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After years of brake suckage, and trying to haul the car down from 140mph at the big end of the track on the shitty 10" brakes with iron calipers, I finally did something other than make the car go faster.
I got all the parts from Big Brake Upgrades, and I have to say Scott is great to deal with. He knows his **** and genuinely seems to enjoy building these kits.
This was an experiment in wheel fitment, as my GTA wheels were pieced together from the best of 3 other sets of wheels over the years. So, in the front I have one dimpled rim, and one non-dimpled rim. The differences on the inside are subtle, but matter here.
The dimpled rims will fit this setup (12" LS1 brakes with Z06 calipers) as-is or with very minimal clearancing.
The non-dimpled rims require a significant amount of clerancing (Read: Grinding) to fit these calipers. It's not a major hack, but a little bit of ribs need to be removed out on the edge of the caliper where it approaches the face of the wheel. I'll get some pictures of where and how later in case anyone wants/needs to do it.
The install itself is a snap, as everything comes assembled on the spindles. So you literally just drop it on the ball joint, hook up the strut, tie rod, and brake lines and you're off.
It looks frican great, and I can't wait to wear these in and get some hard stops on 'em.
Before: Factory 10", single-piston , iron calipers.
i had the same clearance issue with my LS1 brake swap with my GTA wheels: my solution was to make some 3/16" spacers at work (i'm a machinist, so i can do stuff like that)..
i had the same clearance issue with my LS1 brake swap with my GTA wheels: my solution was to make some 3/16" spacers at work (i'm a machinist, so i can do stuff like that)..
Haha, I HAVE 3/16" spacers. That was the consensus from Scott at BBU, that the Ls1 calipers definitely fit with the 3/16 spacer.
They are almost the same, mechanically I believe, but the outside part of the casting must have taller ribs on the vette caliper. But they look cool AF.
So heres a question,I have fbody ls1 front brakes i want to use with my gta wheels.If you grind down the ribs on the caliper then a spacer isnt needed for the dimpled gta wheels being used up front?
Im about to pull the trigger on BBU spindle assembly but this is my only setback since I have no access to make a spacer or find one that is so thin.Im in desperate need to slow this thing down like you from making the car faster.
So heres a question,I have fbody ls1 front brakes i want to use with my gta wheels.If you grind down the ribs on the caliper then a spacer isnt needed for the dimpled gta wheels being used up front?
Im about to pull the trigger on BBU spindle assembly but this is my only setback since I have no access to make a spacer or find one that is so thin.Im in desperate need to slow this thing down like you from making the car faster.
With the 'Vette calipers you need a spacer. Get a .250 (1/4") set. I'll get pics of the calipers for you next time I take the wheels off, if you want to see. It's pretty straight forward though.
HOWEVER, they tell me that the Ls1 calipers definitely clear without any clearancing (read: Grinding). The vette calipers need some work ... functionally they should be the same, though, the zo6 pieces just look cool AF.
Tested these out a bunch, as it needed a lot of practice. The brakes have so much more effective brake torque, that they now easily lock up the front wheels. You could stand on the factory brakes and barely get them to screech. So, after some practice modulating the pedal, and some more to go of course, I saw some of the potential.
I did these tests from 50mph, due to the area I was in for safety reasons.
Shortest stopping distance:
Factory 10" brake - 97' (other attempts were 102' and 114')
LS1/Z06 12" brake - 57' (on the 3rd try, so the brakes were already a little warm)
Good frican, grief, man. There's more in it, too.
The orange cone is the spot the car stopped with factory brakes. The car is sitting at the end of the stop with the new brakes.
That's a drastic save your car difference in the braking!
I agree, I've stood on my stock brakes an even pushing the pedal all the way to the floor and I barely got any lockup. Hot or cold it made no difference.
That's a drastic save your car difference in the braking!
I agree, I've stood on my stock brakes an even pushing the pedal all the way to the floor and I barely got any lockup. Hot or cold it made no difference.
Yeah man, you can fit a lot of toddlers chasing a ball into 40', or asshats locking their brakes up on the highway for no reason.
One of my favorite things changed on the car in a very, very long time.
That's great! I started trying to price out the parts for the 1LE system and they want too much for the parts. This option is cost friendly and gives the same or better results as some of the aftermarket brake kits.
So for replacement parts you can go to any auto parts store and just get LS-4th gen or C5 Z06 parts?
or really screw with the parts jockey and order the rotors for a 2002 Impala- they are the same brakes as the 98-02 F body, but with a cast iron caliper..
or really screw with the parts jockey and order the rotors for a 2002 Impala- they are the same brakes as the 98-02 F body, but with a cast iron caliper..
thats a single piston caliper that is very similar to factory third gen brakes?? and the rotors are drilled for GM fwd platforms which is 5x115 bolt patterns
wow that pic and video really puts it in perspective. I have fbody ls1 calipers so if i dont need to grind them then hopefully no spacer is needed and everything will be a simple swap. I was thinking of getting hawk pads and maybe slotted rotors but if your results were with stock pads/rotors then I dont think I need to upgrade just yet.i get a full spare set of pads/rotors when i bought them.
wow that pic and video really puts it in perspective. I have fbody ls1 calipers so if i dont need to grind them then hopefully no spacer is needed and everything will be a simple swap. I was thinking of getting hawk pads and maybe slotted rotors but if your results were with stock pads/rotors then I dont think I need to upgrade just yet.i get a full spare set of pads/rotors when i bought them.
My rotors are slotted/drilled, but that shouldn't make much of a difference in a single hard stop ... it'll definitely help reduce fade, though.
You will need the spacers if you have GTA wheels, there's just not enough clearance at the rim face for the calipers (the Ls1s are the same in that dimension I believe).
thats a single piston caliper that is very similar to factory third gen brakes?? and the rotors are drilled for GM fwd platforms which is 5x115 bolt patterns
the calipers are cast iron single pistons, but the rotors are the exact same part... the wheel stud holes are drilled big to accommodate both bolt patterns.
also, just a little side note that might apply to some people here: the LS1 F body calipers are a bolt on upgrade on the Impala and Monte Carlo as long as you get the brackets, just in case someone here has one of them as a daily driver and wants better brakes or cooler looking calipers. i believe this holds true for any 97 and newer W body (Grand Prix, etc) if you get the bigger rotors..
What is the price tag for this? I didn't see it on the website. Assume I need the full bolt on package.
Thanks!
I think with all the bells and whistles (powdercoated everything, stainless lines, zinc washed rotors, etc) it came out to around 1300 bucks. I'd expect to spend 15-1600 total by the time you get done doing the work. I also bought new strut/spindle bolts and such.
To anyone attempting this setup on these wheels ... I got some VERY minor scratching of the inside of the wheel face from the caliper, like the "Corvette" raised letters kissed the powdercoat and got some black stuff on them. It looks like it was intermittent and only under certain conditions, as there is no visible scuffing on the calipers. The only evidence was some black powdercoat stuck in the "e" in "Corvette"
I switched from the 3/16 spacer to a 1/4" spacer and it seems to now have PLENTY of space.
Its been a while since I have been on the forum but its nice to see that you still have your car and are still modding it. My silver one is long gone but I have a replacement in the works and I would like to tastefully mod it with just wheels and big brake kit. Looks like I will be attempting the C5/Z06 brake upgrade for the third time!!
This it definitely one of the best upgrades ive done to my car. Makes driving it so much better, no worries about having to stop hard at higher speeds, unlike the stock brakes. Also the bigger brakes just look so much better in the wheels. BTW, I have dimpled GTA wheels and I don't use a spacer. I did grind the cast flashing off the face or the calipers tho and its still close to the wheel. But hasn't touched the wheel.
And someone mentioned the LS1 brakes on W-bodies. That is also a great upgrade. I did it on my Regal GS. Almost as much of an upgrade as it is on a thirdgen. Highly recommend it if you drive an W-body car also. And it literally bolts on.
Its been a while since I have been on the forum but its nice to see that you still have your car and are still modding it. My silver one is long gone but I have a replacement in the works and I would like to tastefully mod it with just wheels and big brake kit. Looks like I will be attempting the C5/Z06 brake upgrade for the third time!!
Holy ****! Good to hear from you dude.
Yeah a lot has happened since then ... I'm living out in California now. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it, although, today it seems my ignition switch has quit
It never ends!
Definitely do the brakes ... such a great improvement.
07-08-2015, 10:43 AM
thats a single piston caliper that is very similar to factory third gen brakes?? and the rotors are drilled for GM fwd platforms which is 5x115 bolt patterns 
