Every now and then I will take off my STILLEN hat and make posts that have nothing to do with the company and are only related to my personal thoughts on a subject...This is one of those times.

I have spent almost all of my life around cars. Whether it be watching my Dad race in the IMSA series or helping clean the windscreen of his car all the way up to working on the pit crew of one of the local NASCAR sanctioned series in our area. I've also built/prepared and raced/driven numerous different types of vehicle's...Off-road prepared desert trucks, go-carts, formula cars, tube chassis race cars...Even dirtbikes and streetbikes...I have been very fortunate to have a pretty high speed life. The most important thing I learned from all of that...Preparation and expectations are key.

If you are going to go to the race track, prepare your car. It's just like taking your car to a show. Before the show you wash it, detail it, and get everything perfect. Well, before you go to the race track you better go through all the key points...brake fluid upgrade, oil cooler upgrade, brake pad check, brake rotor check...and more! Before I go to the race track I do a nut and bolt check on every component of the suspension. I also look under the car for any leaks or loose bolts or loose body panels, hoses too close to anything...Basically just a general inspection. Check your tire pressures, check your lug nuts...

Going to a race track in any car, without proper preparation is asking for a problem. I'll admit that my practices are probably overkill but having seen some of the things I've seen, in my opinion it's worth it to me to take an hour or two to prepare the vehicle I'm about go 100+ MPH in...

If you think about it, every vehicle on the road is "race-bred." Every vehicle has adapted some form of racing technology to work for street use...For example, I would not take a Ferrari F430 from the showroom to the race track..."But Kyle, it's a Ferrari!!!" Yea...it's still a car that was never intended to go to the race track every day. Can it be driven on the track? Yes, but to push it to 10/10ths you're going to need to properly prepare it. Even if those preparations are minor, there will still be some work to do to it...

:iagree:

^^Totally

^^^ I agree with the completely as well.

However there are some strange issues in the braking department with the car that need to be resolved. Some of them can be solved by vendors, 1 however can only be solved by Nissan. Until then I have more confidence in the drum brakes of a Yugo than I do in the Z.

That's pretty harsh and unwarranted, IMO.

http://www.the370z.com/brakes-suspen...track-use.html

I have. I was using
-Valvoline synthetic fluid at the time, (which I successfully used on my 350Z and my C6 for the last 5 years of track usage).
-Hawk HP+ pads up front (highly recommend against them on this car)
-Stock rear pads

Boiled fluid, wore the rear pads to backing plates and scored the rear rotors and halfway wore the front pads down in one 20 minute session.

Once I switched to HP+ all around, I still had the boiling problem on the same track, but a little farther into the sessions.

When these brakes boil the fluid, you might get a tiny hint of a soft pedal at the first turn, but by the next, they are pretty much gone. Its really sudden and scary when it happens.

I haven't had the problem running Brembo GT calipers up front now and Carbotech XP-12/XP-10 pads with Motul fluid. I think the added mass of the GT caliper helps, but we really do need additional cooling.

I wouldn't consider HP+'s track pads, but that's me. Actually, the mere fact that you were only running HP+ front, and stock rear kinda scares me dude lol.

I fall into this category also. I ran:

MOTUL RBF600 fluid (what DOT fluid was that, that you ran anyway?)
Carbotech XP10 front/XP8 rear
Stock brake lines - didnt touch them.

Nothing else.

I had 0 problems. My brakes felt fantastic all of my sessions. My fluid never boiled. Now, while I'm still fairly newb-ish, I certainly wasn't THAT easy on the brakes.

^interesting inputs. I guess for someone that is really hard on brakes, these breaks or the cooling of them is not enough no matter the fluid, pads or even brakes themselves. I guess i myself will have to find out in about 6 months....

Bobo, I always successfully ran hp+ on the last two cars with no problems until right before I got rid of the vette when an alms driver took me for a ride and they just started to fadewith h driving after 20 minutes. I didn't
like stock pads on the rear either, but they didn't com e in on time for that event

Valvoline synthetic was a DOT 4+ good for 502 dry, it was the best stuff you could find at crappy parts stores like AutoZone and actually it wasn't bad.

They don't make it anymore.

The G37 S has been mentioned to have bad brake fade and it has the same braking system. Seen it in R&T and C&D.

what he said, it was pretty good stuff for the price. And, when AMLS driver Shields Bergstrom did get my corvette fluid to boil a little, the car still braked for the remainder of the lap, and even when I drove it back to my paddock, nothing like the Z's total brake failure.

The good thing is, noone will ever get this problem on the street, at least if they aren't breaking about 20 laws at the time.

It's only a matter of time before we see a post from a Nismo owner complaining that he crashed into a curb while practicing his drift moves and blaming it on brake fade. :rolleyes:

Ahhhh, gotcha - I know you were in the track game earlier than I was, so I understand.

I probably wouldnt worry a lot about running HP+ on a 'Vette - their brake system is so much better. This car...needs band aids :(

as I quickly found out! The car had 1500 street miles on it at the time, so the pads were as new. No pads should wear completely to the backing plates in only 20 minutes on any track.

No need to practice.... If you ever slided a car before, then Z is the easiest car to "drift". If you crash a Z, you're stupid and should not be allowed to drive over the speed limit ever again in your life, I have driven lots of cars and this is one of the easiest cars to push to its limits. I am sure stupid kids at some point will crash and blame it on brakes.... Happens with every car and every forum.

BTW what’s this animosity towards nismo owners?

To quickly answer this without going OT to much, so far the Nismo crashes (reported on the forum) have been from owners attempting dangerous driving abilities while on the street, be it drifting, street racing, etc.

On the brakes, great discussion guys, looking forward to what some vendors can come up with to help you guys out who track their car(s).

^thanks...

it'd better not be cutting 2 holes in that bumper of urs :p just kidding

Don't know if anyone else answered this already, but according to the C&D article, it doesn't matter what brakes you're using. The problem is a matter of overheating, in their judgment, although it seems this is mainly an issue if you're putting your Z on a track.

The solution would be some sort of brake cooling modification. Tuners like Stillen may offer an answer via body panels that properly vent the brakes. The stock body panels focus more on aerodynamics for the purpose of fuel economy, but this leads to excessive heat build-up in heavy braking.

That's what I got from the article and this thread, anyway.

Kind of, but the added mass of my brembo gt calipers does allow me to do a full 30 minute session with no problems. I don't know how much longer than 30 they would last though, but 30 is enough

Nissan "the dealer" is NOT the same as Nissan "the manufacturer". You cannot indict the manufacturer for a "sales-pitch" made by the dealership. The dealerships buys the cars from Nissan, the manufacturer. The dealersships are customers to Nissan the manufacturer just as the person who buys the car from the dealership is the customer of the dealership.

So if the dealerships love talking up the Nismo as a "track ready" vehicle, that is a sales-pitch which needs to be sorted out and distinguished by the person who is interested in buying the car from that dealership.

So Nissan the manufacturer is NOT being misleading...the dealership who sells Nissan cars is being misleading.

I'm heading to Barber in June for a couple of track days.

Because I value my life, I'm taking my 1987 911 and leaving my 370 Sport Package in the driveway.

Maybe the Z would be OK, but I just don't trust it on the track.

The 911 is relatively slow, but it's bullet proof and the brakes never fade.

Can't say that I blame you there!! At least til you get a pad and fluid upgrade in the 370.

James

08 G37
09 Miata
96 240sx
00 Boxster

the 911 doesn't run?

i'd take the z over that porsche anyday on the track lol
just enjoy that sideways action. :stirthepot:

:iagree:

Yes it does and they state that. READ

Zombiethread attack!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

I'll try to remember the next 30 to 40 times i go from 0 to 100 and come to a dead stop that my brakes could fail!! from my house to where ever i'm going my sports package brakes work just fine.

I've read this entire thread and no one has mentioned this. The NISMO slammed into the wall at 50 MPH on a 45 MPH turn. Yet it was not a lack of driver talent. Granted, I was not there, so what do I know?

This lack of airflow over the brakes, reminds me of my old 280 Z. When I came down a hill at freeway speeds, the cars airflow brought exhaust fumes into passenger compartment. The solution was to add a 90 degree bend to the tip of exhaust pipe.
Now this oversight.
QUOTE :
Source: Nissanusa.com

Purpose-built and passionately engineered, the NISMO 370Z™ features race-bred, factory-tuned, extreme Nissan performance parts and accessories.

I felt mislead by this advert. If purpose built then for what purpose. Extreme also infers better than five minutes of driving time. I wanted a NISMO initially. The much maligned "salesman" talked me out of it. He had one for sale too, but after talking to him and telling him of my planned usage, he set me down at a computer and said research it. For me it is all about handling not 18 HP. I read about better slalom times with touring sports package.
I once had an autocross set up before, and on a smooth track the NISMO may shine, but on bumpy California roads, too stiff of a suspension leads to "travel" and decreased performance, which was once an issue for me, and I felt similarly about the NISMO.
I am so happy I avoided the hype, even though I bought the oil consuming model instead. Thats about 3/4 quarts per 500 miles, and still I feel better off.
Yes I know I still have the same brakes, but the engine oil always overheats long before the brakes fade. See no brake problem.