I have a newly-acquired bone stock Formula (and want to keep it that way) but I do plan on some mods that are not obvious and can improve performance. I do not drive the car hard and don't intend to but I find the brakes only fair for a 4-disk setup. I know there are lots of pricey options but I think a high quality brake pad and improved disk will enhance the braking enough to satisfy my needs. I don't think I need to consider replacing the calipers at this point. I have bled all 4 corners with marginal improvement, pads have some meat remaining but with less than 40k miles figure all components are original.

Q1 - is my lackluster braking common among 3rd gens?
Q2 - any suggestions for quality pads and rotors for improved performance?

I am new to the 3rd gens so any suggestion will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Q1: Yes

Q2 Akebono pads are pretty good

Q3 Id look into LS (98-02) brake upgrades for al lfour corners

 

Our cars' brakes were PHENOMENAL in their day. Same brakes as came on a truck or giant land yacht, but our cars were MUCH smaller and lighter. We all thought they were STATE OF THE ART.

Fast forward to 2023.

Those brakes SUCK nowadays. A soccer mom minivan will make you rear end her. (her minivan that is) So, yeah. The biggest problem is the tiny rotors; BUTT, the wheels that our cars came with, only allow just so much brake inside them.

If your car is 88-back, it ahs the CRAPPY cast-iron rear discs. That GARBAGE is the kiss of death. Those POSs are worse than drums, BY FAR. At least you can improve drums sometimes by adjusting them. But those old D-M discs... hopeless.

What year is your car? Are your rear calipers smooth and cast-iron, or are they finned and aluminum?

 

It's a 91 Formula 350

 

I'm satisfied with my AC Delco rotors and AC Delco semi-metallic pads. I do have the '89+ PBR rear calipers which helps I suppose.

 

Some 350 and 305 tpi 5speed cars . May have gotten rear drums in 91 due to the strike in Australia. A friend's 91 formula 350 was one of those. It came with aluminum drums.

 

Yes the stock brakes are bad, they fade quickly during any spirited driving. There are many ways to improve the brakes and or outright replace them with an upgrade. As Sofa mentioned, you will be wheel size limited. A popular swap are LS1 brakes which can be purchased as a kit from big brake upgrade.com. You could also explore putting a 1LE kit together, although you'd probably spend as much as an LS1 set to have a system not any better.

 

hawks also offers a full 1LE repro kit now which is awesome... its not cheap but I find it very enticing https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/198...ake-kit-hawks/

 

The LS1 and 1LE kits look great, but I was hoping I could gain some improvement with something less complex than swapping spindles.
What about a quality pad (semi-metallic most likely) with a better rotor? Can I see improvement retaining the stock caliper?

 

I don't see any point spending money on rotors of same dimensions. You can experiment with a different set of pads if you want, it's not terribly expensive. But at the end of the day the biggest improvement is found in calipers, which often are associated with larger diameter rotors too. 12" front rotors are plenty sufficient.