OK OK can someone email me info about these?? I want to do this badly, I look like my rotors dissappeared with these 18" rims
You can start out by finding some 98 & newer F-body calipers, ( preferebly from a salvage yard ) since they are pricey new and these aluminum ones are 99% of the time fine from a yard. These find how cheap you can get 95 C-4 H.D. rotors for ( usually around $75 each for plain or about $110 for crossdrilled & slotted ) then we will work on getting you a set of the brackets with eccentric rings.
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???
I used the rear rotors from a 97 Firebird for my conversion. They are 11-1/2" diameter.
I don't want the liability of supplying parts or even drawing for parts. The electronic modules that I sell are so easy to install that my 13 year old can do it. Even so, there are people out there who screw it up. The worst that happens to them is that they blow a fuse or the module.
I just know that someone will make or mount the brake parts incorrectly, and that could have lethal results.
This kind of job is for someone who really understands what they are doing, and understands the risks. This isn't the same as changing the brake pads. That is a well known process, and there are many thousands of people who have done this correctly. If someone puts them in backwards and tries to sue Raybestos, they can point to the incrorrect installation as the reason for the failure, and show that most people don't have a problem. They can do this because of the huge installed base of brake pads.
However, for one-off designs, even though I have it on my car, and I did the calculations, and I think it's probably designed better than OEM, that won't stand up in court. Even if it did, I don't have the financial resources to defend myself.
I'm not saying don't do this. As I said in the last paragraph in my article, "If you try any of these ideas on your car, please be honest with yourself as to your level of skill in this area. That doesn't mean don't do it, just know your limitations and ask for help where needed."
I'll be happy to answer any questions you have (as probably Ski and others will, too), so don't give up. Just keep in mind that this is a lot more involved than, say, installing a chin spoiler.
hey lawrence, thats ok, i can certainly understand that. i worked at a off-road shop all this winter doing lift kits, clutches, brakes, etc. so i know what you mean! i do have a question though, what bolts did you use? thanks anyway for offering to help.
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05:33 PM
California Kid Member
Posts: 9541 From: Metro Detroit Area, Michigan Registered: Jul 2001
Skitime, just curious how you are handling the front to rear 'bias' when going to the larger brakes? That's a lot of brake for the rear, todays Corvettes only have about 1/2 the contact area in the rear when compared to the front system.
Would hate to see you spin that beautiful car around in a hot turn.
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05:44 PM
skitime Member
Posts: 5765 From: Akron, PA, USA Registered: Aug 2000
So far now that I have put some miles on the brakes they are getting settled in and seem pretty good with the bias they have. I have not tried and skid pad stuff yet though. I am sure that the stock bias will not cause any problem since that bais is heavily biased to the front and the Fiero had equal size front and rear rotors before. The only question would be if I would want more rear brake not less.
------------------ 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
hey lawrence, thats ok, i can certainly understand that. i worked at a off-road shop all this winter doing lift kits, clutches, brakes, etc. so i know what you mean! i do have a question though, what bolts did you use? thanks anyway for offering to help.
For the adapter plates? I used the same thread as the caliper bolts. I don't remember what it is, but it's metric. I got extra long ones, ran them through the plate, through the knuckle and put a lock nut on the inside (suspenders AND a belt).
Hey Lawrence, Which calipers are you runing with the firebird rear rotors, corvette or firebird? Why can't you use the firebird front rotor they too are 12".
Hey Lawrence, Which calipers are you runing with the firebird rear rotors, corvette or firebird? Why can't you use the firebird front rotor they too are 12".
I used the Fiero calipers. At the time, I wanted to do this CHEAP and I didn't want to do any caliper/master cylinder matching. The Firebird rotors were about $25 each at that time. I used rear rotors because the hat, thickness, and other dimensions matched the Fiero rotor. I think the fronts were too deep.
If I had it to do over, I would have taken the time and found other calipers that had the same piston area. The nice thing about the 88 calipers is that they are aluminum, and small. However, those sliders are a pain in the ass. Since I had to make adapters anyway, I should have found a set of newer style calipers that have the bracket that bolts to the knuckles and the caliper floats in the bracket. These newer style brakes are much better and require much less maintenance.
Ski, your center caps on your rims, where did you get those at, another custom? If I'm not intruding how much did they cost?
Interesting, I think you are the first to ask me about those. Yes it is another custom now that you mention it. Guess I should add it to my history tread. lol When I bought my wheels they had domed shaped "Prime" logo centers. I bought Fiero logo wheel center stickers from Rodney Dickman. I wanted to have the wheels appear that they may of been original. I removed the Prime logo from the centers but the domed shape would not hold the Dickman wheel center logos which where flat. I decided to get radical. I felt a little dumb ruining wheel centers to new expensive wheels but I took a hole saw and sawed a hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the Dickman center logos. I then attached the Dickman center logos with only the outside edge sticking to the hole sawed centers. Then from the back I poured in fiberglass resin to about the thickness of 1/4 inch to create a new flat center section. This allowed the flat Dickman wheel center logo to now stick to the now flat wheel center. Hope that made sense.
[This message has been edited by skitime (edited 07-11-2003).]
