G-body brake upgrade, alot of options, and questions.

[devildog214]

I was looking for a worthwhile front brake upgrade for my 87 monte SS. I know all the basic swaps you can do (1LE, b body, s10, LS1) and get away pretty cheap. My dad says rear discs would be more beneficial. But i was thinking that a better, slightly bigger rotor with a dual piston caliper would help more since most of the braking is in the front. And maybe upgrade to bigger wheel cylinders for the drums.

I really would rather have a kit because even though my dads a master tech but he HATES dealing with all the aftermarket parts i bring home. So the easier the better. The car is my DD and really doesnt see much track time. Also i need something that will fit under 15" rims. Im really set on this 11inch wilwood kit with dual piston calipers for 650. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WIL-140-11009

What im asking is...
is 4 wheel disc better than upgrading the fronts?
What front system would fit my needs?
Also, are s10 wheel cylinders worth it? (i know this is the disc brakes only section)

[jack]

Since your staying with 15" wheels what are you wanting to gain in braking? Like better then stock in perfect shape or better than what your car has? That kit your looking at is about the same as the S10.

[jack]

Actually your link is for a rear disc brake conversion, is that what you meant?

[devildog214]

the link is for fronts i thought, thats what it said? Im looking for better than what the car had new. Im just wondering if its worth putting all that money out, how easy is the s-10 front conversion? Theres no clear write up as far as ive found.

[Tony_SS]

For that money, you'd be better off investing in LS1 brakes, but you'd have to go to 16-17" wheels.

SSBC makes a bolt on front kit that replaces your calipers... 2 piston I think. They claim a 15% improvement. Couple that with a metric disc brake kit for the rear and you'll have decent stoppers on all 4's for less that $1000 and can keep the 15's.

[devildog214]

ive been looking at ssbc but the only kits i can find are 1500+ for 2 piston. They come with alot of stuff like spindles, etc. Cant find a kit where it just replaces the calipers...

[jack]

oh ic the pic is just a sample shot. The S10 conversion bolts right in, you just have to swap to the newer spindles. I was looking at it but decided against it. your only gaining .5 inch on the rotor and even thou its a dual piston caliper the surface area on your stock caliper is larger. kinda like comparing two 8" subwoofers to one 15". If i were you id get a good set of pads and do an over all brake job to your car until you decide to run a larger rim. On the rear disc deal, there is more surface area on a drum brake but heat causes them to fade fast so rear disc are only good for high speed stopping improvement and repetitive brake use

[devildog214]

thanks for the info. Maybe leaning towards rear disc, who knows. I dont think id run anymore than a 16inch wheel, im really not a big fan of spending money on aftermarket rims. So getting a 16x8 GTA, IROC, Z28 or some sort of S10 extreme wheel would be my best choice. Definitly looking into a good rear disc conversion guide. Hopefully one with a good way to hook up the parking brake.

[jack]

I think there is some kits for that. What you want to look for is a 3 bolt back plate adapter not the standard 4 bolt. Also some 16" wheels will clear a larger brake but not all. hope this helps

[devildog214]

I hate to say it but i think i might just get good pads and rotors on the front with s10 wheel cyls, i have the money but its better of being spent elsewhere. Just spent 400ish on new tires, new rims and tires are along way away.

[Samckitt]

If it was me trying to fit brakes under a 15" wheel, I would buy a set of S10 ZQ8 spindle assemblies. They are a direct replacement to the G body cars & you can get replacement parts at any GM dealer or local parts store. You can get a complete set of front assemblies for around $300.

[mc84_zz4]

Check out some of these options:
LS1 brakes that can fit in the 16" GTAs and other 16" wheels
Also several rear disk PBR calipers w/parking brake.
http://flynbye.com/catalog/c7_p1.html

Lower cost improvements, larger bore piston in the caliper, larger rear brake cylinder, drilled/slotted rotors:
http://www.gbodyparts.com/index.php?cPath=47_48_62_63&osCsid=916f6055ec45d4a31e28c13579a6ec48
Summit Racing also has some oversize calipers, these are larger than the ones from GBody:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/USB-7241-9002/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/USB-7241-9001/

The Gbody used 10.5 rotors, the S10 extreme 11" rotors w dual piston calipers, so the ZQ8 upgrade would give you a lot of bang for the buck, with options to later upgrade to larger rotors/calipers; LS1 or C5, the only limit is budget.
Here is another source for brake parts, using GM parts:
http://www.kore3.com/products.php?cat=11

[Hydratech®]

Our '78-'88 G body system # 3033 will wake up even dead stock G car braking into levels that you would not believe until you actually drove it! We have an absolutely dead stock 65k original miles '86 442 that we use as a demo car occasionally, with the puny 10" small piston metric calipers up front and the good ol' standard 9" drums in the back, dead stock pads and shoes, stock QTU MC, and this thing has made a dramatic believer out of anybody that has taken it out for a thrash. For the typical street / strip scenario, this will take care of business to a very high level of satisfaction. Do note that if you plan on doing any repetitious hard braking like autocross / road racing, you will definitely need to get into upscale 4 wheel discs that can handle the high temps of merciless pounding. We don't have this listing published on the website yet, though you can view the system # 3033 in this link: http://www.hydratechbraking.com/images/3033.jpg $ 825 provides everything you would need except for some Royal Purple PS fluid (or alternate favorite fluid). One afternoon's time of installation will show you why we cover all of our system with a satisfaction guaranteed or your money back policy.