Hi all.
Considering the 300zx upgrade for my 96 SE.
Can anyone who's done it or driven one give me some opinions?

Was it worth it? I don't do track events (maybe in the future), but I put a little foot into highway driving. I fugure it's better to be able to stop as good as you go.
(I'm also a bit jealous of the Contour SVT brakes on my wifes car)

Besides new SS lines and dust shield removal, are there any mods that have to be made to the Maxima that are irreversible? (in case when I sell the buyer want's to go stock, or I part out the car)

As far as rims go, I currently have konig wildcards (16x7, 40mm offset). Anyone know if they'll clear?
http://www.konigwheels.com/1998/wildcard.html

I was looking at RX7 rims, but their offset is 50mm. 300zx rims may be the way to go. I may get them anyway, regardless of the brakes.

Any help or opinions appreciated

 

I have all the parts right now, but I'm waiting for the weather to get better to try them. I think wheel clearance is the biggest problem. I know that 17" TSW Revo, 18" Konig Monsoons and 18" Blitz Technospeed Z1 do not clear. It's hard to say if the rims will clear unless you try it. Any wheels with a lip probably won't work. I heard you might need to shave the control arm alittle for the rotor to clear. The parts will cost around ~$400, so it's worth a try. As with any big brake upgrade (Stilen AP, Brembo..etc), the wheel clearance it's going to be an issue. I figure it's better off I try $400 brake set than a $2K brembo.

 

I guess my real question is: will these things (with Axxis or Porterfields) stop me much harder than the stock brakes?
The price is certainly right for experiments, but that's $$ towards a custom exhaust or a UPRD ECU

 

Trusty ruler in hand, I measured caliper-rim distances...

roughly 19mm from the lowest part of the caliper (which is also the widest) to the spokes. Just about 32mm at the furthest distance to spokes. Also over 10mm from top of caliper to rim.

Anyone else?

 

The original Stillen SMX was fitted with 300ZX brakes (before Stillen introduced the current big-brake package), and MT did a full test on the car. The SMX stopped in 111', which is better than most expensive sports cars.

 

I've been doing alot of research on those brake calipers. eventho 300ZX calipers has 4 piston in them, stock maxima rotor has larger diameter then the 300ZX rotor(dur to the offset on the 300Z), so i dunno if it will be an UPGRADE, and also require alot of work and money. the cheapest calipers i've found is from JR Auto, they are 85 bucks a piece, comes with lines and pads(bacically everything you need), the rotors you have to get it from stillen, off maxima's rotor and have'em machine it down to the diameter that'll fit on a 300ZX caliper(i dunno the exact number), that's pretty close to $400 include shipping or you can use your stock rotor and have someone machine it down for you. it is NOT a direct bolt-on caliper, you need to shave down the lower control arm, and wutever is in the way. I am not sure if you get to keep the ABS. Still nothing beats those SKYLINE Calipers on Loren's MAX.

 

I was wondering if anyone of you knew that Stillen has a brake kit that is brand new made specifically for the max. It is 1799 list and comes with the ap 4 piston calipers. 13" slotted/crossdrilled rotors, ss brake lines, metal master pads, and all hardware. it has no fitment problems and is designed for the max, ie. no modding. I know that 1799 is alot to spend, however I feel that if you do not want to tamper with cutting and such, and wanna be able to reverse the process if you wanna sell, then this may be the way to go. Mine is in the mail. Stock brakes no matter how upgraded they are still has a hard time stopping us in street driving/racing applications. I will post a full review when they get here. should be by the end of the week.

[Edited by vapors smx on 12-22-2000 at 08:54 PM]

 

I bet you still need to remove the stock dust shield, which is not a big deal =). $1799 list is not bad at all. I wonder how much they are really going for. If it's around $1500, it's a pretty good buy. Did Stillen give you any info on what size wheel will the kit fit under? I'm assuming they won't fit under the stock 16" SE wheels.

 

Why is it that VW tuners offer Wilwood big-brake packages for only $800? I wish the Stillen kit was only $800, or that someone would make an $800 Wilwood kit for Maximas. I don't see how it would be any different from VW brakes, other than a slightly different-size rotor.

 

I got it from my source for less then 1799, so I thought it would be a great deal. Yes the dust cover comes off, however, there is no other modification such as cutting. They fit most 17 inch rims and larger. There is a willwood brake kit for the max, however it is not a production kit. Max rev is making one for I believe 1400 dollars. I have left them numerous messages of which none were returned. Thats why I went with stillen.

 

almost a year back... darn company pretty much blew me off.
Cheston (and friends) are still working on the brackets for such a kit... it's been on hold for a while though... I was gonna save for the SC kit but now that there has been so many reported problems with Stillens kit... brakes may come first...

 

Broken Motor (or anyone who knows),
What kind of calipers were those that you mentioned from JR auto? Or is that a source for 300zx calipers?
Any web site to find out info?

thanks!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BrokenMotor

Quote:

I've been doing alot of research on those brake calipers. eventho 300ZX calipers has 4 piston in them, stock maxima rotor has larger diameter then the 300ZX rotor(dur to the offset on the 300Z), so i dunno if it will be an UPGRADE, and also require alot of work and money. the cheapest calipers i've found is from JR Auto, they are 85 bucks a piece, comes with lines and pads(bacically everything you need), the rotors you have to get it from stillen, off maxima's rotor and have'em machine it down to the diameter that'll fit on a 300ZX caliper(i dunno the exact number), that's pretty close to $400 include shipping or you can use your stock rotor and have someone machine it down for you. it is NOT a direct bolt-on caliper, you need to shave down the lower control arm, and wutever is in the way. I am not sure if you get to keep the ABS. Still nothing beats those SKYLINE Calipers on Loren's MAX.

 

email Billy at JRBBAUTO.aol.com for information on those 300ZX calipers

 

There is a Max Big-brake kit for around $800 in the works right now. I'll update w/ more info as it comes.

 

I emailed jrbbauto@aol.com and tried jrauto.com (wrong company) and jrbbauto.com and jrbbauto.com... no luck

any help out there?

 

oops, i meant E-mail Billy at "JRBBAUTO@aol.com" sorry

 

good news..
i now have full access to the machine shop here at ucla, and ProE, and SolidWorks. so that means i can put in the dimensions of the wilwood 4 piston calipers, and bring up a bracket design for the max, (nabil has the knuckle somewhere ..)

so all it is, is getting some steel, lathing and milling it down, and viola, prototype!

just need the calipers and rotors first. doh.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BrokenMotor
[I]Can you give me the contact info for JR Auto, I need some calipers