The 6th gen guys can use the 350Z rear caliper and vented rotor, could it work on our cars as well? Don't see why not, and it should help with bias no?

 

no, it won't. 6th gens have the parking brake internal to the rotor, like the 350z. Ours is external, just a wire pull to the caliper.

Matt blehm makes a conversion kit for z31 rears, but it's not cheap...

 

What he said, but I think Matt stopped making that kit a long time ago, I'd be surprised if he had any left (or if you wanted to spend the grand on it). Honestly I'd just stick with stock rear brakes and get a bias adjuster I think.

P.S. That sucks ***** Josh, those look really sick. For some reason they don't look as massive under the FN01R-Cs any more though...

 

Ummmm. Where did I say you had a problem?

I thought I just asked a legitimate question. Still no answer btw. Matt, any insight?

 

Hi Irish,

How would you rate this kit compared to the 6th gen brake setup installed on a 5 gen Maxima? I am sure it is better.... but since you had both setups on your car......how significant is the difference?
I love the 6th Gen brakes on my '03...but i always wonder if it can get even better without spending too much $$$.

And i am also concerned about the OEM rear brakes.....if i keep upgrading the fronts, how will this affect the overall braking balance of my car?...what about ABS functionality and etc?

 

Anybody can answer this question for you.

the biggest advantage is that the wilwood caliper is a 4 piston caliper and it is really light. The oem 6th gen caliper or any other maxima caliper is only 1 piston and it is heavy.
Brake feel will be also be improved.
About brake bias get 1.38 instead of 1.62

 

Can you please elaborate a little on the above?....
Can i manually manipulate/adjust brake bias? Does this create ANY other complications?

 

When ordering the Wilwood caliper, just be sure to order the 1.38" piston size instead of the larger one.

 

I track my car with the 6th gen front calipers. The only track pad option before was the EBC Yellowstop and they were ok but were 60-80% gone after a day's event. I had Carbotech build me their XP10 pad using a used backing plate and they performed great. The combination of the XP10 front using the 6th gen caliper and stock rears with Axxis Ultimates is all you need for the roadcourse. It definitely passed the Road America test with R compound tires. This is on a 5.5 Gen.

rt

 

I disagree, as would the other people here who have the 1.62. But like I said, it's a matter of opinion. Both will work, it just depends on what kind of feel you want.

What he said, except the last line.

sorry, it sounded like you thought I said I had excessive bias or something.

Not sure which question:
a) no, I didn't turn the rotors. Although i did take emory cloth to them to remove old pad material.
b) I don't see any real bias difference. They just have better clamping power at max pedal than the z32 setup does.

Any brake upgrade up front will adjust the bias forward - it's just a matter of how much you like, and/or how well you can control the car with a different bias. I grew up driving a sports car with great 2-piston front calipers and lousy rear drum brakes, so I'm quite used to a front bias. My wife's Mazda3 has alot more rear bias than even a stock maxima, and to be honest it really annoys me.

ABS should not be affected, since the computer detects lockup regardless of teh caliper being used (it's detected on the hub, essentially)

if you get a bias controller/adjuster module, yes.

 

Slightly OT, but I'm glad to hear someone else say that. I've thought that ever since we bought my fiancee's Mazda3, but of course she had no idea what I was talking about.


Additionally, any chance you could elaborate on pedal feel/travel of the wilwood calipers vs. full 6th gen setup (rotors and calipers)?

 

I'll be honest, It's been well over a year since I had the 6th gen setup on (maybe 2 years?), so I don't think I coudl accurately compare them. Apart from the noise issue, the Wilwoods had EXCELLENT feel at all levels of braking, and the pedal travel was more linear than any of my previous setups (including the z32)......other than that, the main advantage is that the wilwood (or z32) setup is so much lighter than the heavy 6th gen calipers, which gives the car a different steering/handling characteristic as well...

 

I wasn't suggesting it, i was just answering his question

 

and what kind of feel do you get with the 1'62 compared to the 1'38?
Have you had 1'38 and then changed to 1'62? if you did then ignore this but if you havent thats just false info. Saying that the feel is different betwen the two and not experiencing it firsthand is false info.

 

Wilwood calipers are compatibile with ABS...for those who asked.

 

any caliper is compatible with ABS. it's just a caliper. the overall function is the same with all of them.

the 1.38" pistons in the 4-piston kit are too small for the stock rear setup. you'll lock the rear brakes on every hard stop. you'll have to install a manual brake bias adjuster and drop the pressure going to the rear brakes to keep it from locking up on you.
the better option is to buy the 1.62" pistons and it'll be closer to the stock bias levels and you can adjust it simply by changing brake pad compounds for their different friction levels.

 

this is my setup guys Z32 all the way:
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s..._photo/wow.jpg

 

since this thread was linked to something, I will just mention that the noise issue was resolved by additional high-speed bedding. I still have some minor squeaks, but no worse than any other setup i've ever used. Just an FYI. Still love the feel and power of this setup and would never go back to stock, 6th gen, or z32s.....

 

Just adding additional info. on a final note. Consider Wilwood street pads BP-10 and BP 20.

Im using BP10 on my road car on a custom 4piston kit and i had alot of squealing with HAWKS too initally. now with the BP10 it sounds great.

Also a 300zx master cylinder OR a bigger brake booster will help with pedal feel.

 

bumped for Mark who I talked to at the gas station and said I would bump the thread about wilwoods

 

Sorry to grave dig but, the "linear" really got to me because on my stock 2001 Maxima, the brake pedal is touchy even my mom and dad say the are touchy.

@10% you get some braking 15% you get more breaking at 20is% you get even more breaking and anything after that and they brakes are WE'RE STOPPING NOW!!

i'm surprised people even need after market brakes mine feel like they will kill from sheer stopping force but, i have never need to slam them at any thing over 40 mph and even then i have never slammed them.

i'm curious as to how to get to know my brakes so i understand what people are talking about when the explain why they upgraded. should i try slowing and stopping at 70mph? higher than that? or is it purely for feel and longevity (specially for track goes)?

 

Find a relatively empty highway, then decelerate from 70 mph to about 30 mph. And then repeat this about 10 times in a short period of time. Make a mental note of which time you first noticed a decrease in stopping power. And then note how much worse it gets...

Brake performance is about more than just one metric. Initial brake bite, pedal feel/travel (all for both cold and hot situations), resistance to fade, noise, brake dust, unsprung mass... the list is long. Generally, though, bigger rotors improve stopping distances, as they have more thermal mass and most likely have a larger braking force (due to area and average radius). Brake calipers (and size/number/layout of pistons) also play a role. Like many things, braking is ultimately limited by traction, i.e. tires are also important.

 

If only i could hand you a beer or beverage of choice.

So basically how they feel at lower speed changes at higher speeds and differing temperatures also durability is key factor but, also brake feel is big factor too not just stopping power.