Knowing that the 370Z comes a little weak from the factory in the braking department, I decided to upgrade my brakes before I even picked up my Z. I spoke with Scott @ Fontana Nissan, who is part of their Nissan Race Shop, to get an idea of my approach. For those of you who don't know, Fontana actually fields a full track-prepped 370Z and GT-R as part of their race team. After talking with Scott and vacillating back and forth between AP BBK or upgraded sport brakes, I ultimately decided to go with upgraded sport brakes and grow into them. When I need to upgrade further, I will.
I decided on the
Sport Brake package upgrade, which includes slotted rotors, SS lines, Endless SS-Y pads, and DOT4 fluid. I also opted to switch my rotors to 40th red for merely aesthetic purposes.
I have only had the car for 1000 miles and have been pretty reasonable with it as I break everything in, and thus far I am very pleased. The pads are quiet and have a totally acceptable amount of dusting (much less than my M3 setup did with a similar setup). For a more aggressive street pad, the cold bite is excellent and the pads stay predictable as they heat up. I bedded them in a few weeks ago coming off of Palomar Mountain and while I didn't push it insanely hard, I had zero perceptible fade during multiple, back-to-back 100-10 emergency braking simulations. The car did get a little squirmy, but I think that was tires and road surface. I think the pedal feel is great (though I have no basis for comparison to stock). I look forward to going out for a HPDE and giving them a real test, though I realize I will need to probably switch to a track pad for a good HPDE performance. Also, loving the look of the 40th calipers and slotted rotors.
For the price of the upgrade, I couldn't be happier. I may eventually need a BBK, but until I earn that need, I will rock this setup.
Thanks to Scott @ Fontana for his consulting during this process
Pics (sorry in advance that dynamic range sucks--cell phone camera):
Car:
Front:
Rear:
