pete8717

I don't know of any aftermarket high peroformance brake calipers for an 81 280zx 2 seater non turbo. Could somebody please give me some links of where I could get some? Thanks guys. Pete

NismoPick

240Z - 280Z's you can just slap on some Toyota truck calipers... 280zx ya need wheel spacers:

http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/Calipers...aCalipers.html

Bleach

http://www.arizonazcar.com/510brakes.html

About $750 for the front brakes. $800 for the rear.

If you're looking for a mild upgrade for street use, then get Kevlar brake pads for the stock brakes. (modermotorsports.com) and stainless brake lines. (all six)

NismoPick

That's an absolute sick setup... but $1600 for a set! ouch!!!

You can get rebuilt Toyota calipers & pads from AutoClone for $80.... + $200 for wheel spacers.

Bleach

Exactly... but he asked.

I'm going with the Kevlar pads and stainless hoses. good enough for my turbo

pete8717

So I pretty much should stick with stock calipers, cross drilled and slotted rotors, kevlar brake pads and braided steel brake hoses for cost of price?

jfairladyz

Unless you race or have a great deal on cross drilled and slotted rotors that might be overkill. You're not likely to see conditions warranting that kind of investment. All those slots and holes are meant to do is lessen brake fade. They dont grab any harder. Pads are where it's at as far as improving braking. SS lines also dont neccessarily improve the brakes but they do improve the feel which in turn can make you more in control of what the brakes are doing. Go with the hoses and pads like Bleach said for street. If you're a racer then you can start thinking big. If you can afford upgraded rotors then by all means they cant hurt. But the difference they make on the street is not worth the investment.

pete8717

I'll always do a little street, but I'm looking to enter this car into autocrosses and a bunch of other stuff in the future.

jfairladyz

Yeah then brakes should be at the top of your list. While I doubt you'd see much brake fade doing autocross it couldn't hurt to uprgrade to some slotted rotors. Also with autocross stay away from the "racing" compound brake pads like ceramic. Autocross courses are usually short and low speed courses that dont allow you to utilize them. The Toyota calipers would probably be a nice upgrade too. The more pistons in the caliper allow for more even pressure of the pad on the rotor. But with autocross you could probably get away with just pads and SS lines there too. If you plan on hitting some full on race courses then you're best bet is to upgrade everything.

pete8717

Yeah I'm wanting to go all out in racing so I will eventually work on everything. My 280zx I have now I'm going to turn into a showcar, but make it still haul *** a.k.a. RB26dett, and I want to get another 280zx but in a turbo and race it. A lot of my future racing plans involve mainly zcars. RB's in 280zx's and twin turbo Z32 engines in Z31's (I like Z31s better). I'm still in highschool. A lot of this stuff won't happen for years. I'm expecting my 280zx to be finished in about 6-8 years. I'm getting rid of the Z31 I have now and I wanna get a 1986 300zx and put in a VG30DETT. It will take a lot of time for everything I want to do, but greatness has to be built up to.

hoov100

also, try and do the 4 wheel ABS setup, it works wonders for auto-x

Bleach

I've been reading some bad things about cross drilled rotors. I have slotted front rotors and just regular solid rotors on the rear. The new pads and lines will be fine for an upgrade. I really doubt I'm going to be needing any additional cooling but I'm an old 27 year old now... my street racing days are over.

jfairladyz

Yeah cheaper cross drilled rotors are prone to cracking. But dont make the mistake of thinking it's all cross drilled rotors. Basically check for little things like making sure the holes are chamfered. If they're not I can almost guarantee that the rotors will crack. Its that attention to detail that seperates the good rotors from the cheap dangerous ones. I look at brakes as the most IMPORTANT part of the car. If all else fails I would still want my brakes. So going cheap on brakes should never be an option. I'm not saying buy the best of the best or anything like that. But if you've got a choice between $30 brake pads and $10 brake pads you should probably choose the $30 pads. If somethings too cheap to be true, and theres no obvious reason for that too good price, then it's probably not something you should put on your car.

Vented is a must, atleast on the front. Slotted is good if you're a hard driver or do a lot of down hill drivin. Plus the cost of a slotted rotor is about the same as a standard rotor anyways so why not get the better of the two. Cross drilled, well they just look good I've seen tests done between cross drilled and slotted rotors with neither showing a significant benefit over the other. Though I'm sure in an endurance test the slotted would outlast the cross drilled. Once it gets so hot for so long those holes WILL become a weakness. But most people will never get them that hot.

SHADY280

I Got Front And Rear Cross Drilled And Havent Managed To Overheat Them Yet, Even In Autox Conditions, Big Hills Here In B.c. I Dont Even Get Much Brake Fade From High Speeds On The Freeway. They're Power Stop Brand, They List For 200 Each, I Got Them With My Discount For 100 Cdn Each.

jfairladyz

Yup thats the difference between a good brand and a bad brand. We hear good things from you who chose a good brand. Meanwhile someone has a bad experience cause they payed $70.00 for a set of front drilled rotors and they plaster their story all over the internet about how cross drilled is bad I've heard a lot of people bash on cross drilled rotors and all's I can say is if they were that bad then racing sanctions wouldn't allow them. Brakes are after all the most important safety feature of any car.

SHADY280

The Biggest Part About A Good Cross Drilled Rotor Is The Steel Quality And That The Holes Are Chamfered, This Will Signifigantly Reduce The Stress By Giving No Particular "hard Spot" Ie. Where The Edge Of The Steel Ends At The Hole. You Can Actually Drill Your Own If You Buy Quality Rotors And Use An Old Worn Out Drilled One As A Pattern. One Of My Racing Buddies Takes It One Step Further And Balances His For Ultimate Performance Without The Cost.