front brake upgrade...need help
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Posts: 1,354
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From: morrow, ga
Car: 82 S10, 83 280ZX, 84 Z28
Engine: 355 smallblocks..na, 2.8 turbo
Transmission: 85:th350, 84:700R4
Axle/Gears: 85:ford9 4.85, 84:stock 3.24
front brake upgrade...need help
i'm trying to find a good front brake upgrade to match my ls1 rear brakes. i cant seem to find the info i need. maybe some of you senior members have seen the thread i need. but anyway my question is what is a good caliper i can use? i'd like to use the ls1 front calipers but i know the rotors are bigger and has a completly different setup. thanks
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 19,282
Likes: 103
From: Lawrence, KS
Car: Met. Silver 85 IROC/Sold
Engine: 350 HO Deluxe (350ci/330hp)
Transmission: T-5 (Non-WC)
Axle/Gears: Limited Slip 3.23's
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
http://www.flynbye.com/catalog/i47.html
And, of course, the whole package (one of several):
http://www.flynbye.com/catalog/i7.html
JamesC
Last edited by JamesC; Feb 2, 2010 at 11:09 AM.
Thread Starter
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iTrader: (2)
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,354
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From: morrow, ga
Car: 82 S10, 83 280ZX, 84 Z28
Engine: 355 smallblocks..na, 2.8 turbo
Transmission: 85:th350, 84:700R4
Axle/Gears: 85:ford9 4.85, 84:stock 3.24
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
that just looks like a trailer hub. i wonder if a trailer hub will work. i think $475 i pricey.
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 19,282
Likes: 103
From: Lawrence, KS
Car: Met. Silver 85 IROC/Sold
Engine: 350 HO Deluxe (350ci/330hp)
Transmission: T-5 (Non-WC)
Axle/Gears: Limited Slip 3.23's
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
the only real upgrade factory wise wold be a 1le but thats not practical given the availabilty and the mods are the same as any newer ls1/c5 mod
do what i did,scratch and claw for ls1 parts. theyre dirt cheap on flea bay or craigslist. get calipers,abuttment brackets(usually together) and rotors and pads. all can be bought new at autozone of you need also. then get a set of brackets from eb ,tak eout a saw sall and a tap swet and you have brakes ..12+ inchers. i lucked out and got ls1 calipers and found c5 abuttments so i bought 13" c5 rotors instead of ls1 and have 13" front but theres no difference of you just did 12" ls1. if you scratch and claw and dont mind older stuff like rotrs you can do for less than 300
do what i did,scratch and claw for ls1 parts. theyre dirt cheap on flea bay or craigslist. get calipers,abuttment brackets(usually together) and rotors and pads. all can be bought new at autozone of you need also. then get a set of brackets from eb ,tak eout a saw sall and a tap swet and you have brakes ..12+ inchers. i lucked out and got ls1 calipers and found c5 abuttments so i bought 13" c5 rotors instead of ls1 and have 13" front but theres no difference of you just did 12" ls1. if you scratch and claw and dont mind older stuff like rotrs you can do for less than 300
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iTrader: (2)
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,354
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From: morrow, ga
Car: 82 S10, 83 280ZX, 84 Z28
Engine: 355 smallblocks..na, 2.8 turbo
Transmission: 85:th350, 84:700R4
Axle/Gears: 85:ford9 4.85, 84:stock 3.24
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
so how did you install the rotors? did you cut the original rotor off of the hub? do you have any pics of yours? what if i used the stock rotors would the calipers work if i fab a bracket?
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
no,the stock rotors and calipers ownt work with anything else. you can use your stock rotors and cut the rotor of and use it as a hub then the new ls1 rotor just slide ove rit. i didnt cut my off. i had the luxury of being able to buy the parts from eb. only thing is the the ls1 set up kicks front wheels outward about 3/10" each side. probably wont matter on most set ups. even i you could use the stock calipers for something they wouldnt work except with a smaller rotor since theyre "radiused" for alack of a better term and only really work on a 10" rotor.
i dont know your deal butt if its amoney issue and you really want better brakes youre better off ls1 only becauase theyre more plentiful and cheaper. you can buy new rotors pads and calipers for your stock swet up but when you price all those parts togwether its costly and youll still have 10" brakes
i dont know your deal butt if its amoney issue and you really want better brakes youre better off ls1 only becauase theyre more plentiful and cheaper. you can buy new rotors pads and calipers for your stock swet up but when you price all those parts togwether its costly and youll still have 10" brakes
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 478
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From: Hattiesburg, MS
Car: 1987 Camaro Z28
Engine: 5.3L
Transmission: 4L60E
Axle/Gears: 3.42LSD
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
I bought the rotors, calipers, brackets, and a set of stainless hoses for ~$200 shipped. I made the adaptor bracket at work. I'm paying a machine shop about $80 to turn a pair of stock rotors down to fit my drilled and slotted rotors. New bearings about $60. I'm at about $340 on mine and I still have to cut up my spindles and tap the holes out and bolts are prob about $10 bucks in the end.. Oh and the wheel studs will be about $20-25 bucks. So just under $400 bucks in the end. I didn't add my drilled and slotted rotors to price since I got a set of freshly turned rotors with my calipers...
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 251
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From: Florida
Car: 84 TA,69 camaro,81 vet 92 vet
Engine: 400
Transmission: 700r4
Axle/Gears: 3:73
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
I just finished my fronts today, I did c5 setup. You can get most of the stuff from ebay and craigslist like the man said. You can make your own bracket from a templet on line, or by one from ed miller. I drilled and taped my spindles on the car and cut the extra metal off the spindles with a sawsall. I did my hubs myself
Last edited by LarryL; Feb 2, 2010 at 09:47 PM. Reason: photo
Thread Starter
Supreme Member
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,354
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From: morrow, ga
Car: 82 S10, 83 280ZX, 84 Z28
Engine: 355 smallblocks..na, 2.8 turbo
Transmission: 85:th350, 84:700R4
Axle/Gears: 85:ford9 4.85, 84:stock 3.24
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
that looks nice. so you cut the disk off of the stock rotor? i shouldn't have any problems making the brackets myself.
Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 251
Likes: 2
From: Florida
Car: 84 TA,69 camaro,81 vet 92 vet
Engine: 400
Transmission: 700r4
Axle/Gears: 3:73
Re: front brake upgrade...need help
I used a cutoff wheel to cut the disk off the rotor. The only pain was the first 1/8 inch on the outside front edge on hub needed to be cut to 5.89 inches so my rotors fit over it. I used my table saw with a large cutoff wheel to do this.
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