# Pulsar Rear Brake Conversion ?s



## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

I know rear disc conversions for the B11 and B12 have been beaten to death, but I can't find any information about doing this on a KN13 Pulsar. There is a salvage yard that has calipers from a 1992 NX listed online, which leads me to believe they have the entire car scraped. My question is, can this conversion be done with existing parts from an NX or B13 SE-R? If so, what parts would be needed other than caliper, rotor, caliper bracket, pads, and new e-brake equipment?


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

the B12 will be very similar to the KN13. You will have to do some kind of costum work to make it come together right. They had all wheel disk setups in other countries on the B12's and KN13's, I'm looing into that a little to see what the differences are.


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## Mervic (May 1, 2002)

KN13's dont have rear disk set-up, unless you can get the rear parts from Aussie or maybe Jap spec Pulsar Vector or Pulsar Reebok. You have to adapt the B13 rear disk to your car. Check hybrid-det on NPM mag for his different conversion.


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

I see you over on the EXA board every now and then, do you think it would be easier to buy the setup for the rear brakes or just try to fab stuff to make it work?


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

FYI, www.pulsarparts.com.au has the conversion kits available. Register on www.nissanexa.com and then mention you're a member, and you'll get a discount. Shipping and customs might be a b!tch though.

-Travis


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

I gues I have to contact them? I didn't see anything about the brakes on the site. This is gonna be awesome if it's this easy, no cutting/welding/worrying about the reliability afterwards...


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

minute rice sentra said:


> I gues I have to contact them? I didn't see anything about the brakes on the site. This is gonna be awesome if it's this easy, no cutting/welding/worrying about the reliability afterwards...


Yes, just e-mail them, usually get a response within about 24hours. I'm pretty sure you can get the rotors here, so probably just the calipers, brake lines (though I'd see about getting some SS lines), e-brake lines, and hubs. There's some people that will say you need the master cylinder as well, I dunno if that's really necessary. The guys that do this to their N13 Pulsars do not usually change them out and they claim there aren't any ill effects. This may vary with the B12 chassis though.

-Travis


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

Just emailed 'em, the rear brake setup between the n13/b12 is pretty much the same, so it's basicly just the hub that you get and the rest you can piece together yourself?, if so that would probably save on shipping, and then I could perhaps just slap on some rotors/calipers from a nx2000 and upgrade the booster(maybe MC too). I've seen a couple of guys working on fabbing brackets for holding the calipers onto the stock spindle after removing the drums, is this the same thing? sorry for so much typing, i'm just excited!


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

minute rice sentra said:


> Just emailed 'em, the rear brake setup between the n13/b12 is pretty much the same, so it's basicly just the hub that you get and the rest you can piece together yourself?, if so that would probably save on shipping, and then I could perhaps just slap on some rotors/calipers from a nx2000 and upgrade the booster(maybe MC too). I've seen a couple of guys working on fabbing brackets for holding the calipers onto the stock spindle after removing the drums, is this the same thing? sorry for so much typing, i'm just excited!


I dunno if you'll be able to use the NX2k calipers, you might need to go with what Nissan Performance Mag. did if you want to use those... Rear Brake Conversion That might get pricey considering you'll need to have them made on a cnc machine and thus far I haven't been able to get Nissan Performance mag to give me a copy of their file, I've even asked them to set their own price. Anyway, yes, the hub is sorta the same thing as the bracket. They chose to create a custom bracket that would attach to the hub used for drum brakes so that they could mount the brake caliper. If you want to go bigger on the rear discs, then this is the way to go I guess. Someone else might have more technical information then I have at my disposal on this topic.

-Travis


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

that's kinda what I was thinking, I've been hoping someone would get a blueprint drawn up for the bracket and just go from there, that's really all that's needed. But I've read that some B12's and maybe N13's had stock rear disks, I'd like to find out more about this but info is scattered so scarcely that it's hard to figure this crap out sometimes.


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## Mervic (May 1, 2002)

I never thought of this but, try your local Jap parts importer. They might be able to get you a rear disk set-up from overseas. BTW N13 Freak, what happen to "Iceman"?


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## Mervic (May 1, 2002)

minute rice sentra said:


> I gues I have to contact them? I didn't see anything about the brakes on the site. This is gonna be awesome if it's this easy, no cutting/welding/worrying about the reliability afterwards...


 Check the "modification" section at EXA site. Find the rear brakes conversion to get some more info.


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

I read through all that, but does it directly apply to the US pulsars? I'm still not totally sure on the differences between the US pulsars and everyone elses. To me it kinda sounds like the pulsars over there came with different sway bars/spindles that are similar to the nx2k/B13 over here, is that right? So it sounds like I would just need to import the spindle and sway bar if I were to go that direction.


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

So why wouldn't you be able to swap the spindle and such from the NX2000, NX1600, B13 SE-R, or G20?


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

livelyjay said:


> So why wouldn't you be able to swap the spindle and such from the NX2000, NX1600, B13 SE-R, or G20?


Nope, and the reason why is that the B13's have a different rear setup. There is a bar that attaches to the hub I think, can't remember for sure, but it attaches about 1.5ft-2ft forward on the underside. The sway bar also mounts differently (locates to a bracket on the strut body), you could probably make it work if you could cut the bracket from the underside, weld it on yours, and then use the B13 swaybars??? This hasn't been tried yet but has been researched a little by a guy that did an AWD conversion on an N13 Pulsar, you'll find info on www.nissanexa.com. Search for the user: fatmanracing.

Mervic, didn't know you were on this board, I got tired of the "iceman" nickname, too many people were using it. I'm still around on the exa forum though.

-Travis


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

This bar you are talking about (the 1.5ft./2ft. one), are you talking about the one on the Pulsar, or the B13? If you mean the Pulsar, I know exactly what you are talking about. It seems like it's supposed to be a sway bar, but isn't. I think that stabelizer bar and the sway bar on the B13 are the only differences. If you look at this rear section picture, it looks almost identical to that of a KN13 Pulsar, unless I am missing something. I compared it to the picture in my service manual and it looked exactly the same minus the bars.


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

actually that doesn't really look like the pulsar, it looks like the B13, is the nx2k the same, because I know the B12 and N13 are setup the same. the b12/n13 just has a swaybar that serves the function of a swaybar and trailing arm, and the later models have them seperate.


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

Yes, the picture I linked above is a B13 SE-R. I compared it to what I saw in the Pulsar KN13 factory service manual and they look identical minus the sway bar for the B13 and the track bar for the Pulsar.


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

Just to clarify, the bar I was talking about is on the B13. The Sentra and the NX2k/1600 are all B13's. The bar is visible on the picture, it's designated by the #3 arrow referring to the trailing arm. This is not present on the N13's or B12's. Also referring again to the sway bar, you can see that it continues over to mount onto the strut body...this doesn't happen on the B12's or N13's. It simply won't work without a lot of modification.

-Travis


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## Mervic (May 1, 2002)

N13 Freak is right. Although, boost_boy and nismodriver has done the B13 rear swap by welding it, so it has been done before. The trailing arm of the B12/KN13's also act as a sway bar so it is one piece while the B13's are independent with a seperate sway bar.


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## Mervic (May 1, 2002)

N13 Freak said:


> Mervic, didn't know you were on this board, I got tired of the "iceman" nickname, too many people were using it. I'm still around on the exa forum though.
> -Travis


 You have not been around for a while at the exa forum. I guess you gave up the SR swap to your Pulsar and decided to do it with a B13 instead.


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

Who's welded that trailing arm before? I'd like to see it, though it still strikes me as risky if it isn't done exactly right.

I have too been around, lol, I've been in the Sound System section, but I do tend to leave for a week or so occassionally. Yes, I gave up the SR20DET swap into the N13 about a year ago and got it dropped into my $500 Sentra. I'm just waiting on funds to become available for the CA18DET swap now on the N13.

-Travis


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## Mervic (May 1, 2002)

Yes it is risky (welding) cuz if the welds are weak...Also lining up the arms could screw up your suspension. It is the risk factor that is why nobody wants to just post it for everyone to go ahead and try it themselves. Liability issue. Someone on another post were asking about it but I tried to convince him to just upgrade the front instead.


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

I just wanna see it, I don't have any desire to do it, I just want pics... :jump: 

-Travis


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

just to let you guys know, I got a reply from the site you linked to me N13 Freak and they said close to $600 US so I guess that's outa the question. I'm gonna ask Charles(with the SR-B12 in nissan performance mag) how those brackets worked out and whether or not he'd be willing to release/sell a copy of the blueprint. I'd much rather use a bracket then cut/weld stuff but like you said I'd still like to see it.


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

minute rice sentra said:


> just to let you guys know, I got a reply from the site you linked to me N13 Freak and they said close to $600 US so I guess that's outa the question. I'm gonna ask Charles(with the SR-B12 in nissan performance mag) how those brackets worked out and whether or not he'd be willing to release/sell a copy of the blueprint. I'd much rather use a bracket then cut/weld stuff but like you said I'd still like to see it.


I don't think you'll need to cut/weld anything if they would actually release that bracket design. From what I read, they retained the B12/N13 style swaybar.

-Travis


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

Yeah, that's what I was saying/trying to say.


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## Popkorn (Nov 16, 2003)

We took the rear susension out of a B13 SER and put it in RacerXs' car. I checked his pic page and I didnt see any photos of the setup. IMO, not a good idea. The B12/B13 were designed completely different. Some engineer got paid a lot of scrilla to figure out what's best and how to impliment it based on chassis design and balancing points and whatever else fits into the equation. The b13 swaybar is so small it barely qualifies as a swaybar. But it's a completely different design. So to do it, you need a damn good welder. Alignment for the trailing arm is critical and it's welded in place with no way to make adjustments.


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## recycled_toddler (Feb 4, 2004)

I made a blueprint for the adaptor plates which bolt to the knuckles of my 1987 N13 and accept the rear calipers; The only thing is that the calipers I'm using in my instance are the '95 Altima ones, and I don't know if there's any difference in distance between the two mounting holes on the calipers.

Some notes of importance here:


I'm using 1/4 inch hardened steel plate to make the adaptors, and...

I'm using all Grade 8 stainless steel hardware to mount it all.

Just my .0267 (US-to-Canadian exchange)


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

Earlier in this post, they were talking about sentras/pulsars in other markets may have been offered with rear disc brakes from the factory ? I am in process of trying to secure a Nissan parts disk for all 80's models offered in european market I believe . I was hoping maybe there would be something of use on there ? Has anybody tried looking into getting parts diagrams from other areas ? I tried my contact at the local dealer and it was a dead end. Hopefully I'll have an answer on the disk today.


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

Popkorn said:


> The B12/B13 were designed completely different.


But how different are the KN13 and B13 designs? B13 suspension products (struts for one thing) fit on the KN13 chassis and vice versa (KN13 front sway is a B13 upgrade). To me, that says Nissan used the KN13 chassis as a precursor to the B13, which means the rear suspension should be interchangable. I wish I had a spare couple hundred bucks so I could go to the junk yard and grab a B13/NX2000/NX1600 rear suspension and try it out.

*recycled_toddler*, is there any way to cut out the bracket without using a CNC machine? Like a plasma cutter or saw? What calipers are used is of no concern, because I can get those just as easy as B13 calipers.

*astreamk1*, are you talking about our interest in importing parts from the European Spec KN13/B12?


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

Yes, I am hoping to at least get the parts diagrams from overseas models. Having a valid part # and knowing exactly what year/car your looking for would definatley be a step in the right direction in finding the parts ? I found the parts disc that covers all nissan models (european market) from like 1980-1990. I emailed them, I am just waiting to hear back to get a definate cost on purchase and shipping. If nothing else, it would be a good reference just to see what else is out there.


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

livelyjay said:


> But how different are the KN13 and B13 designs? B13 suspension products (struts for one thing) fit on the KN13 chassis and vice versa (KN13 front sway is a B13 upgrade). To me, that says Nissan used the KN13 chassis as a precursor to the B13, which means the rear suspension should be interchangable. I wish I had a spare couple hundred bucks so I could go to the junk yard and grab a B13/NX2000/NX1600 rear suspension and try it out.


the kn13 was the ancestor of the nx2000 and the b12 is the ancestor of the b13, the kn13 and b12 suspension/brake setup is identicle, i believe it's the same case with the b13/nx2000. the front suspension/brakes are very interchangable between the b12,b13,kn13,and nx2000, it's the rear that changed in '91 with the b13 and nx2k, that's why disk brakes from a B13/B14 SE-R or nx2k will not just bolt up to the b12/kn13.


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

minute rice sentra said:


> the kn13 was the ancestor of the nx2000 and the b12 is the ancestor of the b13, the kn13 and b12 suspension/brake setup is identicle, i believe it's the same case with the b13/nx2000. the front suspension/brakes are very interchangable between the b12,b13,kn13,and nx2000, it's the rear that changed in '91 with the b13 and nx2k, that's why disk brakes from a B13/B14 SE-R or nx2k will not just bolt up to the b12/kn13.


I dunno if I can agree with the KN13 being an ancestor of the NX2k/1600, the NX2k/1600's are B13's. The KN13 evolved into the N14 and N15 Pulsars which were only available outside of North and South America.

Also, the suspension is interchangeable from the standpoint that you can mount the components from a B13 onto an N13, but considering weight differences, you probably won't be happy. I tested this out recently in reverse. I was able to put the front NISMO N13 suspension onto my B13, but the rear didn't work because the struts lack the swaybar mounting point. Let me tell you though, it wasn't a pleasant ride. I think the N13 is a lot heavier up front and as a result the shocks are way stiff (bumpy and bouncy ride). I'm assuming you'd experience the opposite issue with bolting the B13 suspension on the N13 or B12...it'd be way too soft. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

-Travis


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

N13 Freak said:


> I was able to put the front NISMO N13 suspension onto my B13, but the rear didn't work because the struts lack the swaybar mounting point. Let me tell you though, it wasn't a pleasant ride.


What is this NISMO suspension you speak of and where can I get it? Yes, the N13 is heavier up front, because they had to do more reinforcement for the T-Top. It works too, because my roommate flipped his and the top didn't budge much at all.

I want a stiffer ride, I have my Lancer for my decent daily driver. The thing I also was is to be able to stop once I put the CA18DET motor in. So, if I put some KYB AGX struts that were made for the B13, does that mean I can also put in the strut bar because the struts will have the mounting point?


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## N13 Freak (May 17, 2004)

livelyjay said:


> What is this NISMO suspension you speak of and where can I get it? Yes, the N13 is heavier up front, because they had to do more reinforcement for the T-Top. It works too, because my roommate flipped his and the top didn't budge much at all.
> 
> I want a stiffer ride, I have my Lancer for my decent daily driver. The thing I also was is to be able to stop once I put the CA18DET motor in. So, if I put some KYB AGX struts that were made for the B13, does that mean I can also put in the strut bar because the struts will have the mounting point?


I've seen the pics of pulsar's that've been rolled, they did a superb job designing that thing. My Pulsar has also taken the rear of a pickup truck off and sustained only minor damage to the front passenger side, total of $1200.

NISMO made a racing suspension for the N13, there were two variations. One was KONI's with springs (extremely expensive setup, never seen it), the other was KYB AGX 4-way adjustables all the way around with Eibach sportlines. Lowered the vehicle about 1.8 inches, looks highly cool. You can still pick this up from Mossy Nissan for about $450-500. One thing I can say about the front is that your wheels will stay planted, *no wheel hop whatsoever* .

-Travis


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

N13 Freak said:


> I dunno if I can agree with the KN13 being an ancestor of the NX2k/1600, the NX2k/1600's are B13's. The KN13 evolved into the N14 and N15 Pulsars which were only available outside of North and South America.


I didn't even think of the N14 or N15 since we don't have them over here.




livelyjay said:


> So, if I put some KYB AGX struts that were made for the B13, does that mean I can also put in the strut bar because the struts will have the mounting point?


if you're talking about a strut tower brace, yes, the B13 one's can be used on the B12/N13 but if you have an E series engine you will usually run into clearance problems with the air cleaner.


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

minute rice sentra said:


> if you're talking about a strut tower brace, yes, the B13 one's can be used on the B12/N13 but if you have an E series engine you will usually run into clearance problems with the air cleaner.


Crap, I misspoke. I meant to say the sway bar. Would I be able to put the B13 sway bar on a KN13 if I use the B13 struts?


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

the struts will be identicle between the two chassis, it's the spindle you'll run into problems with, you can't use the swaybar without cutting/welding stuff, and IMO the B13's sways are wimpy compared to a kn13's or even a B12. An SE kn13 sway bar front and back has been said to be a pretty nice upgrade, I've still got mine if you can't find any close to you.


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

The front KN13 bar is much larger then the stock B12, flattened my car right out even after new springs/struts I could feel immediate difference. I walked to boneyard carrying dial calipers and a stock B12 bar to compare with the pulsars and the twin cam KN13 had a bigger front bar than any other. I have not had the opportunity to measure the rears yet. That will be on my next trip to the yard.


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

minute rice sentra said:


> the struts will be identicle between the two chassis, it's the *spindle you'll run into problems with*


Yeah, I'm a moron. I totally overlooked the point that struts are not the same as the spindle. This makes more sense now.



astreamk1 said:


> The front KN13 bar is much larger then the stock B12, flattened my car right out even after new springs/struts I could feel immediate difference. I walked to boneyard carrying dial calipers and a stock B12 bar to compare with the pulsars and the twin cam KN13 had a bigger front bar than any other. I have not had the opportunity to measure the rears yet. That will be on my next trip to the yard.


The KN13 front sway is friggen huge. On a car of it's size, I don't think I've ever seen a stock sway that's that big. The rear sway on this chassis is what is confusing me. It doesn't have the look of a normal sway at all. It's just a |_| shaped bar, that runs from the spindles to the middle of the car.


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

After reading all this and doing some other research on other forums, I don't think upgrading the rears to disc is really that beneficial as far as cost is concerned. I think I'll just stick to upgrading the fronts to the NX2000 or B13 SE-R brakes and call it a day.


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## recycled_toddler (Feb 4, 2004)

livelyjay said:


> *recycled_toddler*, is there any way to cut out the bracket without using a CNC machine? Like a plasma cutter or saw?


Yes, a plasma cutter will do nicely. I'm drooling over my dad's brand spankin'-new one as we speak...Best of luck!


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## NismoPlsr (Jan 15, 2004)

Sorry to let you guys know Mossy Nissan no longer has any NISMO setups. And travis i dont know how bumpy the ride was on the b13 but with it in the n13 on setting four its a very stiff and bumpy ride and on setting one its is more bouncy verse stiff. I cannot tell you how well it handles though since i still need an alignment and sway bar endlinks. I will also say that with those struts and springs with cusco strut tower bars and window weld filled mounts , very rarely will i get any wheel hop with over 200 hp to the wheels.


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## livelyjay (May 7, 2004)

livelyjay said:


> After reading all this and doing some other research on other forums, I don't think upgrading the rears to disc is really that beneficial as far as cost is concerned. I think I'll just stick to upgrading the fronts to the NX2000 or B13 SE-R brakes and call it a day.


I take back this statement after getting an estimate done on my rear brakes. The total cost to fix my brakes was astronomical. So doing a rear conversion would definitely be more cost effective than having someone fix my brakes. Luckily, Minute Rice Sentra has some spare parts he sold me to fix them myself, for a fraction of the price.


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