Brakeing Opinions

[Mikz86TA]

Hey all! I just wanted to get some input for future reference now on the brake area.
1st = With a stock setup, what is your opinions on different brake pads. I have Hawk std. compound for street and they have wore quite well. I didnt really notice much of a difference in stopping power, but have also never had any fade. I know Hawk makes some diferent compounds. In the past Ive used Raybestos. Ive had good and bad experiences with them. Other brands I know are EBC, Bendix, Perf. Friction and the general Auto-store brands. Any others with input?
2nd = The use of a slotted or drilled rotor. I got a set of slotted rotors for the TA from SSBC. They were a OEM caliper upgrade kit, which was just the rotors, Hawk pads and some hardware. I shouldve gotten the x-life plating because now with it sitting most of the time its taken a rusty look. Im displeased with that. Ive heard of the drilled-rotor stress cracks, but havent ever had anyone I know with them have any issues. Also the debate Ive seen on the slotted and drilled rotors having a reduced surface area. Thoughts on that too?
3rd = DP upgrade. Ive seen that the hub/bearing on these are notorious for failure. Any thoughts there. And is it worth it to have the 2 smaller pistons as opposed to the one bigger one? I know it spreads it out more in pad area.
4th = What calipers are exchangable? Ive heard that the F-body and S-series use the same Metric GM caliper and pads. Is this true? If so, then SSBCs Force One Plus-One caliper upgrade for a F-body with stock spindles is swappable...right?
5th = Rear brakes. Is it more worth the PITA and time to convert a drum to a disc or is it just as well to get a set of 'ol Aluminum Drums?
6th = Fluids. What DOT # does GM use at the factory. Is it worth bleeding entirely and refillling with a higher DOT # and higher boiling point fluid?

[T Man]

Not gonna answer them all but here are a few

1 I have wagner Thermo Quiets front and rear on the 87 right now, and am EXTREMELY pleased with them. I am planning on trying NAPA's new brake technology the Adaptive 1 pads on the 03 when It comes time. Ive worked out a deal to get a "trial set" free from the napa in town.


2 Go with a dimpled rotor. Same benefits as a cross drilled but no cracking.

3 If you are in a hardcore autox situation yes, street driving, stay with the stockers, the weak point in the gm stuff is the mastercyl and booster

5 it comprises 40 percent of your braking force...you decide whether it is worth the money.

6 Dot 3, you can use dot 4, but wont ever need it. Dot 5 is synthetic racing fluid and will eat rubber components in your brake system

[87wildside]

I'll start with the drilled and slotted rotors. Drilled has a tendency to crack, not always but more often then other designs. Slotted are a better choice if you are experiencing brake fade. They both have less surface area but, IMO, it's negligible. Both seem to be a waste unless you see a good amount of track time or you want to have them for show.

The DP swap is worthless, again MO. The maintenance cost could end up being more then a C5/ C6 upgrade.

As for the rear I would say disks, drums just plain suck. When I had my Cutlass the aluminum drums were a lot more plentiful. I don't see that as being to cost effective either.

These are all my opinions

[TreasonAgainstCaesar]

I have drilled slotted rotors by SP Performance. I've had them on for about 10 months now, and I think they're great. I can't attest to how much they're eating up my pads b/c I haven't looked, but I know there is still pad there. I got them from raceshopper.com (http://www.raceshopper.com/sp_rotors.shtml) -- in that link they talk about the quality of their parts and the design they use to overcome the problems commonly seen in drilled/slotted rotors. I got mine nickel plated b/c I was sick of the rust that ate up my original rotors.

I just used the best pads autozone sold--PFC carbon metallic. I know it doesn't really make sense, but I've heard that they will replace brake pads that have the lifetime warranty after they have been worn out...anyone else heard this? I was told by the guys at race shopper NOT to use ceramic pads on these rotors.

My front brakes were dual piston stock...but I have a blazer. Did they do dual pistons on blazers and single piston on s10's?

I like my real wheel discs, but that is b/c I actually know how to deal w/ them. I've heard that drums are a bit more difficult to service.

My .02; hope that helped.

[Blazer69]

i wanna switch to rear discs just becuz they are easier to fix and replace....obviously the braking is much better but my blazer eats up brakes like no tomorrow......

[Mikz86TA]

Thanks for the imput so far. A few of you had questions too I see. 1: I believe all Blazers with DP fronts came with rear disc. 2: The only trucks that came with RWDisc are the crews I think but am not positive. 3: I think most late model blazers had 4w disc. 4: Drums have alot of little parts and tension springs to remove to get to the shoes. Yes, they are a PITA! You gotta be careful and wear eye protection ( I had a friend almost put an eye out while doing a rw drum job), and pay attention to where it all goes and its order. Always do one at a time so the other one is a reference on putting the 1st back together. I assume dimpled looks like a drilled but is like a slotted. I could see benefits there. I forgot Wagner, Ive used their stuff in the past...pretty pleased. So if the drawbacks in the braking setup we have is mainly the booster, is there a improvement. I know hydrobooster is one...any others?

[Blazer69]

i did my first rear drum brakes without a brake tool kit...talk about pita....i bought a kit almost instantly after that....

[droopy89]

Well im happy with my AC Delco Ceramic pads in the front, hardly any fade

[Hammer Head]

What about a hydroboost unit? hahaha

[Blazer69]

me and my brother are putting a hydroboost unit in his mudd truck suburban,....

[jharrison]

I went with Brembo's cross drilled rotors. The main reason was due to the fact that I warped several sets of OEM front rotors, and the ones that didn't warp would end up with cracks running from the center out (I played with different pad types, but got tired of compromising). The increased surface area on the drilled rotors aids in cooling. I haven't had either of the above mentioned problems again with any pad I choose to use. I also went to a DOT 4 fluid just cause of the temperatures here. I mean since most DOT 4's can be mixed with DOT 3's why not go with the better fluid. If it does nothing else performance wise at least you increased your safety factor some.

[grumpy95]

Mikz86ta did u ever find out about the f-boby and s-10's front calipers being the same?

[grumpy95]

Just checked pn# for d.s front caliper for my 95 s10 and 86 camaro. Same pn# according to summit. Think i may order quick change calipers for camaro if they don't fit i can always put them on the camaro..

[Mikz86TA]

No, I never persued it. Had other things going on. I was already 99% that the brake pads were the same. Both looked like GMs Metric calipers too. Seems from your fndings they are the same. Lemme know how it works. I wonder if SSBC would do a discount for a order of 2 sets? hmmm

[grumpy95]

just heard back from someone on s10 forum who said they called ssbc about them and they say they listed them for 4x4 only cause on some 2wd trucks they hit the frame on hard turns...