Suspension/Brake upgrades...

J

Jon01

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2002
I'm new to the ballgame and definitely learning as I go, but one place I would like to make improvements is the braking system and suspension setup.
Questions-1) Are there any relatively easy bolt on 'bigger' brakes for the front?
2)What kind of modifications to the suspension work in the quest for better handling/launch? Swaybars, dropped spindles, tubular control arms, ...???
Thanks for any input!
Jon
 
Ok, read through that stuff, and I have a question or two.
First, I can't use the B-body rotors because a)their bolt pattern is different, and b)the studs are a larger diameter, right?
Second, the easiest way to find those spindles(12") is to go through and measure what???? The bearing inside diameter, rotor diameter, ???
Do any of you have this done to your cars? If so, does it make much difference?
Thanks for the fast relies guys!
Jon
maybe I should actually get the car in my possession before I go planning mods, huh?
 
To answer your question....You could use the b body rotors if you redrill it to the 4 3/4" bolt pattern and use you original 7/16" studs. B body bolt pattern is 5" with 1/2" studs. The easier solution is to get the 1LE rotors for an 87-92 F body. Its the same rotor casting with the smaller bolt pattern and lugs. Aftermarket cost approx $80@
The easiest way to find the spindles is to look for a 78-90 B body wagon. All are guaranteed to have what you are looking for. From people I have spoken to, some of the 91-96 b body stuff changed such as the taper for the lower ball joint.
Easiest way to tell if you have a car with 12 inch rotors is the rotors will have the 1/2" studs.
I just did this upgrade last weekend and can only describe it as wicked! Try stopping from 100mph on the highway several times and you will know what I mean ;)
 
I got these http://www.aerospacecomponents.com/page7a.htm#p7a

Their 12 inch system did not need arms. You can do it yourself in about 4 to 6 hours with the right tools. It is all billet with 4 piston calipers and saved me 23 lbs of just brake weight. Stops and looks awesome and for $800 you get the 12 inch kit with the stainless lines. You need nothing after that. It does come with a 1/2 inch spacer. You need make sure you take that into account with your front wheels.

Now you need to get mouth guard with that kit due to the stopping force and the steering wheel. :D :eek: :mad:
But its worth it. :D

I have photos if you want to see it, and even use to have the install process with photos and tools needed. I might be able to get that. Just email me for that if interested mike@spoolinup.com
 
The caveat to the 12" junkyard brake conversion is that you cannot use GN steel wheels. T-type wheels will work fine, as will GTA/GNX 16" wheels.

You can upgrade the brakes to 11" disks, using spindles from non wagon and earlier B-bodies. Some of these actually have 4.75" bolt patterns so you can use the junkyard disks, also, saving some money and I think these will work with 15" steel wheels.

11" brakes is still better than 10.5" brakes.
 
I tried the link to Aerospace components, but could not find the 12" rotors. Does it include taller spindles? If so, how do they fit, without the new upper control arms? And if you don't get the taller spindles and new arms, then you don't get the handling improvement from the better camber curve. What am I missing?
 
You probably have to call them for your set up. The site is not very car specific. It does not include taller spindles because for their kit you do not need them. You drill into the stock spindle where the dust shield holes are and the kit bolts on. And with 265/50's up front, polyurathane bushings and new springs it handles and stops awesome. No complaints here at all.
 
Yeah, the Aerospace brake kit is nice, but the best part of the b body swap is the improvement in suspension geometry from using the taller spindle. The single best thing is the decrease in tire scrub/wear that was built into the stock g body spindles.
Someone already mentioned that the 11 inch b body spindles will most likely work with the stock 86-87 GN wheels. This is most likely true. Other cars to look for those spindles on are 70-81 F bodies. 75-79 x bodies and 73-77 A bodies. It is basically the same tall spindle as the ones found on the b body wagons with the exception of the relocated caliper mounts.
 
Originally posted by Spoolinup
You probably have to call them for your set up. The site is not very car specific. It does not include taller spindles because for their kit you do not need them. You drill into the stock spindle where the dust shield holes are and the kit bolts on. And with 265/50's up front, polyurathane bushings and new springs it handles and stops awesome. No complaints here at all.
Click to expand...
Spoolin,,Have you found/tried a direct bolt in REAR disc setup from AeroSpace ??
 
I do not recall aerospace having a rear set up for Gn's, but I am sure they do. I know that pst does. But honestly I am not sure if that is worth the $600 or $700 on a rear set up that sees only a fraction of the braking the front does. A stainless line upgrade, new bigger brake cylinders, and larger shoes make a nice difference to the rears for hundreds less. If you have the bread for the rears though every foot counts when your doing a hundred and that smokey appears out of nowhere.
 
Upper control arms

I have spindles, rotors, calipers and hardware just need upper control arms to do the change over, any one know were i can find Robert Adams , Emailed him but no response.
Thanks:)
 
Originally posted by Spoolinup
I do not recall aerospace having a rear set up for Gn's, but I am sure they do. I know that pst does. But honestly I am not sure if that is worth the $600 or $700 on a rear set up that sees only a fraction of the braking the front does. A stainless line upgrade, new bigger brake cylinders, and larger shoes make a nice difference to the rears for hundreds less. If you have the bread for the rears though every foot counts when your doing a hundred and that smokey appears out of nowhere.
Click to expand...
http://www.aerospacecomponents.com/page6.htm#p6a
:D

www.aerospacecomponents.com/page6.htm#p6a
 
Re: Upper control arms

Originally posted by petesgn
I have spindles, rotors, calipers and hardware just need upper control arms to do the change over, any one know were i can find Robert Adams , Emailed him but no response.
Thanks:)
Click to expand...

I've been there before :)

If he seems like he blowing you off, he's probably waiting for a shipment of arms to come in and doesn't have anything to sell you. Email him again and ask when he thinks he will have arms in stock. I waited about 4-6 weeks because UB machine had sent him a batch of incorrect arms.

For $250, If you aren't in a hurry, the arms are worth the wait. You also may consided going with the cheapest global west arms and buying offset crossshafts/bushings from the autoparts store. Shipping the spindles to robert for machining isn't cheap and if you are in a hurry, for about $100-$150 you can use the global west pieces and have them a lot quicker.

With either UBmachine or the cheap global west arms, you will need to use a heat shield under the downpipe on the back bushing.
 
Control arms

Thanks UNGN for the info, If i go with Gobal West do you know what the part # is for the offset shaft ?
Thanks:D
 
I looked into rear discs and there is a guy (doug100 on Ebay) that sells the caliper mounts for about $80. You can then scrounge parts or buy one of the aftermarket kits for the older 10 bolts that use the 79-85 Seville calipers and 79-81 Trans Am rotors. Some of those selling them claim a 30% reduction in stopping distance with rear discs. I would think that we could take advantage of wider/stickier rear tires with better rear brakes, but I don't know. If you don't need them for stopping, they are generally thought to be detrimental in a drag race application. They drag a little and don't hold boost as well.

Tom

$500 rear brake kit
 
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