Brake cooling options for the Z (and my new 2 piece front rotors)

[sdktheway]

Been thinking a lot about brake cooling lately and was wondering if anyone had done anything with the newest generation Z. From my searches I've found one product that's for sale from Seibon that only attaches to their front lip and isn't very promising. I found a much more intriguing option in the works from Touge Factory but it still seems to be in the development phase. I did shoot them a message on instagram and they said they will get back to work on it soon but it's been sidelined for other stuff in the meantime.

There's tons of options for the 370Z so i've almost considered just buying something like this from Stillen and just finding a way to get it near the front bumper without looking janky but I'm not quite ready to try that one yet. I did pick up some 2 piece rotors from Paragon that I'm excited to try out on track in a couple weeks at Road Atlanta. They are almost 10 pounds lighter than the stock ones and I've been loving how that feels with the steering.

 

[heritageownerKurosawaz400]

Been thinking a lot about brake cooling lately and was wondering if anyone had done anything with the newest generation Z. From my searches I've found one product that's for sale from Seibon that only attaches to their front lip and isn't very promising. I found a much more intriguing option in the works from Touge Factory but it still seems to be in the development phase. I did shoot them a message on instagram and they said they will get back to work on it soon but it's been sidelined for other stuff in the meantime.

There's tons of options for the 370Z so i've almost considered just buying something like this from Stillen and just finding a way to get it near the front bumper without looking janky but I'm not quite ready to try that one yet. I did pick up some 2 piece rotors from Paragon that I'm excited to try out on track in a couple weeks at Road Atlanta. They are almost 10 pounds lighter than the stock ones and I've been loving how that feels with the steering.

Seibon’s brake cooling kit is arguably the most efficient for it's simplicity compared to Stillen’s even more so since the CFM is much greater at a lower cost, but Stillen’s offers more flexibility. You don’t necessarily have to route ducting all the way to the front bumper. Thanks to the vortices generated by the Nismo’s front canards and aero elements, there’s a practical alternative: routing brake ducts from under the car near the sway bars or just behind the splitter, where high-pressure air builds up; you aren't forced to hook it into the front bumper if you can DIY a bit of the kit as long as there is meaningful air, if it's questionable try to position it as close as you can to the front axle and undertray.
If you do happen to hook it beneath the car it'll be nearly the same efficiency given you angle the pipe to "scoop" air, if you are moving and airflow gets above 50mph you'll have roughly 0.04PSI of air with a CFM of 150-130~ (Volume matters more than PSI) try to reduce any bends and keep the pipe as straight as possible, this is more than enough airflow to cool the brakes down meaningfully, if you are worried that the front bumper location is more "efficient" it would depend as Bernouli's principal; air that is Higher pressure like beneath a car will naturally flow into a lower pressure zone, given that the scoop will be taking air from beneath the car and it's Higher pressure than that of the wheel well (which should be true due to the vortex generators or the canards as well as the fact that the front splitter does it's job by compressing the air between the fascia and ground) the air will want to flow into that pipe and into the Vanes of your brake rotor, but depending on your driving and piping, the airflow could be come turbulent and "stall" within the pipe if the angle is either too harsh or it's not getting enough air; that's where the simplicity from Seibon is nice, but with Stillen you can get significant cooling if routed well.
Naturally with all of these kits and more so if you do DIY some of it, test the efficiency and move on from there, or just wait it out for an actual kit that's satisfactory.

 

[Thefunk]

Question: Is there an increased risk of funneling road debris directly to the rotor/brakes? Would it be beneficial to put some kind of high flow mesh screen at the front vent?

 

[dyc1077]

In seeing this post I was curious about brake cooling so decided to research some more and came across an interesting read:
https://www.essexparts.com/news-blog/do-i-need-brake-ducts-on-my-track-car

the tldr version goes something like this:

ducting should be one of the last brake upgrades attempted.
Work on pads, rotors, fluids and lines first.
Uneven cooling can cause more problems.

 

[Thefunk]

In seeing this post I was curious about brake cooling so decided to research some more and came across an interesting read:
https://www.essexparts.com/news-blog/do-i-need-brake-ducts-on-my-track-car

the tldr version goes something like this:

ducting should be one of the last brake upgrades attempted.
Work on pads, rotors, fluids and lines first.
Uneven cooling can cause more problems.

This make the most sense. I recently watched a yt video from Misha Charoudin driving some nice sports car that had brake temp telemetry on the dashboard. Crazy to see how hot they get and how quickly. But you also get to see how they cool down with speed. So yeah if you do all the proper upgrades first and you still have issues then ducts would be practical.

 

[5thZ]

OP - I also called Touge Factory and they said it was still in development. Also, congrats on your CZP by Paragon rotors! I have the exact same ones and they are beautiful - haven't tracked them yet but did track the stock akebono rotors and they held up fine.

The 2nd poster, Touge Factory design if I recall is also underneath the car - not from the front bumper. I might be wrong though. It's been a minute.

If you are new to tracking (HPDE) and not an actual racer then Carbotech pads, RBF/SRF brake fluids, are the most important. Keep a 10 or maybe 11mm wrench with you in case your caliper bleed screws need to be tightened due to higher than normal fluid temps. I needed to tighten my akebono caliper bleed screws after a few runs at Road Atlanta last summer.

If you are new and haven't ever been before please let me know and Im happy to share with you some things you should take care of prior and what to take with you. There is a great post and thread from the 370z forums I can link for you!

Also happy to put you in contact with my instructor or my instructor who was an endurance racer also, just say the word!

Enjoy!!

 

[alienpoker]

Interesting… I agree that Pad/Rotor selection is more crucial than adding ducting. I’d want data before/after from a supplier to prove the benefits, before I’d spend $$ on a ducting kit.

 

[MCN1SMO]

not sure it helps much but most people dont realize our NISMOs have brake cooling air guide/ defelctors attached to the sway bars

 

[5thZ]

not sure it helps much but most people dont realize our NISMOs have brake cooling air guide/ defelctors attached to the sway bars

they sure do!

 

[Hernandooo]

I have those seibon airducts, have yet to install them and try them out, they dont work with the Z1 Skid plate