Hydraboost is the ultimate and the first route you should go with your brake upgrade!

[CAMAROBOY69]

I wanted to make this thread to help people like myself that dont have much money and cant afford to buy the top of the line brakes. I saw all the numerous threads about spending thousands on new disks from this place or from that place. Even spending money to get 2 piston this and 4 piston caliper that. Well I want to let everyone know that if you want absolutely killer brakes your first choice should be the Hydratech Hydraboost. Paul is an outstanding and extremely helpful businessman. He helped answer almost every single question I had and even helped me with my entire install.
Now for the fun part. Keep in mind my front disks are bone stock, bone stock calipers front, stock drums, stock pads, stock master cylinder and stock shoes. BONE STOCK. I installed the Hydratech Hydraboost and I seriously have never driven anything that stops as good as my 69 Camaro does right now.
Out of all the vehicles I have driven including 4th gen camaros, trans ams and even Corvettes, My car stops the best of them all. It may sound bias but believe me if it sucked this site would be the first to know. I am very honest about everything I encounter. If something is crap I let everyone know. If something is remarkable its the same thing. I know some of the readers are just going to assume because my booster was bad that I think my brakes are the best. However I have not driven anything that stops like this. I am not exaggerating by any means and most of you should know that too.
Conclusion. I dont preach on this site about many producst I bought but this one truly deserves the attention. I should have installed this years ago. If you already have power steering then this install is a breeze and could easily be done in a couple hours. Easily.
If you are having brake problems I would highly suggest that you try the Hydratech Hydraboost product first.
Thank you soo much Paul for an incredible product that even a poor man like myself can afford.

[Damn True]

Did you measure braking distance before/after?

[CAMAROBOY69]

Not necessary at all. The difference is night and day. Just the FEEL of the brake pedal is like nothing I have ever felt in any car I have ever driven. Its like a lightning bolt shoots to all the brakes. Unlike other vehicles the Hydraboost gives YOU the control of the brakes. I bet a 5 year old kid could easily stop the car. Its nothing like I have ever felt in my life when it comes to brakes. Those that have the Hydratech Hydraboost know exactly what I am talking about.
To answer your question I bet my braking distance is 1/8 of what it used to be.
EDIT: A 5 year old can stop the car, not lock up the brakes.

[Damn True]

Just prefer to see fantastic claims quantified.

[baz67]

Not necessary at all.
To answer your question I bet my braking distance is 1/8 of what it used to be.

Adam, you know better than this. Real numbers not BS. Yes, hydroboost will improve your braking. That has been well documented here. However, it will help only up to a point. Does it help keep your brakes cooler? A five year old can lock up your brakes. Great, but locking them up is the last thing you want to do. Is it better than a properly set up twin master assembly? Does it improve the traction your tires have to the ground. What was it compared to? My point is there are way to many variables in the whole braking system for just one part to be the end all be all.

[Stu Seitz]

what happens if your power steering boils over or dies?

[wendell]

Stuart,
My experience has been that if you loose presure from you pump you loose both steering and brakes, scream at the top of your lungs, hit a tree a 3mph in a beater 3/4 ton, crack a beer and laugh about it. Individual on track experiences may vary.

[Damn True]

what happens if your power steering boils over or dies?

Same thing that happens in a normal system if the engine dies and you lose vacuum boost. You lose your boost. But you can still stop the car.

[silver69camaro]

what happens if your power steering boils over or dies?

It maintains pressure for several more stops to solve that (already solved by The Big Three actually).

The whole "5 year old can lock the brakes" kinda worries me. I've been curious about these units and I've wanted to try one. But I want a firm pedal, not something I can sneeze on and lock the brakes.

IMO, if it's take too little pedal force to lock the brakes, I have a hard time modulating them at it's limits. Too much force and it's the same.

What size MC did you use with your stock brakes? You said stock, so I assume 1.125"?

[Rick Dorion]

I've lowered my brake pedal to allow easy heel/toeing so I don't have to lift my right foot and come down on the brake pedal. I found it was too easy to 'over brake'. They are powerful but easy to modulate if you can pivot your brake foot on your heel. I've also replaced my Hawk pads ( when I was trying to get good performance in manual mode) with Perf Friction to lessen the 'bite' a little.

[CAMAROBOY69]

I wanted to clearify that statement I mentioned above about the 5 year old. I meant a 5 year old can stop the car. I didnt mean a 5 year old can lock up the brakes. It takes more pressure than that to lock them up. I will change the statement in the above post.
I drove the Camaro to work today and I am soo in love with this set up. Eventually more and more people will be doing the Hydratech conversion. Just like the pro-touring trend. It is just simply better and those that are scared or in denial, will simply realize it is a killer no brainer product.

[Stu Seitz]

I assumed it would act a little like a traditional vacuum brake booster, in that it would give you a little bit of boost after the engine had died or something catastrophic had happed to the power steering system. However I also assumed that a traditional vacuum booster would give a little bit more time for the brakes to be applied because there would still be vacuum in the engine after it had died, be it not a lot of time, but more then a hydraulic brake booster. Like a said I assumed a lot, but it seems that the difference would be minimal at best. Also would the use of under drive pulleys affect the booster’s performance?

[CarlC]

There is no vacuum in an engine that is not running. The same condition occurs on some engines running at wide open throttle. Vacuum boosters have a one-way check valve at the booster attachment point that will keep a vacuum in the booster, allowing 1-2 pumps of the brakes before the assist is gone. The vacuum level is dependant upon the amount of vacuum the engine produces and the amount of recovery time between brake appliations.

Hydraboost systems use a high-pressure gas cylinder as a reserve system. It's the cylindrical-looking can on the booster. Mine holds pressure for quite a long time after the engine is turned off.

[harshman]

I did the swap and then I cleaned out the front floor board of all the loose particles that came from the back seat. Daaaayyymn!!! No the pedal isn't soft it just works right. It's kinda like a hydraulic actuator that gives you pressure feedback to tell you where you are at. Locking them up it does but you can also control the moment prior to lock better (can't remember the technical term).

I have the numbers prior to the swap and now I have a gtech. When my ride is complete i'll post up some numbers.

[Blown353]

I love my hydroboost too... that being said, I would still prefer to have a dual master cylinder/balance bar setup with properly sized calipers based on corner weights and matched master cylinders to run a manual setup.

The hydroboost is the best power brake setup I've ever used as far as stopping power and feel... it's really, really good actually. However, nothing beats a *properly* set-up manual brake setup for the best pedal feel and feedback.

The hydroboost is still really good though.

[SicMonte]

this is my next upgrade...my stockers suck!!

[CarlC]

It's called threshold braking

[harshman]

bingo!!! that's it!

[Orngcrush69]

Had to chime in, the chevelle stops 60-0 in 135 ft., with hydra-boost and C-5 caliper a rotor setup. Hydra-boost is the way to got! Paul is the man!

[NOVA]

we replaced alot of new front end bushings and brake lines and steel lines etc. basically everything is new rotor to rotor with quality products but no Baers or Wildwoods.

It seems to be real touchy now and breaks are really touchy,will hydraboost help smooth and level that feeling out?