REAR AKEBONO CALIPERS ARE DIRECT BOLT ON TO 1ST GEN FX!!

[exodus]

so here it is...

******AKEBONO REAR CALIPERS ARE A DIRECT BOLT ON TO THE 1ST GEN FX KNUCKLES *****

so you do not need to buy 2nd knuckles/spindles to have rear AKEBONO calipers....

what you need to complete the job

1. PAIR of Akebono Rear calipers
2. PAIR of FX50 rear rotors
3. PAIR of stainless steal brake hose for FX50 calipers
4. shave lip or remove backing plate

THAT'S IT!!!

ENJOY. HAVE FUN BE SAFE!

**** NOTE: THOSE ROTORS IN PICTURES ARE THE STOCK FX35 ROTORS THEY LOOK OFF FROM THE CALIPER I KNOW... POINT IS TO SHOW CALIPERS MOUNT TO THE 1STGEN KNUCKLES/SPINDLES ****

 

[Ozzie]

Thats a game changer......

 

[jumbosrule]

Do you happen to know the pistons size of that rear caliper and how that compares to the piston size on the OE caliper? What's the Akebono caliper part number?

 

[wubbalubbadubdub]

I saw this posted on infinitifx forum also last night but I figured I would ask here too in case you see this sooner. This is really interesting. Do you know if the FX50 rotors have the same rotor surface offset so that the rotor ends up centered in the caliper? (I imagine it does). Also does the parking brake drum still work? Same size? I looked up the parking brake shoes and they are different but maybe parts could be swapped in for those as well to keep it functional.

 

[wlvrn97]

so here it is...

******AKEBONO REAR CALIPERS ARE A DIRECT BOLT ON TO THE 1ST GEN FX KNUCKLES *****

so you do not need to buy 2nd knuckles/spindles to have rear AKEBONO calipers....

what you need to complete the job

1. PAIR of Akebono Rear calipers
2. PAIR of FX50 rear rotors
3. PAIR of stainless steal brake hose for FX50 calipers
4. shave lip or remove backing plate

THAT'S IT!!!

ENJOY. HAVE FUN BE SAFE!

**** NOTE: THOSE ROTORS IN PICTURES ARE THE STOCK FX35 ROTORS THEY LOOK OFF FROM THE CALIPER I KNOW... POINT IS TO SHOW CALIPERS MOUNT TO THE 1STGEN KNUCKLES/SPINDLES ****

Hey I'm trying to do the same conversion you did for the front and back akebonos. Question...what SS brake lines did you use and what are the part numbers? Did you have to modify anything? I hear with the StopTechs there's fitment issues and banjo bolt size issues. Thanks for any help bro!!

 

[wubbalubbadubdub]

Hey I'm trying to do the same conversion you did for the front and back akebonos. Question...what SS brake lines did you use and what are the part numbers? Did you have to modify anything? I hear with the StopTechs there's fitment issues and banjo bolt size issues. Thanks for any help bro!!

I have not done the rear akebono conversion because I still do not see any way that the rear rotors fit the same spindle backing plate as the originals. At the very least I do not believe the parking brake shoes and parts will fit the new rotor hats. Maybe it can be done but I haven't seen how. If you are willing to lose the parking brake then I bet it would work. I just don't believe this works just by replacing the rotors and trimming the dust shields. I'd love to hear from @exodus for if he got this to work and what he ended up doing. I'm hoping it's just a case of replace the brake shoes to match the new rotor and good to go but I haven't been brave enough to order the parts to try it.

Anyway for the front you just use the original hydraulic lines, whether OEM or ss braided ones. I used stoptech/centric 950.42000 for the front and then used the shorter banjo bolts from here
Brake Line Banjo Bolt, Performance OEM and Aftermarket Engineered Parts Global Leader In 300ZX 350Z 370Z G35 G37 Q50 Q60 - Z1 Motorsports

 

[wubbalubbadubdub]

So the original advice for putting the akebono rears on a s50 fx platform was that you needed to run the knuckles from the s51 fx/qx to get the parking brake and everything to work with the fx50 rear rotors. Well I have been studying these sport rotors and I think the OP is onto something. They key might be to not try to use the fx50 rotor. I have a suspicion that if you use the 350mm rear rotor from the g37/370z Sport package, this might just bolt onto a s50 fx. The g37/370z sport rotors have the smaller parking brake like the s50 fx35/45. They also use the same part number parking brake shoes. The rotor offset seems to be the same for all these applications.

@exodus have you finished this setup? Did you find a rear rotor that fits? If not, I think the g37/370z sport rotors would make this work.

 

[wubbalubbadubdub]

So I hate to be the bearer of bad news but simply cutting the dust shields and using a FX50 rotor does not work. Sure the calipers bolt up, the parking brake fits, the offset between rotor and center of the calipers even line up, however the caliper mounts about 3/8” too far out on the rotor so the pads do not contact far enough in. The rotor would have to be even larger to use the caliper mount on the stock spindle.

Oh well it was worth a shot... now does anyone have a set of the tapered ball joint adapters and some fx50 spindles they would be willing to part with?

 

[08FXNORTH]

you will use about 95% of rotor surface with the swap like this, you should be just fine.

 

[wubbalubbadubdub]

you will use about 95% of rotor surface with the swap like this, you should be just fine.

Thanks but I’ll wait and get the fx50 spindles to mount these correctly. It’s a long way off. Pads should never stick past the rotor and these are so far from being right that the pistons don’t even clear the edge of the rotor. They can be smaller than the full face of the rotor but they shouldn’t stick past it.

 

[exodus]

Thanks but I’ll wait and get the fx50 spindles to mount these correctly. It’s a long way off. Pads should never stick past the rotor and these are so far from being right that the pistons don’t even clear the edge of the rotor. They can be smaller than the full face of the rotor but they shouldn’t stick past it.

so you'd rather pay the extra $1000 to be able to use the other 5% of your rotors?

MORE POWER TO YA!

ive been running this set up for over 10,000 miles already. NOT 1 ISSUE with stopping power or safety!
i have 2 kids that ride with me, no issues, no concern, i feel no way of putting their life in jeapardy.

be safe y'all.

 

[exodus]

you will use about 95% of rotor surface with the swap like this, you should be just fine.

exactly! i have been fine! coming up to 10,000 miles!

 

[wubbalubbadubdub]

It’s not about a decrease in stopping power and it’s not 5% either. It’s actually a pretty significant portion but I don’t care how much of the rotor it’s using, the issue is having the top of the pad not contacting the rotor. Having the pad stick out that far past the rotor (to the point where the piston is actually past the edge of the rotor) you are applying that force unevenly. Now I’m not saying you are going to have a failure and even if say the top edge of the friction material cracks and breaks away from the portion that is actually wearing against, even that likely wouldn’t likely cause a significant problem. However if you aren’t going to do it correctly why do it at all? This is supposed to be a brake upgrade and doing something poorly just because it will look cool, isn’t much of an upgrade for something that primarily needs to be a functional part.

 

[exodus]

i still think that 95% of the pad use and the dual pistons upgrade is still better than stock.

but if you have the extra funds be all means go for it and do it right. i'm good with what i have. i don't track my car, my car is a weekend warrior so it is good enough for me.

 

[08FXNORTH]

@exodus Do you have some close up pictures like the one above of your set up?

 

[08FXNORTH]

also @wubbalubbadubdub which rear rotor did you use? FX50 base FX50S or other?

 

[daniel123588]

also @wubbalubbadubdub which rear rotor did you use? FX50 base FX50S or other?

From my research, the FX50 regardless of what model comes with the Akebono brake set up and the rotors that the first gen FX35 needs. The rear rotors simply need to have an inner diameter of 7.5" (7.46 or so) for the brake shoe. Hope this helps.

The image below is the rear rotor for my 2005 FX35.