xtcnrice

kostantinos, any ETA when you'll give the new setup a go? I assume you're going Stoptech and rebore.

xtcnrice

Hey kk, do you still have your PayPal receipt for the FFC brackets?

I clicked on the PayPal button and noticed the description:

Brake caliper bracket v1.1

Wondering if yours is "v1.1" as well.

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

Item Title:
Brake caliper bracket
Item Number:
FFC24
Date:
Feb 28, 2014

xtcnrice

Thanks kk.

Not that this is at all a good measure of determining they've updated their product or not, but the v1.1 indicates there's a possibility they've addressed the issue you were having, or possibly some other issue.

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

Ffc's response
Hi Kostas,

Our rotors were 324 mm x 30mm thick. We have had no issues with pad clearance and no issues with fitting the wide rotors inside the calipers. However, if the pistons are not FULLY depressed into the calipers, then there may be binding upon initial installation.

Question for you: was your pad wear on the inside or outside pad? Or both?

With regards to your request, we cannot, and will not modify our brackets. It would be a safety issue; there would not be enough threads to safely seat the bolts through the calipers. Taking 2mm does constitute a sizable amount when dealing with safety related items on an automobile. We do not condone, and highly recommend against modifying your existing brackets.

While we would like to come to an understanding and assist you with your situation, we realize you are unhappy at this point, and as a good faith gesture, we are happy to refund your money ($150.00) if you return the used brackets. It appears that all of the appropriate parts are being utilized, but there is a factor at play here that we cannot figure out, and machining/modification of any of the pieces in place is really not safe.

Let us know how you would like to proceed.

xtcnrice

Lame.

What's your next move?

robpp

iTrader: (2)

they need to see that one picture of the LIP at the edge of the rotor/

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

i've sent the pic of the pad, not sure if they are not seeing it
I just sent it again and told them to look

as far as version 1.1, their response below

As for version 1.1, it was a test run of our brackets with studs inserted instead of utilizing a bolt. It is something we are still looking into, but are still working on currently.

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

rob did r1 ever get back to you if they were 328?

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

below is sav's rotor
He went to the parts store and measured them for me

he said it looks bigger than 12.9 (black line on tape)
what do you guys think? to me it looks like 12.75 but I could be wrong.
By the way his pads are clean and even

xtcnrice

Looks like 32.5 cm, so ~12.8 in.

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

I may just sell the calipers/pads
sell the rotors (to a z person)
send the bracket kit back for a refund.

and just buy a stoptech kit

xtcnrice

xtcnrice

kk, buy maiku's kit. Has everything you need and it's a pretty decent deal imo

chuonthis

Hello all


Sorry for the late reply but I had a chance to look at my pads and I can say that mine are clean with even wear. I have had no noise or any grinding. Sorry didn't get a chance to snap pictures because I sent my car to the body shop to have the front end repainted.


Once again I wish I can give you guys more details about the setup but I purchased the entire kit from Rob.

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

did you measure the rotors per chance? or can you?

xtcnrice

chuonthis/robpp, do you guys have the part number of the rotors used? I'm curious about its specified dimensions.

robpp

iTrader: (2)

been there done that.
shared what i have with KK months ago. sorry we didnt let you know

all it says is 2006 350Z Racing Brembo

no part number nothing.

chuonthis

Hopefully I'll get my car back this week so can measure the rotors.

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

It would be hard to measure across the front. Maybe across the back?
Or just use a piece of cardboard shaped like a C and put it on the rotor and
mark it and measure it

BROlando

I read through some of this thread. I installed the RL caliper fastbrakes kit on my 1G TSX. It's a 06, 6spd, tech ...for what it's worth.


I was not able to use the (324mm) 12.75'' brembo package rotor. The rotor sits about 1/8'' (3mm) too far outward and rubs on the inside face of the caliper (see pics). The remedy to this would be to shave down 3mm from the fastbrakes bracket...but...I'm not sure that's a good idea. I'm not sure there's 3mm left between the walls of the radial caliper bolts and the spindle mounting bolts.


I also found that the (324mm) 12.75'' rotor fits very snugly on the hub centering ring that fastbrakes provided. So snugly that it made an imprint.


I found that the (320mm) 12.59'' NON brembo package 06+ 350Z rotors work just fine. There is a 2mm (.08'') overhang on the pads.


I would like there to be no overhang so that the pads wear evenly....but...I'd rather not machine the bracket.


Here's where my caliper was touching the 324mm, 12.75'' rotor:



There's about 6mm of room on the inboard side of the caliper. The caliper needs to move 3mm inboard for everything to center.






With the 320mm, 12.59'' NON track package 06+ rotor, it sits centered in the caliper.



But it goes together just fine:






There is some over hang:

BROlando

This is the 12.75'' "track model" rotor. I can tell by the rotor hat shape. It's a bit convex and has rounded edges.

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the info
I can say mine look centered and it doesn't look like the caliper is touching
I just don't understand why I have pad overhang and grinding noise and savclaude
Doesn't. When I look at his measurent of th rotor, it looks like 12.76 I think

Doesn't make sense

xtcnrice

Small world, B serious

Thanks for sharing this here too!

robpp

iTrader: (2)

kk im sure you have but did you ask FFC for the correct measurment on the bracket and make sure yours is to spec?

things happen/

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

They said 32mm. And they are 32

BROlando

When I contacted Fastbrakes, they told me that they were unable to explain why...but some cars displayed the off-center problem with the 12.75'' rotors and some did not.


Mine did. So they recommended I keep using the 12.59'' rotor.

robpp

iTrader: (2)

If kk uses a smaller rotor HIS ISSUE ON HIS SECOND GEN WOULD BE WORSE THAN IT IS NOW.

THANKS.

BROlando

Small world indeed. I saw a mention of my honda tech name on another page of this thread lol.

I was looking to see if the same kit would fit 2G TSX's as well. My girlfriend just bought a Sportwagon.

Snorlax

Any updates or lessons learned since the install? Should I avoid FFC? Fabricate my own brackets? Which brand & size was compatible (or which brand/specs to avoid)? I have a set of Advics in the garage awaiting to be rebuilt and installed. Any input would be nice.

Thanks in advanced!

xtcnrice

Can't answer your questions directly, but I'll sum up what I know in hopes that it'll help in one way or another. I advise against fabricating your own brackets unless you know what you're doing (right materials, amount of thread, positioning of bolts, etc).

On the 1G TSX (tsxclub forum), I see a lot of guys running FastBrakes brackets. There is a case where someone was having an issue running a 12.8" (350z brembo package) rotor. He couldn't even fit the 12.8" inside the caliper without having the caliper wall rub (more like scratch) against the rotor. His solution was to run the 12.6" (05+ or 06+ non-brembo 350z, can't remember) rotor. Some pad overhang exists, but it's not a big deal. He did not experience any "noisy brakes" issues like what we're seeing here. There's also another member there running the FFC bracket for the 1G TSX (not sure if there are any differences) on a 12.6" rotor with no issues. AFAIK from reading stuff from the internet, pad overhang isn't a huge deal.

FYI, no 1G running the 12.6" rotors with the Advics have reported any problems.

So it seems everyone on the 2G side has been running FFC brackets. robpp, who sold his kit to chuonthis, and savclaude are (I believe) running 12.8" rotors without issue. xakeo and kostantinos on the other hand have some noisy brakes issues.

The issue could be one of many things, but I think they're likely due to one of two things:

1. FFC brackets are not all equal and may deviate a bit too far from appropriate spec
2. Certain combination of pad/rotor may be noisier than others

For what it's worth, FFC used to say on their site that they support 12.8" rotors. But they've seen changed this to 12.6", because they're not getting a 100% success rate with the 12.8" rotors. FFC has said that kostantino's issue has been an isolated issue and 12.8" rotors are supported. Either way you look at it, YMMV running 12.8" rotors. If you're worried, get both sets and if the 12.8" fails, swap to the 12.6" rotors and return the others.

I've ordered the FFC bracket and 12.8" 350z w/ brembo package rotors from NAPA, and will be using EBC Redstuffs for the RL. I won't be able to tackle this project until late-April/early-May earliest. If the rotor doesn't fit or issues start to surface, I'll try the 12.6" rotors from NAPA next.

xtcnrice

Hey everyone,

Do you know if the TSX brake fluid hard line (the line that connects from the caliper to the soft line) can be used on the RL calipers?

Here's a pic of a set of calipers:


Notice the hard lines are snipped. Will this be a problem? Do I need to find a new set of hard lines? Does the TSX have hard lines too, and can I connect them to the RL calipers directly?

Sorry for my ignorance. Would love answers to these questions. Thanks!

robpp

iTrader: (2)

Oem tsx screws in. Not a problem.

Look for early sav pics. I think he does it before replacing with ss hose.

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

Non issue
Stock lines bolt right on

ssjoeboe9

I knew it was BBK

BROlando

Hoping to clear this up for people since I have an update:

There seems to be massive confusion on what "Brembo package" rotor means.

Use a 2006 350Z.

Option 1: standard brakes. 11.8" rotors. Don't use these. They don't work with RL calipers and they are no bigger than TSX rotors. So disregard this option.

Option 2: 4 piston brakes NON Brembo package. This means that the 350Z you are spec'ing brakes from uses 12.6" (320mm) NON Brembo package rotors.

Option 3: BREMBO package 350Z. This came with Brembo calipers. This car has 12.8" (324mm) rotors. This does not mean you need to buy rotors that are branded Brembo. It means you are looking at rotors that fit a 350Z which has Brembo calipers.

I was originally using the Fastbrakes bracket...which originally said it was designed for 12.8 OR 12.6" rotors. False. It is designed for 12.6" rotors. Fastbrakes has since changed the description to show that it only works with 12.6" rotors.

So...if you're buying a Fastbrakes kit...use a 12.6" 350Z NON-brembo package rotor. Use a 2006 model 350Z. NON brembo rotors. 12.6". 320mm diameter.. This happens to be the same rotor as a 2006 Maxima as well.

I am NOW using the FFC (Fat Four Customs) bracket. This is designed to work with the 12.8 (324mm) rotor. This is the rotor from the BREMBO brake package. Again...you don't need to buy Brembo branded rotors. You need ANY brand rotor that fits a 2006 Brembo package 350Z.


If you have any brake noise with the 12.6" rotor, it is probably due to the overhang of the pad. About 2mm of pad will not touch the rotor because you are using a rotor that is 4mm shorter than ideal. 4 ÷ 2 = 2.

There are other issues with using a 12.6" rotor...which all relate back to the overhang of the pad.

I bought the FFC bracket direct from their site. It was on sale for like $142 shipped. The downside is that there arent any instructions that come with the bracket. There are torque specs. And there are documents stating that they aren't responsible for anything that happens as a result of using their product (common for any aftermarket part). But...the huge upside with FFC brackets is the ability to use 12.8" rotors...which are the correct diameter for the caliper design. If you are getting noise with 12.8" rotors...it is because of your parts selection or that you did not properly bed the rotors and pads. Or because your dust shield is scraping the rotor. Or an install error.

BROlando

Also, the reason the different brackets only work with either 12.6 or 12.8" rotors is NOT restricted by rotor diameter.

The 12.6" rotor sits about 1-2 mm more inboard as compared to the 12.8" rotor. Inboard meaning toward the centerline of the car.

This is tricky because the overall height of both rotors is 49mm. But the 12.8" diameter rotor has thicker material on the hat. So it pushes the disk centerline about 1-2mm outboard. The rotor plane itself is also 2mm thicker (1mm per plane). So the 12.8mm rotor requires the caliper to be moved about 2-3mm OUTBOARD.

The FFC bracket moves the caliper outboard via 2-3mm deep reliefs in the spindle mounting surface. The Fastbrakes bracket is just a flat block.

If we were to relate this to something more familiar like wheels; the 12.8" rotor is like a wheel that has the same width as the 12.6" rotor...but a more agressive offset...so it sticks out further.


As far as DIAMETER goes...the caliper prefers a 12.8 (324mm) rotor.

As far as rotor PLANE WIDTH goes, the caliper prefers 28mm thickness to start.

The Brembo 350Z rotor measures 12.8" (324mm) diameter. 49mm height. 30mm plane thickness.

The NON Brembo package rotor measures 12.6" (320mm) diameter. 49mm height. 28mm plane thickness.

In a perfect world, you'd want the rotor to be much further inboard than either 350Z option (so you could have longer radial mount screws)...and you'd want 28mm plane thickness and 324mm diameter.

But the world is not perfect.

The 350Z Brembo package (12.8") rotor is probably the best readily available option for the caliper.

Unless you can find a magical unicorn rotor and machine your own brackets to fit....

Buy FFC brackets. Buy a 12.8" 2006 350Z Brembo package rotor.