Kingers

Just copying my experiences on DS2500's from another thread - Ok so about 12 months ago I was looking for advice on a fast road pad that would be good on track too. I was hesitant to use DS2500's as previously had issues with pad transfer on my old 200SX after track use and ''warping'' the disks, but the advice here was that nobody really experienced that and they are the best all rounder - so I fitted a front set, stoptech braided hoses, Stoptech slotted disks and ATE super blue fluid. The result was the same as what I experience before - fine for fast road, good bite, not much fade on track, a good deal of dust, no squealing but disappointingly the pad transfer to disk was abundant on track and over the 2 trackdays I've done (Mondello and Anglesey) I've come away with wobbly disks that I had to have skimmed afterwards. I leave 1 - 1.5 laps for cooling down and would push the brakes fairly hard (as they should be) on track for up to 6 or 7 laps. My hub surfaces are true and clean, all suspension tight, wheels balanced, tyres even (F1's on Ray's). So the DS2500's have gone in the bin, I've skimmed the disks again (still like new thickness) and am currently running a spurious pad for the road until I buy a better set of track pads for a trip to Spa, Stelvio, Rooute Napoloen this summer.

Ok so about 12 months ago I was looking for advice on a fast road pad that would be good on track too. I was hesitant to use DS2500's as previously had issues with pad transfer on my old 200SX after track use and ''warping'' the disks, but the advice here was that nobody really experienced that and they are the best all rounder - so I fitted a front set, stoptech braided hoses, Stoptech slotted disks and ATE super blue fluid. The result was the same as what I experience before - fine for fast road, good bite, not much fade on track, a good deal of dust, no squealing but disappointingly the pad transfer to disk was abundant on track and over the 2 trackdays I've done (Mondello and Anglesey) I've come away with wobbly disks that I had to have skimmed afterwards. I leave 1 - 1.5 laps for cooling down and would push the brakes fairly hard (as they should be) on track for up to 6 or 7 laps. My hub surfaces are true and clean, all suspension tight, wheels balanced, tyres even (F1's on Ray's). So the DS2500's have gone in the bin, I've skimmed the disks again (still like new thickness) and am currently running a spurious pad for the road until I buy a better set of track pads for a trip to Spa, Stelvio, Rooute Napoloen this summer. I've read lots of threads on here but struggle to find a comprehensive road / track review of a pad better than DS2500 that uses the same objective criteria I've outlined above. I'm leaning towards Carbone Lorraine RC5+ as I have used them before on the 200SX to good effect, they were better all round than the DS and they didn't cause any abrasive issues with the wheels after they revised their initial compound. Can anyone on here report on their usage with these pads? Carbotech sound like they have abrasive dust issues (I ruined a set of wheel before with pads like that) DS3000's - no thanks, not going Ferodo again. Pagid's ?

What engine components failed? Were they all standard spec?

Cheers Coldel, agreed - if I had the choice of 98 I would put it in as that is what is recommended. What I want to try and substaniate is if we're in fact doing any damage by running 95. It is worth saying that there has been known engine failures to Jap import cars (Sti Imprezas in particular) when ran on 95 without being remapped for it. Never heard of any other issues for a UK / European car being ran on 95.

Because 95 has been regarded as premium for a long time and the manual only calls 91RON as 'regular', nowhere does it refer to 95 not being Premium. I have read numerous times in posts on here that the manual says you have to drive differently on 95 RON - it simply does not say that, they are confusing it with 91RON.

I've read many of these type of threads on here but posted here as it's the stickied one. Thanks to the lads who see my point here - I literally just want to point out that Irish 350Z owners have been doing exactly what this thread says will kill your engine for up to 12 years with no known issues. We have no choice of fuel. I severely doubt the Irish ECU's are different. I think this was worth posting as it hasn't been said here before and brings new info to the long standing debate. I also wanted to point out that nowhere does it say Premium 95 RON is not good. Many people have paraphrased the manual and interpreted non-premium 91 RON as being 95 RON. In fact, the manual infers that different driving styles are only needed when not running Premium (i.e. 95 or 98). I see that Abbey Motorsport referred to seeing several engine failures and have pointed the finger at the 95 fuel. Now that may be contributory but you have to look at any other possible issues, such as what other mods or tuning were done to those engines? What oil was it running? Were they getting very hard use? Was there previous poor servicing? The original car in this thread which seems to have caused all the hype was running the wrong grade plugs!! Sorry to labour the point for those who have closed their minds already. What I'd like established is whether or not any damage is being done to standard cars, that have been maintained and used normally and ran 95 over the last 12 years - what would the signs be? Burnt rings?

91 RON? Wouldn't use that even if you could get it here. Pete I don't think that is 91 "RON" - i think its the equivalent standard for 95 RON but US which is 91 (something - can't remember what their code is) It specifically states in the manual, use premium petrol (98 RON) and if unavailable use a minimum of 91 RON but don't do the certain things (which includes hard acceleration). Not quite, you've interpreted that a little different. What it says, as I've quoted above, word for word, is that yes use 98 but if using 91 temporarily only then do you have to drive differently. It does not say or imply that 95 is not suitable! It is a 'premium' petrol. Besides, it says on the petrol flap to use 95 and we've been doing that for over 10 years with no issues heard of. There are truths here in this thread but to think that 95 is doing damage to the engine is an over-reaction I believe. I've only seen this thread, are there other threads on engine failures from 95 users?

91 RON? Wouldn't use that even if you could get it here. Pete I don't think that is 91 "RON" - i think its the equivalent standard for 95 RON but US which is 91 (something - can't remember what their code is) There are various ways of measure Octane, RON is one of them and its what we use in Europe. If it says 91 RON, it is 91 RON. In USA, they use AKI (Anti-Knock Index) This is the number that is posted on the gas station in the USA as "Octane". It is derived as (RON + MON)/2

I have ran it on 95 for years, as have everyone else in Ireland and I'm sure there are many people elsewhere in the UK and the world that run them on 95 too, without issue. I think it quite unlikely that every 350Z owner has seen this thread and only run the cars on 98, so I severly doubt that this thread is the reason that engines aren't going pop everywhere. I drove a 130k + mile Irish car 2 years ago that performed without issue, and that would have been ran on 95 its whole life. Never had engine work. 91 RON? Wouldn't use that even if you could get it here. Pete Agreed Pete. Folks in Ireland don't have any choice unless they live close to the border. I'd like to hear their experiences. Pete I know a lot of the Z owners over here and there's nothing to report! No issues ...

Lol, I read it very well - that advice is for low Octane 91 RON, not 95 RON.

I'm sorry lads but I'm very sceptical about this advice. Here's what the owners manual actually says - 'Use unleaded premium petrol with an octane rating of 98 (RON). If premium petrol is not available, unleaded regular petrol with an octane rating of 91 (RON) may be temporarily used, but only under the following precautions: - Have the fuel tank filled only partially with unleaded regular petrol as soon possible. - Avoid full throttle driving and abrupt accelleration. However, for maximum vehicle performance, the use of unleaded premium petrol is recommended. CAUTION - Do not use leaded petrol. Using leaded petrol will damage the three way catalyst.' It is clear that 98 is the optimum fuel to run the car on - that's a no brainer. But nowhere does it say you can't use 95 RON, in fact it doesn't even say you can only use 98 RON. It's only when you don't have 'Premium' (and note it doesn't say 98, it says premium) petrol that you have to apply some cautious treatment - 95 RON is a premium petrol. Furthermore, my fuel filler cap says use Premium 95 Octane. 2003 model. It appears from reading this thread that the whole situation is based on only one engine failure. Critically, that engine was running the wrong specification spark plugs - that is a huge issue in my opinion. It doesn't also say if there were any engine modifications to that car. I do believe the tuners advice here and their findings in relation to knock but the key issue that is hard to prove is what actual damage is being done by running a standard car on 95. I suspect the only way is to pop the pistons out of a healthy car that has been running 95 all its life. Like Delzor, I'm based in Ireland where there is no fuel above 95 Octane rating (RON) and we have been running these cars for over 10years here and I've yet to hear of an engine failure. Can or worms opened your honour.

Hi, i'm just looking for some more detail on the Goodrich brake lines for 350Z that you have on your website, so you have any photos or descriptions?

Stoptech do a nice slotted disk - http://www.clarkmotorsport.co.uk/parts/Brake-Disc-Slotted-%28Pair%29/Front/sku/126.42076SL%2FSR I've heard good things about their applications

It seems like all good news on the DS2500 front so, no ''warping'' issue. To be honest I think the standard rotors I had on the 200SX were just not big enough to disperse the heat and the pad overheated. I don't intend on doing many trackdays in this car at all, maybe Mondello in Ireland, Kirkistown in Northern Ireland and perchance a trip to the Nordschleife. The car will mainly be for FR use so I don't want to overkill on the disk / pad spec - Pagids, DS3000's and carbotech are an overkill for what I need and not optimised for my usage I think. I would be fairly hard on the brakes, in that I brake late and hard but have a bit of mechanical sympathy all the same. @ ClarkMotorsport - what is the difference between your DBA 4000 series slotted disks and DBA 4000 T3 series slotted disks? There appears to be no difference from the description on your website. It's funny you mention Knockhill, I did a trackday there in October in my MX5, myself and a bunch of lads were over from Ireland doing a tour of the Highlands - you weren't the guy in the White R33 Skyline with the blue decals were you? There were two very similar cars there on the 'hot hatch trackday'. Kingers

Thanks for the replys lads, anyone else have experience of running DS2500's in the dry on track? When i say ''warping'' I mean the uneven surfaces that are created on the disks after too much pad material has transferred to the disk - Stoptech had a great page on their website explaining this and the myth behind ''warped'' disks, that the disks very very rarely warp. Have you had any experience with the DS's ''warping'' the disks? I used to see a thick smear of blue / purple pad material on the disk after a session, allowing a cool down lap. Never happened with Carbon Lorraines. The 350Z seems to have a fairly decent brake set up as standard, those Brembo callipers feel strong and the disks are reasonably generous in their diameter and vent width. So for me, the first key to brake longevity is decent fluid, then decent pads. I think that would offer better performance than regular fluid, pads and good disks. That said, I will need disks as mine are reasonably worn. Have you more info on the DBA disks - are they a blueprint of the oem disk or are they better quality? I see the 4,000 series slotted and drilled disks on your website, are these suitable for the odd trackday? Any recommendations on pads? I hear you and I do intend to get more wear out of the pads but when they are gone I'm as well to do new disks at the same time, they will need to be done. No rumbling or blue / purple pad transfer afterwards no?