Hey guys, I'm thinking about doing an LS1 swap in the future. The rear looks simple enough. Just get a backing plate, drill it to make it fit and bolt everything up. For the front I'll probably get a coversion from bigbrakeupgrade or Ed Miller.

The question though. Is it really worth it? Are the LS1 brakes that much better than the stock ones, especially for a weekend cruiser? I will admit, driving around town this past week I noticed the stock brakes do suck lol

 

Second question...To fit this, I'll probably end up with 17" C6 Z06 wheels. They say that spacers are required for fit. But, with the LS1 hub setup, do I still need front spacers?

 

it's worth it, even if it's only for the piece of mind.. you can do the swap with parts from your favorite local parts store for not too much more than the stock stuff for your car.. add in a little fabrication time to modify the hubs and spindles and make the mounting brackets, and you've got a car that will just flat stop when you want it to..

 

im running c5 wheels with the lsi swap and needed 1.75 inch spacers.

 

I guess it depends on what you want from your brakes/car but for me the front LS brake upgrade was one of the best modifications I have made to my car. It has the stock rear disc 11.6/PBR setup. The biggest thing I noticed was the difference in pedal feel. Before the pedal felt like it had a brick under it. After adding the LS brakes it is like someone hooked up the vacuum line to the booster. The pedal is firm but has that little range of modulation. The effort required to stop the car is way less. And I can bring it right to the point of full lock and if it starts to lock let off a tiny amount and keep it at that point. It gives more control in near max braking events. I'm sure it will help with brake fade too since the pads/rotors are so much larger- more heat sink and cooling. Plus once you are done the replacement parts are less or about the same cost and the slip on rotors save some hassle. It's just a better all around setup.

I bought my setup at Bigbrakeupgrade.com and recommend them. If you are running larger rims from stock you could even go up to a larger rotor if you wanted. But honestly, I feel the LS brake is perfect for the street driven vehicle that maybe gets a trip down the strip or autocross from time to time.

As far as wheels I am running my stock 89 3 spokes with no clearance issues.

 

It really comes down to how much money do you want to spend and do your driving habits warrant the bigger brakes?

I myself wanted
a) to be able to still use the spare tire
b) most bang for the buck
c) to be realistic about what do I really need.

Addressing c) above, I saw no point in going to a Wilwood GTA setup ($1400) for the fronts. But the debate about upgrading stock to the best parts vs just doing an LS1 setup up front and leaving the back alone was a tough decision.

I chose to upgrade EVERYTHING front and rear with the best stock sized parts available for less cost than the LS1 fronts, while still retaining high performance and the ability to use the spare.

My write up is here:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/brak...-ultimate.html

Now if I did race track driving or drove in an Autobahn type setting often, than I probably would have gone for bigger brakes. But for a street car that's not raced, the stock parts upgraded can make a surprising difference.

 

Never thought about that one. My spare tire area now houses a 15# nitrous bottle lol!

 

im hoping the 1.75" spacer im using for the c5 wheels will allow my blow up spare to work.

 

I upgraded both the front and back to LS1 brakes. Trust me the best stock brakes are so inferior to LS1 it's like night and day. I also got an LS1 spare tire, and it comes inflated so no need for the bottle to inflate them.