When you were "getting into the ABS" this was more than likely the malfunction we are talking about. You feel the ABS kick in, lose about 50% braking force for a second and then it decides to grip again. The hotter it gets the longer it cuts out for. The sad part is that it doesn't take particularly high rotor temperatures to get into this state. I don't think the calipers are solely to blame for the problem however people that have replaced their calipers have seen the problem go away.

That is what puzzles me too. My powdercoating business centers around brake calipers and I have broken down and rebuilt just about every mainstream caliper out there, brembo, akebono, stoptech, AP, rotora, etc, and I can't visually see anything much different, other than having the fluid go from side to side internally rather than with a crossover tube, but I can't imagine that makes a huge difference, based on hydraulic principles. Then again, I'm no engineer either.

I do know that the massive brembo monoblocs work awesome on the track though!!!!!

Maybe the external crossover tube can help to dissipate a little more heat. But not enough to really matter :confused:

Tracked the car today. Brakes where fine. No ABS issues at all.

yea i tracked the car on friday, no issues at all with brakes

Akebono F1 Issues As Well
 

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton retires with car failure in final race of season
Sorry but I could not resist :tup: Ok back on topic.

Interesting thread. Somehow I missed it earlier. I am surprised that the Akebonos aren't holding up as good as the Brembos on the 350Z did under heavy use. On paper they seem like good brakes. I am also surprised to hear that the pad surface is smaller than the 350Z Brembos.

The brakes on my 03 350Z Touring were not very good. Maybe I should have opted for the Track model. That's why I replaced them with StopTechs. Love the StopTechs. :tup:

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...e/100_2217.jpg

+1... issues was completely eliminated once I installed my AP Racing BBK... more posted here http://www.the370z.com/brakes-suspen...installed.html

You were at FIR East if I recall correctly... really not too hard on the brakes, just the one big braking zone and plenty of time to cool down after that

Yep, it all depends on the circuit. No probe since I upgraded to the front brembos though, and very affordable too! (well under 2000 at wholesale)

and you can resell your akebonos for $1k, so all in all not terribly expensive

Well, that depends on how many potential buyers read this thread! LOL.

true enough ! perhaps the brakes will work better on another vehicle where the ABS sensor is positioned differently or abs computer has different heat thresholds???... in all likelihood, however, nissan set them up the same on the G37's and base model 370s

there was a guy who bought mine and put them on his g37 - i'll invite him to come by and comment on how they're working

Actually, I bought another pair of rears and am using them as cores for g37 caliper powdercoating exchange pogram now

I have the full 370Z Akebono kit on my M45 and participated in a track day event on Firebird's West Track - and they did great with my 4000lb beast. Add me and the car is tipping over 4200lbs! It took me a couple sessions to get warmed up, but the final session I was killing it. I have the Stock 370Z pads, cross drilled and slotted rotors (that I said I would never track with), stainless lines, and they did fine. Coming off the main straight at darn near 95-100mph I would be on the brakes hard and abs would kick on but the feel of the stainless lines made it easy to modulate. I am using DOT4 ATE brake fluid.

The brakes were far exceeding the capabilities of the street tires and felt that with a more controlled suspension and correct tires I could have flogged the braking system more. I would think that the weekend racer could just add stainless lines and some decent fluid and be "ok" on the track. Add in racing tires and a tuned suspension and it could start showing it's weak points.

Oh, and to turn off the ABS can't you just unplug the plug that goes to the ABS actuator under the hood or disconnect one or more of the wheel speed sensors?

Interesting. Maybe it was easier to exceed the limits of the brakes on the 370Z for some reason. The only difference significant change to my car from stock was wider tires. I never had this problem with the Infiniti, those brakes just worked better and better as they got hot, and that was with the basic single piston floating caliper.

I actually couldn't find the ABS actuator in this car, the engine bay is packed so tightly that it's hard to see anything. I did think about disconnecting an wheel speed sensor so that the ABS system would disable itself but they didn't put the plug anywhere convenient.

This is frustrating. I was taking it reasonably easy on my brakes - although my instructor kept trying to get me to brake later - and my pedal started getting a bit softish about 20 minutes into a 1/2 hour session. I have the HP+ pads.

On one hand, most events I run just do 20 minute sessions, so I could probably get away with some good two-piece rotors and (hopefully) some cooling on the fronts. On the other hand, I'm trying to do one track day per month with this car, and I figure as I get my speeds up and start diving into the brakes harder, I'm going to hit the limits.

I caught a ride with an instructor, and he was just laying into the brakes on his M3. So nice to have boat anchors...

...but $4K+? Ouch. That kind of money, plus suspension, plus flywheel and clutch, plus a differential or differential cooler... I don't just have a spare $10K hanging around.

You could probably get away with just fronts, so figure $2K.

The suspension isn't critical right away, you can get away with just sway bars. I wouldn't bother with a flywheel and clutch either unless you are adding power, or you wear the current one out.

Yeah - I've been wondering about how bad the balance would be with just fronts. Although the fact that people have been destroying rear rotors with just HP+ pads worries me. I realize that better fronts would lighten the load on the rears to some extent, but I still don't like going to a different setup than what AP or StopTech have engineered. Both companies really care about balance, so I'd tend to trust them if they swap both. On the other hand, they are trying to sell brakes... :ugh2:

The HP+ are too aggressive for the rear of this car in my opinion (inital bite is very hard but then they fade when overheated). If you were to do the fronts only I would either use stock pads in the rear, or a Carbotech compound that's not too aggressive.

The balance is fine with Brembos front 6 piston upgrade. I am extremely happy with mine. It uses your stock rotors and just comes with pads, calipers and lines. I get my stuff wholesale, but Lou @ amplified sells the kit for 1800, which is a really good deal and well worth it.

Chris,
My first track day with the car I was running HP+ in front and stock on the rear. I wore the rears completely down to the backing plate in one 20 minute session (little talladega). HP+ rears lasted me 1 day at road atlanta and 1 day at little talladega.
Ferodo DS2500 rears lasted me 3 days at CMP and 1 at Road Atlanta.

For comparison, with the front brembos came with FM1000 pads, which are supposed to be the same compound as the 2500s, I have gotten 5 full days at CMP and Road A, and they will probably make my next two days at Road A before needing replacement. My front rotora rotors however, have all kinds of stress cracks in them.

I've never had anywhere near the issues with brakes on either my 350z or C6, but that could be because I was only doing 1-2 events a year, and early this summer stepped that up to 1-2 per month, so I am driving a lot better now.

Mike - are your Rotaras cross drilled? With cracking, I assume so.

You make a decent case for the Brembos, but the fact that they are still eating pads and rotors is a bit of a drag. I suppose 5 track days isn't bad, but I was hoping I could get to a lower maintenance schedule. I guess that's the thing about going to the track... the cost is in the hardware, not the track time.

Thanks to both of you for the thoughts. I think I'll bail on the HP+ at the rear at the very least - I'm sure they're about done by now anyway. Unfortunately, it will be a bit before I have money for a BBK of any type. My current strategy is to just lay off the brakes for the next couple track days; I'm not timing, and I've got a lot of other things to perfect, so late braking isn't really holding me back.

I might see about figuring out the front brake cooling on my own. There just has to be a way to route some air up there. If some good rotors, cooling, and the right pads could hold me off for six months, it would be really nice...

No, my rotora rotors are just slotted, not drilled.

Mike, did you come up with a ducting solution yet? Sounds like you are getting those rotors crazy hot.

I was trying to figure out the best way to modify the backing plate to accept a duct, and then figure out how to connect the duct to the holes in the fangs.

not yet, I'm waiting for someone else to come up with one. I've only got one more track day this year, and its road atlanta, which gives plenty of cooling time for the brakes, so hopefully someone will develop one by spring time.

my shop is working on it and i'll post details after that

do you guys think we can use the front akebonos for the rears and maybe we can come up with a bracket for the rear so we can use our stock fronts?

Brake Caliper Recommendation
 

In my experience, I agree with Sharif, but in a different order, AP,Brembo, and Stop Tech for calipers with iron rotors.

suggest selling your stock sport brakes for $1K instead and using that to buy matching rear brakes... do it while miles are low and you stand a better chance to get a good price on the sport brakes