I have a 95 TT Slicktop its got standard calipers and disks all round at the moment with unknown pads. It does have braided lines front and rear. Its been recently bled up with no known leaks. It's got good pedal feel. Now, the problem is that is vibrates from hard braking. Through the brake pedal and the car. The car doesnt have (much of) a vibration when not under braking (probably prop shaft bearing wearing a bit of newness off) so its brake related im fairly sure!

 

The calipers have been painted but im not sure if the seals were ever replaced and if not what condition they are in. So my vibration is either coming from a warped disk, or could it be coming from a sticking piston only pushing part of a pad down? Or could it be coming from the pads?

 

As far as I can tell I have four options,

 

Keep stock calipers replace the disks and pads with new and see what its like? £200 mark (on the assumption the calipers are working properly!)

 

Keep stock calipers and use relocating brakets and bigger disks (I did this on my last one and it was better but still not amazing) £450 ish

 

Replace with R33 GTR Calipers and disks £500 for calipers and £200 for disks maybe more??

 

GO with a K sport or similar kit for the £800-£900 mark

 

I dont really want to throw £200 away on the stock brakes if they are still going to be a bit poor. I know stock brakes are not brilliant but im sure if they were in good working order then they should be good enough for normal use! (Bearing in mind my slicktop is quite alot lighter than my old LWB model so surely they should work better since they have less to stop!)

 

As an aside to this the tension rod bushes are not bad but not brilliant on my car (i am aware this can cause brake vibration issues but i dont think they are that bad!), something i need to consider replacing in the next few months. So options there are standard (v expensive im told!) or replace with polybushes £40-£50 i think. Or I did find these, what do people thing or has anyone used these before?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NISSAN-300ZX-Z32-FAIRLADY-VQ30DETT-FRONT-TENSION-RODS_W0QQitemZ160379096248QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item255756ccb8

i'v always been of the opinion that gtr brembos are the way forward... 6-700 quid is about the going rate for all 4 calipers with discs and pads. so you get a brake upgrade that's balanced all round and they won't nob up your abs...

A properly working stock braking setup actually works quite well for non track use. It's just not many zeds have got brakes working in tip top condition.

Well this is my argument that they should be good enough if they work properly. I just dont want to spend money on stock stuff thats then got to go in the bin as it still wont work. To be honest it will include a bit of track work but I'm a smooth driver and tend not to brake so much. Standard brakes on the M3 were more than good enough for me on track.

I know from experience stock can work - the question is how many bits will you have to replace to restore them to as new performance. I think many people presume a big brake kit is needed when the problem may lie elsewhere and while the subsequent big brake kit improves braking, it masks other problems such as e.g. the brake booster.

Ahh i see, well the stock ones on mine do seem okay, apart from the vibration. So are we all agreed this is most likely disks?

I will agree with PhilP here, My stock brakes on my vert are awesome!! sooo much better than the crap on my TT, Booster leaks are quite common, I`m about to fit some Brembos on my TT so i will let you know how they compare with the standards!! sounds to me you have warped discs mate

 

Daz

will order some fresh disks and give that a go i suppose! Just my northerness coming out, i loath spending money unless I have to ;)

 

Is there anyway i can health check the calipers? I was thinking of taking the caliper of and then gently depressing the brake pedal so the pistons move and I can see if they are all moving i.e that none have siezed up. Will this work?

Is there anyway i can health check the calipers? I was thinking of taking the caliper of and then gently depressing the brake pedal so the pistons move and I can see if they are all moving i.e that none have siezed up. Will this work?

 

That's fine but make sure that you have something between the pistons to stop them coming to far out.

 

Paul

Yeah i figured so. I wasnt sure wether to leave the caliper on and remove the pads so the pistons would only extend to the disk or wether to put a piece of wood in the caliper to stop the pistons extending too far.

I bought these thinking worth a try and cheap at that - were a whole 20 quid more for me! They are good quality, properly machined and work just fine. £31.50 each delivered - you could not get discs skimmed for that. Stuck caliper issues are the most likely cause of bad stock brakes and warped discs. I ended up replacing 4 of the 8 pistons and all the caliper seals.

 

Now good as new and good brakes. I'm not suggesting they would be good for the track! ... but I know that there's going to be those that think you have to spend a fortune to get the brakes to work. You really need to know how to fix them or at least get the calipers replaced before you start trying other discs which will also end up warped the first time they get used hard with only half the pistons working.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NISSAN-200SX-300ZX-2-0-3-0-S14-Z32-BRAKE-DISCS-FRONT_W0QQitemZ220504462303QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item33571713df

 

and like Paul says above you cant really check the pistons unless you also have a way to hold back the ones that move easiest. I tried cheap G clamps and broke several as the G clamp broke with brake pressure before the stuck pistons would move!

...another issue to consider before you modify the brakes by going to bigger discs etc is that the insurance companies want to know and want a premium increase!

 

Too many choose to ignore this small point thinking I just made the car even safer!

 

The insurer takes it to mean you intend to drive it even quicker than it was ever intended to be used therefore your risks are higher.

 

Neglect to inform and you might as well have bet the premium on a horse because your cover is void.