Big Brake Option from FutoFab

[Dave Patten]

FutoFab has been working on a big brake kit for the 510 that uses the original 510 hubs and struts. We figured with 280ZX struts getting harder to find, why not put together a package that uses the stock 510 components.

The kit includes 12.19” x .810” Wilwood rotors, 4 piston staggered bore calipers custom made for FutoFab by Outlaw. The kit has aluminum rotor adapters and caliper mounts done in black anodized finish. Mil spec hardware is included. Pads and steel braid DOT brake lines are also supplied as part of the kit. Hawk street/track compound brake pads will be offered as an upgrade.

The cost is $850 +S&H.

Brakes fit (barely) under 15x7 +18 offset VTO wheel. Check out the pictures below of the final R&D install.

Check out our Facebook page for photos.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/FutoFab- ... 1408419667

[two_68_510s]

Cool Dave, but I can't make the link work.

There you go, that's the ticket!

Those brakes look very good, what a great idea.

[moath]

Looks great! Whats the weight difference vs stock? Is it designed to work with the stock size master cylinder?

[Dave Patten]

Looks great! Whats the weight difference vs stock? Is it designed to work with the stock size master cylinder?

Not sure about weight, likely a little heavier when you consider the rotor size is 12.19" vs 9.13" but the caliper is alloy so that is lighter. When I get a moment I will weigh everything up.

The stock master will not be large enough, a 280ZX, 15/16" master will be needed using rear drums. Or a 1" tandem master if you are upgrading to 4 wheel disc.

[Boy Blunder]

Dave,

After brewing on this sweet kit for a little while I have a couple questions.

So with the enlarged disc that will be a little bit heavier along with the monster size caliper - Will this big brake kit be a serious stress on the stock spindles?

I do not mean to put you under the gun here - The Ermish kit for example, which adapts a Wilwood caliper setup using the same design of components - we all can see how hard Troy drives his 510 as well as the other cars in his "stable" that I have yet to hear of them breaking spindles.

I only bring this up as there is a Datsun 1200 EP car in my region that has a seemingly annual habit of breaking a spindle under hard braking. I know It's a completely different strut.. but under extreme stress things happen.


Second question:

Hypothetically speaking - For a car that will only be used for solo 2 purposes and wanting to have a divisionally competitive setup - Do you think the following setup would be sufficient for stopping power below 70mph?

Futofab front big brake kit
240Z aluminum rear drums with porterfield RD4 shoes ( the most aggressive compound they offer)
15/16 Master cylinder with proper residual pressure valve for drum setup
Proportioning valve to dial in brake bias.

[Dave Patten]

BoyBlunder,
Sorry for the slow reply. It's been a madhouse this month with racing events and preparing for them.

Your spindle question, the 510's have a pretty robust spindle/strut assembly. The original Datsun Competition struts used the stock 510 bearings and these were extremely durable.

I have never heard of a 510 spindle breaking from the rigors of competition use. It has always been from damage/impact. I myself have never broken a spindle, but I have bent one. That was from impact, not just normal usage. It was a racing off course with the car sliding sideways and the rim digging into the dirt and barrel rolling the car into a brook, landing upside down. Not what you would call a normal braking/cornering event.

Now your set-up/effectiveness question.

Yes they will work, but with a couple notes that need to be discussed.

For autocrossing you need pads that do not require an extreme amount of heat to be at their best braking ability. Most racing pads are designed to work at high temperatures and perform poorly if not at temperature. For autocrossing you need a pad with high friction capabilities at low operating temperatures. When/if you buy our kit we do offer an upgrade to Hawk HP Plus pads (a street, autocross & track day compound) for an additional $35 to help correct this.

Now I don't want to discourage you from buying a FutoFab brake kit, but one of the key reasons for using larger rotors is their added mass that allows more heat absorption from long hard braking. In autocrossing the amount of heat generated is determined by course design and the number of hard braking zones. My guess is the benefit of large rotors is not going to be as much for heat absorption as it is for the added braking torque generated by placing the caliper further outward from the spindle.

An option we could do is substitute a scalloped .810" x 12.19" rotor for our standard 12.19" rotor. This would take 3.0 lbs. off each rotor greatly reducing the unsprung and rotating weight.

Please contact me directly and we can look into this for you.

tel 603-774-6964 or FutoFab@gsinet.net