Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I have 18 inch rims with 25mm adapter spacers on both front and rear.

In terms of maximum size, your best bet would be to get 320-330 mm rotors (350Zs/R34 GT-Rs run 324mm). 355mm rotors with big calipers will fit under certain 18" wheels that have a large internal diameter, but most will struggle.

A mate of mine ran an Endless BBK with 355mm rotors on his car, and found out the hard way that 18" Volk Racing RE30s don't fit over them.

I don't take my car to the track, but I'm considering brake upgrades because I may be doing this next year and I just want added safety to be honest.

Massive brakes don't add safety if you're doing a single panic stop. In most modern cars with power-assisted brakes, traction is the limiting factor to your stopping distance on a single panic stop. If you want to stop faster in the case where some kid runs onto the road without looking, get softer tyres. What tyres are you running right now?

The benefit of massive brakes is the amount of heat they can absorb before overheating their components. That only comes into its own if you're hitting the brakes a lot of times, or standing on the brakes for a very long period.

From what I've read here, so you guys think just some upgrades to the existing stock calipers would be sufficient, i.e. pads and lines?

I do.

The usual "Stage 1" upgrade of all the consumables (pads, rotors, fluid) should cover you for your intended purpose. Going to a more aggressive compound in the pad and rotors will produce more friction, which provides more braking power.

To that I'd also add a master brake cylinder stopper and braided brake lines, to improve initial response. If you want to dress up the brakes a little, get your calipers powdercoated in another colour.

With those minor upgrades, even if you were to bury the brake pedal into the carpet from 120km/hr to 0km/hr at maximum deceleration on a set of hot R-Comp semi slicks there's a good chance you'll still trigger your ABS (which means your brakes are providing more force than the tyres can handle). There won't be enough heat generated to fade out the brakes during that one stop.

If your driving style then has you re-accelerating back up to that speed and jumping on the brakes again, and you repeat that action a few times, then yes your stock calipers and rotor sizes may not cope no matter how heat-resistance the consumables are. But I'd be more concerned at what the cops will do to you when they catch you, than anything else.

As others have said, you can get adapters so you can run a larger rotor so your wheels get filled out a bit more, but without the expense of buying calipers. Get the stock calipers powdercoated if you want to add some extra bling there.

scathing is spot on with the tyre being the limiting factor in a panic stop. in my 33 it would lock up rather easily, so going bigger brakes wouldn't result in quicker stopping, just make it easier to lock up the wheels.

  • 2 weeks later...
In terms of maximum size, your best bet would be to get 320-330 mm rotors (350Zs/R34 GT-Rs run 324mm). 355mm rotors with big calipers will fit under certain 18" wheels that have a large internal diameter, but most will struggle.

A mate of mine ran an Endless BBK with 355mm rotors on his car, and found out the hard way that 18" Volk Racing RE30s don't fit over them.

Massive brakes don't add safety if you're doing a single panic stop. In most modern cars with power-assisted brakes, traction is the limiting factor to your stopping distance on a single panic stop. If you want to stop faster in the case where some kid runs onto the road without looking, get softer tyres. What tyres are you running right now?

The benefit of massive brakes is the amount of heat they can absorb before overheating their components. That only comes into its own if you're hitting the brakes a lot of times, or standing on the brakes for a very long period.

I do.

The usual "Stage 1" upgrade of all the consumables (pads, rotors, fluid) should cover you for your intended purpose. Going to a more aggressive compound in the pad and rotors will produce more friction, which provides more braking power.

To that I'd also add a master brake cylinder stopper and braided brake lines, to improve initial response. If you want to dress up the brakes a little, get your calipers powdercoated in another colour.

With those minor upgrades, even if you were to bury the brake pedal into the carpet from 120km/hr to 0km/hr at maximum deceleration on a set of hot R-Comp semi slicks there's a good chance you'll still trigger your ABS (which means your brakes are providing more force than the tyres can handle). There won't be enough heat generated to fade out the brakes during that one stop.

If your driving style then has you re-accelerating back up to that speed and jumping on the brakes again, and you repeat that action a few times, then yes your stock calipers and rotor sizes may not cope no matter how heat-resistance the consumables are. But I'd be more concerned at what the cops will do to you when they catch you, than anything else.

As others have said, you can get adapters so you can run a larger rotor so your wheels get filled out a bit more, but without the expense of buying calipers. Get the stock calipers powdercoated if you want to add some extra bling there.

Hi mate,

I really appreciate the time and effort you've put into this reply...it's really helped me helps...

Since reading your reply, I've gone out and done the following:

1. Gotten better performance brake pads.

2. Got spacers put on and larger rotors.

3. Changed brake fluids.

4. Powercoated my calipers and painted them red.

All in all, I've noticed a bit of performance gain for sure...thanks for your help...achieved all of the above for less than $3K.

Thanks again!!

QFM A1RM- 120 per axle. =240 car

RDA slotted rotors, approx 350 for the car

motul RBF600- 30-60 (one or two bottles)

unique autosports sells their own brand of brake master cylinder stopper for 90

I would also have some high quality tyres on the list, such as RE001's, If you must go to a "semi pattern(s compound) try the RE11, but be aware that all of those tyres seem to need a little bit of heat, where the RE001 stops VERY well cold.

with that setup, you will have your head hitting the dash. for under 1750 if you allow 1k for tyres.

Less than $3k?!?!?

You'd hope you got all that for less than 1.5k.

"$3K" was his original upgrade budget from his OP. I read that, in context, as being "I got a noticable braking performance increase for below what I initially budgeted".

I don't know how much the rotors he bought were but when I did fluid, with new Ferodo pads and Brembo Sport rotors in every corner, it cost me around $2K on my Z33. That was without needing to get spacers made up and the powdercoating done, etc, but the Z does attract a price premium.

Ahh ok fair enough, i didn't read it like that. But your right, thats what he probably ment. I thouht he ment he got a bit of change out of 3k lol.

I did dimpled/slotted rotors, red stuff pads and motul fluid and i think it was around 1-1.5k.

In terms of maximum size, your best bet would be to get 320-330 mm rotors (350Zs/R34 GT-Rs run 324mm). 355mm rotors with big calipers will fit under certain 18" wheels that have a large internal diameter, but most will struggle.

You obviously need to make sure whatever kit you buy is going to fit, but just for reference I've got 4-pot calipers with 345mm rotors under my 17" rims - they *just* fit (Project Mu 4-pot billet calipers, Nismo LMGT4 17"x9")

DSC_9823-1.JPG

it also depends on the tyres that you put on, like if you were to put a re001 semi tyre it would be no good for a emergency stop at reguler street driving as the tyres have so much surface area and are no where near driving temp at normal driving levels.

i would be going more for just a good street tyre like a yokohama A drive R1 or dunlop 9000A or direzzas if you can find them as when it comes to braking tyre temp plays massive role in braking.

the stock sumatomo caliper off the 33gtst is designed off the brembo and i have driven on both and there is not a great deal of difference what so ever, i run ebc yellow stuff pads with castroll srf brake fluid and braided lines and i have zero fade at the track.

i have run ebc green stuff on the street but am finding that i am sheering massive layers of pad off due the the pad getting to hot from the cars weight

Yeah the green stuff isn't to good for the GTST, i have been running the red stuff on mine for probably two years now and am pretty happy with them. They get a good thrashing coming down the hill and seem to cope pretty well. Have you ever compared the red stuff and the yellow stuff pads?

Edited by PM-R33
it also depends on the tyres that you put on, like if you were to put a re001 semi tyre it would be no good for a emergency stop at reguler street driving as the tyres have so much surface area and are no where near driving temp at normal driving levels.

RE001 is not a semi, it is a normal high end street tyre, the RE11 is their 180 tread wear semi style street tyre. please get your facts correct. I am running RE001's on my Stagea.

  • 2 weeks later...
Thanks Jim....I think I will go down this path...I really want to feel safe when braking...so will definitely do this, I think!

Thanks mate! May I ask how much all this ended up costing you and where did you get it done?

Thanks.

Hey Monkey.

Costs as follows m8:

1. Front and rear Bendix Ultimate pads: $210 (front and rear)

2. 4000 series DBA rotors $950 (front and rear)

Fit yourself and save a few bucks.

Jim

Monkey,

How did everything turn out?

Were the upgrade what you expected and wanted for the car?

As I said earlier as far as the decent brake upgrade goes, you probably didn't need to upgrade to larger calipers.

The slotted rotors I mentioned from DBA are VERY good units, and they match the OEM in terms of size.

With regard to stopping power, there are several factors, all contributing to stopping as short as possible safely.

They are:

1. The right brake bias

2. The right pads

3. The right shocks to suit the application

4. The right tyres

5. The right suspension components to keep the wheels planted

6. The right place to brake (lmao)

Lets put it this way, if you have lowered the car to the stops, it won't matter what you do to the brakes.

The brake performance may suffer, or even go backwards with some modifications.

(try braking hard on a rough surface)

Hope all went well anyway.

Jim

By the way, I never thought that I'd ever use Hankook tyres on my Skylines, but after putting the Ventus V12 Evo's on the car, in 235x40ZR18 and 255x35ZR18, I can report that they are FREEKIN AWESOME in the wet or dry !!!!!!!!

Get them.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Well, apparently they do fit, however this wont be a problem if not because the car will be stationary while i do the suspension work. I was just going to use the 16's to roll the old girl around if I needed to. I just need to get the E90 back on the road first. Yes! I'm a believer! 🙌 So, I contacted them because the site kinda sucks and I was really confused about what I'd need. They put together a package for me and because I was spraying all the seat surfaces and not doing spot fixes I decided not to send them a headrest to colour match, I just used their colour on file (and it was spot on).  I got some heavy duty cleaner, 1L of colour, a small bottle of dye hardener and a small bottle of the dye top coat. I also got a spray gun as I needed a larger nozzle than the gun I had and it was only $40 extra. From memory the total was ~$450 ish. Its not cheap but the result is awesome. They did add repair bits and pieces to the quote originally and the cost came down significantly when I said I didn't need any repair products. I did it over a weekend. The only issues I had were my own; I forgot to mix the hardener into the dye two coats but I had enough dye for 2 more coats with the hardener. I also just used up all the dye because why not and i rushed the last coat which gave me some runs. Thankfully the runs are under the headrests. The gun pattern wasn't great, very round and would have been better if it was a line. It made it a little tricky to get consistent coverage and I think having done the extra coats probably helped conceal any coverage issues. I contacted them again a few months later so I could get our X5 done (who the f**k thought white leather was a good idea for a family car?!) and they said they had some training to do in Sydney and I could get a reduced rate on the leather fix in the X5 if I let them demo their product on our car. So I agreed. When I took Bec in the E39 to pick it up, I showed them the job I'd done in my car and they were all (students included) really impressed. Note that they said the runs I created could be fixed easily at the time with a brush or an air compressor gun. So, now with the two cars done I can absolutely recommend Colourlock.  I'll take pics of both interiors and create a new thread.
    • Power is fed to the ECU when the ignition switch is switched to IGN, at terminal 58. That same wire also connects to the ECCS relay to provide both the coil power and the contact side. When the ECU sees power at 58 it switches 16 to earth, which pulls the ECCS relay on, which feeds main power into the ECU and also to a bunch of other things. None of this is directly involved in the fuel pump - it just has to happen first. The ECU will pull terminal 18 to earth when it wants the fuel pump to run. This allows the fuel pump relay to pull in, which switches power on into the rest of the fuel pump control equipment. The fuel pump control regulator is controlled from terminal 104 on the ECU and is switched high or low depending on whether the ECU thinks the pump needs to run high or low. (I don't know which way around that is, and it really doesn't matter right now). The fuel pump control reg is really just a resistor that controls how the power through the pump goes to earth. Either straight to earth, or via the resistor. This part doesn't matter much to us today. The power to the fuel pump relay comes from one of the switched wires from the IGN switch and fusebox that is not shown off to the left of this page. That power runs the fuel pump relay coil and a number of other engine peripherals. Those peripherals don't really matter. All that matters is that there should be power available at the relay when the key is in the right position. At least - I think it's switched. If it's not switched, then power will be there all the time. Either way, if you don't have power there when you need it (ie, key on) then it won't work. The input-output switching side of the relay gains its power from a line similar (but not the same as) the one that feeds the ECU. SO I presume that is switched. Again, if there is not power there when you need it, then you have to look upstream. And... the upshot of all that? There is no "ground" at the fuel pump relay. Where you say: and say that pin 1 Black/Pink is ground, that is not true. The ECU trigger is AF73, is black/pink, and is the "ground". When the ECU says it is. The Blue/White wire is the "constant" 12V to power the relay's coil. And when I say "constant", I mean it may well only be on when the key is on. As I said above. So, when the ECU says not to be running the pump (which is any time after about 3s of switching on, with no crank signal or engine speed yet), then you should see 12V at both 1 and 2. Because the 12V will be all the way up to the ECU terminal 18, waiting to be switched to ground. When the ECU switches the fuel pump on, then AF73 should go to ~0V, having been switched to ground and the voltage drop now occurring over the relay coil. 3 & 5 are easy. 5 is the other "constant" 12V, that may or may not be constant but will very much want to be there when the key is on. Same as above. 3 goes to the pump. There should never be 12V visible at 3 unless the relay is pulled in. As to where the immobiliser might have been spliced into all this.... It will either have to be on wire AF70 or AF71, whichever is most accessible near the alarm. Given that all those wires run from the engine bay fusebox or the ECU, via the driver's area to the rear of the car, it could really be either. AF70 will be the same colour from the appropriate fuse all the way to the pump. If it has been cut and is dangling, you should be able to see that  in that area somewhere. Same with AF71.   You really should be able to force the pump to run. Just jump 12V onto AF72 and it should go. That will prove that the pump itself is willing to go along with you when you sort out the upstream. You really should be able to force the fuel pump relay on. Just short AF73 to earth when the key is on. If the pump runs, then the relay is fine, and all the power up to both inputs on the relay is fine. If it doesn't run (and given that you checked the relay itself actually works) then one or both of AF70 and AF71 are not bringing power to the game.
    • @PranK can you elaborate further on the Colorlock Dye? The website has a lot of options. I'm sure you've done all the research. I have old genuine leather seats that I have bought various refurbing creams and such, but never a dye. Any info on how long it lasts? Does it wash out? Is it a hassle? What product do I actually need? Am I just buying this kit and following the steps the page advises or something else? https://www.colourlockaustralia.com.au/colourlock-leather-repair-kit-dye.html
    • These going to fit over the big brakes? I'd be reeeeeeeeaaaall hesitant to believe so.
    • The leather work properly stunned me. Again, I am thankful that the leather was in such good condition. I'm not sure what the indent is at the top of the passenger seat. Like somebody was sitting in it with a golf ball between their shoulders. The wheels are more grey than silver now and missing a lot of gloss.  Here's one with nice silver wheels.
×
×
  • Create New...