BIG BRAKES How to: 355mm 370Z Sport Brakes on AZE0

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

blooot

Member
Joined
May 14, 2021
Messages
13
Location
San Francisco
Now here's something no one has asked for, and your Leaf probably doesn't need this upgrade, but if you run 18" wheels and want to fill them with brakes, this is easy and cheap.

I needed to upgrade the front brakes on my 280hp moto-ICE hybrid Leaf as I intend to track it, and I wanted more confidence that the car could stop its 3750lb bulk when doing spirited back road drives downhill.

After a deep false start on a high $$ solution (including custom CNC machine brackets and radial Brembos), I ended up with an budget all-OEM package that is nearly bolt in.  I would have liked to have gone with something that I could fit 17s over, but this was too easy and cheap to pass up.

Calipers: 4-pot Akebono "sport" calipers from a 370Z or G37.  Rebuilt units can be had for <$150 on Amazon. 

Brake lines: Stock Leaf lines work, but you need a shorter banjo bolt, which can be found here: https://www.tunerzstore.com/banjo-bolt-w-washers-for-akebono-or-brembo-caliper/

Rotors: This was the trickiest part as the 355x32mm 370Z rotors do not have the correct offset.  After some deep digging I found some V8 mustang units that are really close to perfect, and are cheap and available.  Raybestos 680497 or Centric 120.61089 is the part number you're after. There are even reasonably priced 2-piece units available if you want to get fancy: https://kohrmotorsports.com/product/07-14-mustang-stoptech-2-piece-aero-rotor-pair/

Custom Parts:  The calipers bolt right on, but the rotors need a little help as 1) the center bore is 3mm too big, 2) the offset is 1mm off and 3) the Mustang wheel lugs are M14. To solve this I used sendcutsend.com to make two 1mm thick 6061 spacers that go between the rotor and hub, and ten 15.2m OD, 12.5mm ID rings out of 1/4" Stainless steel to fill in the M14 bores.  I hand bent a 8mm wide strip of 1/16" (1.5mm) aluminum into a ring that takes up the center bore clearance.  I initially tried to design a hub centering feature into the hub spacer (see the photos) and it would have worked except I needed a 1mm thick spacer and a 1.5mm thick ring, so it needed to be two parts.  Total cost of these bits would be less than SCS's $30 minimum order. .DXFs for these parts can be found on Github: https://github.com/derekbruceyoung/nissanleafbigbrakes

Custom Parts BOM (apology for mixing units, but that's just how it is in my life):
2X 0.0625 in aluminum for centerbore ring.DXF -- Material 1.5mm/0.0625 bendable aluminum (this could be made with shears, it's just a strip of aluminum that you need to form into a ring)
10X 0.250 inch SS brake lug hole shim.DXF -- Material 1/4-5/16" (6-8mm) stainless steel
2X 1mm Thick Hub Spacer.DXF -- Material: 1mm/0.040" aluminum or stainless steel

Installation: Everything bolts up and clears -- the only part of the car that needs modification is the splash shield needs trimming -- I just used a pair of sheet metal shears.

I decided to use EBC Yellow stuff pads front and rear (rears are stock IS350 brakes) and flushed the old fluid out and replaced it with Motul RBF 600.

This past weekend I drove the car from a friend's house in Thousand Oaks to the Petersen Museum for the Autopia 2099 show and on the way I hit one of my all time favorite roads, Tuna Canyon in the Malibu hills.  It's a narrow, bumpy 1-way (!) canyon road that descends 1500' in about 3 miles.  The brakes got a little smelly by the end (they were still bedding in) but the grip was fantastic throughout and I was able to be confident I wouldn't fade them and drive off a cliff.  Oh and they look FANTASTIC.  Hooray!

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/J9g8fFkc3bU8k2WH8
 
blooot said:
Now here's something no one has asked for, and your Leaf probably doesn't need this upgrade, but if you run 18" wheels and want to fill them with brakes, this is easy and cheap.

I needed to upgrade the front brakes on my 280hp moto-ICE hybrid Leaf as I intend to track it, and I wanted more confidence that the car could stop its 3750lb bulk when doing spirited back road drives downhill.

After a deep false start on a high $$ solution (including custom CNC machine brackets and radial Brembos), I ended up with an budget all-OEM package that is nearly bolt in.  I would have liked to have gone with something that I could fit 17s over, but this was too easy and cheap to pass up.

Calipers: 4-pot Akebono "sport" calipers from a 370Z or G37.  Rebuilt units can be had for <$150 on Amazon. 

Brake lines: Stock Leaf lines work, but you need a shorter banjo bolt, which can be found here: https://www.tunerzstore.com/banjo-bolt-w-washers-for-akebono-or-brembo-caliper/

Rotors: This was the trickiest part as the 355x32mm 370Z rotors do not have the correct offset.  After some deep digging I found some V8 mustang units that are really close to perfect, and are cheap and available.  Raybestos 680497 or Centric 120.61089 is the part number you're after. There are even reasonably priced 2-piece units available if you want to get fancy: https://kohrmotorsports.com/product/07-14-mustang-stoptech-2-piece-aero-rotor-pair/

Custom Parts:  The calipers bolt right on, but the rotors need a little help as 1) the center bore is 3mm too big, 2) the offset is 1mm off and 3) the Mustang wheel lugs are M14. To solve this I used sendcutsend.com to make two 1mm thick 6061 spacers that go between the rotor and hub, and ten 15.2m OD, 12.5mm ID rings out of 1/4" Stainless steel to fill in the M14 bores.  I hand bent a 8mm wide strip of 1/16" (1.5mm) aluminum into a ring that takes up the center bore clearance.  I initially tried to design a hub centering feature into the hub spacer (see the photos) and it would have worked except I needed a 1mm thick spacer and a 1.5mm thick ring, so it needed to be two parts.  Total cost of these bits would be less than SCS's $30 minimum order. .DXFs for these parts can be found on Github: https://github.com/derekbruceyoung/nissanleafbigbrakes

Custom Parts BOM (apology for mixing units, but that's just how it is in my life):
2X 0.0625 in aluminum for centerbore ring.DXF -- Material 1.5mm/0.0625 bendable aluminum (this could be made with shears, it's just a strip of aluminum that you need to form into a ring)
10X 0.250 inch SS brake lug hole shim.DXF -- Material 1/4-5/16" (6-8mm) stainless steel
2X 1mm Thick Hub Spacer.DXF -- Material: 1mm/0.040" aluminum or stainless steel

Installation: Everything bolts up and clears -- the only part of the car that needs modification is the splash shield needs trimming -- I just used a pair of sheet metal shears.

I decided to use EBC Yellow stuff pads front and rear (rears are stock IS350 brakes) and flushed the old fluid out and replaced it with Motul RBF 600.

This past weekend I drove the car from a friend's house in Thousand Oaks to the Petersen Museum for the Autopia 2099 show and on the way I hit one of my all time favorite roads, Tuna Canyon in the Malibu hills.  It's a narrow, bumpy 1-way (!) canyon road that descends 1500' in about 3 miles.  The brakes got a little smelly by the end (they were still bedding in) but the grip was fantastic throughout and I was able to be confident I wouldn't fade them and drive off a cliff.  Oh and they look FANTASTIC.  Hooray!

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/J9g8fFkc3bU8k2WH8

Yes, done it on a motorcycle a number times, fun crazy enough! Very impressive write-up, thanks.
 
Back
Top