Down Under 370Z Road Test

ChrisSlicks

They work great until they fail. Do 3 or 4 runs in a row with no more than a 10 minute rest in between and you'll see what I mean. I have larger sticker tires so I'm generating even more braking force and heat, once the rotors are heat soaked they are garbage.

bullitt5897

I was doing 20 min sessions comming in picking up a new passenger and heading back out... I was bouncing off the limp mode on a 50 degree day... I ran 3 sessions straight with no fade... IDK it may just be your car?

miguez

Before considering that his car might be different, I'd look at his tires, since he mentioned using stickier tires. Those can make a huge difference in how much brake is actually going on, so he could be using the stock brakes to a far greater force than you. You did have stock tires, correct?

miguez

bullit, one are that I have not experienced yet is exchanging the stock fluid for something else, like what you mentioned. How much change (and what type of change) did you actually see?

Thanks,

bullitt5897

What it may be if he hasnt upgraded his brake fluid is boiled/burnt brake fluid which is often confused with a set of brakes going out and becoming soft. Trust me I know lol (in my s2000) going into a 50mph turn at 75 is crazy cause the brakes went to the floor and almost no force was being applied. That next session switch fluid and BAM brakes good as new! I am all stock rubber but I was using every bit of traction as ABS kicked in several times from locked brakes!

ChrisSlicks

I am currently using ATE Super Blue, exactly the same as you. It made absolutely no change to the behavior with the stock fluid.

The brake fluid is not boiling because the pedal stays relatively firm but yet there is a loss of braking grip and the ABS goes nuts.

The issue is definitely heat related as on very cold days or in wet conditions it will behave itself. Perhaps it is tire related, I can say for sure. I will be trying different wheels and tires later in the summer and also may try putting the stock tires back on the stock wheels for comparison.

In the mean time I will be trying different front rotors, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this will have no effect.

Maybe it's just my car, but RCZ was also able to kill his brakes on the track. He actually got pedal fade in addition to the ABS spaz out so I'm not sure if the problems are identical or not - he was on stock tires.

miguez

Hey bullitt,

Actually, the section I made bold in your quote could be the exact indication that you're not getting as much braking action as Chris. If he has stickier tires than stock, then at the point your tires would be locking (and your ABS kicked in), Chris' would still be generating traction, and would therefore push the brakes harder.

Sometimes to understand a concept I exaggerate the differences. imagine your tires were driving on ice. As soon as you hit the brakes, they'd start sliding, and your ABS would kick in. That does not mean you are really pushing your brakes, does it? Actually, your brakes would be hardly doing anything at all. So ABS action does not tell you how far you're pushing the brakes. I hope that makes sense.

NissanZ46

See - I just knew someone will spend their 20seconds instead of me

PS: I didn't even know what the std brakes are, and Nissan website kept crashing while I was trying to open the 370Z page.