| quote | Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua:
The people that have done the S-10 master cylinder upgrade and have driven their cars seem to say otherwise.
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I think you are actually referencing the s10 booster which is the common upgrade for making the braking effort easier. There has been much debate over the actual effectiveness of this upgrade, but I don't believe it has ever been stated that it is a downgrade. As Ogre and Blacktree have mentioned, if you only install the larger MC, which rarely comes from an s10, you will be exerting much more effort to get the same performance from your brakes. If you only install a larger booster, such as from an s10, you will get a brake pedal that is easier to push and get the same results from your brakes. This results in easier to modulate brakes for some and others having a harder time getting max effect from their brakes without locking the tires. I'l pile on with what Blacktree explained in list form but worded slightly different if it'll help at all.
Larger front brakes, such as Grand Am, with no change in the rear, no change in booster, no change in MC results in heavy front bias and spongy pedal, terrible pedal feel.
Larger front brakes, with no change in the rear, a larger booster, such as the common s10 upgrade, no change in MC results in longer pedal throw and heavy front bias, but decent pedal feel.
Larger front brakes, with no change in the rear, no change in booster, a larger MC, such as the 90's full size chevy truck MC, results in a comparable to stock throw and stock like effort, but heavy front bias.
Larger front brakes, with no change in the rear, a larger booster and larger MC results in good pedal feel but heavy front bias.
Larger front brakes, with larger rear as well, no change in booster, no change in MC, results in very high effort at the pedal with a long throw and poor braking performance.
Larger front brakes, with larger rear as well, a larger booster, no change in MC, results in the above with less effort at the pedal, but still poor braking performance.
Larger front brakes, with larger rear as well, no change in booster, a larger MC, results in slightly heavier than stock pedal effort, stock like pedal throw, increased braking performance. Easier to lock all 4 tires if you have crappy tires.
Larger front brakes, such as Grand Am, with a larger rear as well, a larger booster, a larger MC, results in a easier to modulate than stock brake pedal, stock like pedal throw, increased braking performance. Easier to lock all 4 tires if you have crappy tires.
Obviously upgrading everything together is your best bet for performance and in some cases safety. I'd look around a bit to see what others have done for models as far as balancing fronts with rears. I personally have C5 front calipers and rotors with C4 rears along with the s10 booster and truck MC. The pedal feel is great, the travel is great, the stopping power is insane, the bias is good, the C4 rears keep the e-brake and use a different design that doesn't have the issues the Fiero e-brake has while still using the Fiero cable system. Only issue now is I have crappy tires, lol!
[This message has been edited by mr_corean (edited 10-21-2016).]