stainless steel brake corp

woobie1966 · 05-10-03, 12:02 PM

I am etting a bunch of work done on my vette, and I got the "while im at it" bug. I was considering changing the rotors to slotted, braided lines, and high perf pads for my brake upgrade. I was told that the calipers on the early c-3 will eventually leak..and then we started discussing the force 10 system from ssbc, has anyone installed this system? does it truly decrease stopping distance? any comments
its kind of pricey but if it works and wnt give me any problems I would think its worth it
thanks

JohnZ · 05-10-03, 07:28 PM

Unless you're going to road-race your Corvette, they won't do anything for you except empty your wallet, look cool and give you something to talk about on cruise night; max-effort braking performance (for a single stop) is a function of tires, not brakes, as the brakes you already have can lock the wheels with no problem. Slotted rotors and "performance" pads are a self-perpetuating expense, as the semi-metallic pads will "eat" the rotors, stock or aftermarket; OEM pads work just fine on a street-driven car, and your rotors will last forever with them.

woobie1966 · 05-12-03, 07:34 AM

yes, your probably right about it being excessive. I have heard that slotted rotors and braided steel lines would get most of the improvement with very little of the cost (450 vs 1600)
i should maybe keep that $$ towards the paint/ interior re-do
thanks
mike

cruisin-davey-g · 05-12-03, 07:50 AM

Yes, like "JohnZ" has posted. All of the aftermarket braking systems are just a matter of preference. I call 'em "rich-man's bolt-ons". Just keep your stock braking system in good shape & you'll never go wrong. If you're going for looks, just "spruce" up your original system (paint or powdercoat calipers, clean up rotors, etc.) They'll work well, look good & won't drain your bank account.

Good Luck! Dave

woobie1966 · 05-13-03, 01:35 AM

well I like the idea of keeping the money for other mods,but some of the people tell me that sooner or later the stock calipers will leak. i asked about "o ring" calipers, and i was told that while they work, if they become mis aligned thet too will leak.
for now i guess ill take the $$ and do the paint/ finish the interior

cruisin-davey-g · 05-13-03, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woobie1966
well I like the idea of keeping the money for other mods,but some of the people tell me that sooner or later the stock calipers will leak. i asked about "o ring" calipers, and i was told that while they work, if they become mis aligned thet too will leak.
for now i guess ill take the $$ and do the paint/ finish the interior

"wobbie": If you're worried about the stock delco's leaking, just invest in a good rebuilt set of stainless sleeved/stainless piston ones that have the newer double-lipped seals. Those units will run you about 65-100 bucks per caliper, so shop around for a good deal. Also, you can use the braided lines in place of the flex lines (if you're not worried about being bone-stock). They work real well & look good too.

Dave

woobie1966 · 05-14-03, 11:21 AM

hi dave,
well iguess ill keep what i got until it goes bad, although i will get the braided lines, andsee what they do/feel like
thanks
mike

mgms_1968 · 05-14-03, 05:44 PM

I will through in my 2 cents.

I have a 68 and recently replaced the whole system with a Vette brakes sport rotor system. My old calipers where leaking.

I also replaced rotors with slotted system and new performance pads. Replaced all hard lines and installed a new master cylinder.

The car will not stop as hard as I would like it to but that I think is a function of the master cylinder. Which in my case is a manual master cylinder. So now I am thinking about changing the master cylinder to a power type or go with something else such as wildwood master cylinder?

woobie1966 · 05-14-03, 07:40 PM

mgms 1968,
i am lucky enough to have power brakes, is your car not stopping as hard as it used to? before you changes over or just not as quick as you would like.(was there an improvement at all when you switched?) if the master cylinder is bad that is probably the source, luckily they are nor that expensive. does the supercharger give you enough vacum to run power brakes?
thanks for the input
mike

05-14-03, 07:40 PM

Ladies and Gents,

Stock systems are my vote, save your money for other projects, BBBBUUUTTTTT, I would deffinately put the braided stainless steel lines at all four corners!! Speeking from experience, when you have to slam on your brakes you dont want to blow a brake line and go swerving to on side!!! Precaution!!! Get them, like $65 or so in CC, MID amer..etc

GET R DONE_____________________BORDERBUM

cruisin-davey-g · 05-15-03, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mgms_1968
I will through in my 2 cents.

I have a 68 and recently replaced the whole system with a Vette brakes sport rotor system. My old calipers where leaking.

I also replaced rotors with slotted system and new performance pads. Replaced all hard lines and installed a new master cylinder.

The car will not stop as hard as I would like it to but that I think is a function of the master cylinder. Which in my case is a manual master cylinder. So now I am thinking about changing the master cylinder to a power type or go with something else such as wildwood master cylinder?

mgms_1968: Sounds like your ride is a real head turner. Is your "blower" above or below hood line? If you are indeed running a true blower, your engine must be built for it, so, I would think that you might have vacuum problems running a power booster for the brakes. I would suggest looking into maybe a "Hydro-boost" (hydraulic driven) system instead of vacuum. Just a thought.

Dave:

Last Ride · 05-16-03, 07:05 PM

I have yet to install my hydroboost kit, but it's sitting waiting for me to do it one of these days. I can't wait! I got the kit as part of a group purchase on another forum, and it really looks like it will be a great addition to an already decent braking system. I want to get stainless lines as well as do something to spruce up the calipers, but I think I am going to stay with the "stock" calipers. The alternatives just seem too expensive for not a lot of benefit, you know?

mgms_1968 · 05-20-03, 12:56 PM

The brakes are not stoping the cars as well as I would like them. The brakes system prior to the changes was shot to begin with so I have no idea if the manual brakes on a 68 vette are any good. I have nothing to compare my current braking.

I have though about replacing the master cylinder with a power bosted system. It is about $$$ like everything else.

The supercharger is a 144 B&M gives me about 100 hp increase on a stock engine. The blower does not seem to be a problem with vacuum if necessary I can use the existing vacum canister.