First Time Z Owner, need serious advice - Emergency situation as well
 

I've always been a Jeep guy, from the time I got my license up until I found my 370Z (I promised myself I'd wait till I was 25 to buy a sports car, I lied) Either way, I'm experiencing a major conundrum...I've been fortunate to drive Ferrari, Lambo, Viper, and numerous Vette's (ZR-1 Included...I sold one, once)...but the 370Z (40th Anniversary) struck something in me due to it's purity as a driver's machine (only the Viper and, shocking to me, the FR-S, have afforded me such a grin when I grip the wheel and use the 3rd pedal in terms of me feeling as though I'm driving the vehicle and the vehicle isn't trying to drive me.

Honestly, the last month has been incredibly turbulent and I have a lot more to attend to than my autos (long story short, here is why: Help Clarissa get her smile back by Michelle Wilson Taylor - GoFundMe )...had it not been for me driving at speeds which are not looked upon kindly by officers and courtrooms, she might not have made it...either way, here are my concerns regarding my Z:

1. I'm not Senna, and I know that, but I know how to drive a performance vehicle and what to expect - that being said, and despite another forum member's experience/opinion - the brakes on this sled are bottom barrel. I can feel the fade nearly instantly. I don't have the means to install top-notch Brembos, but was wondering if any forum members had any personal feelings regarding brake fade, which has been a large factor in my Z ownership so far.

2. One is one too many; one more is never enough - I really do not want to go forced induction, but I do find myself constantly craving more ponies. I've built a handful of CAI's over the years, but due to this engine's dual throttle bodies I am very reluctant to build anything which simply out of fear for symmetrical variance. But god, the thrill of hearing those spools kick in would be lovely.

Any advice, vets? Incredibly appreciated

Do you have the sport package akebono brakes? What kind of driving are you doing where you feel this fade instantly? Are we talking about at the track or in normal spirited driving?

I replaced my brakes with Wilwood. Why? I never liked the factory brakes as, IMO, they were not linear and spongy. I never felt safe when aggressively driving and braking.

The Wilwood gave me the Porsche-like braking that I was accustomed to.

I did not believe that it was worth for me to install Brembo's so I chose Wilwood.

Gl!

1. If you feel "the brakes on this sled are bottom barrel" then why would any forum members' "personal feelings regarding brake fade" matter? Upgrade the brakes (I'd start with just trying different pads) and be done with it. And you might want to search the forum for "brake fade" - over the years there have been a number of threads about this.

2. If you want seriously more horsepower there are turbo and supercharger kits available (maybe some of the members here who have done this will chime in). Or go buy a GTR? :)

Sounds like you are in the wrong car. My brakes are fine but I don't track it. GTR is probably what you need to fill those voids for you

If you have the sport brakes upgrade the pads and fluids. If you have the non-sport brakes upgrade to them. I stated changing brake fluid before every track day and haven't had any fade.


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In reply to the wrong car people...when my wrangle unlimited has better stopping power than my Z then I believe the question is warranted.I am looking at pads and fluid, just wanted to see what long term owners had to say since this is a main purpose of this forum. To the real replies - thanks guys

The base z has a smaller brake set up then the sport z. Do you have the sport? Comes with LSD,19" Rays and of course the upgraded brakes. If you have the sport and upgraded your brakes because they weren't satisfactory,then you must track your car and are use to high end vehicles. Everyone will have something they don't like about there vehicle. Most change it out and move on. I myself have the sport with upgrade breaks and hands down the best breaks I've had (from factory) mind you,I've never owned a real high end vehicle. How do you like your brakes now that you've changed them?

There's a reason that C&D or whoever it was crashed the Z during their test drive... Stock brakes aren't exactly race-ready. But they failed under racing conditions, not street conditions. Normal driving should not be a problem.

You have a 40th it seems (which I'm pretty sure comes with sports pkg akebonos). Upgrade the pads and fluid to something appropriate for your driving style. Upgrade to SS brake lines. Those should fix your braking problems. If those don't solve your issues, there are several things to consider: (1) was install or bed procedure done properly? (2) would a different pad work better? (3) does my driving style require a bigger caliper?

FWIW, I installed new rotors and pads and found that I like the OEM pads much better (better cold bite and less dust) than the Hawk ceramic pads I tried.

What JAR said.

If a driver experiences brake fade on the street, it's not a brake problem. It's a driver problem.

Lol Wranglers have some of the worst brakes ever made, it takes about 150' to stop them compared to just over a 100' for the Z. If you have worse stopping power in a Z then you probably have a defective braking system and need to go the the dealer and have it repaired or replaced.

Yup. You are in the wrong car.

I believe something must be wrong with your brakes ... stock Sport Brakes are way more than enough for even aggressive driving (not track days). How many miles in the car? You may need to do some serious maintenance to the brakes (fluid, pads, and rotors) perhaps the prior owner had the rotors resurfaced way beyond a safety point and the pads may be from the local auto part, again, a combination of things will sure ruin your brakes

For the brake question, I would ask the guys who race their 370.
The street guys, no offense, won't know much as the brakes shouldn't fail under normal conditions.
From my research, Nissan F'ed up trying to make the Z get better gas mileage, and thus none of the major components get engouh air flow(radiator, oil, brakes).
When racing, even the best racing brake fluid will boil inside the calibers and cause brake failure. IMO, this is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen as I'm sure someone must have died by now from this flaw????
The racing guys seem to think it's enough to just put in some brake ducting and change the fluid and pads to racing spec.

That said, we're not talking 'brake fade', we're talking sudden brake failure.
If you're really only talking fade, you probably don't have the stock brake pads or something because there is none that I've seen?