When do you NEED to upgrade your brakes - 2nd gen F-body

[Restomod Z28]

What was the deciding factor that made you folks decide to upgrade your stopping power - other than the fact that drums/small rotors look out of place behind larger open rims?

I can't argue with Newton --- F=ma. My car weighs about the same, but my acceleration is much faster than stock (I probably have a mid 12 second car). Thus, I would assume there comes a point where I need more stopping force. I currently have the original power disc/drum setup to stop my 3600 lbs f-body.

Is there a threshold you cross that dictates that it is time to upgrade the braking system?

I appreciate your thoughts/insights... I hope I posted this in the right spot - mods please me help otherwise!

Eric

[f1shman]

Any time you are upgrading the vehicle's wheels to be a larger diameter than came from the factory, you are increasing the demand on the brakes. Any huge increase in vehicle power will also put strains on the stock system. You need to take consider your personal driving habits as well. How far do you intend to push the car?

On my Firebird it was an easy call to make regarding the brake system as the car came to me with the stock four wheel drum brake setup. I think reading Steve Chryssos' post at the link below only helped to solidify my decision to upgrade.

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=13892

[6'9"Witha69]

Simply, the brakes are inadequate in stock '69 form to today's brakes. Just doing an LS1 swap will be better. How much further you go from there is based on how far you want to push the car.

[Restomod Z28]

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=13892

That was sobering, but it is what I needed to see. Thanks guys.

I'll start doing some homework/searching of the archives to see what my options are. LS1 swap? Sounds interesting.

[David Sloan]

That was sobering, but it is what I needed to see. Thanks guys.

I'll start doing some homework/searching of the archives to see what my options are. LS1 swap? Sounds interesting.

It does not mater what opens our eyes!! as long as they get opened!!
And we are alive to relies it.
Thanks for the reminder!

[terryr]

When you say "These brakes SUCK".

The early Fox mustang brakes would overheat in LA traffic. I almost rear-ended a couple of cars just driving in freeway jams.
Good brakes, better pads, more pedal pressure, equals a reserve of stopping power.
After Car Craft did their first street rod competition I wrote in to say they didn't test stopping power at all. Brakes? What's that?
On the other hand some install huge rotors just for the Bling. But if they work properly that's okay.

[Throttle]

That was sobering, but it is what I needed to see. Thanks guys.

I'll start doing some homework/searching of the archives to see what my options are. LS1 swap? Sounds interesting.

I dont know if he is over here on this site, but I got all my brakes from Ed Miller,2008 Z51 Brakes with hubs that fit my car and spindles that are fitted to the brakes..

Here is his site..

www.flynbye.com


My Brakes...

[1badchevelle]

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=13892[/quote]


A real eye opener. I have never cosidered a roll cage as I plan to do no racing just enjoy the car. but after reading this old thread has me rethinking what I need to do.

[ebmiller88]

I'm here, Mike, I see the car is coming along well over on nastyz28.com

As mentioned above, the older brakes on most (if not all) of these older cars just aren't up to par with today's cars on the road. Modern cars will stop so much faster than these classics, even with the stock brakes. I can understand the need for orginality on numbers matching cars and the like but for daily drivers and cars more often driven in "spirited" driving conditions, I would go no smaller than 12" rotors with a dual piston caliper minimum for fronts with comparable rears....and do it as soon as you can. Depending on wheel size, I often recommend C5s right off the bat, one of the best performing stock style setups on the road, and the Z51s pictured above are even better while only slightly larger in diameter.

Good luck!

Ed

[Restomod Z28]

Thanks for the link & input Throttle, and thanks for chiming in, Ed. I guess this means that the original N90's need to get upgraded to some 17's while I'm at it, lol.

[6'9"Witha69]

With good rubber, yes. remember the saying, brakes only stop the wheel, tires stop the car.

[Fuelie Fan]

Have you ever experienced brake fade? Do you have problems with overheated or warped rotors? Have you ever felt like your brakes were generally unsafe? These are you criteria for NEEDING bigger brakes. Anything else is just wanting them.

Brake dissipate energy, and that energy is a function of two things: the mass of the vehicle and and speed it is traveling when a stop is initiated. Modern cars need larger brakes because they are both heavier and/or capable of higher speeds than our vehicles were when they were made. My factory disc brakes on my nova actually stop it pretty impressively, and I don't drive it aggressively enough of fast enough to say to myself that I really need larger brakes. That's an honest self assessment.

If you don't plan on routinely exceeding 100+ mph, significantly increasing the weight of your vehicle, or doing track events, you don't need big-by-huge brake rotors. You do gain a little in the way of feel by going to a larger diameter, and dual piston calipers have obvious advantages in uniform pressure distribution, but on the whole it's not like the science has changed much. In fact, I would say the best bang for the buck to decrease stopping times is to buy the best pads and tires you can stomach.

[Skip Fix]

My TAs stock brakes had nice fade going down a long mountain road in the Santa Cruz mountains, not even alot of speed. Nice smell too!

[mjoc1]

I did the brake upgrade before the engine. Stopping more important then going fast. to me atleast.

Mike

[Ishmael]

I made the choice when I decided my son wasa going to ride in the car with me.

[David Pozzi]

Stock discs with good pads is a good setup for a street driven car like a Camaro with 400 to 450 hp. If you will do open road course driving, then larger rotors are needed.
David