Ebized Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Brakes are now super smooth again... Having closely followed philb1965's thread that led to his brake judder problems being resolved - in that case as a result of the wheels being powder-coated, it was time for me to see if Marcus (TOPHOOKER) could work his magic on mine. viewtopic.php?f=102&t=61267 Background: Not long after GUNs came into my ownership I decided spacers were necessary - yes, I admit for an improved stance rather than feeling there was any handling issue. Fitting the spacers is documented here: viewtopic.php?f=103&t=34297&hilit=spacers Several thousand miles later I was getting juddering - my local Nissan HPC, after some prodding, agreed to skim the discs in situ. All was well for a short while but then the juddering came back. As I was told Nissan would not agree new discs I bit the bullet and bought some new OEM discs and pads - courtesy of ZMANALEX who was able to supply them at considerable saving. Had them fitted at TGM (Fleet) and all was well again - up to Scotland and then some laps round Knockhill all was fine, but on the way back the juddering started to return. I was advised to do some serious bedding in as I might have sat on the brakes pedal after heavy use round Knockhill and had some build-up on the discs, but several attempts did not really change anything. Spotting the outcome for philb1965 it was time to see what Marcus could do. I had started to conclude that something was distorted somewhere in the roundy-bit department on mine from what I was learning from his advice. So off to Soham in Cambridge to see what could be done in the week before Wales so that I could enjoy the drives to the full. The remedy: As soon as Marcus turned the wheels he immediately suspected the off-side front and his gauge readings confirmed '2 peaks and trough'. But what was causing that? Off came the spacers. The Kei 20mm spacers were fine, Marcus being satisfied their manufacture being of good quality. However, the off-slip spacer when measured revealed a significant 'squashing' - basically down to the pressed alloy item simply not being up to the job - these ones: So my good idea at the time - done because the OEM wheels would not fit on 20mm spacers because the hub studs projected too far for the recesses on the front wheels to accommodate, had proved my undoing. I had anticipated there was a problem with the spacers and had previously purchased two pairs of 25mm Eibachs. I had taken comfort from G-man that this size on the 370 presented no issues. These were fitted to the discs that were then machined to remove the high spots - pics show the process - see pics. Short vid The rear discs were fine but the 23mm combination were removed and the new 25mm spacers added. Wow, was it nice to drive home completely judder-free and after 900 or so miles pounding around the Welsh roads and there and back I am pleased to report braking remains judder-free. I am in full of admiration for the way Marcus goes about his work. As an Engineer who clearly likes to get to the root cause of the problem rather than the simple fix of skimming discs, it means the 'problem' is addressed once and for all. Setting up his own business not so long ago he has quickly attracted the attention of many garages and enthusiasts and he can travel in the SE to deal with issues. See his website: http://www.discskimmers.com/ I can cannot speak highly enough of his expertise - he has adapted off-the peg disc skimmers to carry out his work and also has a tyre skimmer he has developed aimed at those seeking to improve lap times by ensuring the tyre surface is uniform across the tread to help maximise grip. That is helping to shave not insignificant time off the laps and whilst I was there a set of wheels/tyres were delivered by a regular MX5 racer for some tweaking. So top marks to our member TOPHOOKER - who I hope is going to sign up as a trader as we definitely have a great find for anyone (350 or 370) with disc/wheel problems on here. We did discuss the idea of him sorting out 2 or 3 cars as a group 'buy' as they would help to spread his travel costs by doing them all in one place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Really pleased for you colin. Glad the problem is sorted as that would really have put a downer on the driving experience. Excellent write up and a very informative read as always Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The G Man Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Good outcome and top notch professional service by the sound of it Precise and logical write up as well The Eibach spacers are top notch but I can understand why you went for the original set up. 25mm on the 370 is the max that should be fitted IMO, anything bigger will lead to the wheels sticking out, I think illegally Have you amended the write up on the original set up, as you say, the material in the ripspeed "spacer" extension was not up to the job. Good news though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philb1965 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Glad Marcus sorted it for you, I know how much it makes the driving experience suck when the brakes judder. I've done over 2k miles now and brakes are silky smooth still...great work again Marcus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Good outcome and top notch professional service by the sound of it Precise and logical write up as well The Eibach spacers are top notch but I can understand why you went for the original set up. 25mm on the 370 is the max that should be fitted IMO, anything bigger will lead to the wheels sticking out, I think illegally Have you amended the write up on the original set up, as you say, the material in the ripspeed "spacer" extension was not up to the job. Good news though Early in 2010 no one had started fitting spacers to the 370's over here and I saw mixed reports at the time in the States about whether 20mm or 25mm were best. I saw nothing to suggest the 20mm's would not allow the OEM wheels to fit flush on the spacers - only found that out at the fitting time and the idea of using the 3mm slip spacers was an 'instant' fix, which in hindsight was a bad decision and I would certainly advise that anyone who has done the same and getting brake judder checks them out. I have to say I have done over 13k miles with them fitted and aside from the judder issue I experienced no other problems. I think those that know my driving style will agree they have had a fair test I agree that 25mm with the OEM wheels is really the max And good point reminding about an update to the original fitting thread - will do that Just got to add that the 370 has been an absolute dream of a car to own and now I have it sorted I cannot express just how good it ifeels and yes.......even better than I enjoyed in the two 350's I had for over 4 years - and really thought they were the dangleys. But in the driving and creature comfort departments GUNS has certainly been anything than a disappointment and I really can't see anything to better it within my budget, so it may be with me for some time to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Glad to see GUNS is sorted Col Fully agree with your satisfaction report too, I enjoy my 370z much more than the 350z and Amanda more so with more creature comforts and being auto its very nice as a GT car when we just want to pootle around and like when we headed to France, it was lovely and smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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