Brakes and Suspension Upgrades...
Well the time had come to finally upgrade the OEM brakes, springs and shocks. I decided to go with the 350Z Brembo Big Brake Kit which consists of 12.75" larger slotted and cross-drilled rotors up front and standard size slotted and cross-drilled in the rear. The kit also came with stainless steel braided brake lines, Super DOT 4 fluid and Hawk Racing Brake Pads.
For the suspension I went for the popular upgrade of KYB AGX 8-Way adjustable shock absorbers and Tein Type-S Lowered progressive rate springs. The springs are 1.5" lowered at the front and .8" on the rear. I also changed the Camber Arms to fully adjustable ones to correct the camber wear on the tyres, most noticably on the rear ones. While the discs were off I also adjusted and changed the Rear Brake Shoes, which are essentially the hand brake.
Once installed the improvement was instantly noticed. Braking was hard and solid without the need of much effort. With each adjustment of the shocks you can feel the increase or decrease in the firmness of the ride. The springs are slightly stiffer and support the cars weight much better, the front is also a lot lower to the ground but the overall stance is perfect for street driving.
Also I took the time to refurbish and paint the existing Brake Calipers. This was the longest part of the whole project. It took several coats and several days of drying. Afterwards I covered them in protective clear coat. They turned out well and I'm very happy with the result. They complete the overall look of the upgrades.
The hardest part of installing these components was just removing the old bolts from the original equipment. You can imagine what 19 years would do to them to make them almost impossible to remove. But a heat gun soon became my best friend... :)
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Cheers
Rob.
The Gear, Old and New...
Making Progress...
Before and After...
