Z brakes and abs question

[nissanracer29]

I was just wondering if anyone has installed 300zx front brakes on their s14 with abs. If so how is the pedal feel? Is it spongy and soft or does it feel firm? Would you recommed me getting a 300zx master cylinder? I just want to know so I can have all the parts I need before I do my swap. Thanks in advance! :)

[aoiken3]

my buddy has just the front swap like ur asking on his 95 abs s14 se. before and after felt not much different. but he did disconnect the abs fuse on the driverside kick panel so the abs was disengaged to start with. but now that some time has gone by, he says the pedal get harder lil by lil.

[sac]

yes i highly recommend getting the z32 master cylinder. If you just install the calipers without the master your pedal will feel spongy and soft. Think about it. Your master cylinder was pushing 2 pistons. Now its trying to push 8. Also, do a brake flush, and get rid of all that old nasty dot 3 and put in some dot 4. :) Having abs is not going to make a difference really. Just make sure you follow the bleeding sequence and you should be fine.

For further info you can use the search thing. Its in the near the top right corner. There is the Huge 300zx brake conversion thread where tons of FAQs are answered already so you dont get neg repped for asking them.
Try to do that a little more man.
FYI.. i do have aluminum 300zx front calipers. And you can get the lines cheap. so you really only need pads, and rotors.
Pm me if your interested.

[projectRDM]

There's no need to upgrade the master cylinder. S14 ABS models come equipped with the larger 15/16" cylinder and dual chamber 205/180mm booster already, same size as early 90-92 Z32 NAs.

[sac]

^^ correct. Thanks for the red square by the way.. RED.. sweet.. :)
however you can get the 1" or 1 1/16'' bore out of the 93+ z32 which will give you a more natural pedal feel to the braking of the 4 piston calipers.
Did i say that he had to get the z32 master? NO. I said i highly recomend it. When i said having abs isnt going to make a difference i was refering to him being able to use the calipers. Having abs will not affect him being able to use them. Not the fact that abs will not make a difference in the mastercylinder.

would be nice to have nothing better to do than neg rep people all day.

[nissanracer29]

So if I understand correctly, if I put front and rear Z calipers on my s14 with abs I should be fine. The pedal will feel faily decent correct? Thanks for all the replies everyone! I will probably proceed with this install this weekend.

[HalveBlue]

Sorry to jump in here. But as a tangent question, I was under the impression that performing the Z brake swap will prevent the factory ABS system from functioning correctly.

Is this true or not?

[98s14inaz]

There's no need to upgrade the master cylinder. S14 ABS models come equipped with the larger 15/16" cylinder and dual chamber 205/180mm booster already, same size as early 90-92 Z32 NAs.

Correct. On my previous abs s14 I had the r33 set up in the front and oem s14 in the rear. Pedal felt great and never gave me any issues. Just make sure you bleed all four calipers according to the fsm procedure to make sure you get all the air out. It doesn't hurt to have new brake fluid in the system anyway.

[98s14inaz]

Sorry to jump in here. But as a tangent question, I was under the impression that performing the Z brake swap will prevent the factory ABS system from functioning correctly.

Is this true or not?

False. It works just fine.

[projectRDM]

Sorry to jump in here. But as a tangent question, I was under the impression that performing the Z brake swap will prevent the factory ABS system from functioning correctly.

Is this true or not?

Completely untrue. The ABS sensor is mounted in the spindle, measuring a ring on the hub. it could care less about what caliper, rotor, or wheel you have.

As for anyone questioning pedal feel, find someone with an automatic (or formerly auto) that's swapped to Z brakes, autos run the same size booster and cylinder as the ABS cars, pedal feels awesome.

[nissanracer29]

I was also wondering, did the 300zx brakes come powder coated from the factory? Mine are red and I was just wondering if the previous owner painted them. Thanks in advance im just curious.

[projectRDM]

No, just raw aluminum with a coating.

[nissanracer29]

No, just raw aluminum with a coating.

I always thought they came in red, yellow, and blue?

[98s14inaz]

...find someone with an automatic (or formerly auto) that's swapped to Z brakes, autos run the same size booster and cylinder as the ABS cars, pedal feels awesome.

I did not know that...+1 for you.

[240trainee]

I always thought they came in red, yellow, and blue?

For $9.95 + S&H, sure as hell they can

http://www.tirerack.com/images/brakes/g2/cal_paint.jpg

[sac]

^^ they have a similar thing at autozone, checker/kragen, and i think napa too.

[projectRDM]

I always thought they came in red, yellow, and blue?

No. How many Zs have you seen with colored calipers? Maybe like three? Unless someone did it, they're all an ugly grayish color stock.

[jhec23]

I'm running z32 fronts and stock rears on my s14 non-abs m/t right now and I don't like the pedal feel. Will it be better if I swap it with a bmc and booster from an automatic?

[crzycav86]

i have the z brakes front and rear on the stock s13 master cylinder.

you get used to it.

[nissanracer29]

No. How many Zs have you seen with colored calipers? Maybe like three? Unless someone did it, they're all an ugly grayish color stock.

Thanks that answered my question. But was the Nissan on the caliper painted or was it the same as the entire caliper?

[pbcstylez]

the nissan letters i think were in fact painted over

[240trainee]

I have only ever seen them raw if they were stock.

[Lith]

I'm running z32 fronts and stock rears on my s14 non-abs m/t right now and I don't like the pedal feel. Will it be better if I swap it with a bmc and booster from an automatic?

It will.. but while you are doing that, why not just buy the Z32 17/16" MC and install it? It's the same amount of work. You can leave your stock booster in place if you just get the Z32 MC.

Another thing that can make a big difference in pedal feel is the brake fluid. Get something decent like Motul RBF or ATE Super Blue or something similar to that..

[SaGang227]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe using 1" or 1-1/16" on front z32 and stock rear caliper will mess up ur brake proportion. I believe 15/16" is the same one as JDM S14s and should give you stock brake feel.
I have front z32 with stock rear and also have both 15/16" and 1" but decided to use 15/16 for that reason.

[pbcstylez]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe using 1" or 1-1/16" on front z32 and stock rear caliper will mess up ur brake proportion. I believe 15/16" is the same one as JDM S14s and should give you stock brake feel.
I have front z32 with stock rear and also have both 15/16" and 1" but decided to use 15/16 for that reason.



if you're using it(15/16") how do you like it?