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Help! What brake options are available for S30 Z cars?


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I've read though the brake section but I'm still confused about the rear swap with 280ZX calipers and rotors. :(

 

This thread says to use the FWD Maxima backets and the FAQ says to use the RWD Maxima brackets. So which is it? Am I missing something insanely obious?

 

I just grabbed two sets or FWD rear brackets at the junk yard today. Are these the wrong ones for swapping the 280ZX rear calipers and rotors into my 72'?

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I've read though the brake section but I'm still confused about the rear swap with 280ZX calipers and rotors. :(

 

This thread says to use the FWD Maxima backets and the FAQ says to use the RWD Maxima brackets. So which is it? Am I missing something insanely obious?

 

I just grabbed two sets or FWD rear brackets at the junk yard today. Are these the wrong ones for swapping the 280ZX rear calipers and rotors into my 72'?

 

Do they look like the pic in post # 93?

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:flamedevi On the 280ZX rear brake package. The mounting plate is flat plate. The calibers are the early model (79-8/81) and the rotors are the later model (small hat, not the early version, wide hat). But the mounting plate is just a flat plate of steel 1/2". This is what I have in my Z at this time. But I know some poeple who has used 1/4" and 1/8" plate in their Z. The 1/8" plate was used by Mike Wilson, he had a article on it on the Internet Z club site. 1/4" plate was used by PParaska on his site. I also have a drawing around here from a GT-2 racer that used only 2 mounting holes to mount it to his car. You can conduct a search or look over individual's personnel sites to find out more info. :burnout: :burnout:
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:flamedevi On the 280ZX rear brake package. The mounting plate is flat plate. The calibers are the early model (79-8/81) and the rotors are the later model (small hat, not the early version, wide hat). But the mounting plate is just a flat plate of steel 1/2". This is what I have in my Z at this time. But I know some poeple who has used 1/4" and 1/8" plate in their Z. The 1/8" plate was used by Mike Wilson, he had a article on it on the Internet Z club site. 1/4" plate was used by PParaska on his site. I also have a drawing around here from a GT-2 racer that used only 2 mounting holes to mount it to his car. You can conduct a search or look over individual's personnel sites to find out more info. :burnout: :burnout:

 

Let me get this straight. As far as stock components go, these are my options.

 

Option 1: 79-81 Rear 280ZX caliper

82-83 Rear 280ZX rotor

85-88 FWD Maxima rear caliper bracket (flat)

 

Option 2: 82-83 Rear 280ZX caliper

82-83 Rear 280ZX rotor

79-83 RWD Maxima rear caliper bracket (not flat)

 

Is that about it?

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  • 2 weeks later...

10.8" diameter or so. Covered in a few previous posts.

 

Just FYI, mocked my 4x4/vented swap up tonight with my snowflake wheels. I will need a 3/8" wheel spacer to use the wheels without any grinding of the calipers. The brake clearance on the snowflakes is brutal. I could probably use a 1/4" spacer if I was willing to grind the fins/ribs off my calipers... I figure they are there for stiffness reasons, and it doesn't seem like the proper solution to me at this time.

 

New wheels are in the works anyway, and I expect they will offer up a lot more brake clearance when I get them.

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Hi All, I asked this question at the end of another thread but never got a response, so I hope it's ok to ask it again here. Has anyone done the vented 4x4 toyota caliper swap with the later bigger calipers (S12W with 4 large pistons) and NOT swapped to the 15/16" master cylinder?

 

I ask because I read that this was required for the swap for the non-vented swap, but when I did that and left my stock m/c in, everything was fine. I had no problem with a long brake pedal.

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I have done this without swapping the stock mc.....but plan to swap to the larger one because the brakes didn't seem to be much more aggressive than the stock calipers were...in reality they might be but I'm not impressed so far by the upgraded calipers...hope this helped

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...the brakes didn't seem to be much more aggressive than the stock calipers were...in reality they might be but I'm not impressed so far by the upgraded calipers...
Did you bed the pads in yet? The method I've used is to go out on a deserted road and accelerate up to about 60 mph. Then brake hard, but not a panic stop, down to about 5-10 mph. Gradually accelerate up to 60 mph and do it again. Repeat this 4 or 5 times. You want to get the brakes and pads good and hot, but not overheat them. Then drive the car normally to let them cool.

 

As it has been explained to me, two important things are happening:

1. no rotor is perfectly flat, and this is speeding up helping to get the wear pattern on the pads to conform better to the irregular surface of the rotor. Assuming you have new rotors, this isn't something that is visible to your naked eye, but it happens and means that more of the pad will be in contact with the rotor.

 

2. some pad material becomes embedded in the rotor surface, much like racing tires leave some rubber on the track. This improves the tires grip, and for brakes, improves the coefficient of friction, meaning the brakes feel like they "grip better".

 

The first time I ever changed brakes (new pads and rotors) I didn't know about this, and the first few stops felt worse than the old brakes. Eventually after several hundred miles of driving they broke in themselves. This process speeds that up.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Whats the weight difference between the stock front calipers and the 4x4 Hilux calipers?

Surprisingly, only about 2 lbs per caliper. I was looking into that one a while back. I found a post where the original caliper weighed 9.x lbs and the Toy was 11.x lbs.

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I just saw something different today July 1st at the SCCA Solo II national tour event. John Anderson's F Prepared Z runs the stock 240Z front calipers on the rear. The rear rotors are the solid rotors from the Datsun roadster. Goes to show what can be adapted to the rear of the Z.

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  • 1 month later...

And a new option for the front.

 

R32GTST front rotors (280mmx26mm), centre hole machined out to match the 260Z/280Z hub, diameter reduced to by ~ 5mm with Hilux S13W calipers. The calipers need a ~ 4mm spacer and longer bolts. Fits behind my 14x7 "kidney bean" wheels, but not behind my 15x7 three-piece wheels. Going to check out the 16x7 panasports next.

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