It make any sense to just upgrade rotors?

Originally Posted by cossie1600

I don't know what kind of driving you are doing, but you are not going to burn up any brakes unless you are doing endurance racing or downhill racing. (make sure you do change pads and fluid).

I can do VIR all day from 131mph to 45mph with no problem 10 minute straight. Even after 10 minutes, I can still go at a relatively quick pace simply by backing off 100 feet early. This is all done with a stock car with just fluids and brake pads change. After 160 track miles (over 3 days), the rotors look brand new and the pads only have about 1/4 wear on it. Heck, I even have a picture of my stock pads after 120 autox runs. It looks brand new before the track day. Corvette with 400+HP runs on rotors that are smaller and calipers that are smaller, yet they can handle the same from 140mph with a simple swap in brake pads. Rotors are just heat sinks, you can easily overcome it by getting pads that can handle the heat.

I understand you are trying to sell a product, but this is unnecessary for a non dedicated track car. It is a waste of money.

Car and Driver tested their Nismo 370z, their max speed was 127mph. I am a non professional driver in a regular 370z. I can hit 131mph in the same spot. I assume I am doing it because I have slightly better street tires and brake pads, I don't have no fancy two piece rotor or 18 extra HP. I did the same thing in a Corvette, makes no difference. Most people in autox go with smaller rotors to save weight, you rarely go over 70 or 80mph in it!

Originally Posted by AP - Chris_B

Only a waste of money if one is OK with backing off early only 10 minutes into a session AND don't notice the difference in brake feel. Configuring proper brake systems is more than just about heat capacity, which in and of itself is significant. Once you have been at the limit with proper brakes, the OE stuff no longer stacks up. In the end, it's the buyers opinion that counts.

In your particular case with the pad wear you have indicated, upgrading the OE brake system further than you already have would make little sense. However, for people looking for faster lap times, brakes are always up for consideration.

In my years working in professional motorsports, nearly all passing was done in the braking zone. A LOT of time is spent on how the car performs under braking to give the driver the maximum confidence to dive underneath the car he is aiming to overtake while remaining (mostly) under control. Once you have driven a system designed with that sort of performance in mind, it is very difficult going back to a budget OE system. When I say budget system, I mean pretty much any car under about $90k on the market today. Even the mighty GT-R gets needs a little help from the aftermarket when piloted by a serious track enthusiast.

Chris

Originally Posted by cossie1600

Your car doesn't stop any quicker by changing just rotors unless your brakes are over its operating temperature. In the case of the Z and most relatively stock vehicle, you won't go over that by changing pads and fluids (not in the short time we can be out anyway). If you are so intend on running the stock pads, you MIGHT be able to get away by using tons of ducts and rotors. The question is, is it worth it?

Most amateur track sessions are less than 20-25 minutes long, you are more likely to hit traffic before you get 20 minutes of uninterrupted driving. I don't know what serious enthusiasts you are talking about, but most NASA TT drivers in the production classes run on relatively stock hardware with the exception of race pads (unless you have a crappy car). Heck, I have won a Redline Time Attack on smaller brakes than what I have in the 370. All you need is one hotlap, not twenty slow ones in most amateur track days. Obviously it isn't my money, but just a thought.

My 370z generated over 1.2G on the stock hardware with just pads. OEM pads with fancy rotors won't do much more than that. Heck even if it does, it wont be for long anyway.

my rotors were 600f after pulling off track, it got up to 1500, but it stabilize around 1300 to 1450