Nothing I said would be described as an "exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally". I was being completely literal.

Smileys are good. They stop people taking you (or themselves) too seriously.

Like I said, I wasn't making any statement about the reliability of SS brake lines, only your comparison of brake failure to an engine fire.

And so I can't be accused of not contributing to the topic, for a street car the stock 5-lug hardware is fine. As mentioned above, pads and fluid are the best upgrades from a performance and value-for-money point of view. Beyond that you get much less improvement "per dollar".

 

So from what I'm understanding about the lines, as long as you get DOT approved ones you should be pretty well off in the chance of them rupturing. Also, there isn't a huge improvement over new stock rubber lines, but is an improvement none-the-less. Obviously anything is going to be better than the stock 20 year old rubber lines. Anyone besides Mazdatrix and Corksport sell the SS lines?

Good to hear that I don't need to change any of my hardware out. I figured that since the 5 lug setup came with 4 piston calipers on the front that those should work fine. IIRC, the back has a large single piston caliper setup. Are there any other options open to me if I wanted to change out any of the hardware or are there any other cars that we can steal brakes from and use as an upgrade to what we have stock?

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with blank rotors. After reading that cross-drilled can crack and that slotted will eat your pads much faster, I'd like something that's going to last, especially since this is 95% of the time a daily driver. Suggested brands so far have been Power Slot Cryos or Napa replacements. Any other suggestions on brands or types of rotors?

It seems that ceramic pads are the suggested route too. Suggested brands have been Porterfield R-4S and Hawk HPS. Any other suggestions on type or brands of pads?

 

agree with everything said here ^

i also went with the Corksport lines. about 10k miles on them so far, no problems.

for pads i like EBC if you aren't going to the track regularly. their Greenstuff is great for street, and the Yellow race pads seem to be good for track, but i haven't tried them yet.

also for brake fluid it shouldn't really matter what you go for, as long as it's fresh. i mean racers get the super expensive fluids, but seriously for a non-race car it is not needed. fresh Ford-spec DOT fluid is cheap and rated to 550 degrees. flush a few times a year and you will probably have no issues.

 

I was at the track and a friend was there with a Skyline running less boost than stock, and when driven hard by an instructor, the EBC Yellows would fade (pad fade) in about 3-4 laps on a track that's easy on brakes. It was fine with him (a novice) though.

When going to the track just swap out the pads to race pads and change the rotors to ones that only see the race pads. I use cheap parts store rotors and they work just fine at the track and on the street.

For race pads I use Porterfield R4 which are good. Even hardcore racers use the Ford fluid, it's more than enough 95% of the time, unless the brakes are running on the ragged edge of their capacity and you really need to spend 3x as much to get 50 more degrees. I run it all the time, just flush it before going to the track, but that's the same advice you get with all fluids.

 

If your Master Cylinder is working correctly, then if one line brakes either in the front or rear. You should still have either front or rear brakes left to stop the car. Ex. Front passenger or drivers line brakes, you will have only rear brakes left. Obveously if you need to stop on a dime, your not going to, especially if you only have rear brakes.

I just wanted to throw that in, I was not trying to argue with your statement at all, just basically adding more info to the situation.

 

I'm leaning towards the Mazdatrix lines ATM because I have been a frequent customer of their's and have been very satisfied with the service. Anyone besides Mazdatrix and Corksport sell the SS lines?

Are there any other aftermarket options open to me if I wanted to change out any of the hardware or are there any other cars that we can steal brakes from and use as an upgrade to the 5 lug brake system we have stock?

Suggested brands for rotors so far have been Power Slot Cryos or Napa replacements. I'm thinking of going with Brembro blanks also. I'm going to do some price comparing tonight and see what I find out. Any other suggestions on brands of rotors?

It seems that ceramic pads are the suggested route too. What about kevlar pads? Suggested brands have been Porterfield R-4S, EBC Greenstuff, EBC Yellow, and Hawk HPS. I'm thinking of going with the Hawk HPS since I've heard lots of good things about them. Any other suggestions on type or brands of pads?

I am probably going to go with the Ford HD fluid. If you guys want you can comment on my thread about hydraulic fluids.

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/hydraulic-fluid-preferences-662353/

 

[QUOTE=[B]Ice_Wolf[/B];7117303] Are there any other options open to me if I wanted to change out any of the hardware or are there any other cars that we can steal brakes from and use as an upgrade to what we have stock?



I was hoping some day to use FD brakes and components. Is this possible/recommened???

 

[QUOTE=fcdrft7;7122287]they are functionally identical to the FC 4-piston/vented (i.e. TII) brakes. sure you can use them, but the FC brakes are just as effective.

 

The peak fuel pressure in my 450hp capable fuel system is approx. 65psi at peak boost.

Care to guess how much pressure is in the brakes at their peak?

 

[QUOTE=coldfire;7122340]How easy is this type of swap? I kind of relate it to the nissan 240's performing the 300zx fairlady brake swap.

 

As simple as rmoving the caliper and installing the other one.

Provided you have a 5 lug car that is. Other wise the spindle will also need to be swapped, but again, remove and install. Not rocket science.

 

[QUOTE=fcdrft7;7122363]yeah but those aren't even the same model of car. you are wanting to swap nearly identical brakes from another RX-7 to your RX-7? if so, just do a search. it's been covered before and before...

 

Sweet! Got the 5 lug set up, so I'll definitely look into performing this.

 

After my 2 gigs this weekend & a couple of hours over at the RX7 Store GTG, I had to take yesterday off & check out whats happened...

The rear rubber hoses were rubbed thru, by the Racing Beat endlinks, & Sway Bar. However, I do need to replace BOTH rear hoses & didnt take off the front wheels to inspect the front hoses.

Oddly enough, there are NO stock rubber hoses available at any of the parts stores in my area, so I'm stuck ordering something anyway. Pricing out rubber replacements reveal, If I'm to buy a full set of 4 stock rubber hoses, I'll end up paying $85 - $100 in parts, which is about what Mazdatrix charges for thier DOT approved SS lines.

 

Don't worry about "upgrading" the calipers and discs untill you find that they're no longer adaquate. The stock brakes are more than enough for all those racers out there, so why do you think they're not enough for you?

It's only the FD calipers that fit, the rotors don't and can't, they're a different offset. Nothing else stock just bolts on easily. There is a fairly cheap rear kit from Corksport, but unless you've also got bigger fronts you'll then have problems with rear lockup.

Goodridge and some of the other big name brands also have SS lines, but they're more expensive than Mazdatrix/Corksport. You can also get some Japanese brands from places like AutoRnD.

Even if the Napa rotors die twice as quickly, they're so much cheaper that in the end it's still cheaper than buying the "better" more expensive rotors. Many racers use cheap Napa rotors with no problems.

The only pads you listed that'll survive the track at all are the EBC Yellow's, plan on putting in race pads for track days.

 

It's not the same at all. At least with the 300zx brake swap, you get better braking performance. No such dice with the FD swap. You could be unique, but it's spending money for nothing.

 

^^ +1 ^^

There was a guy who modded a set of FD calipers to fit a larger diameter (bmw I believe) rotor, but that was just for better cooling on the track, and I'm sure you coud do the same thing w/ some FC calipers as well.

 

Well, there's no point in swapping to the FD brake setup then if they are identical to the 5 lug brake setup. Yea, 300 dollars isn't bad for the rear upgrade kit, but unless you've got a stronger front setup, you will run into rear lockup. The upgraded front rotor kits are insanely expensive also. Guess there's no point in changing the hardware unless you've got serious money to spend.

Is there any advantage to using the Goodridge or Japanese brand SS lines or are they all the same, just different brands?

I understand what you mean about the rotors. I'm going to do some price comparing for blank sets from different companies and see what I come up with.

I did some reading on pads and never knew there were so many different compounds to them. I want something that's mainly a street pad - low dust, quiet, won't eat my rotors. Seems that track pads will do the opposite of all those. It looks like the Hawk HPS would be good pads for me. This is my reference:

http://mazdatrix.com/rbrakepads86-92.htm

 

Stiffer springs, stiffer shocks. You know, suspension upgrades. They hold the wheels against the ground better, for better handling - yes - but also braking. They don't just keep the wheels from sliding sideways, they work in any direction belive it or not.

 

Ah, I see, the old "stiffer suspension is better" theory.

Isn't it the weight of the car that "holds the wheels against the ground" and tire grip that keeps the wheels from "sliding sideways"?
IMO, the softest/most compliant suspension is what you want and this is based on the type of driving that you do.
A full race suspension might work wonderfully on a groomed track at high speed but is typically a total disaster on a regular road at normal speeds.
A wheel that can't react to road irregularities and bumps is spending more time "in the air" as it were, which decreases braking ability.

Compliance is the name of the game and achieving it is a very difficult/time consuming and ultimately, expensive endeavor.

 

I have Hawk HPS right now and am looking to try Porterfield R4-S for my next set. I want to see if they perform as well as the Hawk's with less squeal and dust.

 

Just another quick question, but the S4 and S5 have the same brakes don't they? I know that the early S4's were 4 lug setup and then from a certain point all cars were 5 lug setup, but as long as you're talking about 4 or 5 lug setups they should be the same between all years correct?

Is there any advantage to using the Goodridge or Japanese brand SS lines or are they all the same, just different brands?

I agree with you, the Porterfield R4-S pads have my attention too. They appear to have the same use as the HPS pads, which would mean street driven and some track usage. They appear to both have low noise, low dust, and long pad life.

 

I don't think there's any advantage to using those lines, just brand preference.

I don't think there's any difference between the 4 pot brake lines.

 

Well to put things in a nutshell:

Alright, looks like I'll be keeping all of my brake hardware then. Since the FD brake system isn't considered an upgrade, no reason to go that route. The only way it seems to upgrade from the stock 5 lug brake setup is if you spend some serious cash and upgrade everything, which looks like it'd cost you at least 3000 dollars for the front and rear kit, which I doubt most people want to spend. I'm not that serious that I feel the need to spend 3,000 on a car that isn't pure race. Also, since all the 5 lug brake setups are the same, no need to swap anything there either.

Rotors I will be going with blanks since the car is a daily driver and sees minimal track usage. There isn't the need for cross drilled which can crack, an no need for the slotted which will cut down on pad life. All I need to do now is pick out a brand and I'm set. Suggested brands - Power Slot Cryos, Brembo, Napa.

Pads I will be going with Hawk HPS or Porterfield R4-S. Both of these are made for street usage and some track usage with low noise, low dust, long pad life, and won't eat your rotors. Looks like I can't go wrong with either of them.

I will be purchasing the Mazdatrix SS lines since they are plastic coated, cheap, and perform the exact same as all the other SS lines out there, and I have been a very happy customer with mazdatrix throughout the ownership of my 7.

Another thing I will be investing in are those Speed Bleeder things.

Fluid I will be probably going with Ford HD for the brakes and clutch.

Anything I'm missing?

 

No point in using Ford in the clutch. Speed bleeders are awsome.