Project Nissan 350z - Brake Guru 101

Knock Back
You might be wondering what this term "knockback" we keep referring to might be. Racers often talk about brake knockback, but every car experiences it to some degree. Knockback comes during cornering as uprights and wheel bearings bend and deform slightly under the load coming from the wheel and tires. Race cars with sticky tires and downforce experience this much more. As these components temporarily deform, the brake rotor and caliper are forced to bend with it, bringing rotor and pads out of alignment as if the rotor was warped. In extreme cases, the rotor will actually push the brake pads and pistons apart as it wobbles through the caliper. When you step on the brakes after cornering, the pedal goes to the ground because all the effort went into pushing the pads back into place and not stopping the car.

Unfortunately, larger rotors (because of the larger radius) and stickier tires will increase the effects of knockback. The notoriously flimsy wheel bearings on the 350Z don't help either. To compensate for this, StopTech designed the mounting brackets for Trophy and Trophy Sport brakes to clock the caliper to a 3 o'clock position (instead of the stock 2 o'clock position). The geometry and direction of hub deflection means the rotor wobbles least at these positions. This can reduce how far back the brake pads are knocked back. Two-piece rotors with more axial float also help.

Now that we can stop on the street and track, we now need a new suspension that's both competent on the track and tolerable on the street like our brakes.