Review: 350z / G35 Dual Piston Upgrade

Ok, been gone for awhile but now i'm back in the game.

I have posted about this mod before as seen here and moved the How-To to this blog to be updated. But i have never put it to the test up until now.

Just like the other informative post, i will update this as i go along.

So for now just a teaser shot of what i received in the mail today.

Used Dual Piston Rotors from a 2007 350z
Duralast c-max ceramic pads.
Duralast rotors (for a g35 but autozone and nissan all agree that the 12.6 inch rotor is the same across the whole board)

To be continued with lulz. Stay tuned.

3/26 update: The before data has been collected.

3/30 update: The brakes are on!! More grinding of the brackets are needed, but man is it nice having new brakes!! I haven't started doing nose diving braking yet but once I have 0 noises coming from the brakes I'll give them a real test

How To: Upgrading to G35/350z Dual Piston Brakes and 12.6" Rotors

How To: G35/350z Dual Piston Brake Calipers (And 12.6" Rotor upgrade for some models)

Caliper Models: G35 Coupe and Sedan 2005, 2006, 2007 (Coupe only for '07) and Non Brembo Equipped 350z 2006, 2007 and 2008 models.

How to Applies to the following Vehicles:

-J30 (89-94) Maxima

-A32 (95-99) Maxima

-A33 / A33B (2000-2003) Maxima

-A34 (2004-2008) Maxima

-L31 (2002-2006) Altima

Maybe more, the above vehicles are the ones I'm familiar with and I know for sure will work with the below directions.

To see my review click here.

As usual with anything on the internet... Proceed at your own risk....

This will work easily for 89-08 Maximas. Not sure on any other years, I will find out on other years some other time. This is a work in progress, should be finalized soon.

If you have a 89-01 Maxima Please follow these directions first:

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generation-maxima-1995-1999/568098-how-5-5-gen-front-brakes-4th-gen.html

Then goto step 2.

Needed Equipment:
-05-06 350z / 05-06 G35 Sedan Dual Piston Brake Caliper, Bracket and Rotor (Rotor NOT needed on a 04-08 Maxima).
-02-08? Maxima Caliper Bolts
-Brake Fluid.
-Aviation Snips (Some type of sheers for cutting metal).

I'm not going to hold your hand through this one, just make it to the point where your car is safely on jack stands and you're looking at this....

(02-03 Brakes on a 4th gen 99 Maxima)

Step 1: Remove the unnecessary components. (If you're a 89-01 skip to step 2)

-Disconnect your brake line

-Caliper

-Bracket

-Rotor (6th genners keep this on!!)

Keep track of your two caliper bracket to spindle bolts, YOU WILL NEED THIS! You can NOT use the bolts off of the G/Z they are tooooo long. If you're swapping from a stock 4th gen setup, I suggest ordering these from Nissan. If not then goto your local hardware store and purchase replacement bolts (Will update with the correct size).


Step 2: Install Dual Piston Glory

-There has been confirmed fitment issues, I am working on a easy sure fire way around this. It looks like grinding down the calipers are needed to clear the rotors because of the bracket not moving it out far enough from the center of the hub. I will get around to putting this on a running car to see what is needed to get these on a Maxima, I really think not much is grinding is needed.

-Install rotor
This is where you need your handy dandy shears for 4th/5th gens... Start snippin away at what comes close to contact with the rotor or control arm (have both wheels in the air and the steering wheel unlocked so you can check the clearance while turning the wheels). I have yet to fully test on a 6th gen spindle and their dust shield, I will on Monday. 6th gens and L31 Altimas shouldn't need to modify their dust shield because they accommodate larger 12.6" rotors already.

-Install bracket
You may still need to continue to hack away at your dust shield. During this step it'd be wise to give the disc a good ol whirl around to check for any rubbing.

-Install Brake Pads

-Install the Dual Piston Caliper

-Re-install your brake lines

Make sure to check the rotation of the disc again. And you have to use the bolts for the 02-08 Maxima. The 3rd/4th Gen bolts will NOT work and the 350z/G35 bolts will NOT work.

After your done it should look like this:

Then proceed to step 3.

Step 3: Prepare for WAR!

-Bleed brakes

-Bed in pads (you should be using new pads and rotors :squint:)

-Troll Q45/Z32 front brake owners :cool:

Quick Facts:
-350z/G35 brembo's will go on following the same procedure it takes to install them on non brembo 350z/g35s (Just replace the bracket/caliper/rotor!). If you're a real baller you can get the Akibono (spelling?) Brakes and relocation kit for the 350z and do the same thing..... Remember, this is a game for ballers and only ballers can participate.

-I have yet to test this mod on the street!

-The dual piston pads use more sweeping area than the 300zx pads.

-It BARELY! Clears AE wheels on my 4th gen if you're running the stock wheels I suggest getting a 5mm
spacer for safety sake.

-Rotor Comparison:

-Caliper Comparison (4th gen and G35/350z, the 5.5 gen on my car looks just like the 4th gen, who cares)

-4th top, 5.5 Gen middle, G35/350z/6th Gen on the bottom.

-4th, 5.5 gen, g35/350z/6th gen.

Review of the Braking will be posted on this blog at the link below:
http://aackshunsgarage.blogspot.com/2014/02/350z-g35-dual-piston-brake-upgrade.html

Before One More Person Asks.....

235whp and 195 ft/lbs

This is the official mod list of my 2003 I35 for the dynosheet posted above
2010 Altima Motor w/ less than 3k miles
2009 Maxima Intake Manifold and Throttle Body
Stock 2003 Infiniti I35 ECU
2004 Nissan Sentra SE-R 6MT Transmission w/ less than 100k miles and a bearing and seal replacement and VQ bellhousing swap
2003-2006 Nissan 350 Clutch Disk, brand new OEM at install
2002-2006 Nissan Altima 5mt/6mt pressure plate w/ less than 40k miles,
1995-99 Nissan Maxima Front and Rear exhaust manifolds
1995-01 Nissan Maxima/I30 Stillen Y-Pipe (Set up for fed spec manifolds.... Which in lamens deletes the stock pre-cats for the 2003 I35 they are installed on).
Stock secondary cartyltic converter
Stock catback exhaust
255/45/18 Continental tires on 18x8.5 350z Track Wheels + 215/60/15 tires on Maxima GXE 15s (89-93)
Morimito 5000K D2R Headlight Bulbs
Nyoka 2500K H3 Foglight Bulbs
2002-2003 Maxima Front Sway Bar
Energy Suspension Front Sway bar bushings
Energy Suspension Front/Rear/Pass Side Moor Mounts
Energy Suspenion Crossmember O-Rings/Bushings
Ghetto rigged eBay 3" intake setup (Not the best for power making, but best for the budget of building a sub $30 intake setup)

Shot from the rear (Better vid)

Why So Low #'s Batman?
This was done on a Mustang dyno, need I say any more?

Sounds Like You're Butthurt...
No not really.... 03-06 Z's put down 218 and 220 whp before me, hell a bolt on and tuned 3-valve mustang did 250, I'm very happy with the #'s compared against the rest of the dynos that day.

Immediate Future Mods:
Based on the dynos and street pulls I definitely need to wire up the primary (or secondary depending on how you look at it) VIAS assembly on the intake manifold, this dyno curve was extremely un-VQ like in every way imaginable.

EDIT:
After further discussion, I either need to gain the ability to tune the VTC's OR set the signal plates back a few degrees as required by swapping in a 2nd generation 3.5 and using the stock ECU. It could explain the total lack of low end, the cams are too advanced by the stock ECU.

Why?
-No usable low end tq
-a narrow power-band

But what i was feeling on the but dyno was very accurate, this car has some screaming top end, just the whole shabang of getting to it is not where it should be, after getting the other VIAS to work and a tune (Either fix my UTEC... ew..... or do an 04 Maxima ECU swap + Osiris tune).

Moving along...

Moving Along Now...

Ok the clutch is broken in, more little issues arise here and there from this being a complete project.

Oil leaks, belt squeals, etc, and my favorite thus far... Aligning the crankshaft position sensor (I'm using a RWD flywheel, cost less and they make lighter ones for the 350z/G35s).

Anyways, like I always advocate... Maintain your vehicle by modding it....

This is the 2J-Racing underdriv+lightweight pulley, and possibly the best pulley I've ever installed on any vehicle. Unlike what the forums usually say, you'll be hard to ignore the difference in performance on this one. This is money better spent than buying an intake.

Anyways, that's it for now, I still have a bunch of little things to tackle to finish the 6MT I35, just a minor update for now.

I will be going to the track soon, details will be posted here, so stay tuned...

200 Miles in...

After 200 miles.....

I love this car, I really don't think there's a reason to do anything else after tackling the little swap issues that are coming up left and right (EG. My auto seat position doesn't want to function). But besides that drive-ability is fine (fixed the stalling out issue, vacuum leak, go figs!), mpg so far is 25 in the city (4-5mpg increase) and in the 30s on the highway (same increase), performance... Well.... ^_^

The Break-In Setup

Power:
08 Altima V6 Motor (Somewhere under 10k miles)
04 Sentra Spec-V Transmission + 02 Maxima Bellhousing swap
95-99 Maxima Exhaust Manifolds
95-99 Maxima Stillen Y-Pipe
Stock Cat (Under the car)
Stock Catback
$25 Intake setup
-$5 3.5" to 3" reducer hose + 2 hose clamps (Thanks to Steve @ The Hose Pimp!)
-$20 Some giant air filter I bought awhile back because it was stupid cheap and hell, big air filters just look cool....

Handling:
All stock plus my infamous front sway bar delete (I need new end links, didn't feel like connecting the old bad ones).
350z Track V1 18x8.5 wheels up front w/ 255/40 Conti-Pros (1st gear hooks now! I was riding on sawblades all the way around for the first 100 miles, and first gear got traction thanks to my LSD but I couldn't keep the car straight)
4th-gen Maxima Saw-Blades in the rear

Thoughts on the swap so far...

Based on my 3rd gear pulls, it seems that this car is a top end whore, 6500rpms are not enough for this setup as it appears, which is quite intriguing because only one of my VIAS's (Passenger side, the more important side based on trials w/ this motor in it's native vehicle) are working at the moment.

I also have a very boring low end, but I think this is mainly due to my awesome intake setup, one day when I am out of small swap issues to tackle I shall make a more proper intake for this car.

One big plus though is how quiet this car is, I think that's the main reason why I'm in love with it so much, I was expecting rasp w/ the stock cat and catback but it's handling it very well, only allowing a slight grumble to get though w/ no bees in a can sound (What you usually get when you start to make things flow better under the hood, but not out the muffler).

Really the loudest thing is the pop or two (I've witnessed black smoke while revving in neutral before) I get after each shift, I do wonder why it's happening because it was under my assumption that these motor swaps ran lean.... Something to ponder later. I can be a real judge of it when I actually make an exhaust for this car one day.

Another update when the interior resembles something of normalcy.

Picture dump:

The IPL I35 Starts!

I updated the big main post, still doing epic revisions as time goes along, I think I'm going to split it up into a few sections... main article and then the How-To. I believe that there is just literally too much going on with this car to be in one post.

Anyways... here's the vid ^_^

2003 Infiniti I35 TBD aka The IPL I aka tha DURTY

:: POST UNDER CONSTRUCTION ::

Excuse the run-ons, and unorganization, this is a regularly updated post as time goes on until the swap is finished and I can make a nice neat revision, I'm learning as I go along so be patient with me... Kay thanks.

12/21/13 - First Dyno!
 235/195 on Jtran's Mustang Dyno, full post here!

08/17/13 -  The IPL I35 Finally starts!

I have a bit of tidying up to do inside and outside of the car, but the first 6MT I35 is a runner!

09/06/14 - Full Bolt-On Untuned Dyno 257whp standard on a Dynojet.
http://maxima.org/forums/dyno-discussion-slips/680978-aackshun-s-i35-6mt-dyno-thread.html#post8982633

The Journey of the first documented 6MT I35....

(From left to right: JNCORacer's I30, Carlos's Maxima, my BD and Max_Dreamer's Maxima)

Well, I've always beat to my own drum when it comes to things, and when I play with cars, I'm out there to impress myself, I always set out with the intention of making myself go "Damn, that's nice."

Ever since I was 17 after owning my first Maxima I had set in my head of what I wanted to accomplish in the world of sleeper sedans (What is a Sleeper? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_(car)).

One of my goals was to have a 6speed Manual Infiniti I35. I find it the perfect balance of luxury and sport, definitely to give a lot of early 2000 BMW/Lexus/Acura owners something to be upset about. For those of you who do not know, the I35 did NOT come in manual, only with the 4 speed automatic (Sluggish, yet reliable transmission, more for comfort and cruising, not fun), so I will have to complete yet another 6-speed swap but this around it seems easier.

Enough talk, here is the strategy for this one; The I35 S

My idea for this project was on a simple platform, I wanted to keep things stock, meaning I wanted to modify this car in a way so it will perform better in any way possible, but not loose any comfort of driving a stock vehicle (No loud exhaust or lowering the vehicle considerably on aftermarket wheels). At first I had the idea of doing the "Sport" package, which is popular for a lot of Infiniti's these days.

But I felt like the "S" idea was not a big enough departure from the norm, I felt like just calling it the I35-S was shortchanging the work I planned on putting into the car. I also played with the notion of going the "JDM" route, by calling the car it's original Japanese Domestic Market name the "Cefiro"

Then I decided this was too radical, rebaging a car and sticking a few "Nismo"  (Nissan Motorsport) stickers on it didn't jive with me well, I felt that was just too much and trying "too hard"

Then one day it hit me, why not the IPL? IPL G's are rare and overpriced, but still they set themselves apart from the other G's without really standing out at the same time....

(A regular G37 on top, with the IPL model below)

That was it! The IPL! The perfect balance of setting this I35 apart from the other's without trying too hard!!

Till then I realized...  No way would Infiniti do such a thing, if am going to stay true to the wolf in sheeps clothing ideal, I rather just undercut this car as much as possible, leaving no one with a warning of what they are about to encounter until it's too late.... So after some deep thought, I decided to only stick with the Sport Model I35 aka the I35S

Taking Action, time to begin doing work.

This was all kicked off by the death of my car's original motor around 190k (Maybe a post someday if I ever tear the old motor apart).

Day one, car in my storage w/ a dead motor.

Full Modification List:

Power:
- 09 Altima Motor w/ 1,xxx Miles
- 09 Maxima Intake Manifold and Throttle Body
- 3" Intake Piping
- 02/03 Maxima OBX Equal Length Headers
- 2.5" Test Pipe
- 2.5" "Godsnow" (Ebay brand) Catback w/ g35 Sedan Muffler
- Fidanza Flywheel
- 2J Racing Lightweight Underdrive Pulley
- OEM 03-06 350z Clutch Disc
- OEM Nissan L31 Altima 5mt/6mt pressure plate

 Exterior:
- G35 S model emblem.
- G35 Coupe 18" Wheels, reverse staggered tire setup 235/40/18s on front 225/45s on the rear.
- 5k Morimoto D2R Bulbs
- Nyoka Hyper Yellow H3 Bulbs
- Nyoka Yellow Turn Signal Bulbs

Interior:
 - 02-03 Maxima Center Console

Suspension/Braking/Chassis- BC Racing Type BR coilovers w/ upgraded springs... 10k from 8k rear- Energy Suspension Poly Urethane Front Lower Control Arm Bushings- KnightYYZ Polyurethane Engine Mounts- Energy Suspension Shifter Bushings- 350z/G35 Dual Piston Brake Caliper upgrade + 12.6" Rotors utilizing Duralast Gold components all around