Okay so I got paid and all for working at the track which totals up to around $500 bucks. I'm looking at stuff to buy but I'm having problems deciding on what to get. Hawk HPS brake pads are a must due to the fact that I need to replace my OEM pads and I'm tired of cleaning the damn wheels everyday. I'm currently trying to get special pricing on some Brembo Sport Slotted Rotors for around $300 bucks for a whole set (front and rear). Heres my options I'm looking at:

Option 1:

Hawk HPS pads: $132.00 Z1Motorsports.com
Brembo Slotted Rotors: $300.00 my hookups....
Total: $432.00 and some change for shipping....around $35 i'm guessing.

Option 2:

Hawk HPS pads: $132.00 Z1Motorsports.com (shipping below)
Goodridge or Earl SS brakelines: $119.00/$125.00 Z1Motorsports.com + $15.00/shipping on both
Tanabe GF210 Springs: $144.90 + $12.39/shipping Overboost.com
Total: $423.29/$429.29

I'm just looking for small stuff at the moment to buy for my car. Option 1 will definitely enhance the car brake-wise but appearance-wise their won't be much of a difference. Option 2 will be noticeably different in both brake and suspension and a noticeable change in appearance. In Option 2 the difference in brakelines is the inspection quality and pressure limit. The goodridges are limited to 3000psi and the Earls are good for 4000psi. The Earls have a more rigorous inspection method than the goodridges and they are individually tested after they are made instead of batch tested. You guys have any ideas on what other options I may have or other things I may consider purchasing instead?

 

Also if I can get these in time for the stripping party then I will most likely bring them over with me if that's okay.

 

Option two.

 

+1 on option 2

 

Just do the springs and save up for a big brake kit. More money in the bank.

 

Well I already have the Brembo's do I really need to go overkill with the 6/8 pots plus spending all that money on them ($2-3k)? I'm gonna wait till tomorrow evening to see if I get an email back from Tony or anyone over at lildevilmotorsports.com before I jump into ordering. If I can get the brembo rotors for the price that I was told then I need to go ahead and get them. No sense in passing up a great deal that might not be there later.

 

yeah, if you've already got brembos your good. otherwise, unless you're going to start doing autox or track events, rotors and brake lines aren't necessary.

 

Well I would like to auto-x in the future but I don't feel comfortable with the Z with the mileage it has on it until I upgrade/replace some of the parts. The brake pads are definitely due for a change I'm sure so I figure why not upgrade the rest. That way if I do go to the track I'm covered in the stopping department.

 

option 1 dont waste your money on springs...

 

Jimbo has a point, change springs to sways (that is what I want now for my next mod). You can pick up Stillen 5-way adjustable for ~$290.

 

The brake lines are not really necessary unless you are going to be racing. Here...we have the budget of $500 so now, list these things in order of priority and I will give you a list of parts that I would reccomend...

- Handling
- Looks
- Power
- Comfort
- Racing

 

Yeah, those springs drop you 1"F and 1.2"R, which is pretty decent. I was really happy when I got my springs and sways installed (at the same time), car was much tighter.
I'd do the Hawk HPS $132, Springs $158, Sways ~$250. Or you can find springs & sways used for cheaper I'm sure... or call Paul at Avalon Racing and see what sort of package deal he'll give you...

 

Well I found the Hotchkis and the Eibach kits but they are around $250-$300 I think. I want the hotchkis sways but I really like the Tanabe springs. Does anybody know the advised setting for swaybars on the Z. I think the hotchkis have three adjustable settings?!

 

Yeah, to counter the understeer you want the front to be stiffer than the rear sway bars. So you can do soft in front, medium in rear, or medium front, stiff rear. The beauty is that it's easy to change the settings, so you can see what you like best. I'm on medium/medium right now, but track days I usually change it to medium/stiff.

 

How much do the Hotchkis lowering springs lower the car? If it's a decent amount like 1 in front and 1/1.5 in the rear then I might go ahead and buy the kit. But at the same time I'm not going to be tracking the vehicle that much. Maybe 2 to 3 times a year unless I really get into it.

 

You will get hooked. Just look at Ty, Rob, and I. Before you know it you will be having your own stripping party.

 

Hopefully we're still talking about cars... and girls ( . )( . )

 

Check Pepboys for the Hawks. About $120 for the set and you dont have to pay for shipping, but you do have to pay sales tax.

 

^^^I checked Pepboys and they want $178.00 for the brembo pads unless they've changed it in the past 24 hours. As far as stripping the car goes I won't be going as far as Mike is going with his. I may end up buying a lot of light-weight replacement parts but this is my daily driver and even when I do purchase a beater car my Z will eventually become a show/track vehicle. If I have it my way it's going to be a lot of titanium and carbon fiber for weight savings (the CF will be painted of course ). I want to see how much weight I can shed from the front since most of the weight is centered towards that portion of the car anyway. I don't want to do like some of these guys and totally strip the car and end up with more of the weight over the front and not be able to hook-up in the rear because of the lack of balanced weight distribution.

 

^^^FYI, the only CF part that saves weight on the car is the hatch, and you wont save much there unless you replace the glass with lexan. Since the hood on the Z is aluminum, all of the CF hoods weigh the same. Unfortunately they don't make a dry carbon hood for our car. The CF doors and headlight replacements also save wight but then you will need a full roll cage with door bars and you won't be able to drive at night without any headlights. Other than that, the best weight savings without gutting your car comes in these areas...

- Exhaust/Cats
- Seats
- Wheels
- Remove spare tire and tools

With all that done, I still weigh 3,240 lbs. with no driver and 1/4 tank of gas. But I also added a roll cage.

 

I knew that the Brembos were more, but not that much more?? I guess it depends on if you want to pay for shipping and wait on them or is it worth the extra money to have them now?

 

Man I coulda swore we had this conversation about the amuse powerhouse 350Z and all the lightweight crap it had on it. I'm pretty sure with the interior still intact they had it down to around 2,850lbs (I think everything was dry carbon to some degree). If that's the case then there should be plenty of other things on the Z that can be replaced to free up some weight.

 

^^^You could have custom dry carbon stuff made, but they don't really make any dry carbon production parts for the Z. The flywheel is another couple of pounds.

 

you may want to check out what sport compact car did about a year ago...

 

^^^Where they gutted everything including the dash?