so i just installed them yesterday but they dont work. heh. everything is plugged in right. the fluid is done properly (flushed etc no air) but im not getting any pedal pressure. feels like only the stock rear brakes are workin… any ideas? theyre the alum calipers with stainless front lines and stock s14 MC.
they were bled thoroughly by a mechanic so that shouldnt be the problem
This is always a hotly debated topic on 240 message boards. I’ve heard many accounts of buggered up brake bias when installing 300zx parts. That being the bias leans heavily toward the rear breaks. If this is the case you can install a bias controller.
check out http://www.240sxforums.com/forums Theres at least 20 threads on this topic.
This is a “similarish” problem… might make sense to get the 300ZX master cyl.
From Sport COmpact Car
Making the brakes work
After installing the Brembo Gran Turismo 300ZX front brake kit and Z32 300ZX rear brakes back in part 1, we pointed out that a bigger master cylinder would really be needed to get proper Brembo pedal feel. We also complained of premature rear-wheel lockup and somewhat average 130-foot stopping distances from 60 mph.
The diameter of the master cylinder determines both how much brake force you’ll get for a given pedal effort, and how much pedal movement there will be. The stock 7/8-inch master cylinder has a piston area of 0.60 square inches, so 100 pounds of force shoving on the piston from the combined effort of your foot, the pedal lever ratio and the brake booster, will make 167 psi (100 lb/0.60 in2) of fluid pressure with which to squeeze the calipers. Moving to a 1-inch master cylinder gets you 0.79 square inches, which makes only 127 psi from the same 100 pounds of footwork.
Since we had complained that the brakes felt touchy and overboosted, this reduction in pressure would be exactly what we needed. We also complained that there was too much pedal movement. The bigger master cylinder helps here, too. A 7/8-inch cylinder moving 0.1 inches pumps .060 cubic inches of fluid to the brakes. A 1-inch cylinder would pump .079 cubic inches. That means it would take less pedal movement to move the brake pads the fraction of an inch from their resting position to the rotors.
Checking the Nissan parts books, the Z32 300ZX shares the 240SX’s master cylinder design, but comes in 1-inch and even 1 1/16-inch sizes. Wanting a big change in pedal feel, we went for the bigger cylinder (part number 46010 30 p21) This would increase pedal effort by 65 percent. (The 0.99-square inch bore would make 101 psi at 100 pounds of pedal force, or need 165 pounds to make the same 167 psi the stock cylinder made at 100 pounds.) Since the bigger cylinder pumps 65 percent more fluid for the same stroke, it would also significantly reduce pedal slop.
Nissan has always used two suppliers for its brake hydraulics, Nabco and Tokico. The part number we listed is for the Nabco part, but be sure you’re clear about what you want or the dealer may substitute the Tokico part. Though the parts are functionally identical, they aren’t exactly the same. The 1 1/16 master cylinder only came on cars with ABS, and those cars only needed two brake lines from the master cylinder–one for the front wheels and one for the rears.
Non-ABS cars had three lines, one for each front wheel, and one for both rears (it was split into two at the rear of the car). ABS cars had the extra front brake line port plugged, but here’s the difference. On the Nabco cylinders, a simple hex-key plug is used, so an Allen wrench can be used to remove it. After that, the 240SX brake line goes right in. The Tokico cylinder, though, uses a five-sided plug. We were only able to remove the plug after hammering an oversized TORX socket into the five-sided hole.
That’s when we discovered the second problem. The hole is machined for a Volkswagen-style bubble-flare brake line, not the standard Nissan reverse-flare. In other words, if you get the Tokico cylinder, be prepared to fabricate some brake lines.
As a final bonus, the brake proportioning valve is built into the master cylinder. Since the Brembo kit was designed around a Z32 master cylinder, proportioning valve and rear brakes, using this master cylinder completes the brake system well. In practice, the front wheels now lock before the rears–a major improvement.
i actually also have the Z MC but didnt bother with it cuz im only doing the front brakes (for now) that plus the Z MC looks diff from the s14 one i have in their now. none of the holes/valves line up. ideally i would like to get this working without having to purchse any other parts. i tried the search on FA but nothing came up for some reason hehe…
basically when i brake im not getting enough pressure so i gotta pump the pedal 3/4 times to get any decent brake action going. the rear stock s14 brakes seem to be working. Its mainly the upgraded Z brakes in the front. From what i understand from the prev posts, theres a problem with the brake bias and that needs to be adjusted. how do i do this? i have the Z MC and like i said, it doesnt line up. does anyone know what is needed to have this installed? if im not upgrading the rears …i dont need to change the MC?
I have S14 LE w/abs, the MC is 15/16 and Z32 brakes F and R. The pedal pressure is just fine. Not soggy, it’s firm but not overly hard. I don’t think you need Z32 MC with that setup.
Sounds like the brakes aren’t bled properly. RR, RL, FR, FL. Best to bleed with 2 people.
REmember the Z32 MC setup is for Z32 brakes in front AND rear, not just front.
It looks like a bleeding issue, fix it and be done with this thread.
went through the bleeding process 2 man style 3 times and its the same problem. is there any way to adjust the bias? or is it supposed to be just a plug n play thing?