Hawk Performance Brakes for the Nissan 350z: Which Parts Fit

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

Hawk Performance makes pads for both brake systems Nissan fitted to the 350Z, but the two are not interchangeable. If your car has Brembo calipers, the front pad is the Hawk HB545 shape in .564 thickness; if it has the standard Nissan rear calipers, the rear pad is the HB370 shape in .559 thickness. Pick the shape first, then pick the compound for how you drive.

First, Find Out Which Brakes Your 350Z Has

The 350Z was built with two different brake packages: Brembo calipers with larger rotors, and Nissan's standard sliding calipers. Brembo brakes were not limited to one trim. Hawk's own application list for the HB545 front pad covers Brembo-equipped 350Z coupes badged Base, Enthusiast, Performance, Touring, Grand Touring, Track and Nismo, which tells you the option moved around the lineup from year to year.

That is why trim alone is a poor guide. The reliable check takes thirty seconds: look through the front wheel. A Brembo caliper carries the Brembo name on its body and is a fixed, multi-piston design bolted rigidly to the knuckle. A standard caliper is a sliding design that floats on pins. Check the rear as well, because every pad and rotor listing for this car is split "with Brembo" and "without Brembo," and ordering the wrong one is the most common mistake on a 350Z brake job.

Hawk Pads That Fit the 350Z

Hawk uses a simple part-number system: the HB number is the pad shape, the letter after it is the compound, and the number after the dot is the friction thickness. On this car you will see two shapes most often.

• HB545 (.564) - front pads for Brembo-equipped 350Z and early Brembo-equipped Infiniti G35 models. We stock the Hawk DTC-60 front race pads HB545G.564 for the Brembo 350Z.
• HB370 (.559) - rear pads for 350Z and G35 models without Brembo. We carry three compounds: the Hawk Performance Ceramic rear set HB370Z.559, the Hawk HP Plus rear pads HB370N.559, and the Hawk HPX motorsports rear pads.

Always confirm the exact model years in the product listing against your car. The HB370 shape is shared across a long list of Nissan and Infiniti models, so the shape fitting is not the same as every year of 350Z fitting. The fitment range printed on each of our listings is the one to trust.

Choosing a Hawk Compound: Street, Autocross or Track

The compound letter matters more than the brand name. Hawk publishes a temperature window for each one. A pad run far below its window feels weak and inconsistent, while a pad run far above it fades. Here is what Hawk states for the compounds offered for this car:

For a daily-driven 350Z, Performance Ceramic is the quiet, clean choice and HPS adds bite without much more dust. HP+ and HPX start to make sense if you autocross or run occasional track days and accept more noise and dust on the street. DTC-60 is a race compound: its optimal window starts at 700 F, far hotter than a street car gets on the way to work, so cold stops will feel poor. Treat it as a pad you install for a track weekend and swap back out afterward.

Hawk also states that its pads are designed for iron rotors and are not compatible with carbon ceramic rotors. The 350Z rotors covered here, factory or aftermarket, run iron friction surfaces, so this is not a concern.

Rotors to Pair With Hawk Pads

Fresh pads on worn or glazed rotors waste most of the upgrade. For Brembo-equipped cars we carry the DBA 4000 Series T3 front slotted rotor DBA4600S and the matching DBA4601S rear rotor. DBA says its 4000 Series uses a Kangaroo Paw vane pattern of 144 pillars, which it rates at up to 30 percent more surface area and 20 percent better cooling than a straight-vane design, plus thermographic paint that changes color at set temperatures so you can see how hot the rotors ran.

For the 2006-2007 cars covered by its listing, there is also the DBA42308S front slotted rotor; check its fitment notes against your brake package before ordering.

If you track the car seriously, the GiroDisc A1-013 two-piece front rotors and A2-013 rear rotors fit Brembo-equipped cars. GiroDisc lists the front at 324 mm by 30 mm with a 28 mm minimum thickness, 48 curved vanes, and a reusable 6061-T6 aluminum hat, so only the iron rings need replacing when they wear out. Browse the full range in our brake rotors collection.

Rear pads for Brembo cars are a different shape from the HB370. We also carry the DBA DB1509RP Race Performance rear pads; match the listing to your caliper. Everything else for this car lives in our brake pads collection.

What to Replace at the Same Time

• Rotors - measure them. If they are at or below the minimum thickness stamped on the rotor or listed by the maker, replace them. A new pad compound also beds in best on a fresh or freshly resurfaced surface.
• Pad hardware - Hawk's HB545 application notes reference the OE pins, clips and shims. Reuse them only if they are clean and undamaged, and never leave them out.
• Brake fluid - performance pads generate more heat, and old fluid that has absorbed moisture boils sooner. Flush with the fluid type printed on your master cylinder cap.
• Caliper dust boots - after hard track use, check the piston boots on Brembo calipers. GiroDisc sells replacement boot kits for the 350Z and G35 Brembo calipers for exactly this reason.

How Hard Is the Job?

Pads on a 350Z are a driveway job for anyone who has done brakes before. On the fixed Brembo calipers, the pads come out after the retaining pins and anti-rattle clip are removed, so a pad-only change does not require unbolting the caliper. On the standard sliding calipers, the caliper comes off its bracket in the usual way. Rotors add the job of removing the caliper and bracket. Torque every fastener to the value in the factory service manual, pump the pedal before driving, and follow Hawk's bedding procedure for the compound you chose. Performance compounds in particular need a proper bed-in to lay down an even transfer film on the rotor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Brembo 350Z pads fit a non-Brembo 350Z?

No. The Brembo and standard calipers use different pad shapes front and rear. Identify your calipers first and buy the matching shape, such as HB545 for the Brembo front.

Which Hawk pad is best for a daily-driven 350Z?

Performance Ceramic if you want quiet and low dust, HPS if you want more bite. Both have optimal ranges starting at 100 F according to Hawk, so they work from cold.

Can I drive on the street with Hawk DTC-60 pads?

It is a race compound with an optimal range of 700-1100 F, far above street temperatures, so braking from cold is not what it is built for. Most owners fit it for track events only.

Is HP+ a good compromise for street and track?

Hawk rates HP+ from 100-800 F with an optimal window of 300-600 F and aims it at autocross and track days. It works on the street, but expect more noise and dust than a street compound.

Do I need new rotors with new Hawk pads?

Not always. If the rotors are above minimum thickness, flat and free of deep grooves, they can be reused or resurfaced. Rotors that are worn, warped or glazed should be replaced.

Sources

1. Hawk Performance - Street compounds - Performance Ceramic, HPS and HPS 5.0 temperature ranges and intended use
2. Hawk Performance - Motorsports compounds - HP+, HPX and DTC-60 temperature ranges; iron rotors only
3. Hawk Performance - HB545N.564 - Brembo front pad fitment across 350Z trims, .564 thickness, OE pins and shims
4. Hawk Performance - HB545G.564 DTC-60 - DTC-60 front pad application and usage notes
5. Hawk Performance - HB370F.559 - HB370 rear shape shared across many Nissan and Infiniti models, .559 thickness
6. DBA - 4000 Series rotors - Kangaroo Paw vane count, cooling figures, T3 slots, thermographic paint
7. GiroDisc - 350Z / G35 Brembo front rotors - 324 x 30 mm, 28 mm minimum, 48 curved vanes, aluminum hat
8. GiroDisc - 350Z Brembo front dust boot kit - dust boots damaged by track use