Stock style brake upgrade questions?

Status
Not open for further replies.

bbarbulo

Apprentice
Dec 2, 2014
56
14
8
Windsor ON
I've decided to use stock style brakes so let's exclude the 2WD late model Blazer upgrades, the B and F body spindle swaps, etc...

I picked up an aluminium B body master cylinder, now I'm looking at caliper options. I've come across two interesting choices at about $100 per side:

wilwood aluminium stock bore GM metric caliper

and

wilwood cast iron 2.75" oversized bore GM metric caliper.

Yes, I can have the dual piston D154 wilwood calipers for about $400 for the front kit, but I don't need something that flashy.

So what would you rather have, a state of the art triple bridge design lightweight caliper? or... more piston area to push against without the benefit of reducing unsprung weight?

Normally brake choice for builds is a no brainer for me, but I'm stuck in this case - I wanna reduce unsprung weight to offset the weight of the wider tires, but I also like the idea of having a larger piston in a stock style caliper.

The car is an occasional street driver. It has never nor will it ever see track duty of any kind. I just want it to be a competent driver on a reasonable budget. So far, I have DJM drop spindles, tall upper and lower ball joints, eibach springs, and KYB shocks, rolling on 16 inch T/A rims.
 

81msw79

Master Mechanic
May 5, 2013
391
125
43
roselle park , nj
do the 98-05 blazer brake upgrade. it will still be all stock over the parts counter parts if you have an issue and the single larger piston still uses the smaller brake pad.
dual piston blazer brakes have a larger pad which will give a better braking ability along with the slighty larger rotor.
 

pontiacgp

blank
Mar 31, 2006
29,270
20,397
113
Kitchener, Ontario
I think your confused about what unsprung weight is. The wheels, brakes, rotors etc is sprung weight. As far as upgrading the front brakes I'd get a good rotor and EBC red brake pads, break them in properly and stay with the stock calipers. For the back brakes I'd use the S10 non power brake wheel cylinder and the bracket below to hold the cylinder in place.

51B%2By7jGs6L._SX450_.jpg
 

williamattop

Master Mechanic
Apr 9, 2014
455
53
28
Appleton WI
I believe the brake calipers and tires are considered unsprung.

What I would do is go with the most effective brake setup I could afford, then worry about unsprung weight afterwards. Your brakes will be stopping all your Gbodys weight, sprung or not.
But for an "ocassional street driver" with minimal brake upgrades and 16" t/a wheels, I myself wouldnt be too concerend with unsprung weight at all. But I could see why others may.

ANY improvement to the stock brakes on a Gbody is a great idea IMO.
 

bbarbulo

Apprentice
Dec 2, 2014
56
14
8
Windsor ON
Oh god for a second I doubted myself so I had to look it up. http://www.formula1-dictionary.net/unsprung_weight.html
Well, blazer swap is a no-go for sure. I'm using djm drop spindles so if I ever go bigger it will be a corvette setup with kore3 or flynbye or whatever. Yes, the rear wheel cylinders are on my list as well as long as I use the 10 bolt rear end. I wonder what the formulas say would be the increase in clamping pressure from a 2.4 inch bore vs. 2.75 inch.
 

bbarbulo

Apprentice
Dec 2, 2014
56
14
8
Windsor ON
well, think it's answered - the weight savings is only 0.9 lbs and the clamping pressure of the big bore caliper is up 34% over a stock size bore. think i'll do the cast iron oversize calipers from wilwood. thanks for the input all!!
 

88ss408

Master Mechanic
Feb 25, 2007
281
34
28
baie st anne n.b
I think so far best bang for buck. Its US brakes oversized calipers for front and manual brake S-10 rear cylinders. With premium pads and shoes. You can always go extra and get slotted Rogers and aluminum drums.
 

gearhedjon

Apprentice
Dec 5, 2012
73
25
18
oak forest IL
On my G-wagon I took a page from the turbo Buick guys. Manual brake wheel cylinders from a S10 with wheel cylinder hold down brackets and a set of double long shoes.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please support GBodyForum Sponsors

Classic Truck Consoles Dixie Restoration Depot UMI Performance

Contact [email protected] for info on becoming a sponsor