Blazer dual piston setup Vs. SSBC dual piston calipers!

[Veltboy618]

I have been thinking about upgrading my front brakes on my cutlass & going with the Blazer dual piston setup but I will have to change the spindle & all the other stuff when I really do not want to. I was looking on SSBC website & they make dual piston calipers that I can bolt onto my factory spindles. Which one of these setups do you think will have better stopping power or will they be about the same?

 

[patmckinneyracing]

If those SSBC calipers are dual piston, then there won't be any difference when compared to the blazer calipers. I just looked at that and they want $495.00 for the two calipers and brake pads. That's not bad, but I would go with the blazer brakes because the spindles, rotors, calipers, and pads will be cheaper as a whole than those calipers. But catch 22, the bearing for the blazer brakes are very expensive, but last much longer than our stock bearings. Maybe someone else can chime in, but I would look at blazer brakes first then the SSBC calipers.

 

[jrm81bu]

If those SSBC calipers are dual piston, then there won't be any difference when compared to the blazer calipers.

That's not exactly true. You need to know the diameter of the pistons to decide which one will offer more clamping force. Plus I think the SSBC calipers are a fixed caliper as opposed to the sliding calipers. The fixed is capable of even pressures in both the inner and outer pads, where as the sliding caliper won't always apply the same force to the inner and outer pads.

One nice thing about the s10 set-up is the ability to easlily upgrade to the vette brakes at a later time(or right away).

 

[supercrackerbox]

The other thing to take into account is that the Blazer setup has larger diameter rotors, allowing the calipers to apply more torque (negative torque?) to slow the car down. Just like if you're using a cheater bar on a wrench, but the exact opposite.

On the other hand, the SSBC calipers will shed some weight, which is always beneficial.

 

[treed_cutlass]

If those SSBC calipers are dual piston, then there won't be any difference when compared to the blazer calipers.

We need to drop this myth right now. The # of pistons doesn't matter.
The only benefit the # of pistons gives you is a more EQUAL DISTRIBUTION of force across the pads and caliper. Which IS a good thing. But the total area of the pistons is what gives you clamping force (all else being equal).

But catch 22, the bearing for the blazer brakes are very expensive, but last much longer than our stock bearings.

I heard the opposite as far as durability goes... but I've never owned a vehicle with those integrated hubs either so I can't speak with experience.
The one thing I can speak on, however, is the stock g-body tapered roller bearings are cheap enough that you could replace them at every oil change if need be. The blazer bearings... not so much. (And you'd never have to replace your regular tapered bearings that often).

I took a peek around on the SSBC website... I'm not sure exactly which model the OP is looking at?

I looked up a 2001 Blazer up on Rock Auto... As far as I can tell, the pistons are 1.809" (46mm). Pretty sizeable.
5.14 sq in, which is a little more than the single piston g-body calipers (2.5" piston, 4.9 sq in).

I don't know the size of the pistons in the model of SSBC brakes you're looking at... but I didn't see any that were 46mm.
This combined with the larger rotor on the Blazer brakes means they'll probably stop better.

Other Issues:
Stiffness of the calipers: Which one is stiffer? We don't know. It doesn't matter if you have more force if the caliper just flexes out of the way like a wet noodle.
Weight: The blazer brakes will be heavier, I believe they're cast iron calipers, and they do have larger rotors.
Availability of pads/parts: Didn't check on what pads the SSBC ones use. Is it a stock application that you can get at any parts store if you have an issue while out on the road away from home?
Your usage: What are you using the car for? Daily driver? Show car? Racing(and what kind of racing)? Will you keep the stock wheels on it? Will you put a lot of miles on the car? Give us some more information on this subject.

 

[megaladon6]

there is one more benefit of multi-piston calipers. if you want a pad that's 15in long you need a piston large enough to work effectively. so you'd need a piston at least 10in in diameter and solid. or say 3 3in hollow pistons. which fits better?
as to sealed hub bearings and durability, well it depends. GM's, unsurprisingly are junk that usually go around 60,000mi. i've seen as little as 30k. on the other hand, VW ones last well over 100k. i have tried to find out if the corvette and/or heavy duty ones are any better, with no luck.
sealed hubs are nice though. they don't require adjustment, which can be done wrong and kill the bearing very quickly. they also handle large rims/tires better than the stock ones.

 

[79loserbluebu]

Why is everyone using Blazer brakes instead of going straight to the LS1 brakes? I know stock Blazers can come with 15" wheels, but that's not even factoring in that you'll need the adapter for our spindles. I think the smallest wheel you can use is 16" but if someone would please chime in with the Blazer setup, it'd help this thread out alot. I've got a set of Blazer calipers here at home I was going to use on my S10 with the Blazer drop spindles. Parted the set out, but still have the Blazer calipers, brackets, rotors, and pads and I'm hoping for a way to use them effectively 8)

 

[bigtrent]

But the SSBC is a direct bolt on with no other changes needed correct?

 

[79loserbluebu]

60k miles on a set of wheel bearings? I'll definately take those chances. If anyone has been to www.flynbye.com lately, on the homepage Ed put that he will be expected to release the all aluminum sealed hubs early 2011.

 

[treed_cutlass]

there is one more benefit of multi-piston calipers. if you want a pad that's 15in long you need a piston large enough to work effectively. so you'd need a piston at least 10in in diameter and solid. or say 3 3in hollow pistons. which fits better?

Fits better? Are you talking about wheel fitment? (Since the 3x 3" pistons are radially lower profile).
The 10" piston has almost 4x the surface area though...
10": 78.5 sq in
3x 3": 21.2 sq in
I think I understand what you're getting at, as far as wheel fitment. If you mean it fits the pad better, I think that just speaks to equal distribution of force. Everything has to work together. Mixing and matching brake parts is a little sketchy.
Rotor annulus width, piston diameter, pad width and length, wheel fitment, master cylinder sizing all have to conspire together to make the correct fitment and braking power for the application. If you start at one end, it all needs to add up at the other.

Regardless, I'll leave picking piston sizes up to the engineering and designing people. We're stuck with what's commercially available anyways.

sealed hubs are nice though. they don't require adjustment, which can be done wrong and kill the bearing very quickly. they also handle large rims/tires better than the stock ones.

Yeah, the maintenance free thing is nice.
How do the sealed hubs handle larger rims and tires better?

Regarding the corvette boys, I hear they have some serious wear issues when they track (road course) their cars. Which isn't surprising.

I guess I wonder the kind of mileage you'd get out of those bearings with hard driving... after all, we are talking about a performance application here. We also need to think about the overall load on the front of the vehicles we're talking about.
To be frank, I don't have figures on how much the front of a 2wd Blazer weighs (the 98-03ish one in question), or how much the front of a vette weighs. I'll bet a nickel or two that both of them have lighter front axle loads than your typical Cutlass.
I realize there could be pretty dramatic differences in the front axle weights of g-bodies... AC? Big block? Cast iron vs. Aluminum parts? The list goes on. Just something to consider that might affect how much mileage you'd get out of them.

Pfadt racing makes a heavy duty racing bearing for the vettes. I've often wondered if the vette bearings could go on the Blazer spindles. I doubt it. Even so, I believe the Pfadt racing bearings are about $350 a pair... ouch.