ImStricken

iTrader: (6)

slotted rotors alone wont help. they in theory are good, but they wont prevent brake failure under extreme stress. it all depends on his/your driving style/ability, the pads, ambient temps, brake fluid, the brakes cooling abilities, etc.

if his brakes are in great condition, then he needs to learn how to drive on the track correctly. i honestly think he was driving way above his skill/comfort level. its easy to pin the throttle to the floor on the straights, but its hard to know how/when to late brake, trail brake, and to know the g-forces your car/tires can handle. its common for rookies to over-use their brakes before every corner. that wont give the brakes ample time to cool.

id also suggest looking into an extra set of rotors/pads for track only use. stainless steel brake lines, and DOT4 brake fluid (if your not already running that)

John B

I never said slotted rotors alone. I was sayin that if the rotors need to be replaced then spend the extra coin then to get the slotted rotors. I also mentioned pads, and was trying to let him know there are combinations that are streetable and track use without having to buy two different sets. Driving skills play a big part but professional testers cook brakes so I'm sure a novice can be forgiven

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

True, but it's cooked a different way, so to speak.

ImStricken

iTrader: (6)

its not a matte of forgiveness...

Just to point out: professional testers cook brakes but have the lap times to show for it rookies cook brakes without even having good lap times because they are still nervous about crashing, inexperienced in corner braking, corner entry & exit procedures, the car is not maintained right, and an all around lack of track experience.

MalbecG37S

I found the C&D article regarding their brake failure when tracking a 370Z...

In summary - this was their opinion...
Our suspicion is that Nissan got a bit greedy in its quest for today’s all-important fuel-economy numbers and boosted the Z’s aerodynamics a little too far by cutting back on the amount of air directed through the wheel wells to cool the brakes. Key takeaway: If you intend to track a Z, don’t use the base pads, upgrade the brake fluid, and be sure to install brake-cooling ducts.

Here is the article: 370 meets wall

Realize the Z sport brakes are essentially the same as the G's sport brakes..

And - their recommendations would hold true even with the 'standard' brakes.

Fastbastard

Hang on guys. I'm a rook. I was being coached fast into that corner. The brakes gave up in a straight line. I drove off and limped it in. I was just looking for some ideas from the forum on parts and fluid combinations that will work or have worked for others. I took it over stock to route out the weekneses before adding more power and coolers and rubber. I had a great time and I'll go back in may. I'll come back, i'm sure, with another set of challeges for me and the car. I hope to have enough experience one day to contribute answers instead of problems. it was in the 60's over the weekend. so get ready for coolers. Lol Thank you all for your help

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

^ No prob.

Your track has a lot of turns, that's probably where your brakes heated up the most and never got a chance to cool down, even when hitting the straights. The heat basically just compounded until your pads, rotors and fluid got overwhelmed. Most of those corners should just be dabs of braking to get the car to balance out.

For your next run, get a good set of rotors. I'm a fan of blanks. A good set of pads and of course fluid. The closer you can get these to the actual day at the track, the better. My rule is if you've daily driven on fluid for more than 2 months, swap out the fluid prior to track, and again after the track so you don't compromise daily driving. I try to hit the track with at least 3/4 pad thickness, any less and i swap it out.

Yea, it can get pricey if you do it often enough.

Fico

iTrader: (1)

I had my 2010 X on the track and noticed the same thing about the brakes(stock brake system), i just went to some ebc pads and ill swap out the fluid before my next track day (hopefully this summer) but i was also running some 245's on all four corners and those helped aswell. I may try to source some bigger front brakes and SS lines it just depends on my lvl of lazy.

Fastbastard

Thanks all. I got a set of centric coated blanks,stoptech street perfomance pads and super blue fluid. they were weird til i bedded them and now great bite and all around nice. i'll report after the track. one question. I only used 1 liter of fluid and thought i let it bleed blue a long time. should i run another liter through? oh yea got a good source on hoses?

hoorah

Hey,

Been lurking around here as I anticipate a G37 in the future, but decided to go ahead and register so I can respond to your post.

First, I don’t know why, but I get the impression that you did not bleed your brake fluid before your track day. If you did, sorry. If you didn’t, you need to. Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time, and the boiling point will lower. Second, if you didn’t, then the club you went with needs better inspectors. Fresh brake fluid is rule numero uno on the racetrack.

That said, all this talk of better pads, rotors, and tires is not going to help you. If you overheat the pads, you will have a firm pedal, but no braking power. It will feel like stopping the car on ice – you can jump on the hard pedal all you want and the car keeps going. That’s not whats happening here.

When the brake pedal goes to the floor, you’re boiling the fluid. You need to get the heat out of the brakes. The only thing that will help here is brake cooling (or bigger brakes for increased surface area, but I think the Gs brakes are big enough). That, or, as others have said, don’t put so much heat into the brakes in the first place. This will come with experience.

One more thing – better tires will send you in the other direction. The better the tire is, the more braking torque you can apply before the tire locks. The faster you stop, the faster your brakes will heat up.

Better fluid first, then brake ducts, then better pads.

dkmura

Sounds like a good start and I assume you bled all four corners until they each ran blue.If that's true, save your second liter of brake fluid. You'll need it again in the future. Trust me.

Stoptech makes good steel braided brake lines for the 370Z and G37.