S13 brake upgrades

So you’ve got some extra power and need a bit more stopping force? Or maybe you just need something to fill up those bigger rims. There are plenty of brake upgrades available for the S13, some are easy bolt-on affairs, some require a more custom solution. In this post we will explore our options.

S13 brake upgrades on a tight budget

When you are on a budget you might think that brake upgrades are not your first concern, but I personally think that if you have increased your power significantly you shouldn’t let your brakes lag behind. Even on a budget you can improve your brakes drastically, and there are even 4-pot caliper options available that won’t break the bank.

Refurbish & braided lines

Typical brake rebuild kit

Let me start off with the most budget-friendly option out there (although not necessarily an upgrade) and that is to refurbish your old brakes. Get a new set of pistons, seals, rotors, brake pads and brake fluid to fix your old calipers. Then upgrade with a set of braided brake lines. You will be surprised by how much better your brakes function when everything is refreshed, and you have less pressure loss by upgrading to the braided brake lines. All of this can easily be done for sub $200. People often overlook this and go straight to a bigger brake setup but I think rebuilding your old brakes is worth it as long as you don’t use your S13 for more than road and light track use.

S14 / S15 / Z32 / Skyline brakes

Skyline brake calipers

Ok, so a simple refurbish won’t do huh? Alright, let’s look at some upgrades that increase piston count or size. The S14, S15, Z32, and R32 Skyline basically all use the same brake calipers. They are all similar 4-pot calipers with 5-lug, 280mm rotor sizes. The only difference is that some use cast iron calipers and some use alloy calipers. The alloy calipers are significantly lighter (around 1,2kg per caliper) and are the superior option. The unsprung mass has a pretty drastic effect on handling and lighter calipers do make a significant difference. A second hand pair of calipers shouldn’t set you back more than $400.

These brake upgrades are as simple as it gets as these are all direct fit, bolt-on affairs. Changing to a 5-lug setup will make your life easier when sourcing brake rotors because all the rotors for these calipers are 5-lug only. There are 3 options available if you wish to keep your 4-lug hubs. 

1. Japanese 180sx rotors, that came equipped with the SR20DET. These came with 280mm rotors so they fit, but they are 8mm thinner than the standard rotor that came with these calipers. The pistons should make up for this but it is not ideal.
2. Have a pair of 5-lug rotors redrilled to 4-lug by a machineshop. This should be pretty easy for them to do, but it is not my preferred route.
3. There is a company called P2M that produces 4-lug brake rotors in the right size. This will be a direct fit, just search for P2M s13 rotors.

There is also an option to upgrade to R32 GTR, R33, R33 GTR, and R34 GTR calipers. These are all bolt-on upgrades but are slightly larger and have a 296mm rotor instead of a 280mm rotor. They are still pretty cheap with the exception of the R33 GTR & R34 GTR calipers. These use Brembo calipers instead of Sumitomo calipers and fetch a premium price. I don’t consider upgrading the GTR calipers a sensible upgrade considering they can cost $2000+ for a used set.

Cheap S13 big brake options

6-pot CTS-V brakes

I know the word cheap and big brakes don’t usually end up in the same sentence but hear me out. You can buy brand new Cadillac CTS-V 6 pot Brembos for under $800. Now you might think, there is no way this will be a bolt-on caliper, and you are right. Going this route does require a small modification and some brackets. Thankfully you can buy these brackets via a company called CTSV brake swaps. The brackets will set you back about $180 and you will need 370z track rotors to make it work. The only modification you will need to do is to drill out your hubs to fit the larger bolts for the bracket. All in all, if you buy everything brand new, it should set you back around $1200. You can do this significantly cheaper if you score a set of second-hand brake calipers.

4-pot CTS-V brakes

CTSV Brakeswap also makes a bracket to fit the 4-pot CTS-V calipers. I think this is actually a more appropriate brake option for the S13 since 6-pot is hugely oversized for such a lightweight car. The 4-pots are still amazing Brembo calipers for even better value. You can get a brand-new set of 4-pot calipers for less than $400. Going this route the entire setup when bought brand new will only set you back around $750. Again, even less if you score a set of calipers secondhand.

Big name S13 brake upgrades

Stop Tech big brake kit

The final category of brake upgrades is the high end, brand name, big brake kits. Think of brands such as Endless, Stop-Tech, and Wilwood. These brake kits are competition focussed meaning they are often super lightweight, easy to service, and come with better 2-piece rotors. If performance is the end goal and budget is not a concern, then these are the calipers for you. They look amazing, perform even better, and are sure to wow everyone that sees them.

If you get a kit they will often come with everything you need to install them. The calipers, brackets, rotors, pads, lines, and hardware should all be included. These big brake kits will set you back anywhere between $1200 to $4000+. For some of these calipers, there is also an option to retain your 4-lug setup if that is your thing. The downside of these kinds of calipers is the cost and size. For such a big caliper you need big wheels to fit them, 17 inches as a minimum and often 18 inches.

Other things to take into account when upgrading your S13 brakes

Besides just upgrading the calipers there are other things you should consider. As you increase the brake caliper size, you should also consider upgrading your master cylinder. Your master cylinder has a certain ratio of how much fluid it will push for a certain amount of pedal movement. Upgrading to a Z32 master cylinder is recommended when upgrading to bigger calipers. The stock master cylinder of your S13 might make bigger calipers feel like an on/off switch with little brake feel. Upgrading to a bigger master cylinder will help with this. Make sure that your front calipers don’t massively overpower your rear calipers. Changing master cylinders can affect your brake bias. This is a bit of trial and error as different people like different brake feel.

Before I sign off I will share one more bit of wisdom. The absolute biggest impact you can make on your brake performance is getting better/grippier tires. Even if you get the best brake calipers out there, they simply won’t live up to their potential without a set of quality tires.