so which one is objectively better?
"Let's look at some things Objectively then"
I truly believe "You get what you pay for" when it comes to building a nice quality hot rod. You can have the guy down the street build your engine for cheap, then again you can have Don Cruz build your engine and it will be expensive, again you get what you pay for!
Will the LS brakes be better than the OEM Regal brakes? Sure, but Not without a bunch of fabrication & labor involved by the owner or the added cost to have a machine shop do it for them! Then the question is "Was it done right" ? But that wasn't the question that was asked...
BAER brake systems come several way's:
* Come without the modified spindles for several hundred dollars cheaper
* Come pre-assembled on modified spindles for a completely easy "Bolt-On" installation.
#1)
LS Brakes require making brackets, machining the spindles and a lathe to cut down the stock rotors to mention some of the modifications.
BAER the whole front brake system comes pre-assembled on modified spindles ready to "BOLT ON" (No machining involved at all), 6061 T-6 billet machined hubs with Timken or SKF bearings installed. Hubs are pre-built with bearings, races and studs and packed with Redline synthetic grease, Everything needed per corner (including hoses and fittings), 6061 T-6 billet aluminum hat (anodized black) and bolted to the rotor (2-piece rotor), High grade U281 fine thread stainless hardware (with captured nuts). Rotor comes pre-assembled.
#2)
LS brakes come with 2-piston calipers
BAER SS4+ come with 4-piston calipers
#3)
LS brakes come with a 1" thick rotor x 11" dia
BAER comes with the same size but come with a directionally vaned slotted, drilled, zinc plated rotor
Additional items to consider when comparing Baer calipers to others:
Piston placement and pad shape – the most efficient pad shape is one that is long in length and short in height, compared to a pad with the same area that is short in length and tall in height. The reason that the longer pads are preferred is simple leverage. The shorter pad height allows the pistons in the caliper to be placed as far away from the hub center as possible (read; close as possible to the rotor edge). This has the same effect as running a larger diameter rotor without the weight penalty. This is also the number one reason 4 piston calipers are typically superior to 2 piston calipers. It has nothing to do with clamping force or pad surface area.
Now to the most important aspect of caliper design…"Stiffness" – The reason you need to remove the caliper to replace the pads on the BAER calipers is that the pads don’t come out of the top of the caliper. This is due to the large radius corners at the opening in the top of the caliper. The large radiuses help resolve two key problems inherent in virtually all caliper designs. They help to minimize caliper flex as the result of the piston acting on the caliper body when the brakes are applied. (This is what most people think about when they think of caliper flex, and the only thing some caliper manufacturers know to exist).
But, it is not the only distortion (flex) the caliper is experiencing during heavy braking. It also resolves another phenomenon that happens during heavy braking. Since the calipers are only mounted on one side of the caliper, as is the case with all automotive mounting configurations; the opposite side of the caliper wants to move in the direction of the rotor rotation due to the friction of the outboard pad “pulling” the caliper with it. This action causes the caliper to distort, or “twist”. This also affects pedal firmness and modulation.
Some caliper designs incorporate elaborate, spider web type, bolt in bridges at the top of the caliper to help minimize this. The bolt in bridges do a good job of minimizing caliper flex in a number of directions, but there are a few downsides…You still need to remove the fasteners to access the pads. And, they restrict airflow, reducing the pumping efficiency of the rotors so the systems typically run hotter than with our design. Other designs simply use a single bolt or two from one side of the caliper to the other in an effort to help minimize caliper distortion, but the design is antiquated, does little to eliminate the second condition outlined above; and STILL requires removal to change the pads.
In addition to the large radius corners, Baer also employs a 6 bolt per caliper design to fasten the two halves together on the calipers. More bolts equal an increase in caliper stiffness!
Manufacturing techniques and materials -BAER calipers are machined from billet extrusions, not cast aluminum like a majority of the OEM calipers. Extrusions are basically billet bars that are forged into the rough shape of the caliper prior to machining.
Inset dust and weather seals - Unlike a majority of the competitor’s calipers, Baer utilizes both pressure seals and wiper seals. The wiper seals are inset back into the bores to avoid being over-heated and failing. Most competitors either don’t use wiper seals at all which greatly reduces the reliability of the caliper or employ dust “boots” or seals that contact the back of the pad, which often results in the boots or seals failing when used in a competition environment.
BAER is the only company that addresses pad knock back issues on rear applications that use axles with c-clip retained axles with our patent pending, VeriSlide brackets.
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