How To.. R33 N/A Brake Upgrade

[streetboy]

Not a major upgrade but none the less an upgrade that could benifit non turbo owners both in improoved braking and for looks with having larger calipers and discs as the standard braking components look a little lost behind larger aftermarket alloys,2.0ltr n/a models have tiny 257mm discs whilst 2.5 n/a models have 280mm discs both in four stud fitment,whilst R33 turbo models have 296mm discs

I started off with a pair of R32 non V spec GTR Sumitomo calipers bought for very cheap off ebay although R33 GTS-T 4 pot Sumitomo calipers can also be used, these looked liked they could do with abit of a spruce up so after a can of brake cleaner and a scrub over whilst taking care not to damage the rubber seals, they came up looking alot better but thought they could do with a paint up, i went for red with white for the nissan logo which was painted on using a touch up paint stick and red hammerite smooth brushed on, i let these dry for a few days whilst i was waiting for the other parts to arrive.

The other parts needed for this front brake upgrade are larger 296MM X 32mm vented discs from the R33 GTS-T model but as you know these are 5 stud and not 4 studded fitment that the n/a skylines have,to over come this so that the 5 studded discs fit the 4 stuuded hubs you need to drill an extra 3 holes in each of the 5 studded discs, easy enough to do as you just place your old 4 studded discs on top of the new 5 stud discs hat to hat, you only need to line up one stud hole from both discs then mark the other three holes out on the 5 stud disc ready for drilling but take care in measuring up ready for drilling or you can get a local machine company to do the job for you, in my case i used the company i got the discs from who got them drilled by a machine shop around the corner from them to do it for me, i could have done them myself but for the time and effort and the cost of the drills id probably have broken the £30 charge looked a good option.

Other parts needed are new front brake hose lines as the n/a models use a different type of fitting on the end of the hose that attaches to the caliper which is a banjo type fitting with a bolt passing through it which the turbo r33 gts-t models dont have, the other end of the hose that attaches to the hard metal pipe that comes through inner arch with a 10mm nut head on the brake pipe is the same fitting as the r33 gts-t models, i sourced my braided hose’s from the same company that supplied the discs that supply the same braided hose for there 200sx brake upgrade, although it dosen’t have the same fitting halfway along the hose that allows you to attach the hose to the suspension leg in the same way as the original hose did but i over come this by fitting my own metal clips and bolting them in place to attach them safely and securely.

R32 GTR non V spec sumitomo 4 pot calipers


New R33 GTS-T brake discs (note the extra 3 holes drilled to allow the 4 stud fitment) and new braided hoses with R33 gts-t brake pads.


Calipers cleaned and painted.


Shims and pins cleaned.



New Pads fitted.


Old N/A caliper and disc.


R32 gtr caliper and R33 gts-t disc.


The difference between single pot N/A caliper and the 4 pot GTR caliper.


A close one and as can been seen the offset of my aftermarket wheels clear the caliper no problem.


The before pic


And after pic.


The r33 gts-t brake discs were supplied and re-drilled by Conceptua Tuning along with the brake pads and hoses and who are also one of the many traders on this forum



Others things to look out for are the offset the size and style of your wheels, i think the standard offset for the nissan wheels is ET-35 (check to make sure) and the bare minimum size of wheel is to be no smaller than 16” as this is the standard factory size of wheel for the GTS-T model ,you will also need to bend back the metal stone guard on the back of the discs to allow the larger discs not to fowl the guard,if the spokes of your wheels do come into contact with the caliper you can fit wheel spacers with longer studs fitted if required to bring the wheel furthur out and away from the caliper face,also when fitting the R32 GTR or R33 GTS-T calipers the bleed nipples sit at the top,also the n/a models have a slightly smaller brake servo i believe but you can fit the larger turbo servos which involves a little pulling of the pipes to allow them to reach the master cylinder which i believe are both the same size but ive not found any issues with the standard n/a system.

The work involved in the upgrade is pretty straight forward and if your doing this yourself as i did you will know whats involved with regards to changing the brake pads and bleeding the brake system with new brake fluid of your choice,everything else is easy too as its just a case of removing your old calipers by means of undoing the two 17mm (i think) caliper bolts on the back of the caliper and then undoing the 10mm brake pipe nut with a proper 10mm brake pipe spanner so that you dont mash the pipe up and then slide out the sliding locking plate to allow the rubber brake hose to come away from the metal brake pipe.

Another thing to think about is what if i get a puncture on the front as i doubt the space saver in the boot will fit over the larger calipers,options are a can of that tyre weld stuff or to fit the space saver on the rear and transfer a rear wheel to the front.

[Gordon]

Nice write up Gary, and a simple solution to upgrading Brakes on the N/A

[mr-tommo]

Although this doesn't aid me in any way at all. I think this is an excellant post. Not only is it great, and will help out many people, but also shows the level of thought members go to for other members. Before and after pics, detailed write up, plenty of comparison pictures of bits used, and even links to suppliers. Oh, and some hints and tips regarding a spare wheel. Seems all is thought of here. Top banana.

Very impressive Gary. Well done to you sir.

[Squeak]

Fantastic Read, After seeing how small the N/A Brake calipers are, I'd say this upgrade is a must for everyone with a non turbo.

A great write up too, enjoyed the read and hopefully will come in handy to everyone else

[skyliner 100]

thats looks really sick well done on that,

i was wondering as you own a gts n/a like me if you know of any website or shops that sell air filters and tuning parts for the car cos its pretty hard to find them?

peace

[Moff]

Try AndyW at SP Autos, he is a trader on here..

If he doesn't then I'm sure Alltourque will be able to help

[streetboy]

there's not realy much out there in the way of tuning parts for the RB20e sohc because its not realy a tuneable unit,i only have an apexi air filter fitted on mine but the alltorque boys Simon aka (roadrunner) and Kevin aka (wile e coyote) on here also run an R33 with the RB20e fitted and they have a cat back HKS Silent Hi Power 2 Exhaust system from an R33 turbo fitted on theres,give them a shout for more info...as for the apexi air filter one for an R33 GTS-T turbo will fit as the AFM's are the same...