U.S. Brakes Oversized GM Calipers

[salvageV6]

Bought a set of the oversized front GM Metric calipers and a set of perfomance friction carbon metallic brake pads for the daily driver.

Also bought one caliper rebuild kit in case of trouble on the road it can sit in the trunk with the tire changing tools.

I will post up some pics. of the parts and the installation here.

First thing I did notice however is the Orange card in the box saying NO Warranty Expressed or Implied and they are NOT DOT approved.

Info. for anyone considering them on their cars.

I doubt there's any serious problems with them engineering wise etc. in what they do, but reading that sorta sucked.

I am still going to use them.

Right now we have Carquest replacement stock type rotors that will be turned, and all the new parts added, Russell braided lines are already on the car with a Cardone 9 year old Powermaster as well.

 

[cpac]

I also bought a set and will be installing in a couple of weeks ,with big brake cylinders in the rear ,,,I will let those interested how brakes perform

 

[zeus87gn]

Interested in knowing the results. Thanks for sharing.

FYI, just cause they don't have DOT approval doesn't mean they aren't as good as or better than GM originals. US Brakes just didn't spend the money with DOT to get their seal of approval on them. Approval's like these cost LOTS of money.

 

[salvageV6]

Yeah but you or your loved ones can't sue their azz if their brake parts fail and kill you.

No warranty at all isn't a good sign to me.

Approved parts do cost the company a lot of money for sure.

Going out for some parts pics. now.

 

[zeus87gn]

Yeah but you or your loved ones can't sue their azz if their brake parts fail and kill you.

No warranty at all isn't a good sign to me.

My guess is that they haven't been out on the market long enough to have a history.
Did they include a customer survey or registration form?

 

[KILL4PEACEUSMC]

Its because they are for circle track racing

 

[salvageV6]

Well, that comment actually makes sense.

Here's some pre-install pictures of the stuff.

 

[zeus87gn]

D@mn, that's a big caliper.
Looks lots bigger than the stock one.

 

[Phatman]

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[chrisgarrett]

I was thinking of buying those, but I wasn't sure if they were right for a street driven car. I contacted them and here's their response.

"These oversized calipers would increase your front braking but could cause ill handling. If your front brakes out-stop your rear brakes by too much, they can lock up prior to the rear brakes engaging well and cause handling problems when braking and turning at the same time. For improved braking, I would recommend replacing your rear drums with disc brakes and then look at replacing your fronts with our oversized front calipers."

 

[novaderrik]

they aren't technically DOT legal- but then neither are most of those $2k or higher multi piston kits that companies like Wilwood sell, either.
most baer kits are DOT legal- but that's only becasue the big auto manufacturers have been using the same calipers they sell in oem applications for 20+ years now, and they essentially paid for all the r&d and certification costs.

 

[salvageV6]

That's why I went with Baer on the GN for all 4 wheels.

The WE4 is going to the junkyard in 2-3 years but in the meantime I need to be able to stop the thing.

Can't lock the fronts and the backs are good and strong on the car.

Obviously new pads and turning the rotors will help that greatly but I figured I'd give these a try.

My car is also heavy at 3955lbs. race weight so inertia isn't so good here...

We shall see if the rain ever stops....

It's probably an ideal setup with the larger rear wheel cylinders but that remains to be seen if they really are necessary.

 

[Pronto]

They look like cast iron. Are they alot heavier than the stockers?

 

[josefigue]

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[salvageV6]

I think they are identical to the stockers except for a larger piston bore.

2 3/4 instead of 2 1/2 inches.

Same hardware is used etc.

Probably stock replacements bored out for their cylinder mods.

I will weigh them both for some accurate data.

They probably look bigger because it's a close up picture.

 

[cpac]

I Will Be Installing Mine Tomorrow With 2 New Discs And Lines,,new Drums Big Rear Cyl,,,but I Will Not Be Able To Road Test Till Cris At Ck Ships Me My Tranny .with These Cars Its Always Something

 

[ct70nut]

Anybody using these notice their pedal being softer? Just installed on my GP (vacuum brakes) with new SS lines and pedal goes almost to the floor. Wondering if more fluid is needed to push the bigger pistons so pedal would travel further? I am going to re-bleed to make sure I didn't suck any air from the master cylinder. Fluid drops real quick on these cars when bleeding! Pedal has always been soft, that's why I replaced the lines.

 

[salvageV6]

I weighed them vs. a well used stocker.

Got 7 1/4 lbs. for the new one including rubber bleeder cap and plastic nut in the banjo fitting thread.

Got 6 3/4lbs. for the stocker, just some leftover fluid in it not much.

Pretty much the same weight, looks like their own or a new casting not quite stock but certainly stock style.

You have to use your old hardware so you need to save the bolts, grommets, spacers, and get some new crush washers for the banjo fitting.

Or get all new parts if you want to, hardware kits are available at parts stores.

I decided not to turn the rotors there were no grooves in them just gonna emery paper them up to get rid of any glaze.

 

[Pronto]

Are these going on a pm car or have you converted to vacuum? Did you notice that issue of the low pedal that ct70nut was having?

 

[cpac]

salvage ,I installed my calipers this morning with a set of wagner thermo quiet pads ,mx154 I noticed that the part number is similar to yours,there is some ceramic in the pad but i am worried that the iron in the pad will stain my custom wheels.....they are not ceramic pads ,they are semi metalic....what do you think