First Track Day Experience
 

Well I did it! I survived my first track day. I ran at Sonoma and learned that I have more car than courage for some of the turns. I did run out of brakes even though I did pads and fluid (base calipers, yes I know), but I just dialed back when things started getting smelly. Lots to learn and I’m looking forward to next time!

Are you hooked? :driving: And starting down the rabbit hole? :driving:

It was a ton of fun for sure! I’m a little sad the season is over for a few months because I definitely want to get back out. I guess it’ll give me some time to get my brakes sorted out.

Congratulations I hope you enjoyed your time at the track. Seat time will make all the difference. Upgrade your brakes if it possible you will be limited with the base brakes.

Thanks! Would you suggest Akebono's or one of the other kits out there?

Depends on your budget and end goals. Those are probably your best budget entry option (because you can get a used set pretty cheap). If you're serious and want to jump down the rabbit hole you can get a big brake kit (BBK). Check out DarkJak's brake kit thread.

With the Akebono brakes, at least parts are readily available as well as they fit an 18" rim. Your tire selection in the long run will be greater too than if you were stuck with 19" rims. I run the Akebono sport brakes front and rear on my '14 Nismo, I have no regrets staying with the factory sport brakes.

Congrats! It's a fun and rewarding journey.

Definitely a ton of options on brakes going from pads to rotors to full on brake kits.
With the base brakes, you'll have trouble finding a lot of off the shelf rotor kits, so I'd recommend at least going with someone's takeoff Akebonos. They give the biggest bump in performance over base brakes for the money. A lot of people have no problems tracking with the Akebonos and upgraded pads, fluid, and ducts.

If you outgrow those, I'd recommend considering the kit I've put together. I certainly wish I made that jump years earlier because I would've saved a ton of headache and money trying to make the Akebonos work for me. The heat shedding with the AP racing rotors is truly next level, as are the consistency and pad support of the calipers.

We don't get much airflow in the wheelwell, or any sort of ducting stock, direct or not, so any ducting kit will lower average brake temps considerably as well.
We now have Z1's 2.5 inch ducting kit, which are a nice jump in airflow over Stillen's 2 inch duct kit, though they require figuring out a front duct at the bumper.

Thanks for all of the information and when I’m ready I’ll be going with your kit. Your website blog entry was very helpful, btw!

In the meantime I’d like to squeeze one more track day in before the end of the year. Has anyone tried a ducting kit on the base brakes? I’m wondering if that might tide me over until I’ve got the money for the AP kit.

I am looking at the Z1 kit for my 2017 Q60 (very similar) for next year and am trying to figure out how the front ducting works. If anyone has done this and has feedback on the 370Z, I would love to read it.

You could try buying the Z1 kit and fitting that first. It works for both the Akebonos and the AP setup and there's a decent chance that it will work with stock. If it doesn't, you'll at least be able to run it in the future.
I don't remember seeing anyone running ducting on the base brakes so you might be the first.

The Q60 front bumper has a few openings you could try tapping into. I'd try for the side plastics where the fog lights are or the center vent on the lower end of the bumper and just having ducts there.
The tricky part about the Z1 kit is they don't have front bumper ducts with it. I ended up using the Nismo RC ducts and reducing those all the way down to 2.5" diameter, but a lot of people buy generic circular ducts instead.

I believe the rotor backing plate is the same for both the base brakes and 'bono's. When people have switched from base to the 'bono's. They didn't have to change the backing plate far as I know. The Stillen kit backing plates are thicker then the oem plates. This is to resist flex in the plate. It also is a little farther away from the rotor. This is so that when it flexes, it doesn't hit the rotor. I ran the Stillen kit for years. Then I increase my hose size to 3". That was a PITA to install.