StopTech's and Brembo's get my vote. Although i don't have experience with either, they do cater more to the performance crowd.

 

stock pads seemed to work fine for my first two track days. In the future I will probably move to a more track specific pad but for now stock is pretty good even with multiple 100+ to 40mph turns. Stock pads have worked great for autocross too.

 

I overheated the brakes pretty bad on the first time out with the car stock, I had to definitely back off and be less aggressive. If you are in beginner/intermediate the stock setup would probably work fine with upgraded pads. Anyone make better brake ducting?

 

I went to Hallett with the Midwest Z-Fest in '08. I drove my Y2K, 5MT Maxima out there all day long and had a BLAST!!! I was running stock fluid and Wearever Ceramic pads all around, and I didn't really have fade problems on that setup. I was definitely in the slowest group that day, but I wasn't the slowest car out there. I look forward to hopefully getting my G over there in the spring/summer for another blat, but I think it would be even MORE fun in my SR-powered S13!

 

Best of luck out there, its nice to see people take that track car plunge with the G35. I myself am reluctant to do it and plan on pursuing an alternate vehicle when I take to the racing more seriously.

If you haven't figured it out yet, most of what fits the 350Z will fit your G35 in terms of braking suspension eng etc., so if you feel you haven't found a particular racey part your are looking for, see if they have it for the 350Z.

Nissan Motorsports just came out with a nice $300 brake duct (you'll need to source the hose, run it and choose an entry point for the air-inlet), StopTech has the Trophy series of performance brake kits and there are other companies like RacingBrake.com and even Brembos standard big brake kits that might do the trick with proper pads.

Have fun and good luck!

 

I just ran my first trackday yesterday. It was a small course with a ton of elevation changes, very technical and brake intenstive. I use ATE Super Blue fluid and EBC Redstuff and had no problems. I drove my friends' wrx and modded legacy gt. I faded the brakes on both and boiled the fluid on both before have the sesison was over.

 

hpde isn't wheel to wheel racing, pads, fluid should be fine for a hpde session. You'll be starting off at level 1 anyway with an instructor by your side. you'll be more intimidated of running off than worring about getting every tenth out of your time.

 

I've always just used stock (non BBK) set up and it's been fine for each of the 20 minute runs we did. I can't carry speed as long as I'd like before using the brakes, but the 2 courses don't need excessive braking if you are driving smart.

 

I'm reviving this old thread as an update. I finally, over a year from original post, made it to the track. It is Carolina Motorsports Park and is known for being hard on brakes.

Taking advice from here and from the NASA forums here is what what I did with brakes:

Prior to the event I had noticed some shuddering under hard braking in the right front with my stock setup. The old rotors had been cut once and barely had enough for another cut. So I figured I needed new rotors up front. I did the work myself. I installed EBC sport rotors up front and left the rears (they still looked good). I used EBC Yellowstuff pads front and rear. I changed the brake fluid to ATE 200 (same as Blue but amber colored).

Over the two days I did 8 sessions of 20 minutes or more. The first two sessions I absolutely sucked. By the third the instructor was getting through to me. By the 7th session he let me solo. I wasn't super aggressive and usually topped out around 90 mph in the straights but occasionally got over 100. Instructor taught me to brake super hard and that's what I did.

I had no brake fade or brake related problems. After a session there would sometimes be slight whiffs of smoke coming off the brakes. I have an infrared thermometer and after a cool down lap rotor temps where 350 F max usually less.

I think at my skill level, at this particular track this set up will be fine for me for a while. Thanks for all the advice.

And if any of you are on the fence about tracking your G, get off it and go do it. Its much harder than it looks but it is fun. I'm already planning for my next track day!

 

Hey N80 i read somewhere else that your an auto guy. How did the auto tranny handle track duties? Ive been doing my research on tracking the G and i just dont feel comfortable with beating on my car in track conditions without beefing up the brakes, suspension and cooling on the car (especially a tranny cooler). Plus how many miles do you have on her?

 

I had posted some questions about doing autocross in my wife's 07 G35X but my coupe is a manual. So I don't really have any knowledge about how the AT will do on the track.

I think upgrading the brakes with better pads and fluid is a good idea before going to the track. I would not spend money on the suspension for your first few track days. I have no idea about transmission coolers or how much they cost.

And even though most cars out there are manuals, I think you can still have a lot of fun and go very fast with an AT. In fact, I was so lost out there the first two sessions my instructor had me leave the car in 4th gear for several sessions in a row until I learned my braking points, turn in points, steering with the throttle etc.

I think putting the AT in sport mode would work just fine.

 

I have an '07 Sedan, 5AT. The tranny works pretty darned well on the track.

 

It probably does a lot better than I do with the manual....but I'm working on it and getting better. But I don't ever see me heel-and-toe-ing it anyway.

 

Yeah, but once you get used to rowing it more, you'll likely be better, too!

My first few times out, i really liked having the AT as i could concentrate more on the other things. Exactly as you experienced by sticking to 4th. As i progressed i started "rowing" it myself, but even leaving it in D or DS still works pretty well.

Speaking of track, i always get a kick out of seeing Spec-Miata's passing me by at the turns like i was standing still. There's only so much gap i can create when a track is mostly curves.

 

Yep. There were a number of Miatas out there with me, especially when we ran DE1 and DE2 together on Sunday. One of my best sessions was following a Miata. I'd catch him in the straights, he'd leave me in the corners. Main thing I had to remember was that I could not watch his brake lights! They could brake way later than me and not brake at all on some 'kink's.