I did many hours of research and i'm posting this so nobody has to go through all the searching i did 280zx's have differnt strut design then 240,260,280z's so toyota 4x4 calipers wont bolt on i e-mailed several companys and asked several members of this site and i was pointed to modern-motorsports.com and i e-mailed them they are making a brake kit for the 280zx front and rear 13" rotors and new calipers but the fronts are about $1250 us and i don't know about the rears yet so i have decided to try a guy i know in tampa and i will let you guys know

 

hey, let me know when you find out. i am also looking to upgade me brakes. thanks.

 

Man those stock brakes are ok, but they do not work well in a race application. Ferrari brakes are some of the best... But even in a race application they gotta be upgraded. The stock ones get hot and they will fade and just not stop. I would say that if someone were just gonna drive their Z for fun and a little drag strip action the stockers would be fine... They are not fine ,however, when you use them in a roadcourse or street race. They cant handel the pressure and heat. Anyways have a good one.

ps... my tires are vvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrry good.

 

That's interesting...I put 280ZX calipers on my '78, along with good Porterfield racing pads and ZX31 rotors. That is the lightest, best performing brake system I've ever used. So what if you have a bigger caliper off a Toyota truck? It might heaksoak 3 or 4 brakings later than the stock caliper, but if you get air on them, and insulate it with a good pad (ie: NOT SEMI-METALLIC), it's irrelevant what the mass of the caliper is. It won't fade.

I flogged the brakes around the track, lap after lap, I could still lock the front wheels up if I wasn't careful. The ZX folks really don't need to upgrade brakes, IMHO.

 

1979/80 series 1 front calipers are similar but the disc rotors are very different. The series two are mounted using four symetrical tabs allowing incoming air to flow over both wheel bearing regions. The vents in the rotors are different as well, dont know why I guess more efficient. Also dont know why rear disc rotors are 10 inch and front 9. On my 5SP turbo Mark 2 newly machined front and rear discs using Bendix Metal Kings pull the 1200 KG up from 100 MPH over and over again without brake fade or boiling the brake fluid. I use synthetic silicon fluid which is not interchangable with vegetable based stuff. Also pressure bled from the bottom so there is NO AIR anywhere in the lines.

 

Re Bendix Metal based, very sluggish when cold, but great when hot, so recommended for rally and competition driving. I am also told that metal tears the disc rotor but have my 2000 GT with metal kings since 1985 and have not needed rotor regrind. My recent experience with 280zx regrinds is that whatever Nissan used it cuts the crap out of the rotor anyway. Suggest browse the internet and see various recommended pad material. yes it is environmentally sound to use low impact pads, but every train, bus, plane, truck and tram car uses asbestos based pads, so automotive considerations are minor. Nothing worse than having environmentally friendly brake pads that won't stop on a dime!

 

what does everyone think about this?.....the right rear caliper is totally shot...i mean totally seized! so its zippy tied up inside the chasis, and i dont feel like spending 213$ for 2 loaded calipers, so im thinking about just takeing the left off now, capping both off, and just upgrading front brakes......any input? i know that 60% of braking is done with the front...plus no brakes in back mean easier burnouts someone please post and help me out
....peace!

 

Apparently there are now ceramic brake pads. What about these? Does anyone have any info?

Bleach - I can't say I've seen the ZX rotors yet, as my car isn't back from the mechanic (lousy junkyards sending the wrong heads... grr...) and I haven't had a time to actually take things apart and inspect/explore, but if you can reasonably fit larger rotors within the confines of your wheels, wouldn't it be a good idea? A larger rotor should, it would seem to me, take longer to heat up... and somehow it seems to me that it'd do a better job of cooling off, too. Can't explain that last one, it just sorta somehow seems to "fit" in my mind.

SteveGee - So the series 2 has those tabs. Would it be safe to suggest then that perhaps the series 2 cools better or is in some other way superior to the series 1? Are they interchangeable? I'm certainly in no position to do it now, but if they can be swapped and the series 2 is better...

Crazywing - There are simply too many ways to tell you that's not a good idea, that I can't pick one. Don't do it. Cars come equipped with FOUR(4) brakes for a reason. If it were safe to drive with only two brakes, then the car companies would've started making cars with only front brakes eons ago. Think of all the money they'd save. Besides, burnouts aren't nearly as fun as a smooth, well-controlled all-wheel drift.