280Z Brake shoes

I know this has been asked before. I'm trying to order brake pads and shoes for my car (77 280Z ITS). SummitRacing has Hawk blues for the front $110. I also need rears. Carbotech, Porterfield? Anybody know a good source for these or any other road race pads and shoes? How about it Z guys, what do you use, where do ya get them?
While we're at it, how about calipers and rotors? I ordered Bendix rotors for $47 and Cardone calipers for $46 from partsamerica.com (Advanced Auto Parts) Good deal? others?

Another driver/engineer gave this to me so I will pass it on.

HT-10's on the front, carbotech on the rears and as much cooling that you can get to the brakes. Keep the parking brake for adjustments during a race. Bias valve if your crew chief can adjust while watching you drive.

FWIW I bought New Mountain rotors and Beck Arnley. OEM Brembo drums on the rear as they are significantly lighter.

YMMV, good luck

Paul

I have run Hawk Blue pads on the fronts until this year. I'm trying Carbotech XP12's, but don't have enough time on them yet to say better or worse than the Hawk's.

I tried Carbotech shoes on the rears for a while, but went back to Porterfield R-4's. Carbotech shoes tend to swell when they get hot, and I always had trouble getting them adjusted correctly.

David: where do you purchase the Porterfield R-4 for the rear?

Do you ever plan to be competitive at Road Atlanta or Road America? If not, then all the usual suspects will suffice- Hawk black and blue, Porterfield, Ferodo, some of the ricer brands. If you plan on having any pad left at RA after about 7 laps you need HT-10's up front (God I miss the HT-9) and Carbotech Kaelite Metallic's in the rear. PBallance is right, they do swell some as they get hot so you can't adjust them to drag the drum like other pads. I always set them so they just barely touched, and then used the parking brake to take up slack during the race. Porterfiels R4S might suffice but I'd had quality control problems with Porterfield back in the late 90's. YMMV.

You also will need about 3 ducts to each side of the front, and the usual vent holes in the backing plate on the rear. One duct to the hub bearing area (synthetic grease of course), one duct split about the disc, and one duct over the top of the pad between the wheel and the caliper (that's the tricky one). You'll need a plethora of fresh cryo treated rotors and drums so that you start a RA race with "true" parts, otherwise the tapering that occurs in the rotors, pads, and drums will have you pumping the pedal before every turn. Also, stay away from everybody's "Enduro" pads with the extra meat toward the hub center. They taper worse than anything. We used to custom shape our pads to keep everything "square" during a 20 lap Pro-IT at RA. At other tracks we just ran leftovers.

Or you could go slower......

Order Porterfield products at their website:

http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/

Thanks for the link Dave and the advice Keith

I have a mold for a duct that blows through the caliper like Keith mentioned above. It fits nicely and weighs about 4 oz. Drops the caliper temp a couple hundred degrees at Road Atlanta. I am not sure if I have any complete, but I have the mold and the material to make more. It is a special high temp epoxy resin with fiberglass mat as the strenght.

Mike

keith, do you have any pictures of that setup? WOuld like to see how you handled the caliper duct.

Thanks man.

Jeff

PM me and I'll send you some pics. I'm too stoopid to post them somewhere. I don't think we ever had a picture of the duct that goes over the top of the caliper but I have a sketch, and the other duct pics are pretty cool. Now that we're allowed 15" wheels the caliper duct becomes easier.

FWIW... Here's my setup.... I use the Carbotech stuff on the front and rear, as Katman has suggested. I just upgraded to the 15 inch wheels so I'm open to suggestion on reworking the ducts. However I don't cryo treat my rotors, I just christen them with a cold Coors Light. I'm sure it works the same.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/parrish240z/...re2.jpg&.src=ph

ps.... just click on download for a full size photo..

Steve, Steve, Steve, as I have told you a 100 hundred times, it is BUDWEISER on the brakes.

Shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you some pics of some ductwork. Keith, you mind if I share?

Steve - you are going to have to put some dirt or grease on that car if you expect us to believe that you actually run it! Looks great, I wish mine was that clean.

Jeff - Didn't I show you the caliper ducts I use on my car, they are like the ones that Keith and Chet, and John W. use, only they are epoxy glass composite. Easier to make once the mold is done and a little lighter.

Mike

Mike, Keith was kind enough to send me pictures of his setup, which sounds like it is what you run. Ron's made some caliper ducts for me; just haven't been able to fit them since my 15" wheels have not shown up.

The setup that Steve has is pretty much what I have, except there is a "hat" on the rotor with a splitter in the hat to attempt to get some air on both sides. Steve's seem to work great and mine seem fine too.

I don't have any holes or anything for the rear though, but I've thought about it.

Ron

Well, since we are giving it up

Here is my set up. I took these the first day I started updating/refurbing the car. Don't blame me for the dryer hose :bash_1_:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ITSa240/Zbrakes

The shrouds work well with 14" wheels and it should be a little easier with the 15's I now have but I haven't checked them yet.

Paul

"Steve, Steve, Steve, as I have told you a 100 hundred times, it is BUDWEISER on the brakes."

100 Times Huh? I've told you at least 1000 times that the Datsun likes the Rocky Mountain Gold! I know for a fact that Mr. Yutaka Katayama prefered Coors even over Sapporo, Kirin, and Asahi Super Dry. If you wish to continue pouring recycled Clydesdale urine on your brake parts that's your business. If I had an English race car I'd pour a pint of Guiness into the brake reservior (and maybe a pint for the driver) and hope for the best.

p.s. Mike... I make sure that the Oompa Loompa's keep the wheel wells clean. The cattle prod works wonders!

"Well, since we are giving it up"

Paul... Thanks for posting those pix... That's the kind of upgrade I've been looking for. Maybe I can get Steve Eckrich to fabricate them for me!

Jeff you have my permission to pass them on or even post them here. Now if I let out a secret and you want me to keep it quite we can talk ;)

I haven't any secrets anymore. Anything I can do to keep the Z's competitive. This weekend we sold my Dad's 280ZX, which was the last Z of about 14 (not including race cars) I've owned since 1982. So I'm Z less for the first time in 25 years, but I'm with you in spirit. Let's keep 'em on the FRONT ROW! :)

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Jeff you have my permission to pass them on or even post them here.
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You heard em Jeff.... what do ya say, we all wanna see em!

Hmmmm....beer injection for the driver and for the brakes. That might work......

There is, by the way, no such thing as an English "race car." There is, however, such a thing as the English "we work on it lots" car.

I'll post Keith's pics tomorrow. It is, as they used to say back in the day, trick.

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"Steve, Steve, Steve, as I have told you a 100 hundred times, it is BUDWEISER on the brakes."

100 Times Huh? I've told you at least 1000 times that the Datsun likes the Rocky Mountain Gold! I know for a fact that Mr. Yutaka Katayama prefered Coors even over Sapporo, Kirin, and Asahi Super Dry. If you wish to continue pouring recycled Clydesdale urine on your brake parts that's your business. If I had an English "race car" I'd pour a pint of Guiness into the brake reservior (and maybe a pint for the driver) and hope for the best.

p.s. Mike... I make sure that the Oompa Loompa's keep the wheel wells clean. The cattle prod works wonders!
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I missed those that Paul posted, sweet!

Ron

I waited for Jeff to post the Katman pictures. I guess he is still trying to get the Guinness in the master cylinder and waiting on the fog to lift......................from his head as a result of the Guinness to post the pictures. :)

Here are two that Keith sent me some time back.

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"Well, since we are giving it up"

Paul... Thanks for posting those pix... That's the kind of upgrade I've been looking for. Maybe I can get Steve Eckrich to fabricate them for me!
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First we get you down to legal weight and now you want me to make you faster yet?? :bash_1_: That is the best way to cool solid rotors--good fab work.

Killing me not to make flying pig joke. :rolleyes:

Paul, thanks for those. I kept getting a "file to large" error message, but maybe that was my head after all the Guinness.

Great info and pictures here, thanks everybody
I've got everything ordered, the discs, calipers and wheel cylinders all came from partsamerica.com (dicount auto's online store), ordered Friday, got here last night. (fast!) Hawk blues for the front from summit and R-4s for the back directly from Porterfield.

Andrew Rowe

Don't forget to keep lots of extra drums and rotors trued up. It goes a long way toward keeping low pedal travel during the course of a race to always start with a fresh set.

Killing me not to make flying pig joke. :rolleyes:
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Fire at will.. It's an occupational hazard. Besides, I probably deserve it after being so rough on my buddy Jeff. No more drinking and typing for me.

Paul... Thanks for those pix! I have a little work to do to get to that point.

Buddies?? I told you several threads ago I hate all you guys. Cheaters!

Pigs flying? About as likely to happen as a 240z making a good race car!

Just wait till I get my Motec brake ducts from Mr. Eckerich. I'll whup you then!

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Pigs flying? About as likely to happen as a 240z making a good race car!
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What? Awright, who let Jeff out of his cage?

LOL...dude, I didn't say a WORD about 260zs. Now that is a great race car.

Wired by Lucas, sure enough!

Mike

Pigs flying? About as likely to happen as a 240z making a good race car!

Just wait till I get my Motec brake ducts from Mr. Eckerich. I'll whup you then!
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I love you man! I totally agree that the 240z is a 37 year old, no Motec, SU carb, drum brake, low tech, underdog POS. So if I read between the lines it sounds like you are paying me a huge compliment! If the Z is such a mutt then the only thing that explains me clawing my toward the pointy end of the field is DRIVER!!! Thanks Man!

p.s. BTW.. Pigs DO fly. I am a prime example.

Imagine what you might do in a "real" race car, you know, modern with precise AF mixture via modern electronics, brakes that didn't need management and were always there for you........

R

LOL...I saw some of those driving skillz right on my door at Turn 5 of Barber on the test day.....

Seriously man, you and the Oompas (or should I say Oompah, singular) have done a fantastic job with the Silver Streak. Car is fast and reliable -- a goal for me to shoot for.

Having to miss VIR this weekend; come on down to the SIC and let's have some fun in a few weeks.