Big brakes, and rear disc HELP!

[Brock1949]

Alright here is the deal, I like everyone else on this forum want bigger brakes or more effective brakes and i want rear disc.

Now what i do know is that i can convert the truck to a hydroboost system from a freind of mine at Vanco hydroboost that did my jeep brakes. He told me 250 bucks for everything i need to put a 1 ton hydroboost unit that produces 3000psi and is extreemly smooth and variable. (this is the brake system off the new 2004 and up chevy diesels.) I don't know if i need to goto this kinda system yet or not but just so everyone knows the option is out there.

Now for the front brakes i would like to goto the bigger brakes like the ls1 setups i see for the typhoons etc etc, I know you guys started talking about this in a couple different threads but starting from scratch here and i would kinda like somone to walk me through all the options front and back like i'm a moron.

And as you guys probably noticed in the race section i am going to be on a road coarse at LEAST 2 times a year...So i would like to get it all setup for that so that its reliable and safe. I have talked to some guys with slower cars that have hit 120-130MPH. And i would like to think in my little world some day the truck has a possibility with 10lbs of boost and meth of hitting 155-165 maybe even better but know knows lol maybe i'll be lucky to hit highway speeds.

So all things aside I would like dual piston front brakes, either from a S series or from a LS1 series or something like that.And for the rear,.. ehh i was told to get the sseries brakes or the z28 brakes.. Whats all my options what have you guys done and whats worked out for you. Oh and of coarse i want to do this as cheap as possible.. lol

Thanks everyone!

[T Man]

For the front you can convert to blazer spindles and rotors. I believe they are dual pistons. For the rear, you can buy a disc brake rear axle from an s10 at a scrap yard for fairly cheep.

[Brock1949]

I have Beltech front spindles though, I would really like to keep them.lol I am running 2 inch spindles and 1 inch beltech coils and its like perfect handling setup right now.

[Brock1949]

And are the LS1 brakes alot better in the back of the truck over getting the s10 rear disc. Also do i need a 2wd disc or will disc off any work if i do go with a s10's rear disc.

[turbodog]

One guy over at syty.net went with 'vette C5 front, C4 rear in a Syclone. He has all the brakes anyone could want (he road races it also), but he has such severe F/R balance issues he might as well have the stockers on there. He has already tried proportioning valve.... no help. He is going to a full dual-master-cyl-with balance-bar to solve his problem. I'm sure when he's done it will stop awesome. I guess the moral is: if you mix and match components, be ready to spend time and $$ getting it dialed in.

I can't compare LS1 rear discs to S10 rear discs, but I converted my TY from drum/disc over to LS1 front and rear. It now stops hard, and balance (finally trested now that we got some rain here in Dallas) is nearly perfect. Rears lock up just an instant before the fronts. I think a proportioning valve may fix that.

I think a LS1 setup F&R is a good bet for a blazer/jimmy/typhoon, but would still need a lot of tuning to work well on a pickup.

[Brock1949]

wow alot of info and work sounds awsome. Thanks !, So of all of these things what will fit on my truck with my beltech spindles in the front and inside my zq8 rims 16"s. I am wondering if with the pickup it would be a little better to go with more brakes upfront and just stock disc in the back... my only concern there is that there going to heat up quick because there such a small disc.

[fastSdime]

Well if you do the LS1 swap your going to have to get Blazer drop spindles if you want to keep it at the same height and ride quality. I have done a lot of reading on this subject here is a thread and in this thread there is a link join that forum and there is A LOT more information on this topic. Just remember to keep coming back here to hang out will all of us to..

http://www.s10planet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3003

[Sparky2263]

I put the stock rear disc set-up on my 92 Blazer. Using an adjustable proportioning valve I had to limit the heck out of the rears. Even with the weight of the Blazer It wasn't a problem locking up the rears. I got around to putting some carbon fiber front pads on a set of new front rotors and was able to adjust a little better.

In other words, the stock rear discs are more than capable of achieving lock-up and hauling my Blazer to a stop, much less a truck. The biggest improvement would be had with larger front rotors. The carbon fiber pads made a big difference but they are NOT rotor friendly (which wasn't one of my criteria). Much higher resistance to fade wasn't a criteria either as I don't road race it. I just wanted better braking for all the idiots out there. With that criteria, stock rear discs have achieved that.

Another thing to consider, if you keep the abs (I don't) the biggest rotors in the world won't bring down stopping distances. The stock brakes are capable of achieving lock-up (at least once before they overheat and fade). Shorter stopping distances are achieved through better tire contact patch with the road. A wise choice of tires and brakes must be considered when doing these types of upgrades.

I have found the stock rear discs more than capable.

[Brock1949]

I have kumho supra 712's in 245/50/r16's that have the highest traction rating possible in everything but winter... (almost impossible to move it on flat land in the snow),

Alright so factory disc brakes from what year truck model etc? should i go with or should i just go get replacment parts from autozone or something.

Now for the front what are my options.... only going to a blazer front spindle or is there a big brake option for the front for a s10 or DP calipers from some year s10 or were those only on blazers....

[Sparky2263]

The rears I used were from an 01-02 Blazer with an 8.5 rear.

Don't know about the front but I'm interested to hear.

[fastSdime]

SSBC makes a big brake kit for the S10. But from what I hear its cheaper to do a LS1 type swap or the blazer swap in the front. SSBC also makes a rear disk brake setup but I hear it has flaws with how the calipers are mounted on a lowered truck. Here is a link not sure it will work unless you are a memeber.
http://www.s-seriesforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71837

You can also check out SSBC at
http://www.stainlesssteelbrakes.com/

[Brock1949]

So what about hydroboost? If you talk to the guy at vanco he says SSBC and wilwood is trash, he uses all factory calipers and claims he can outstop them all day long. I am half considering putting disc in the back, putting some good pads on it and throwing the hydroboost system on, he told me it takes it from 1100-1200psi to 3000-3300psi.

I have one of his hydroboost systems for my jeep sitting in the garage, 1300 dollar brake system, 1 ton chevy hydroboost system with presure resivoir so you have brakes after the engines off, PSC bored high performance power steering pump all new braided stainless lines and hydrolic resivoir for fluid. Installing it as soon as i get the truck out of the garage and some spare time. That system can EASILY lock up 35-40" tires at highway speeds with STOCK jeep brakes. I have watched videos of it.

That kinda kit for the s10.. i was told by Van a freind of mine was 250 bucks or so..

[firefighter]

I am in the process of upgrading the brakes on my '03 Blazer X. I'm going to C5 up front and LS1 out back I figured the availability of pads for the Blazer rears was limited in case I ever get around to autoX the thing. I have the majority of the parts just waiting on a couple of back orders and then I'll paint and rebuild the calipers and carriers. Once I'm done I'll shoot some pics hopefully since it is essentially what is standard on a C5 I'll have no balance probs and I should have no traction issues I'm running more tire than a C5 any ways. Wish me luck on getting my parts.

also this is essentially a Baer GT kit in the front and a Track kit out back (around $4-5K) that I'm doing for under $1000. Check the end of the SSBC thread.

[Brock1949]

Alright i drove the truck tonight, (still on the tuning step and can't take it past 2000-2500rpm yet or over like 30) but i realized how much the brakes suck...

So how much better is the C5 brakes over SSBC big brake kit summit has for 375 on there sport twin force 10 calipers.

What would i have to do to get the C5 brakes upfront?

[firefighter]

If you are talkin about the "caliper" upgrade the C5 is way better it's got a 12.8" rotor and a PBR 2 piston caliper the pressure cast which is the better/stiffer over the LS1 caliper. If you go to the post on www.s-seriesforum.com you'll find all the info and be able to get in touch with the guy Ed Miller. I should have mine done in a couple of weeks I'm still waiting on some back orders. I'll put up some pics somwhere for all to see.