured above is my brake swap, and you will need to make sure that your wheels will clear the swap. I had 15" Snowflake 280zx wheels, and they would not clear the caliper because of the width. 13" Cobra kit description: Ford Cobra 13" brake setup adapted to an S30 chassis. Requires 17" wheels for clearance. Kit sold at Modern Motorsports Arizona Z car kit Description: Arizona Z car makes a complete conversion kit using Wilwood 4 piston calipers and curved vane rotors. Recommended racing use only. This kit features 4 to 5 lug conversion, new aluminum front hubs with bearings. There are also optional 13" brake kits with SIX piston calipers. Their products are listed here: www.arizonazcar.com Rear brakes: Maxima bracket/280zx caliper swap Description: Using '85-'88 maxima rear caliper brackets, 280zx rear calipers and rotors to convert rear to disk. Source of parts would be mainly junkyard, and you would have to either remove the stub axle (don't do it unless you absolutely have to) or cut out the drum backing plates to install. The downside is sourcing your own caliper brackets at the JY, and then REMOVING them. You will likely need cordless power tools to do so. Motorsport auto sells their bracket swap kit, which is CNC'd maxima brackets here. It is $320, and does not include rotors, pads, and calipers. You have to source your own. MM bracket/240SX caliper swap Description: Using '90-94 Nissan 240sx (S13) rear calipers, '84 300zx non-turbo rear rotors, and Modern Motorsports rear bracket to convert rear drums to disks. You can make your own adapters for the brake lines, or buy a set from MM here MSA rear disk conversion Description: Motor Sport Auto offers this *cough* moderately *cough* priced conversion that includes rotors, 280zx calipers, and all necessary hardware to convert rear to disk. Sean73's maxima bracket and caliper conversion Other rear disk swaps: Modern Motorsports 13" rear disk conversion Arizonazcar.com 4 piston rear disk swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Awesome thread, Aux. Anybody posting a question that's covered here should be banned for a month. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNeedForZ Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Yeah great thread, Alex. I saw the title of thread and looked at the author and thought you must be up to something. Good Job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayolives Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 JTI...............I almost agree with you except that the suspension should be for two months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003z Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 good thread, but someone obviously doesn't care for MSA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarnut Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 ...Parts needed: -pair of '86-89 Toyota 4x4 or 4runner calipers stamped S12W on the side... You can also use a version of the S12+8 calipers for the vented rotor conversion. Let me explain. There are two different Toyota 4x4 calipers with the casting mark "S12+8". One for a solid rotor and one for a vented (wider) rotor. The 1979-85 4x4 calipers are for use with a solid rotor but the 1986-88 4x4 calipers are also marked "S12+8" but they are designed to fit the wider' date=' vented rotor. [img']http://home.earthlink.net/~zcarfan/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/s12solid.jpg[/img] If you examine and compare the two different S12+8 calipers you will see that they are the same casting, (actually they are a pair of castings, one for each side of the caliper) except one is machined more that the other to be used on the solid (thinner) rotor. There are advantages of using the S12+8 caliper (for the vented rotor) over the S12W caliper: It is lighter in weight; The S12+8 caliper body is not as wide as the S12W caliper, so clearance to the wheel is increased; The S12+8 caliper has two 43.0mm diameter pistons and two 33.8mm diameter pistons whereas the S12W has four 43.0mm diameter pistons. This increase in piston area requires a larger (1") diameter master cylinder when using the S12W calipers. The belief that only the calipers with a “W” will fit a vented rotor is a myth. If you want to use the S12W calipers then some additional application information is the 1989-1995 Toyota 4 Wheel Drive Pickup Truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted October 2, 2005 Author Share Posted October 2, 2005 Oh, I know... I just put it there for simplification. These are the vented/wide calipers I'm using: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 I just installed the version for solid rotors on my Z as well as some slotted/crossdrilled rotors. since my 14 in. wheels don't fit now I would like to know exactly what the largest diameter is for the calipers...I measured from the center to the outside edge of the caliper and I came up with 6 7/16ths is that correct? thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted October 4, 2005 Author Share Posted October 4, 2005 bump. sticky this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 I think this post is clear proof that people aren't looking in the FAQ section. Maybe it would be a good idea for the FAQ's to also be stickies in the appropriate forum. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103767 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted October 4, 2005 Author Share Posted October 4, 2005 lol, ouch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonus079 Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 I think this post is clear proof that people aren't looking in the FAQ section. Maybe it would be a good idea for the FAQ's to also be stickies in the appropriate forum. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103767 wow thanks guys. this helped me out alot, even more than the faq cause of the pictures. i have a good idea what im gunna do in terms of brakes now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J__ Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 great post! now im not clueless about brake upgrades. one question i still have is for the vented 4x4 setup, the spacer just gots between the rotor and the wheel to allow clearance for the caliper right? where do i get them and will my 15" enkei rims (kinda like the mesh one, i dunno what the model name is called) fit them or do i need bigger 16" wheels? thnx edit: the spacer is not needed for the 4x4 NON vented upgrade right? thnx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted October 13, 2005 Author Share Posted October 13, 2005 no, the spacer goes between the hub and the rotor. Look at the pics of my setup at the top, and you can see the spacer in place right, spacer isn't needed for non-vented setup. you need to spacer for the vented swap to move the hub out far enough so that wheels and the hub itself can clear the caliper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Or to move the rotor farther inboard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted October 13, 2005 Author Share Posted October 13, 2005 matter of perspective but you're correct now that i visualize it in my head, the 300zx rotor doesn't step out as much, so the spacer keeps the hub properly spaced while moving the rotor inboard.. however, depends on perspective if new rotor is hte point of reference, he spacer moves the hub out to retain correct spacing for the spindle/bearings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strotter Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 With regards to the rear disk conversions: What will be the status of the parking brakes with the different swaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted October 13, 2005 Author Share Posted October 13, 2005 with the 240sx rear brakes, you flip the parking brake cables left to right, and vice versa, and run adapters you can either get from ross, or make them yourself using 2 cleft pins and a metal bracket with 2 holes in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 That info is in the FAQ, but basically the Wilwood calipers do not have ebrake provisions while the ZX and 240SX do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J__ Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts