After exhausting all options (shims, angled shims, spacers, rebuilt calipers, etc) I'm still getting the notorioius "woot-woot-woot" sound when making turns (only in one direction).

- I know it's not a wheel bearing...they have been replaced
- It's directly brake-related. Lightly touching the brakes makes it go away
- I think it has to do with the caliper flexing and the pad or caliper touching the rotor when turning sometimes
- Only happens when they're pretty warm.

I suspect this may have been the reason Nissan switched to the Iron calipers after the first 1 1/2 years on the z32

SO....answer the poll!

 

Well, i made a mistake when taking the poll, i have the iron calipers and HAVE NOT gotten the "sound".

 

thanks for clarifying. I was like WTF???

 

**** is ****ING ANNOYING and EMBARRASSING.

 

i love it. when i was shopping for this upgrade, everyone was praising them. as soon as i broke the setup in, i hear about all these problems with them

 

I wouldn't say 'all these problems.' As far as performance goes, it is a GREAT upgrade, especially on a budget. I have no plans to get rid of it. But when you're **** about your car, annoying little noises are a big deal

This 'problem' does not affect performance or safety, and only happens some of the time. you can't even hear it if you have the radio on....

the only other options are:

stock (sucky braking)

name-brand BBK ($1000+)

the noise is a small tradeoff for the upside of the z32 setup. But now I'm ready to solve the noise problem.

 

Yea it is a RANDOM noise so it should be able to be fixed since it doesnt happen all the time. For me, it doesnt matter if the brakes are hot or cold, it can even happen when I am driving strait and then stop when I make a turn or tap on the brakes.

 

I had that problem with my TTZ calipers too. Aluminum ones, Brembos don't make that sound Josh

Did a quick 1XXMPH stop today to get a feel for what these things can do at "track speeds".... whoa it was like hitting a wall ! Crazy *** bite !

 

ok, send yours to me and I'll try them out

I'm pretty much stuck with the z32 setup, as I spent quite a bit of cash on the 2pc rotors and doesn't seem like any other calipers will work with them.



After chatting yesterday with my dad while visiting, I am more and more convinced that the aluminum caliper (vs.iron) is the culprit. He has been working on cars for about 40 years and also has a number of engineering degrees, and was pretty sure it was due to "lack of flex rebound" on the caliper or something to that effect.

 

My drivers side seems to be the only side making noise recently tho

I've spent too much on my manwel swap to buy new calipers right now

 

Josh,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BRAKE...34067057QQrdZ1

It might need some bracketry to make work, but you won't know till you try to mount them up.

BTW offset of the Brembos is the same as stock, meaning the rotors are same amount of space away from my spokes on my wheels- stock vs Brembos.

I measured it out because I was worried the calipers wouldn't clear the spokes.

 

oh snap. what kinda rotors can we use with those? can we use the back ones too?


to OP, i will pay attention to this when i get the car back on the road.

 

well, I just ordered a pair of NHT rebuilt iron calipers ($200 for the pair, powdercoated!). So in a week or so, I'll be able to tell you guys if it's the aluminum caliper to blame or if it's still something else.

 

wth? NHT for $200? where?

edit, sorry didnt c u said iron, yea those can be had at that price but the aluminum are much more! what site did u get em from cuz plenty of sites have them. post pics !

 

autopartswarehouse.com

best prices on pretty much anything that is OEM replacement...I bought one of my aluminum ones there too.

 

NHT's are custom ordered so expect to wait a few weeks !

 

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...r,partGroup,14

 

what makes you think they're special ordered? The site shows them seperately listed by color, and autopartswarehouse in the past has always carried the parts IN STOCK.

 

its special order because of the powder coating option ! pretty sure same thing applies to anywhere else u get them from.

http://www.buybrakes.com/store/24X00614

their major distributor is 20 miles away from me, i even called to go to pick up a set and they told me they arent open to public and its special order.

 

I talked to a customer agent from the place I ordered. He said that they have a stock of them at one of their warehouses. I'll make doubly sure tomorrow, but he said I'd get them 5-7 business days shipping UPS ground.

I would think they'd have some ready to ship on-hand...it's not like they're doing any "custom" colors or anything...

 

btw, found this on a z32 discussion board. Note the second sentence.....this is the first I've actually seen this in print, even though I've suspected it.

'92: Driver's airbag made standard.
Brake caliper material changed from aluminum to iron, to help warpage/shimmy problems.
Dash/door complimentary material changed from fabric to suede.
Separate mirror heater switch eliminated (combined with rear defroster switch)
Mirror heaters made standard.
Power adjustable driver's seat standard on T-top.
Sales: 6,708

 

I thought they did it to cut costs, I guess not

I hope it does fix the problem but at the same time I hope it doesn't so I don't have to get rid of my calipers.

 

You may be on to something there, i've seen several posts across several boards that mention the caliper warping briefly.

link one

link two

link three

link four

 

Hmm. I have the Z32 as part of Matts kit. I am using stock 06 rotors and OEM pads.

I dont track the Maxima but the only noise I get from time to time is when its a "cold" start (it sits a lot in the summer) I can hear the pad and the disk touch and then it goes away after an application or two of brakes.

I know this sounds stupid but can someone better identify the noise? The noise I hear is more of a scratching noise while the description I am reading in this thread has more of a squeek to it?

Lovely, now I have to see if I have an issue.

 

The noise we're referring to is kind of a "WOOT-WOOT-WOOT" at the speed of the wheel. Usually when turning, but sometimes straight line too. Sometimes it will just go away for weeks, months and just come back.

Totally out of ideas as to "why" but hopefully the iron calipers will fix it, because it is wicked annoying!

 

the common thread here appears to be that the aluminum calipers are problematic at best and haven't seen ANY complaints from people running the iron calipers anyplace I've looked (and there are ALOT more z32s with iron calipers than aluminum, to boot).

 

Just great

I hope I can sell my alu ones on ebay for 200+

I will order some after you get yours tho Irish,.

 

have you guys had warped rotors? if so, i will swap out ASAP as mine have less than 100 miles on them

i also would like to know if these issues were caused during regular daily use or track use.

 

No, no warped rotors. I think since they are so big they dissipate the heat well so no warpage.

 

What years did the Aluminum Z32 brakes come or were they only the TT's? I have a set of a N/A Z32 so just trying to verify. I'm in the process of rebuilding them

 

look in the stickies. There's a link to the great z32 caliper thread...

 

I wouldn't go buying aluminum calipers until we figure out if they're the "woog-woog-woog" problem's cause.

 

irish post pics of the NHT when they come in. if they are nice and eliminate the noise, ill swap out too !

 

Although i'm starting to believe it's the caliper flexing, it also ocurred to me. Would it be possible that the bolts attaching the two halves of the caliper is loose? Or perhaps, the rings inside were not properly placed during assembly that it might be giving a little?

 

you have nothing to worry about. i have seen plenty of suckers pay upward of 300 bux for painted calipers on ebay. i say you auction it up at 310 + 40 shipping. that should put a nice 300 bux back in your pocket after shipping, ebay and paypal fees. considering the iron ones go for 220, you can make 80 bux too. i should just do this too then huh? lol

 

We have to do it at different times so we can make the most amount of money

 

I don't think so...I've used two sets of aluminum calipers. The first set were from a junkyard. I rebuilt them myself and they were in excellent shape. The second set were A1 Cardone rebuilt calipers and were also in pretty good shape.

What do you mean "the rings inside"....the pistons? If so, I had all new pistons and seals on the set I rebuilt...

 

I meant the smaller "O" rings when you separate the piece. Apparently, splitting open the calipers tend to have issues if the rings aren't set right, or if they're not replaced.

From the how-to

 

yeah, I replaced the piston rings and made sure they were seated correctly. Remember, I have had this noise from BOTH sets of calipers (both lefts and both rights!), all at different times. There is no way that all four of them were rebuilt wrong......

Also, I did not split open any of the calipers...so didn't mess with the o-rings at all. I would think that would only cause a fluid leak....

 

Since you brought this back up, i'm guessing the trimming you guys did (and posted about in a separate thread) didn't help out at all?