510 Brake F.A.Q
Low Cost Upgrades
Using the Z's finned aluminum brake drums
A fairly easy brake upgrade can be had with the use of the 240-280Z's aluminum brake drum. These drums are lighter than the 510 steel drums and can dissipate heat more efficiently because of it's finned design. The drums slip onto the 510's rear brakes with the removal of the outer lip on the backing plate. This can be easily removed by grinding or drilling out the spot welds holding the lip onto the backing plate.Adding a power brake booster
The power brake booster from a Datsun B210 ('73-'78 I believe) or a '73 610 can be installed to improved brake feel. It will make the brakes easier to engage, but will not improve your 510's overall braking distance. When picking up a brake booster in the junk yard, make sure to also get the aluminum block between the booster and the firewall.When installing the brake booster into your 510, make sure that the rods that go into the booster from the pedal and the rod from the booster to the master cylinder are the correct length. There were two master cylinder manufacturers used, Tokico and napco??. The rods made need to be lightly filed down or the brakes will be partially engaged. It would also manifest itself as a brake booster and master cylinder that are difficult to assemble.
Brake Swaps
Using 280ZX Front Struts and Calipers/Rotors...
The current "popular" brake swap for improving the 510's braking is to install the front disk brakes from a 280zx (79-83). This is a fairly straight forward swap, with only a small modification required. The parts needed for this swap are:- 280ZX Strut units
- 280ZX Rotor and Hub
- 280ZX Front brake calipers
- 280ZX Master Cylinder (optional - I'll get into that later)
- Bumpsteer spacers (Optional - needed if your car is lowered more than an inch)
Once the spring perch has been dealt with, this swap is basically bolt-in. (i.e. remove the stock 510 strut units and replace with the modified 280zx strut units.) If you choose, you can continue to use the 510's stock (13/16") master cylinder, just remember that your brake pedal will have a shorter travel distance and a stiffer feel. To remedy this situation, you can either install a power brake booster (from a 610 or B210) or install the 280ZX (15/16") Master Cylinder. I choose to install both, as an experiement, and am quite pleased with the feel of the pedal.
A thing to consider before doing this swap is the fact the rotors are much larger the the stock 510
and the stock steel wheels and many 13" wheels will no longer fit over the rotor/caliper combo. My 13x7 ARE Alloy
wheels just barely clear the calipers. For my spare tire, i'm running a 16" spare from a mid-eighties 200SX.
Back to your 510: remove the rear drum, drum brake hardware, and backing plate in order to mount the 200SX caliper
bracket.
TO BE CONTINUED....
Using 200SX Front and Rear discs
Another solution to larger disc brakes, along with the addition to rear discs, is using the brakes from a '80-'82 200SX.
This car featured 11" unvented front rotors and twin-piston calipers and rear disc brakes. The parts you'll need are:
The front strut units should bolt straight into the 510 without any problems and will lower the front-end about an inch.
The rear calipers require a bit more work and a bit of fabrication. First a new mounting bracket will be needed in order
to mount the calipers onto the 510's trailing arm. If you have the time and tools, get the stock mounting brackets from
the 200SX. This will require removing the axle shaft from the 200SX live-axle and a bit of muscle :)
Last updated May 20, 1998