Camaro brakes.... Bolt-on?

[ed1380]

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Camaro on the left, dsm 2g piston on the right.

how big are those compared to the evo 8 brembos?

 

[PieEyedPiper]

How much are the brackets/calipers available for? If you're not increasing the rotor diameter I do not feel this mod would provide a significant improvement. Reduced fade, no doubt. Increased braking torque? Not too sure.

Can you describe the spacer you're using in further detail? It's likely there's a rotor out there that will negate the spacer.
How large are the Camaro's rotors?

 

[123abc]

How much are the brackets/calipers available for? If you're not increasing the rotor diameter I do not feel this mod would provide a significant improvement. Reduced fade, no doubt. Increased braking torque? Not too sure.

If you feel all that matters is brake torque, then I can't help you. I can lock up the stock brakes no problem so from that view, why ever upgrade?

I can get the caliper for about 80 through work, which includes a 50 dollar core charge and my discount. The bracket was 15, and the rotors are 18 a piece. Not sure what they run on ebay.

Can you describe the spacer you're using in further detail? It's likely there's a rotor out there that will negate the spacer.
How large are the Camaro's rotors?

The Camaro rotors are too big for the calipers to be bolt on. If you think you can find a better rotor, go ahead. I spent a lot of time at work ordering in parts and browsing through the system so I'm pretty confident in 300z rotors and a spacer.

how big are those compared to the evo 8 brembos?

Evo Brembo parts are a little hard to get through work, so I don't know. Evo brakes are more spendy anyways.

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

Just wanted to throw in my two cents...

1) Props for innovating and figuring out a potential semi 'bolt-on' upgrade. It's because people do stuff like this that these cars are still popular to mod.

2) Personally, I don't think this particular upgrade is worth it. Yes, the rotors are slightly larger and the pads have slightly more surface area and the calipers are lighter. But in my opinion, the possible safety hazard for using non standard brakes is not worth this effort/cost. It would be more effective to purchase a good set of pads and a good aftermarket rotor. The generic OEM-like ones from the parts store are of less quality than aftermarket performance ones and will warp much easier. I've had pro-slot rotors on my Talon for the last 2-3 years without any sign of warping. Those rotors coupled with EBC green stuff pads gives me more than adequate stopping power. Even when doing 110+ and having to slow down at a short 1/4 mile track.

 

[eclipsh]

Just wanted to throw in my two cents...

1) Props for innovating and figuring out a potential semi 'bolt-on' upgrade. It's because people do stuff like this that these cars are still popular to mod.

2) Personally, I don't think this particular upgrade is worth it. Yes, the rotors are slightly larger and the pads have slightly more surface area and the calipers are lighter. But in my opinion, the possible safety hazard for using non standard brakes is not worth this effort/cost. It would be more effective to purchase a good set of pads and a good aftermarket rotor. The generic OEM-like ones from the parts store are of less quality than aftermarket performance ones and will warp much easier. I've had pro-slot rotors on my Talon for the last 2-3 years without any sign of warping. Those rotors coupled with EBC green stuff pads gives me more than adequate stopping power. Even when doing 110+ and having to slow down at a short 1/4 mile track.

All the parts come as stock equipment on two cars. Shaving a smidge of metal off isn't going to do anything.

The stock 2 piston calipers and rotors never get a chance to heat soak drag racing. This upgrade is really best for people who hot lap. Extra thermal mass becomes very important then. I've heat soaked my brakes enough to get them spongey just doing two hard decels from 80 to 30 coming down a mountain pass here. Part of that was the pads but part is simply due to thin rotors. I've read enough brake upgrade threads to know that even high quality rotors with the stock 2-piston calipers will head fade and crack under racing conditions. Simply put, more meat is a must for road racers.

123abc, can you post pictures of the back side of the brakes on the car and what you shaved down?

 

[PieEyedPiper]

If you feel all that matters is brake torque, then I can't help you. I can lock up the stock brakes no problem so from that view, why ever upgrade?


The Camaro rotors are too big for the calipers to be bolt on. If you think you can find a better rotor, go ahead.

Relax. You're coming off a little defensive. No one said that rotor diameter is all that matters or that rotor thickness doesn't matter. And about the spacer, I just wanted to know it's dimensions so I could get an insight to what's "wrong" with the 300zx rotor fitment. It's great you've found a solution that adds mass/thickness to the rotor in a stock sized setup.

Locking up your brakes is more a function of tire grip in your example.

For those pondering a c5 or similar upgrade using these brackets, you may not arrive at your intended destination. The limiting factor of this setup appears to be the bracket itself. It's always nifty when something else fits but investing in corvette calipers etc. will likely not prove fruitful if you're still limited to a stock sized rotor. The rotor is 18% thicker, giving it more mass, but also negating the weight saved with the aluminum calipers.

 

[123abc]

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You can see where the bolts go into the caliper bracket, thats where the material needs to come off. Basically, taking enough down so that whole side is flat. Sorry, I don't have Photoshop anymore so I can't highlight it.

 

[agentorange313]

MSpaint FTW .

I thought the 1g knuckles, on each of the mounting ears, has a small indentation, look like a flat washer should take its place. Do you need a washer for mounting these calipers? Does this affect the way you need the shave the caliper mounts?

 

[123abc]

MSpaint FTW .

I thought the 1g knuckles, on each of the mounting ears, has a small indentation, look like a flat washer should take its place. Do you need a washer for mounting these calipers? Does this affect the way you need the shave the caliper mounts?

No, because it does not mount on that side of the knuckle. It bolts up right as the factory brackets do.

 

[laserspeeddemon]

You need more rep!

 

[ed1380]

grind it off like this?

 

[123abc]

grind it off like this?

Yes sir. That along with a spacer behind the rotor should work.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

If the parts are purchased from RockAuto we can use a discount code.
Just skimming their site and grabbing the cheaper options it looks like
$30 for each rotor
$90ea. for reman. camaro calipers that include the brackets
totaling ~$240 pre discount code.
Then factor in pads and the spacer. Basically this can be done for less than $300 and provide an 18% increase in rotor mass over stock equipment while still retaining a stock-sized form factor.

 

[123abc]

If the parts are purchased from RockAuto we can use a discount code.
Just skimming their site and grabbing the cheaper options it looks like
$30 for each rotor
$90ea. for reman. camaro calipers that include the brackets
totaling ~$240 pre discount code.
Then factor in pads and the spacer. Basically this can be done for less than $300 and provide an 18% increase in rotor mass over stock equipment while still retaining a stock-sized form factor.

I actually get the parts at cost through work. Prices break down like this:

Rotors: $17 each
Calipers: $40+$50 core charge
Caliper Brackets: $18 each
4 bolts: $4

I come up with $254. You could save a lot on calipers if you can find a junk 98-02 f-body. Of course though, this is all rounded up from recent memory.

Basically this can be done for less than $300 and provide an 18% increase in rotor mass over stock equipment while still retaining a stock-sized form factor.

Exactly why I like this. It's kind of a stealth setup that fits under our 16's and is not bad on the wallet. Too bad this is all just speculation, but I should be able to have this on my car within the next 3 weeks.

 

[92GSXman]

Great job man! I actually put together some rear disc kits for the Mirage/Colt guys a few years ago so I can kinda relate. I too went through a ton of rotors trying to find something that fit nicely.

 

[123abc]

Great job man! I actually put together some rear disc kits for the Mirage/Colt guys a few years ago so I can kinda relate. I too went through a ton of rotors trying to find something that fit nicely.

I actually have a set of these aluminum calipers that I pulled from a 99 Z28 a few weeks ago. I had them listed on the Galant board and a few Mirage/Colt boards and a buddy of mine told me about this thread. Yes, they are used but the brackets are there and they are in good shape. Just need a little scrubbing to get the brake dust off. Looking to get $55 shipped for them assuming I can fit them in a large flat rate box.

Also I don't have the specs on them but I will say that they are quite a bit lighter and a lot bigger. They actually make the mitsu twin piston calipers look small.

Yeah, I saw your thread just this morning. Im actually going to go that route and pick those up off you but I need a couple days to put money in my account. I'll send you a pm on gvr4.

 

[Dhan]

Very interesting thread with a lot of great information. Curious to see how they pan out after you mount them.

 

[123abc]

Just finishing up painting the calipers I got from 92gsxman (89mirageman). After a struggle with a couple slider pins, I'm happy to say the brackets and calipers are in good shape.

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As you can see, I still need to remove the material off the brackets:

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I get the pleasure of working all weekend of course, but I should be driving around on these next week. Autocross is a week from this sunday as well, so that'll be a good test for them.

 

[123abc]

Got everything bolted on without the spacer behind the rotor. I have washers in the pics to mock it all up:

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This shows what I've had to modify on the bracket:

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[bmoha7321]

I autocross and would like to do some track days so I see the thicker rotors being usefull for heat dissipation.

 

[dsmdeliveryboy]

I love this idea, I also autocross and road-race and would like a little bit of a upgrade. I was going to buy the 3KGTVR4 brakes from RTM but if this works out good I may end up doing this.

 

[123abc]

The final product, no washers needed:

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Just about to bleed them and take it for a test drive. Waiting on helper....

 

[PieEyedPiper]

They look even more compact than awd 2pots.

 

[123abc]

They look even more compact than awd 2pots.

They actually end up being about the same over-all size when you look at them from that angle. However, I was kind of struggling to hold up the stock caliper and bracket in that pic whereas with the SS brakes, I could lift those all day.


Car drives fine, just need to bed the pads in so they can really bite the rotors. So far though from a quick test drive last night, I can tell they have more clamping force. I won't know their full potential until I break them in though.


BTW, anybody have experience with Performance Friction brake pads?

 

[twack]

heres 123abc making spacers out of stock rotors

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and heres the madman (123abc) in action

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