Nismo Z brakes

[5thZ]

You are fine! Appreciate any feedback.

Street. Who knows I may try out tracking one day.

I was not sure if there was any room for upgrade by just doing pads. I already have a master cylinder brace installed. Not sure if I want or need to do stainless steel lines.

I thought the OEM Performance Trim pads were already Akebono? I could be wrong. Do Nismo pads fit the performance model?

Your are right, the OEM are Akebono pads. The Value Advantage are not. No, the Nismo pads will not fit as the caliper and rotors are different sizes than performance.

I'm not much help here but maybe someone else can chime in with aftermarket street pads that might be better than Akebono

 

[NocturnalEmber]

Your are right, the OEM are Akebono pads. The Value Advantage are not. No, the Nismo pads will not fit as the caliper and rotors are different sizes than performance.

I'm not much help here but maybe someone else can chime in with aftermarket street pads that might be better than Akebono

Bit of a thread necro, but I found my own thread searching on google and thought I'd throw this PSA out there for anyone when 'Value Advantage' comes up. I can't say from firsthand experience, but I would avoid ANYTHING that is under the value advantage brand. Its marketed as a Nissan brand OEM part, but a cheap oem part.

Plenty of people have ordered value advantage parts and have gotten questionable quality parts, search and you shall see.

 

[trackratZ]

I happen to own both a 370Z Nismo and a Nissan Z Nismo, so have been able to do actual physical comparisons and confirmations. I also have some feedback on the braking performance having tracked both cars. For context, my 370Z Nismo has SS brake lines, Motul RBF660, brake master cylinder brace, Z1 two-piece rotors, and Carbotech XP10's in both the rear/front. On the new Nismo Z, I have only installed a brake master cylyinder brace. Everything else, brake lines, rotors, brake pads, fluid, etc. are stock.

1) The Akebono 15" rotors and calipers from the Nismo Z WILL fit on the performance model or even a 370Z for example. However, you need the corresponding brackets that also that hold the brake lines, etc.

2) Looks like Carbotech finally released pads for the Nismo trim. Check out their product search page

3) I tracked my Nismo Z this past weekend and the stock brakes while not terrible, they were not confidence inspiring enough for me to do any threshold braking or late braking at all on the track. I will say the stock brake pads held up reasonably well, never experienced any brake fade and the rotors didn't glaze, but the braking performance I am used to was simply not there so I was not driving the brakes as hard as I would normally. I did end up installing the Z1 brake master cylinder brace so that helped a bit so I can't imagine how less confidence inspiring the brakes would have been without the brace. I will say I was surprised that the brake pedal still felt soft despite having installed the brace, so the stock brake lines still flex a lot even on the Nismo trim.

4) For comparison, I also have a Nissan 370Z Nismo with SS brake lines, Motul RBF660, brake master cylinder brace, Z1 two-piece rotors, and Carbotech XP10's in both the rear/front, and the brake feel on that is basically either on or off, and VERY confidence inspiring. I have no problems with threshold and very late braking on that vehicle, so hoping I can get the Nismo Z up to the same spec with the larger 15" rotors and akebono calipers, so brake fluid and carbotech's with the stock rotors will be a start.

5) I haven't seen anyone making SS brake lines for the bigger Akebono calipers yet, or aftermarket 2-piece 15" rotors yet either, so hoping someone will make those eventually, as otherwise I was considering downgrading the rotors/calipers to the performance akebono's like the ones on my 370Z, or upgrading them to the big brake kit which utilizes the GTR rotor and brake pad sizes.

All in all, the stock brakes on the Z Nismo are not terrible, but if you are going to be tracking the car and trying to improve or set new records on your lap times, it's not going to happen with the stock brakes pads or fluid without some sort of incident as a result of brake fading and boiling brake fluid. I will say on the street, the larger stock 15" rotors and akebono calipers feel great, and are very responsive when cold during daily driving and are more than sufficient during emergency situations on the street. However, on the track, the braking performance is simply not there, and at a minimum you need upgraded brake fluid and brake pads. I was pleasantly surprised that Carbotech finally makes some, so I will be getting those on my Nismo Z and will report back.

Good analysis.

Before spending big $$ on the 15” Nismo upgrade I would recommend going this route first, plus your choice of track pads, Carbotech, Endless, Hawk etc. Those are proven upgrades IF you’re going to track, not just for street (better pads, not Akebonos).