Brake Upgrade Research and Summary S-10, LS-1, etc

[captainron]

Ive done both conversions ( s10 upfront and ls1 rear in back ). On the rears, stock height car, there was no need for the shock relocation.

Apparently the shock relocation is only necessary if you want to retain a parking brake assembly. Because of the width of the rear caliper, the parking brake cable mechanism extends into the angle of the rear shock.

 

[charlief1]

Nope. The bleeder on the caliper is very close to the shock on mine. Also the brake hose will rub to some degree.

 

[thutch]

i have been looking into doing a brake upgrade this winter,any info on the bracket offered by flynbye.com to bolt the c5 brakes to b/g and s10 spindles.

 

[1Badelky]

Well since you asked, I'm at a similar decision point on the rear brakes:

1. Rebuild OEM with aluminum drums and S-10 wheel solenoids - No. Still old drum technology for where I want to go with the car.

2. LT1 style rear disc conversion from Ed Miller- nice setup but requires shock relocation brackets and I don't know how that will work on a lowered car. Also I don't know about the availability of off the shelf brake pads for the PBR calipers in this kit.

3. S-10 rear disc setup - Requires modification of the rear end housing (because ours is metric) and the use of a spacer at each housing end to get the correct geometry for the caliper. However does not require the use of shock relocation brackets.

4. Baer, Strange, Aerospace - $$$$

Any feedback?

hey, sorry I haven't replied to your PM with more detailed info, but I see you have done a lot of research already.

I tried Ed Miller's brackets and decided not to use them because they also interfere with the shocks if you want to use an E-brake.

My main problem with the aftermarket (other than BAER, for the most part) is that they use proprietary wear parts. So you might have a nice 13" brake setup, but what do you do when it's time for rotors and pads, or even a rebuild kit? Special order them from Aerospace, Wilwood etc. And cross your fingers the parts are still available and/or the company is still in business. Also, most kits do not have an E-brake provision, which I believe should be on every street driven car, auto or manual, but that's just my 2 cents.

So if you want an E-brake, and GM wear parts, it comes down to the Blazer, or F-body rear brakes. I prefer the 98-05 Blazer brakes because they do not require altering the shock geometry, and unlike the LS1 brakes, you don't have to fab a bracket to hold the E-brake cable. The cable bracket is cast into the backing plate. they are 11.6" rotors with a single piston aluminum caliper, similar to the LS1 setup.

The Blazer brakes require the rear end to be cut and drilled to accept the 4-bolt backing plates (just like for the LS1 brakes) and also require a small spacer because of manufacturing differences between the drum and disc equipped axle housings on the Blazer. Such a spacer (or a complete kit) is available from the Ebay seller "s10warehouse". they have sold many S10 parts and are very reputable. here is a link that will explain. REAR DISC BRAKE SPACER FOR CHEVY BLAZER S10 CONVERSION: eBay Motors (item 390142246975 end time Oct-08-10 18:56:45 PDT)

here are some great links about the S10 Blazer rear setup:
fordmann.com | Sonoma: Rear Disc Conversion
My project thread on S10forum: [PROJECT] WTF is an El Camino doing on S10forum!?! - S-10 Forum

you can find some info on S10forum as well, but for the most part they just swap the whole rearend, so about the only useful info will be specs and pictures. you might also check pro-touring.com

whatever you do with the rear brakes, bear in mind they only do about 30-35% of the stopping with our suspension, so the 11.6" disc will be more than sufficient.

 

[Brian Verson]

s-10 rear disc on 8.5

Whats the deal with this. I've heard of the front swap but not the rear. Where can I get some info Dudes. :biggrin:

 

[83hurstguy]

nobody has touched my post from #17 above... where are pics or stories of the S-10 swap on the rears done on a G-body that is lowered? I know the swap can be done on S-10's, A-bodies, and F-bodies with no issues. The S-10 rotors have way more offset than the LS1 rears (so they clear wheels much easier), but run right back into potential frame interference issues.

 

[1Badelky]

nobody has touched my post from #17 above... where are pics or stories of the S-10 swap on the rears done on a G-body that is lowered? I know the swap can be done on S-10's, A-bodies, and F-bodies with no issues. The S-10 rotors have way more offset than the LS1 rears (so they clear wheels much easier), but run right back into potential frame interference issues.

from my extensive research, there aren't many G-bodys actually using the S-Blazer rear brake setup. I will see what i can find though.

 

[charlief1]

from my extensive research, there aren't many G-bodys actually using the S-Blazer rear brake setup. I will see what i can find though.

I started to but I had everything to do the Camaro so I staued with it.

 

[davidf]

We've been using the S10 Blazer set up on 6 cars for 2-4 years now and havent had one problem so far. I'd say these are the best bang for the buck. The hubs arent that hard to find in a boneyard. New ones are around $100 if one goes bad. Stopping power along with HydroBoost is awesome!


I run 13" C5 brakes with a hydroboost on my GN and to be honest, the S-10 Blazer brakes stop just as well.

100% agree. I like mine! Just grab the spindles at the junk yard. Loaded reman'd calipers are cheap at Auotzone.

 

[Goat]

I will be doing the rear disc brake setup on my s10 with a GN transplant so I can go further with modifications to the car and still be able to stop good. Now with that being said can I run a larger rotor or some kinda caliper to grab more of the brake area?