New Z owner in search of mod knowledge

SS_Firehawk

I think that headers, more specifically LTH's would be a more viable option after some extensive work in the motor (ie: headwork, cam, stroke etc) and/or superchrging where the car is moving much more air than a stock car with bolt on's. I'm still unsure if turbo systems use the stock headers not. But that is just my educated guess until this incurable itch finally gets the best of me... or my wallet.

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cossie1600

I don't know why you guys are wasting money on the brakes when you are not tracking the car. The stock brakes are plenty powerful. The stopping power is excellent for a stock car in its price range. Anymore powerful and you will easily overwork the tires and get it into ABS. These cars can pull 1G on average under braking, other normal cars need slicks to archieve that.

MightyBobo

Probably because many people feel that if it happens on the track, if could happen on the street.

Which is ridiculous of course, because you'd have to be a nut to cook your brakes that hard on the street anyway...

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cossie1600

I agree. It is repeated attempt to hit the brakes hard that gets you the pad fade (note i said pad fade, not fluid fade). I guess the only scenario that could happen on the street is if you are coming down the Rockies at a decent clip or you ride your brakes like a dumb grandma down a steep grade. I just don't see how you can smoke the pads without driving like a complete moron. I am actually trying to get less aggressive pads than OEM so I get less lockup at autox, the stock pads have the tendency to engage the ABS at low grip surface. I am in the middle of changing my pads. When the weather clears up, I will go finish testing the 4 different pads I have so I can get an idea as to what works best.

The stock pedal does have a long travel, so I guess I can see where you want braided lines to get the stiff pedal. As far as braking distance gain, I don't see much.

m4a1mustang

Or be at ZDayZ.

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Mt Tam I am

My dilemma as well. I live on a mountain, push myself and still don't cook the brakes. It took me 12 years to use up the stock pads on my 300ZXtt. Tires are pretty much an annual event. I did get 7250 miles out of the long wearing Potenzas.

If I were to auto cross I can not imagine using them long enough between sets to lose them either. Maybe I'm wrong.

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cossie1600

I re-checked my math, I have 250 autox runs (not 400) on the stock pads with 14K street miles. I have less than 25% wear on the stock pads. Of course now I am a little older and smarter, I don't pull a Vin Diesel down Main Street every chance I get. Still, I have never come close to smoking them on the street. Different story at the track of course.

Stock tires just don't last long, I just don't think you can get miracles on them. My first set of RE11 lasted about 8000 miles in the front, another 2-4K left in rear, I can probably squeeze another 6 months out of my current set because the car is getting much better wear thanks to the bigger front tires.

Speaking of brakes, I just finished reinstalling the XP10. Waiting for the rain to stop so I can test its braking power vs stock tomorrow. I am currently seeing about a 5 feet difference with better rear brakes, I don't know how the car is going to behave with the more aggressive fronts as I can see the car engaging ABS or ice mode easily.

MightyBobo

Lets be honest, if you drove that road like a normal person, it wouldnt happen likely. Or, if you werent stuck behind someone being forced to threshold brake at every corner potentially lol.

The Dragon is an exception to the rule.

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MightyBobo

10 front/8 rear is what I run at the track. You can get ABS to kick in if you're really pushing it, but I'd say that's as aggressive as you'd ever want to get with stock rubber...

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Skeeterbop

Honestly, even on the dragon you would have to drive like an idiot and be going way faster than you should be to cook the brakes. I didn't even get them to start fading on back and forth runs with no rest in between.

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SS_Firehawk

I do plan on taking up some track days with the Wife as a hobby. Your argument is only valid if it is something you are happy with. I am unhappy with this two step pedal feel. Getting braided lines, new pads, and brake fluid is not what I consider expensive or drastic. I feel the same about the oil cooler as well. My chances of cooking the oil on an errand run are nil, but I am not comfortable seeing my oil hit 250F when I am driving in Las Vegas and it's only 75F outside. Granted I was driving slightly spirited, but who doesn't at one time or another? What happens when temps coming off the road are well over 130+ and it's 110+ outside?

To be honest, the brake fade, oil cooler, and buzzy exhaust note at high RPM almost swayed me into buying a Camaro SS because I knew that car did not have those issues. Granted it has problems of it's own ie: weight & soft suspension. I felt the Z was a better overall as a "sports car". It costs a whole lot less to do what I am doing to my Z as opposed to trying to make the SS handles remotely close to how the Z does.

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Skeeterbop

I agree that it has issues that need to be addressed for any serious track use; for the street it is actually pretty well sorted out. But if I was to start tracking it a lot i would be addressing the issues everyone has brought up already before hand.

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cossie1600

I am not done with my testing yet, but my preliminary testing shows the car actually likes more rear brake bias (average of 4 feet quicker or something). I have a set of 8s and 10s and stockers and some el cheapo pads sitting in my garage. I will test them when I get an opportunity.

I love the 10s, but you are right they are too aggressive for street tires. The 8s are good, but I can feel them nearly fading and they don't give you a stiff pedal like the 10s. Regardless, both are noisy....

SS_Firehawk

Soooo.... I think I found a way to get LTH's and cats at the same time. I found Motordyne's XYZ Y pipe with an option to install a cat on it. Now I'm looking for an exhaust that will properly mate to the Y pipe. I found a few to include Tanabe, 5zigen, Stillen (comes with a Y pipe), and Megan. I don't know to much about Megan as a brand other than they were quite inexpensive in comparison to the others. The Y pipe with cat costs about $485-500 with the cat option. PPE LTH's run 1050 with coating, F.I's run 1600ish. Anyone have opinions on this at all or any experience with these products? I understand I won't get a big increase with LTH's, but they do have their own unique sound.

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SS_Firehawk

So I updated another post I made. LTH with HFC + CBE = ? Basically I ordered a $h!t ton of parts. Most have arrived already. Waiting on oil cooler and Y pipe (in transit)

PPE Engineering Ceramic coated headers (delivered)
Motordyne M370 Intake Manifold (delivered)
AEM CAI -grey- (delivered
NST pulley kit -grey- (delivered)
AE Performance Oil Cooler (in transit)
Motordyne XYZ Y pipe with Catalytic converter option (in transit)

Tanabe exhaust is next on the list which I will order in a couple weeks. It will probably be a bit before I do anything else to the vehicle, but I do have plans down the road... I will shift focus to the drivetrain (flywheel, clutch, and diff) as well as getting stainless brake lines, pads, and brake fluid. I think I'll work on any suspension mods last as I think that it's handling is it's best trait. I definitely appreciate the input from you all. I did go against the grain on some things ::coughheaderscough::. The exhaust was the last thing I picked up... but it's all getting put on at the same time. All the feedback helped me prioritize my to do list. That to do list never seems to get smaller or less expensive.

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