Just wanted to share my latest mod. Although the 88 brakes are far superior to the pre-88 Fieros, I wanted to upgrade my brakes and was inspired by West Coast Fiero’s 88 brake upgrade kit. http://www.westcoastfiero.com/Brakes/Brakes.html The beauty of this swap is that you are only swapping to a bigger diameter rotor. The 88 Fiero caliper is retained which means you are also retaining the emergency brake. The Fiero disc brake pad is the correct size for the C4 Corvette rotor. The 88 Fiero rotor is a 10 ½” diameter but the Corvette rotor is a 12” WCF could not supply the rotor I wanted so I decided to make the kit myself. Most brake upgrade kits run $1000 to $2000 so the WCF kit is a bargain at $595 for all four wheels. Too bad it only works on 88 Fieros.
At the Fieros at Carlisle show, I found out that Rockcrawl had already done the swap by himself also. Thanks to Rockcrawl and Akursked I was able to figure out what I needed to do. Rockcrawl has a great web page about his brake swap here. http://www.fieroaddiction.com/brakes.html While talking to Rockcrawl he assured me the brake swap has impressive results. AkursedX also had a good thread about his experience of installing the WCF kit. https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/030023.html
I wanted some rotors that would really catch your eye as well as superior to a solid rotor. I found some sweet drilled, slotted, silver plated, directional Corvette rotors from Parts Authority. They are out of Rockville Centre, NY and their phone number is 516-678-3900. They cost $75 each but shipping was $60 total for the four being $360
Here is one side by side with a stock Fiero rotor.
I sent the rotors out to a local machine shop to redrill the rotors from a 4 ½ bolt pattern to a 4 ¼ Fiero pattern. The machine shop also made the needed centering rings. The centering ring is tapered on the back which matches the taper on the Corvette rotor. The taper prevents it from falling out and the centering ring was also machined to have a friction fit through the center of the rotor. All that worked only cost $60 for the four rotors.
------------------ Red 88 GT T-Top 3800 INTERCOOLED SUPERCHARGED White 88 GT Stock Please give me a rating if you appreciate my contribution. History of Skitimes Car UPDATED 6-20-03
[This message has been edited by skitime (edited 07-10-2003).]
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12:44 PM
PFF
System Bot
skitime Member
Posts: 5765 From: Akron, PA, USA Registered: Aug 2000
I spent a lot of time on the caliper adapters. I tried a few prototypes to see what needed to be done. Finally I decided the only precise way to do this was using computer aided drafting CAD. I teach AutoCAD at a high school so I felt this was the best way to design them. I spent a day taking measurements from rotors, spindles and calipers trying to decide the best layout. I then plagued myself by cutting some 3/8” steel attempting to make them. I stopped in to check on the rotors and asked if they could make the adapters and they said they easily could. I brought my CAD drawing to them. Wish I would of done that first. LOL They only charged me $30 for the brackets and were already to be put on since they tapped them for me as well. I picked up all my parts yesterday afternoon and was keeping my fingers crossed it would all fit.
Here is a before shoot with my chrome caliper brackets.
And for a before picture……..
This morning I took the car for a drive. Damn….. Holy Crap do they stop. I can see why WCF recommends putting more braking bias it to rear brakes. The brakes remind me of braking a motorcycle with only the front wheel. I need to break the rotors in quickly so I can drive it to the 20th Anniversary show.
[This message has been edited by skitime (edited 07-10-2003).]
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12:45 PM
skitime Member
Posts: 5765 From: Akron, PA, USA Registered: Aug 2000
For those that might be wondering about the chrome caliper brakets let me explain them here as well. I felt that with the chrome wheels that the brackets should be chrome too. I found a company at the GM National show that could chrome my existing caliper brackets. They did a even better job on them then I hoped for. You have to see them in person to really appreciate them because pictures don't do them justice. Since my wheels have very soft curves I wanted the calipers to match. I asked them to soften all the curves. I also said it would be alright if they could get rid of the numbers on the ends. They completely removed the lettering on one end on the other the numbers were too deep so they just polished them. It is amazing how much work they did to soften the lines. There are no flat front faces any more. All four where perfectly matched too. Not cheap but I love them. I sent my calipers to the shop and was charged $55 each including the return shipping. The shop also moved my order up in priority to get them to me in time. The shop is C.A.R.S. of Pittsburgh, Inc. Chrome Shop at www.carsofpgh.com
[This message has been edited by skitime (edited 07-10-2003).]
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12:45 PM
MarkJPana Member
Posts: 1926 From: Marlboro, MA, USA Registered: Mar 2003
again i am amazed at the quality of ur work ski, always a perfectionist eh? keep up the mods dude, im always looking at what i could possibly do by refering to ur car, now if i only had a fiero... ::sigh:: oh well, enjoy ur brakes haha ~Mark
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12:53 PM
GTFiero1 Member
Posts: 6508 From: Camden County NJ Registered: Sep 2001
if you are making brackets to relocate the calipers anyways then the pre88 people could use 88 calipers or others.. with the brake conversions its mostly a matter of getting the adaptors right.. but I am amazed at your chrome caliper brackets..
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01:24 PM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
They were a real ***** to make, because I wanted to stuff the rotors inside the stock wheels. Using larger wheels allows more room so that the bolts don't overlap as much. I also used AutoCAD to design my brackets, but I did the machine work myself.
If you read my article, you will see that you do need to add more bias to the rear brakes. In the end, I removed the spring in the combination valve, and that worked just right.
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hey skytime! i really loved what you done to your car its so cool,i wish i had the cojones to do some of the stuff you done to your car on mine lol ohh and it looks like you are missing the letter "i" on one of your calipers and it looks like this: f ero lol but i guess thats what you meant when you said they took the lettering out *slaps head* well ne ways nice job!!!
Those look great Ski! I especially like the chromed Caliper bridges behind the wheels. With Akursed, and now you having luck with adapting the Corvette rotors onto the 88, I am even more tempted to give this a shot! Maybe that will be a good winter project.
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02:42 PM
Rhino88gt Member
Posts: 718 From: Maumelle, AR Registered: Jun 2003
stainless lines make a huge difference in feel not to mention the rubber lines can delaminate inside and develop one way check valves - my last fiero i had one rear stop any fluid from going into th eleft rear and trapping fluid in the right rear untill it caught on fire from over heating (yes it was a 3.4 and no i didn't notice any drag driving with a brake locked up - it was so bad the pads bent in the middle as th epad material disapeared and became metal to metal rubbing)
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03:42 PM
skitime Member
Posts: 5765 From: Akron, PA, USA Registered: Aug 2000
Looks great. as usual. Do you have anything else your unveiling at the 20th? I'm sure if you do, it will look exceptional.
btw: of course changing from worn out factory brake lines to new stainless lines makes a difference. Its like going from shocks and struts with 150k miles to new. They wear out. Factory lines are braided as well, You just have to cut it to see that.
All i keep reading is about brake upgrades and 88 brakes being so much better. Out of curiousity can 88 brakes be put on pre 88 car without fabricating some kind of brackets, or does the different suspension setups prohibit this? Just curious.
I would love to put stainless lines on but it is illegal in PA.
Technically yes it is. They have to be able to inspect the rubber on the hose. Can you believe that braided lines are not good enough for the state of PA?
You just need a friend in the business. Actually, when they said I needed new brake lines, thats when I put mine on. And it passed! The next year I took it back to the same place, and they wouldn't pass it. Can you believe it.
[This message has been edited by Fiero38SC (edited 07-10-2003).]
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04:45 PM
Denny Member
Posts: 1410 From: Leola, PA USA Registered: Apr 2001
I know it's a long shot but are you going to make these drawings available?
At this time I am considering getting the pieces made in quanity to sell so the answer would be no. With them being in CAD form a CNC laser cutter could cut them out with great precision.
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08:32 PM
laffer98 Member
Posts: 194 From: Independence, Mo USA Registered: May 99
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hey lawrence, what rotors did you use? id like to upgrade but i want to keep the stock wheels like you did. Do you think it would be possible for you to make some more of those brackets to sell???
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12:55 AM
DRH Member
Posts: 2683 From: Onalaska, WI, USA Registered: Dec 1999
At this time I am considering getting the pieces made in quanity to sell so the answer would be no. With them being in CAD form a CNC laser cutter could cut them out with great precision.
I'm interested in a set. After seeing everything you've done to your car, I'm sure it will be a quality product. Any idea how much and when?
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01:04 AM
G-Nasty Member
Posts: 2099 From: woodlands,TX,USA Registered: Jan 2001
I see that the inner hub will rest on what you had done @ the shop but I still question the lack of reinforcement within the yellow circles. At high speeds and braking the rotors see tremendous force. Hitting some bumps looks like it could crack or break. Killer mod- I just hope it doesnt become a 'killing' mod. Great Job Ski- OUT>
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01:31 AM
skitime Member
Posts: 5765 From: Akron, PA, USA Registered: Aug 2000
The redrilled holes appear close but they are only 1/8 inch closer than the original holes. There is a long taper where you drew the circles that starts there and ends on the front so it is not an edge. Besides the rotor is being compressed between the wheel and the wheel hub. When viewed from the front you can see there is plenty of material to hold the rotor safely.
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08:08 AM
PURPLE REIGN Member
Posts: 4080 From: Minnesnowta ------------------ Land of White Gold Registered: Sep 2002
Great upgrade Skitime. You have made a great Fiero example even greater. Thanks for adding to the Fiero community and I hope you are able to reproduce those bracket adaptors.
I like the 13" Rotors better. I know its only an inch difference, but I can notice the difference.
How hard would it be to swap the 88 Brakes to an 85? Cause I purly hate the 85 Calipers.
<<== CAD Operator by trade , and have a benchtop CNC machine at home - I may have to see about brackets to mount 88 or other brakes to pre-88 suspension for 12-13" rotors.. 12" may be better for those of us not wanting to exceed 17" rims always making me think when I see your car Ski
[This message has been edited by Kohburn (edited 07-11-2003).]
cant some one do this to a pre 88 Fiero and just use the 88 calipers?
I like the WCF kit, but I'd want aftermarket rotors, like you're using.
