I have a 2k maxima with 17" wheels.

I know I will need new calipers, brakes, lines from TT-Z(will buy it from courtesy nissan)

Would they fit the stock 17" wheel. I know I have to shave somethting to get them to fit. what is it??

What other pro/cons of this conversion.

 

You will need spacers to move the wheels out to clear the calipers. You don't need lines but the 300Z lines work "better" than the maxima lines do because of the type of fitting used. Cons are that its a little heavier than the stock setup and slightly SMALLER diameter than stock. Pros are increased stopping power and fade resistance, and they look sweet.

 

u'll need to trim the rotor down by i think 3mm off the radius 6mm off the diameter depending on which one u wanna go with. as far as wheel spacer goes, it really depends on ur rim spoke design and offset. i didn't hafta use any wheel spacers and neither did kev when he used jane's rims. but if u are talkin' about the stock 17" rims then u would need spacers.
and u might as well get new square cut seals and do a rebuild and also a new shim kit. you'll also need to trim part of your lower control arm so it clears the brakes when you turn and also add a few washers to space out the bolts so they would clear the rotors too. i'm just very lucky that cheston had a write up on his site, and kev was there to help me. oh yeah, u'll either hafta bend the brake dust shield so it clears the brakes, or just completely remove it. i think kev just bent it, i completely removed mine.

pro... less brake fade (i'm running porterfield r4-s pads)
con... smaller brake diameter size and will need to trim down the rotor everytime u get new ones.

 

You may need to mill the rotor more too...........I did.

You'll like the brakes I sure do.

 

traitor


you are going over to the "other" coast

 

I hardly consider New Mexico the "west coast"........

More like south central "Yo!"



Yes....we are tired of NJ.....

 

you liked it there..

you got moved..



haha

 

Dont ***** up my thread!

 

Who me?


Youll like the brakes. Get the 30mm aluminum calipers. 90-early 92 i think. Use car-parts.com and search. I got my calipers for 70....shipped!

 

ok.

 

can you used cross drilled / slotted rotors that are made for Maxima's with the 300ZX brake calipers? or do you need the 300ZX rotors as well?

 

Rumor has it you can.......... max rotors are not as thick as 300ZX rotors......so im sure there is some safety issues. I chose to spend the extra on rotors meant for those calipers.

300ZX CD/Slotted rotors from Irotors.com are only 149

 

you will need 300zx rotros

 

www.demonspeed.com <----- front stainless steel 300ZX lines for 45 shipped

I have these on the way. Stock 300ZX lines have the strut mount fittings on them........useless on a max since they are in the wrong spot.

 

I don't understand why maxima owners think 300ZX brakes are so good when 300ZX owners think the stock brakes SUCK!!.
There is a kit produced for the Z which replaces the stock rotors for front & back, stainless braded lines and the good thing is the rotors are slotted & dimpled rather than going w/ the stock rotors. I'm sure the cheaper route is to purchase it used but when you have to spend $200-300 for stock rotors, this kit costs $400 ish but then you have to get calipers.
That might be the better route to go.
Good luck.

 

I purchased totally rebuilt 90-92.5 30mm aluminum calipers for $350 and brand new rotors for $25 a piece.

The 300ZX is a fat car, my car weighs 2900 with me in it. The 300ZX brakes will work just fine for me.

 

I paid 70$ for used 30mm aluminum TT calipers w/all pins, clips, shims and pads. Rebuilt them myself for free.

149$ for cross drilled/slotted rotors.

9$ for used lines.

Sounds worth it to me.

 

I guess my point is like I said, average of $200-300 for USED parts, when you can spend $500 and have slotted/dimpled rotors which would be a step upgrade above the stock 300ZX ones. (you'd still have to get calipers though.)

 

the people who do the conversion do get the slotted/drilled 300zx rotors, and not the stock ones.

 

Used doesn't matter. The calipers on your Z are used also. Work fine correct? The Z calipers are aluminum(lighter) and are 4 piston vs the steel maxima one piston design. Not alot has to be said to see the differences in the two. I would go for some Supra TT calipers but the cost is WAY out there. The only crappy thing about this swap is that you have to use the same diameter(although thicker) rotors. But that should be solved at some point.

 

I won't be. Drilled/slotted hasn't been proved to improve intial braking. Which is what is most important to me. Plus since modern brake pads don't suffer nearly as much from outgassing, drilled is not nearly as needed now. I have yet to see more than 1-2% of us actually drive hard enough or long enough to justify whatever minor preformance differences a drilled rotor might offer(in the way of better head dissapation). If you drive that hard in the streets, you would probably either: 1) get into a serious accident or 2) get into some serious traffic tickets.

Also the thicker oem rotor on the 300Zs offer better heat retention/dissapation qualities anyway.

 

Just remember there is a difference in the Z calipers. The 90-92.5 are all aluminum, with a built in heat-sink design. They are very light. The 93-96 are the iron ones that are the regular design. These are VERY heavy, but are unsprung weight to it doesn't really matter about the suspension.

Didn't know if you knew this or not, just a FIY.....

 

Say Nealoc (and others), I've got a 2k1 with 18s and I'm looking for better than stock braking, at least up front. I was planning to get the slotted, stock sized rotors in the GD going on along with SS lines, pads, etc. but now I'm thinking more towards larger than stock front brakes at least. Is this 300Z conversion better than say the SSbrakes.com package available for the Max?

 

I am running the 300z's and I needed wheel spacers with my wheels. You will have to get the rotors milled down and you are going to have to shave your lower control arm, or you will get rubbing. I am using brembo 300z x-drilled/slotted rotors and stainless steel lines...I really like the setup

 

To me.....I dont see the difference in any 4 piston caliper. The same master cylinder actuates them. 6 piston would be different..............but I dont see what braking force difference there would be between 4 piston calipers of any type.........of course there may be better ones/brands...........but like I said the same master cylinder does the job of pushing the pistons out............


hmmmm

 

some calipers have thicker piston walls, if you compare wilwood to the oem nissan ones, brembo, stoptech, ap, u'll notice that it looks real flimsy. and some calipers are built more rigid than others.

 

Im happy with the 300ZX TT ones....seem rigid enough to me. Stops alot better than the stock setup as well. Perhaps even better once I get the hawk pads

 

So what are your opinions on a cost versus effectiveness perspective? Should I get the 300zx setup (what is the cost?) or get one of the big brake kit options available for the Maxima specifically? I'm ready to place an order but need to know what the best plan of record would be. One other thing. With my 18s, if I got the 300ZX conversion (specifically the lightweight aluminum calipers, etc.) would I have to do any trimming to the vehicle (caliper, rotor, suspension point)? Thanks gang. Oh by the way, the other option is to get stock sized Brembo rotors, pads, and stainless lines through the Group deal going currently. That will be by far the cheaper route, but if I can get increased braking (not to mention aesthetic value of Nissan or other big caliper/braking system) for a few hundred bucks more, then I'm all for it....

 

Why can you see 6 pistons and not 4? The reason why the 4 piston is better than the single piston is for one, you have 2 pistons pushing one the each side of the pads vs just one piston pushing on one side of the pad. Ever wonder why the inner pad always wore out before the outer pad?

 

jeff, i think he was refering to still using the same master cylinder, vs getting a larger one.

 

But my statement is still valid. Regardless of the MS, it's better to have more pistons pushing both pads together.

 

i agree with you on that as well..


that is y as soon as my car goes back in the shop for the body work i am installing my 300zx calipers..

 

The reason I went with the 300ZX brake upgrade rather than an aftermarket brake kit was my wheels, I HAVE to be able to fit my brakes underneath my 15" wheels for drag racing and my 15" wheels for winter, and I may very well be putting R-compound tires on my 15" winter wheels for road course use. If I did not have to fit them under 15" wheels I would be sitting on a Brembo GT 12.9" kit right now (had the opportunity to get it for $900).

The 300ZX rotors are actually of slightly SMALLER than stock diameter once you mill them down, I've compared the rotors myself.

As far as this slotted/dimpled vs non slotted/dimpled goes, I have three good friends currently getting their NASA Provisional Licenses and qualifying for the Honda Challenge this year, every one of them and also the 4th guy who is getting his Provisional with them (whom I don't really know personally) are running OEM style rotors, non slotted, non dimpled (though some of the parts are from other Honda/Acura cars (NSX calipers, Legend GS rotors, etc... you can see their cars here if interested: http://www.teamtoilet.com/turds.htm ) In addition to that I have a number of track days under my belt with both solid and slotted rotors, I truely noticed no difference except that my pads wear far faster with slotted rotors. This season I'll be running Hawk Blue pads and probably replacing my rotors every couple track events. At that rate I'll go with $25 a piece OEM style rotors every week instead of $150-200 slotted rotors.

 

yup

 

you need a better sig pic..

 

are you going to develope those brakets for the rotors?

 

once my car gets fixed i might start on that again.

 

You just have no idea though how bad our stock brakes do suck. So, if any upgrade is available, it is still better than staying stock for our application. As was Neal's decision, I went with the 300ZX brakes this past winter because they were the only brakes PROVEN to fit under my 15" Kosei K1 Racing wheels. So, since our stock brakes already suck and I cannot fit any "Big Brake Kit" under my 15 inchers for the track/strip, I opted for the 300ZX brakes, which are a MIRACLE, to say, for my car.....

 

If you compare 4 piston Wilwood calipers to 6 piston Wilwood calipers, or whatever the brand, the 6 piston might have a better "feel" than the 4 piston...

 

So the 300Z rotors are actually smaller...but they are better overall or is most of the improvement due to the multi piston (is it 2 or 4) design of the front caliper. Man...so many options...I just want improvement in day to day and stop light to stop light driving...sometimes at not so intelligent speeds of course. I've read of the many benefits of multiple pistons (pad wear/pressure consistency/etc.) that I would be willing to pay extra for an aftermarket or 300ZX setup if the end result is improvement.