Bigger Brakes

[ckmm]

I 17inc rims i have up graded the the back brakes with the s 10 wheel cylnder and shoes. is there a swap i can do from a junk yard that is as close to plug play with 3 or 4 piston BRAKES GRAKES ALL THE SAME MY BAD

[charlief1]

Late model s10 blazer fronts will work and give you bigger brakes without having to change your suspension. Also came on the extreem models. multiple caliper pistons and an 11" rotor.

[ckmm]

Originally Posted by charlief1

Late model s10 blazer fronts will work and give you bigger brakes without having to change your suspension. Also came on the extreem models. multiple caliper pistons and an 11" rotor.

how much bigger are they what do you meen by extreem i can change the lowera frame if i have to

[novaderrik]

did the S10 Extreme also have the bigger brakes?

[charlief1]

That's right. The s10 extreem models and the mini blazers had 11" rotors and multiple piston calipers. They're a direct bolt on. An extra 1/2" of rotor and brake surface. They also use a different hub assembly so there's no more bearing packing.

[dentmasters01]

what year's extreems and blazers? 2 or 4 wd?

[charlief1]

2wd

[dentmasters01]

Is the 2 and 4 wd caliper the same? the reason I'm asking is, I can find rotors, spindle ect. but the calipers are gone form the jk/yd. I have however, located a couple of 4x4's with the dual calipers and if they are the same I can use them.??

[charlief1]

Check either in the hollander exchange book or go to a parts store and see if they have the same number. The rotors you got are mounted on a hub assembly, Right?

[turbofish38]

Okay who ever coined the term 11" rotors didn't drag out a tape measure and actually measure them. Here are 2 pics that speak for them selves. I have never been a proponent of these brakes for several reasons. One of them being that you aint gaining anything for all of the work envolved. How much you gaining with 2 piston calipers and that extra 1/4" of diameter?

[Hot Air]

why not use the B-car spindles and get 12" 1LE rotors! You will need to switch to Hotchkis upper arms but you will get a better camber curve in the process.
Conrad C.

[turbofish38]

Originally Posted by Hot Air

why not use the B-car spindles and get 12" 1LE rotors! You will need to switch to Hotchkis upper arms but you will get a better camber curve in the process.
Conrad C.

To me this sounds like a better idea. Now I've read and heard that you dont need aftermarket upper arms if you use the offset Moog shafts like the ones listed here eBay Motors: Moog CONTROL ARM REPAIR KIT chevrolet MALIBU 78-83 82 (item 230257806099 end time Jun-30-08 03:21:08 PDT)
Either way you have to spend some money for the parts. I'd go with the system that gives the most bang for the buck.

[freakazoid]

what is a 1LE rotor???

[Hot Air]

The 1LE rotar is a 12" diameter rotor that came on the Camaro police cars of the 90's. It will fit the B-car spindle and has the correct metric wheel stud and the correct bolt circle for our GN wheels. The B-car rotor can be used but you have to re-drill the rotor and purchase metric studs (if you want the lug nuts to be the same). Of course, you could use a different wheel and leave the B-car rotor alone.
Conrad C.

[novaderrik]

Originally Posted by Hot Air

why not use the B-car spindles and get 12" 1LE rotors! You will need to switch to Hotchkis upper arms but you will get a better camber curve in the process.
Conrad C.

better yet- why not just use the 1LE rotors and 2 piston PBR calipers on your stock spindles? i forget what specific combo of inner and outer bearings you use, but the rotor is a bolt on, and the caliper can be made to fit with a little fabrication.

[Hot Air]

One advantage of the B-car spindle is that it spaces the wheel outboard slightly so that you can run the Rear GTA wheel on the front. IF you want GTA wheels, you can use a set of them (GTA fronts on rear of GN, GTA rears on front of GN). Just an added bonus and you get a better camber curve in the process.
Conrad C.

ps...I do like your idea on the better calipers with stock spindle...could you research the bearing numbers and post them? That indo needs to be in a sticky in the Wheel/Tire/Brake section

[turbofish38]

Originally Posted by novaderrik

better yet- why not just use the 1LE rotors and 2 piston PBR calipers on your stock spindles? i forget what specific combo of inner and outer bearings you use, but the rotor is a bolt on, and the caliper can be made to fit with a little fabrication.

Not exactly a plug and play. You need a caliper mounting bracket to bolt a PBR caliper to a stock type spindle. Plenty of guys selling those on eBay. This is the best way IMO. You'd be duplicating what GM did with the 1LE brakes. The 3rd gen F-Body uses a modified G-Body spindle made for Mac struts. All GM did with the stock spindle is cut off the Metric caliper mounting ears and bolt on the adapter bracket using the stock caliper bolt holes. The PBR caliper and bracket are stock 84-96 Corvette units. The rotors are 12 inch B-Body units with the 4.75 bolt pattern. Doing it this way retains the stock spindle and control arms. And that would be the answer to what bearings to use. The 1LE,B-Body,3rd Gen F-Body and G-Body all use the same wheel bearings.

The 89 TTA came standard with the 1LE brakes. Not all B4C Camaro Cop Cars came with the 1LE brakes. They weren't standard equipment until halfway through the 1991 model year. And as far as 1LE brakes go only the 3rd gen used them. The 1LE was a suspension option on the 93-02 F-Body.

[Hot Air]

Would the PBR calipers bolt onto the b-car spindle?
Conrad C.

[turbofish38]

The PBR calipers use a mounting bracket to attach them to the spindle. You'd have to cut the ears off the spindle for them to bolt on. Just like the G-Body spindle. It would be a waste of time and money to modify the B-Body spindle if you wanted to use PBR calipers on a G-body anyway.

[Hot Air]

I already have the b-car spindles, Hotchkis upper arms, and 1LE rotors on my GN. Would the PBR caliper be an upgrade for this setup or is the stock GM B-car caliper just as good?
Conrad