Question about 1le brakes
I have a 88 gta trans am
stock brakes but they work but the car is way overpowered
1le front brakes are a option
or ls1 costs to much
does anyone know a part list that I need for 1le brakes

 

LS1 brakes are a lot less expensive than 1LE anything.

 

And a better overall package

 

The following link should answer your question:

http://web.archive.org/web/200605221.../1LEbrake.html

JamesC

 

Is there any upgrade that doesn't make me have to machine the spindles

 

Short answer:

No. Not stock ones, anyway. And since it's almost impossible to put in bigger rotors without doing that, which is the thing that most needs to be done to get improvement, any "upgrade" that doesn't require it, isn't going to be much of an "upgrade" at all.

 

^^^What he said^^^

Well, there are upgraded pads and bolt in replacement "High Performance" calipers that perform better at emptying your wallet faster than stock... If you just gotta have that 'Golly gee, whiz-bang" high performance stuff.

Like the man says, the name of the game is converting the energy of motion into friction, therefore heat, and dispersing that heat. Bigger rotors give you a larger more effective heat sink. Grabbing the stock size rotors tighter is just going to warp the rotors even faster than normal, they already are unable to dissipate the heat of the stock calipers and pads. Sure, you can drill and slot the rotors, maybe get some more air flowing thru the rotor, give the gasses from the melting pads a place to escape, but you just removed mass, which aides heat transfer, so is that better or worse? Hmm...

 

A Sawzall an a little drill/tap action and its over. The casting cuts very easy and can be done on the car in maybe 20 mins so no real issues

 

I purchased boneyard spindles so I could work off car, but without any special skills or experience I completed the task easily enough. No rocket science involved.

The following should give you some confidence:

https://lukeskaff.com/projects/car/t...-modification/

JamesC

 

Right:

All you have to do is, cut off the 2 "ears" that the crappy cast-iron Saginaw caliper sits in between, and drill out & tap the holes that are already there, to accommodate the new caliper brackets. It's really not too much of an ordeal at all.

That said, I would NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT under any circumstances WHATSOEVER put 3rd gen 1LE brakes on ANY car EVER WHATSOEVER. Not because they're "not good"; not because "they don't work"; not because "they're not worth it"; NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT.

The strong points of the LS1 brake system are that there's like MILLIONS of cars on the road that have them, as opposed to a few THOUSANDS with the 1LE system; and, the cars that have that, are A DECADE newer than the cars that had the 1LE. Meaning, if you multiply the # of cars by the # of years, it's about 10,000 times more likely that you'll be able to maintain them into the future. (a bit oversimplified, but I hope you get The Point) Not only are the LS1 brakes (which were also used on the 6-cyl cars) a better system, BUT ALSO, you'll be able to bop on down to the corner parts store whether it be yer local AZ or if it's some yutz out in the middle of the boondocks or the desert somewhere, and you'll be able to WALK UP TO THE COUNTER and say "gimme a "... whatever part your car is sitting by the side of the road for … and THEY'LL HAVE IT, sitting there on the shelf. Having travelled extensively around the country with a modified ANTIQUE car, with my wife and 2 infants on board, I can personally attest to how valuable the ready and immediate availability of replacement parts is.

DO NOT put 1LE brakes on your car. The PENNIES you save today, if indeed you save ANY AT ALL (which I doubt), will bite you in the privates in the future. Put the LS1 system on instead.

And for Bozhye's sake, get that crappy cast-iron Saginaw crap off of your car's rear, as soon as possible. It is SO CRAPPY, drum brakes would even be better, since at least, those have SOME chance of working at least a little bit at least some of the time. If I asked you when the last time you changed the pads on your rears was, could you tell me? Were they worn? Are they worn now? If the answer to all the above is "no", then it's because THEY AREN'T DOING A GODDAM THING, like everybody else's. They are worthless, nothing but dead unsprung weight, like everybody else's. Start looking ahead toward modernizing those as well. I think when you make the right choice and install the LS1 fronts, and suddenly have near-modern braking capability on your ANTIQUE car, you'll immediately become aware how USELESS those rears are, and you'll "get it".

 

Here is my write up on doing the LS1 conversion.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/brak...e-upgrade.html