There seems to be a substantial amount of misinformation floating around on the web regarding
our brake kits and also Wilwood calipers, I would like to use this page to address some of these issues.  As the owner of Arizona Z Car I have approximately
27 years experience with making racing brake kits for Nissan's Sports cars.
During that time we have sold well over 1000 kits in dozens of countries world wide including
Australia, Japan , England, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada , and many others, including all 50 US states.

Question:   Why do you use Wilwood calipers?
Answer:     Wilwood calipers have always provided an outstanding combination of performance,
weight, and cost. They have continued to evolve over the years and  In my opinion the current crop of Forged Superlite,  Billet Superlite 6 , and Dynalite calipers are world class in performance and quality.

Question:   What's the quality like on the rest of the components in your kit.
Answer:     Our rotor centers  and brackets are all CNC machined on the latest equipment
from 6061-T6 aluminum then anodized,  All of our hardware is zinc plated and grade 8 or better.
The brake lines are  made specifically for our kits. These kits are very complete and all parts are brand new as well.

Question: How do these compare to Toyota 4X4 , 280ZX etc. conversions I see on E-bay?
Answer: I 'm still waiting for that race winning Toyota 4X4 to show up at the roadcourse or autocross. Those conversions are virtually worthless: heavy cast iron calipers with small pads combined with inadequate rotors is hardly a race winning strategy.
 We have sold several hundred
kits to customers who took off the Toyota/240SX/280ZX conversions they wasted their time and money on.

Question:  But I don't race or drive fast and I only have a stock engine, plus I want to keep my stock 14" wheels and tires. I don't have much money to spend either. By the way do you have one used shock absorber I can buy?
(I've actually gotten the above question, Dave)

Answer:  Then I guess you don't  need of any of my brake kits (or anything else for that matter).
Call me back when you graduate from high school.

Question: Can't I save money buy using rebuilt 300ZX calipers instead?
Answer:  Not really, the 300ZX calipers are heavier, don't have stainless steel pistons to reduce
heat transfer to the fluid, don't have as thick a pad, etc.  Besides here's a  "rebuilt" caliper one of my customers actually paid money for at an auto parts store!!!
It must of been the catch of the day at the lake it came out of!

2 of the pistons are severely corroded, 1 was only halfway corroded , 1 piston is brand new!!! The mounting ears have been pried on with a crowbar and the whole caliper has been beaten with a hammer ( I guess it was misbehaving). Please compare it to the Billet 6 piston caliper (below) used in some of our kits.  If you want to save even more money I've got some  20 year old tires and some used wheel bearings for your Z I'll sell you real cheap.

Question:   Can these brake kits really be used on the race track?
Answer:    Yes we've had hundreds of customers use them in full out competition such as GT2, and IMSA,  also in open track events, solo , autocross, and hill climbs. I've personally used them in hundred minute endurance races.

Question:   Professional racers don't really use Wilwood calipers and rotors do they?
Answer:     Actually they are used on Super Modifieds, Winston Cup cars, Craftsman trucks, sprint cars, sports racers,  and by Nascar teams with budgets of tens of millions of dollars .
Here's some links you should really look at:

Be sure and pay attention to what they run on the short tracks and road courses.

http://www.martinandkenseth.homestead.com/mcar.html
http://www.martinandkenseth.homestead.com/kwccar.html
http://www.listercars.com/1951%20F100.htm
http://www.dalejarrett.com/team.asp
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=9&article_id=1162
http://www.expertimages.com/dw17/car.htm
http://www.quinnracing.com/garage.htm read about the supermodified

Question:   How about street use.
Answer:    Although intended for racing,  I've had them on my street cars for 22 years and can outbrake anything on the road.
I currently have them on my own 300ZX, 350Z, and  240SX

Question:   Are they DOT approved?
Answer:    No brake system is DOT approved
 

Question:   Do the calipers need frequent rebuilds?
Answer:    Out of the over 5000 Wilwood calipers sold by Arizona Z Car since about 1983,  I think
 we have sold 3 or 4 rebuild kits. ( I think 1 or 2 of them were just spares)

Question:  How can they last that long?
Answer:    The calipers are anodized aluminum and don't rust, the pistons are stainless steel and are extremely wear and corrosion resistant.

Question:    Don't the calipers need dust seals?
Answer:      No, I know of no reason for an additional seal, the O-rings completely seal out dirt,
water, dust etc., air can not get past the o-rings.
I personally had one set on 3 different cars (both race and street) over a 7 year period and
never had any reason to rebuild them , AFTER 7 YEARS THEY WERE STILL IN GREAT SHAPE WHEN I SOLD THEM USED TO ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS!

Question:    But I live in Chicago and drive it to work in the winter every day on severely pot holed streets covered with salt.
Answer:     You're an idiot.

Question:  How about pad life?
Answer:    Pad life is exceptional, because of the size of the rotor and the tremendous venting
heat is transferred to the air and rotor temps are lower, combined with the large surface area
and thickness of the pads, both pad life and rotor life are extremely good. It's possible to get many years of use out of them. 

Question:  What about brake squeal?
Answer:    With the current Hi-Tech pads I include brake squeal is virtually nonexistent.
I can also supply higher temperature ( harder ) pads for track use only that may produce
some squeal  on the street.

Question:  Why don't your kits include an emergency brake?
Answer:    Nissan's have never been equipped with an emergency brake.....they have a parking brake.

Question:   Same thing aren't they?
Answer:     No not at all,  An emergency brake means that if you're going 65 MPH down the road up to a red light and you have complete failure of the front brakes and also complete failure of the rear brakes you can pull the emergency brake and stop in time before the intersection. If you believe the hand brake will stop you in that situation then ..........tooth fairy, Brooklyn bridge,  check's in the mail (pick one).
There were emergency brakes on cars in the 1920's with single circuit hydraulics prone to failure.
 

Question:   How about a parking brake then?
Answer:     I now have Billet mechanical calipers for parking available as an option for the various kits, they were not intened to stop the car or for drifting etc., they are for parking only.

Question:   I live in San Francisco and have to park at the top of a steep hill and go
out of town for a month at a time, what parking setup should I use?
Answer:    Get a couple of bricks.

Question:    How hard are the brake kits to install? I don't have a lot of tools or experience working on cars.
also I only have a carport to do this in.....no garage.
Answer:   Step by step instructions are on this website or are included with the kit, Installation is very straight forward and most customers are able to install them themselves. However you should get professional help.
Instructions are not a substitute for experience . You must also have the tools to do the job and a proper work environment.
 
 

I hope this was informative/ helpful / interesting to you and thank you for looking at our products,
Dave
 

www.arizonazcar.com
ARIZONA Z CAR
2043 E. QUARTZ ST.
MESA AZ 85213
Phone 480-844-9677
E-mail  dave@arizonazcar.com

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