Four pot Vented upgrade options

[status]

I'll have to let you have a blast in my Zed rob,see wot you think,The s14 a box is in,head gasket done,rear brakes done just no bloody time yet to go for a decent drive to test everything is ok,getting back to brakes,just get yerself some willwood calipers and discs and frow em on,they bolt straight on so no messing about,

 

[johnymd]

With regard to Willwood calipers and disks, they do not just bolt on to any s30. You will also need some custom bells to adapt the disks and adaptor brackets to fit the calipers. You will also be advised to increase the brake master cylinder size to cope with the extra fluid requirements. The are various companies that make a "willwood kit" with the specific adaptors to fit our cars and there is not a lot to chose between them.

 

[status]

They bolt straight on to a 260 Jon but you need spacers if they are going on a 240

 

[status]

I also upgraded the master cylinder to a late 280 zx as you mentioned and I think I put a 2+2 servo on if I remember correctly

 

[johnymd]

Now I didn't know that Paul. Thanks for the info. That has now got me thinking. I have a pair of 260z front struts with hubs so if I just buy the willwood superlights from demon tweaks they will fit the 260z strut bolt pattern? I've had a quick look at the willwood disk's and I cant find any with the 4 bolt mounting that the 260z hub uses. Could you send me a link to the ones you have please?

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Now I didn't know that Paul. Thanks for the info. That has now got me thinking. I have a pair of 260z front struts with hubs so if I just buy the willwood superlights from demon tweaks they will fit the 260z strut bolt pattern? I've had a quick look at the willwood disk's and I cant find any with the 4 bolt mounting that the 260z hub uses. Could you send me a link to the ones you have please?

John, 260 hubs are different but only where they place the disc in relation to the caliper. A 260 hub fits on a 240 - I know I've used them.

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Now I didn't know that Paul. Thanks for the info. That has now got me thinking. I have a pair of 260z front struts with hubs so if I just buy the willwood superlights from demon tweaks they will fit the 260z strut bolt pattern? I've had a quick look at the willwood disk's and I cant find any with the 4 bolt mounting that the 260z hub uses. Could you send me a link to the ones you have please?

They don't do any to fit the caliper mount.

A 3rd option I'm looking at is a set of calipers and brackets, then a set of normal discs to fit.

So find the correct diameter discs to suit, with an offset that clears the caliper from the wheel face, then you're just looking at caliper brackets to site in the correct location.

It removes a big chunk of the cost.

 

[Woody928]

The calipers were Wilwood which were so much lighter than the RR 'boat anchors' however the much larger discs (dia and thickness) were a lot heavier than the Pug discs so overall I didn't lose much weight.

This setup was a step improvement but it had cost me about £900 I think. I used the car for one trackday at Cadwell (good brakes needed especially down into Mansfield) and then I sold it!

My Current 'set-up'.
Next time I take it out I'll use the brakes hard and report back. The best things about this car are the mid-range pull and the S14 gearbox. I built an S14 into my old car (in fact I had 3 over a few years) but this one is exceptionally good - the best box I've ever used in any car. So I like to accelerate hard, listen to the exhaust (Dezart system) and when I come to a corner that requires attention I blip the throttle (lovely sound again) and change down with my superb gbox.
.

Thanks for sharing Rob, that makes for a really interesting read! It’s always good to hear everyone’s own experiences first hand.

On the Wilwood front, did you get them in the UK? And would you do it again?

Also on the topic of gearboxes as you know I’m planning on going to a 5 speed and had picked up a 260Z 5 speed (which I would need to bell housing off anyway from what I understand) however is it worth waiting to find an S14 box instead? I understand they’re unsurprisingly much more refined given the development and I would guess have a much shorter, crisper shift than the period options? Having found the below thread it looks a really good mod albeit getting costly.

http://zclub.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26512

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Woody, from experiences my advice is IF you are upgrading the brakes go the whole way with the fronts, leave the rears and IF you are upgrading the gearbox go S14 - it really is a huge improvement.

I tried to do things cheaply and it's false economy but I had no choice at the time.

However your car will then be a long way from original.

 

[status]

I got mine off Dave Jarma,you are welcome to pop over and have a look ,might be some different kits out there but they seem fine

 

[johnymd]

OK. I see now, you bought a "kit" that has been customised to fit a 260z so all the adaptions are included. So the willwood calipers and willwood disks don't just bolt on to a 260z. which is what I suspected.

 

[status]

I got two discs,two calipers and pads

 

[Woody928]

Woody, from experiences my advice is IF you are upgrading the brakes go the whole way with the fronts, leave the rears and IF you are upgrading the gearbox go S14 - it really is a huge improvement.

I tried to do things cheaply and it's false economy but I had no choice at the time.

However your car will then be a long way from original.

Cheers for the sound advice Rob, seems to be the age old saying do it once and do it properly. I'd rather wait and spend a bit more as long term as she's not going anywhere.What Franky's suggesting looks really good its just strong money. The S14 box sounds like a really good mod from what I've read however there doesn't really seem to be any floating around from my searches like I'm struggling to find an R180 3.9 LSD from a Subaru.

This is true, however I'm quite happy with a more OEM/period looking exterior with some nice running gear underneath. Best of both worlds in my opinion and that way everything is still just bolt on. I'll still have all of the original parts if I ever wanted down the road. The more I think about it the less original items I consider leaving underneath

 

[status]

Dont know if it was a kit Jon but dave did say that to fit it to the 240 you would need spacers,got a good memory,you can come round anytime to see wot it entails,might save you some tim if you know wot to get and it bolts straight on