2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

braking system upgrade

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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 01:50 PM
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braking system upgrade

Alright guys ive got some 17" wheels on my FC and want to upgrade to larger rotors. What have you all found that works well?
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 02:12 PM
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you don't necessarily need larger rotors if it's a street car best bet would be to get turbo model 4 piston brakes with better pads. i've also seen someone use evo rotors and calipers.

also try searching i'm sure this has been covered a million times before
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 02:28 PM
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Ronin Speedworks makes a kit that uses the stock 4-piston caliper, uses spacers to widen it and a custom mount bracket...all to accommodate 350Z rotors.
You'd need to do something about the rears at the same time or your bias would be off.
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 02:46 PM
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clokker that is also a very nice option may consider doing that with my spare set of 4 pistons
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 05:27 PM
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Hmm the evo rotors and calipers seems like an interesting idea for sure and yea id be upgrading front with the rear i need to replace my pads soon. I was trying to get it all at once. I shouldnt need to mod anything to get the turbo model pistons to work, correct? Yea its a street car and will be boosted with other upgrades to eventually put out around 250-300
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 05:48 PM
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For that amount of horsepower all you need are some good pads and tires...a big brake kit would be a total waste.
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 05:51 PM
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^ agreed...if you must upgrade rotors, just get slotted ones and upgrade the pads on the 4 piston calipers. its way more than enough for 250-300hp
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 05:52 PM
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Ok i will trust that. Ive got seriously grippy bridgestone tires on there now. Stock suspension and a rear strut that needs replacing it NEVER loses grip
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by CALPICO
^ agreed...if you must upgrade rotors, just get slotted ones and upgrade the pads on the 4 piston calipers. its way more than enough for 250-300hp
Awesome im glad someone else said it too. I might as well replace rotors since they are the originals
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 06:33 PM
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Unless you intend to spend 2 k on brakes,then stick with some good pads and rotors.
And the only reason to spend 2k on brakes is because you just spent 6k on the engine...lol!
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 06:45 PM
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Ineed to do brakes, its time for a change
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 06:53 PM
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Our brakes are pretty damn good.

A good set of pads, new rotors, new brake lines, and new fluid will do wonders.

I'm running 5 year old raybesto pads and haven't had fade issues on small road courses. High speed courses(90+) caused some fade but otherwise still great brakes
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Old Aug 29, 2012 | 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by oldsboomer
Ive got seriously grippy bridgestone tires on there now.
That's a start. Many don't realize... 98% of braking is done by the tires.
Just press harder in the meantime if you want to stop better

You can't go much further as far as pads. Once you pass the "street" level pads, you will have to tolerate lots of noise and dust.
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Old Aug 31, 2012 | 09:11 AM
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Originally Posted by oldsboomer
Alright guys ive got some 17" wheels on my FC and want to upgrade to larger rotors. What have you all found that works well?
This works for me pretty good

- S5 TII brake booster
- 929 1" Master cylinder

- Front
330x30 BMW X5 rotors (redrilled to 5x114,3)
BMW Brembo 4 piston calipers
custom bracket

Workshop 151 - Big brake kit

- Rear
302x18 Toyota RAV4 brake rotors (5x114,3, resized center hole)
stock FC 4 piston calipers

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...rd-can-881352/
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Old Aug 28, 2013 | 08:35 AM
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Originally Posted by hIGGI
This works for me pretty good

- S5 TII brake booster
- 929 1" Master cylinder

- Front
330x30 BMW X5 rotors (redrilled to 5x114,3)
BMW Brembo 4 piston calipers
custom bracket

Workshop 151 - Big brake kit

- Rear
302x18 Toyota RAV4 brake rotors (5x114,3, resized center hole)
stock FC 4 piston calipers

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...rd-can-881352/

any pics of your install?
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Old Aug 28, 2013 | 08:40 AM
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I did:

ronin kit in front, supernow kit in rear, stock calipers, stock master- all new parts.
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Old Aug 28, 2013 | 08:58 AM
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Originally Posted by rotaryB-2000
any pics of your install?
YES, in the mentioned threads
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Old Aug 28, 2013 | 08:59 AM
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Rob, have you installed that stuff or just ordered it?
I'd love to know what you think of the Ronin kit.
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Old Aug 28, 2013 | 09:19 AM
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Originally Posted by clokker
Rob, have you installed that stuff or just ordered it?
I'd love to know what you think of the Ronin kit.


yes its installed, only drove it couple hundred miles around town it will obviously feel the same wont know until I have to really hit the WHOAA pedal
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Old Aug 28, 2013 | 11:59 AM
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i would not bother with larger diameter rotors if you are going to wind up with the same size brake pad surface clamping the rotor, the result would be similar braking but better rotor cooling. if you're spending the money you should be looking for both better braking and cooling as well. those kits simply avoid brake fade, that's all.

the best bet would be something from a heavier car with larger calipers AND rotors, like the evo VIII system adapted to the FC knuckles, as mentioned. this also wouldn't cost $2k but it would require some setup time/cost modifying parts. since the rotors would have to be machined to fit i would suggest new versus old remachined rotors.

Last edited by RotaryEvolution; Aug 28, 2013 at 12:03 PM.
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Old Aug 28, 2013 | 01:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Rob XX 7
I did:

ronin kit in front, supernow kit in rear, stock calipers, stock master- all new parts.
Did you do the stock FD rotors in the back or the bigger FD RZ rotors? (I know supernow makes brackets for both)
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Old Aug 28, 2013 | 01:33 PM
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Originally Posted by RotaryEvolution
i would not bother with larger diameter rotors if you are going to wind up with the same size brake pad surface clamping the rotor, the result would be similar braking but better rotor cooling. if you're spending the money you should be looking for both better braking and cooling as well. those kits simply avoid brake fade, that's all.

the best bet would be something from a heavier car with larger calipers AND rotors, like the evo VIII system adapted to the FC knuckles, as mentioned. this also wouldn't cost $2k but it would require some setup time/cost modifying parts. since the rotors would have to be machined to fit i would suggest new versus old remachined rotors.
Issue is the brake bias- the stock brakes are actually pretty good especially when you consider the weight of the car, bigger looks better but you will have to really dial the bias in to achieve success- could turn into a really expensive time consuming project and I dont want to be wondering on a sunday afternoon if I hit the brakes is my car going to end up sideways, lol
I researched for a bit and couldnt really come across a successful EVO caliper swap finished in its entirety


Originally Posted by eage8
Did you do the stock FD rotors in the back or the bigger FD RZ rotors? (I know supernow makes brackets for both)
stock FD rotors, RZ rotors only from mazda and as far as I can tell not a single other rotor choice.
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Old Aug 29, 2013 | 10:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Rob XX 7
stock FD rotors, RZ rotors only from mazda and as far as I can tell not a single other rotor choice.
yup, DBA makes replacement rotors, but I couldn't find anyone that would import them. and by the time you ship brake rotors from Australia it's probably close to what Mazda wants anyway (which is ridiculous)

from what I can tell the racing brake FD rear kit uses an RZ rear caliper bracket, so you might be able to run that rotor and the supernow FD RZ kit... but it's not like that's cheaper
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Old Aug 29, 2013 | 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Rob XX 7
Issue is the brake bias- the stock brakes are actually pretty good especially when you consider the weight of the car, bigger looks better but you will have to really dial the bias in to achieve success- could turn into a really expensive time consuming project and I dont want to be wondering on a sunday afternoon if I hit the brakes is my car going to end up sideways, lol
I researched for a bit and couldnt really come across a successful EVO caliper swap finished in its entirety




stock FD rotors, RZ rotors only from mazda and as far as I can tell not a single other rotor choice.
you'll have bias issues whenever you upgrade, you'll simply have to dial in any system you choose to install unless it is a modified stock system such as simply upgrading the pads.

there was a rather complete EVO brake swap writeup about 5 years back but it mainly focused on the front, which is the most important anyways to reduce bias problems(rear braking is minimal and doesn't need much of an upgrade).

as far as i've seen the stock 4 pot calipers do quite fine for most situations anyways, the only place one would consider an upgrade is on a tracked car on a high speed track. most people will never even run into brake fade situations.

Last edited by RotaryEvolution; Aug 29, 2013 at 12:19 PM.
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Old Sep 6, 2013 | 03:37 PM
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I don't mean to thread jack, but I've been kicking an idea around in my head for a bit here and want to see what the forum thinks. How hard/beneficial would it be to install 4-piston front calipers on the rears, as well as having them on the fronts? I only ask because I can find a set of 4-pistons for practically nothing and just got to kicking the idea around.
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