VE brake upgrade

[mitch1234]

Hey guys,
I know there are a lot of threads about doing VT brake upgrades, i've seen a few people suggest the VE brake upgrade... they say you don't have to bother about doing any upgrades the booster and master cylinder for the VE. Ive seen kits on ebay for VT upgrade (not including anything to do with booster or mc) for <600 (cheaper DIY), and VE upgrade for 725.
Wondering if anyone has done the VE upgrade? And would be worth the extra money for not having to dick around the booster and mc, and is the VE a better upgrade performance wise then the VT upgrade?

[Uber_Flacky]

Ve brakes and rotor are a better design, the pistons in the calipers dont need the 1" booster/master cylinder combo for one, so that makes life alot easier, and the rotors are 30mm not 28mm like the vt's and the outside diameter is bigger too i think (can't remember off the top of my head...). But is it worth the extra 100 odd dollars, to me yes, to someone else I'm not sure. Just don't try doing the vt brakes without the 1" booster.

[richie401]

bro i just did the vt upgrade on sat, if u do vt booster with the mod mounting braket, u gotta mod the front master cylinder support bracket,bend the brake lines for the a.b.s unit (if u got a.b.s) and when u do fit the brakes on the hub ,u gotta hav a 4inch grinder ready cos u gotta cut he brake disc shild cos the brake mounting braket holes wont line up,u cnt bend the shild,u ether remove it or just cut abit off.

[klampy]

but he is asking about wether or not the VE upgrade is worth the extra, not how to fit a VT upgrade...

and I would also like to know how easy of a coversion the VE upgrade is. didnt know they were compatible.

[richie401]

well if i had 2 cut shit for the vt brakes , u would also will need 2 cut for the ve brakes to fit,

[CRCinAU]

Yeah - I'm looking at doing an upgrade too - but I haven't heard from anyone who has done the VE upgrade.... Are the disc holes the same diameter as the VR or are shims required like the VT discs?

[Brendo169]

im not sure about anything to with the VE brake upgrade except that you dont need to swap master cylinder and boosters as the VE callipers use two smaller pistons.

You may be able to ask this user found here Tom's Uterus - Manual + Bench seat. he has done the ve upgrade in his ute

[Decicrate]

I have just done a "VE" brake upgrade on my VS.
I bought a kit which included the following.
2 x slotted front 330mm front rotors
2 x machined front VE calipers
2 x ADR approved braided front brake lines
2 x adapter mounts front for calipers
2 x adapter shims for rotors
2 x slotted and ventilated 315mm rear rotors with handbrake ring*
2 x rear VE calipers
2 x ADR braided lines rear
2 x adapter mounts for rear calipers
* the handbrake ring is pressed into the inside of the rear rotor so the VR/VS hand brake will still operate.
The kit was just on $2000.00
I also run a 1inch master cylinder.
This kit bolted straight up with out any issues what so ever. It took me about 3 hours to do the job from beginning to end.
This maybe more expensive that you had in mind, but they work so well, it is worth the money.
To run this kit you MUST have 17 inch rims or above.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The VE upgrade kit comes with everything you need to bolt it to the car. Rotors, calipers, pads, brake lines, fluid, and all mounting hardware. No cutting required. No changing booster or master cylinder. They come in two size rotors, 289mm, or 322mm.

I do this kit Press Releases scroll down until you get to the Commodore VE Spec Upgrade. Similar pricing as found on Ebay, but if you are close to a warehouse (I have one in every capital city) there would be no shipping involved.

[CRCinAU]

Hmmm ok - I doubt I'll be able to do that on my VR - it doesn't seem that it'll fit under the stock equipe rims (15"?) I'll have to measure the rims to get a bit of an idea of what size they are and go from that....

[mischa]

Hmmm ok - I doubt I'll be able to do that on my VR - it doesn't seem that it'll fit under the stock equipe rims (15"?) I'll have to measure the rims to get a bit of an idea of what size they are and go from that....

Rim size is printed on your tire, and if you get the V6 VE brakes they will fit under 16's (well most of them) 15's, no way.

As for not needing to do a booster/MC upgrade, i found when i done mine the pedal got a little bit squishy already had a 1inch master and V8 booster, it was in my VN V8. So I dont trust it when people say you dont need to upgrade them, altho they might be different VR/VS I wouldnt know.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Rim size is printed on your tire, and if you get the V6 VE brakes they will fit under 16's (well most of them) 15's, no way.

As for not needing to do a booster/MC upgrade, i found when i done mine the pedal got a little bit squishy already had a 1inch master and V8 booster, it was in my VN V8. So I dont trust it when people say you dont need to upgrade them, altho they might be different VR/VS I wouldnt know.

No, the kit will not fit with all 16" rims, not even sure if they fit with VE 16's on the earlier models. The caliper mount is different so it puts the caliper in a different spot to suit the different offset of the VR-VS rotor.

Out of all the kits I have sold, not one has complained of a squishy pedal, in fact, the pedal actually got a bit harder and more responsive.

[mischa]

No, the kit will not fit with all 16" rims, not even sure if they fit with VE 16's on the earlier models. The caliper mount is different so it puts the caliper in a different spot to suit the different offset of the VR-VS rotor.

Out of all the kits I have sold, not one has complained of a squishy pedal, in fact, the pedal actually got a bit harder and more responsive.

Says on your link 298 diam fits std wheel sizes from 16", is this just there for VT up or somthing?

I havent complained about it to who i got the kit off, just delt with it. Just letting people know of my experiences with them.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I should elaborate. I was told by RDA that it should fit with 16", but it didn't. The car was a VN with 298mm rotors, it had VY 16" steelies and the rim fouled the caliper. That is the only VN I know of that tried to fit the kit with 16" wheels.

This is why I say it doesn't fit with all 16" rims.

[nemesis_adrasteia]

it should also be noted that the calipers need to be place on the OPPOSITE side to what they are stamped on the caliper, otherwise you cant bleed the air out .

i helped tom do his and they are awesome. i would do this upgrade to my car if i could afford it.

[turmoil117]

So you only change the front then? Why not the back brakes aswell? Or will it not make a difference

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The front has about 70% of the braking so the rears don't need doing. Just changing to a slotted rotor and fitting decent pads is enough.

[adept]

i dunno, if i got the VE or VT kit, but mines basically this.

'http://cgi.ebay.com.au/COMMODORE-VR-VS-VT-BIG-BRAKE-UPGRADE-SLOTTED-DISCS-/120707764942?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item 1c1abe52ce'

330mm front twin piston's with slotted disc's, the pedal died down into the floor after fitting (but i had a nasty cam at the time) and it still was ok, so long as you braked with the engine revs, but I was always wanting to fit the VT booster upgrade to see how much pedal i would get back.

i didnt use the shim's when fitting mine (didnt seem right for some reason) but the brakes themselves are great (so long as you know their limits for locking up without ABS etc).

(also, the calipers didnt clear my 16" VY calais rims originally - so i whacked 18's on) - apparently most 16's should fit, but mine didnt. (if you have 17's you should be sweet)

[Decicrate]

i dunno, if i got the VE or VT kit, but mines basically this.

'http://cgi.ebay.com.au/COMMODORE-VR-VS-VT-BIG-BRAKE-UPGRADE-SLOTTED-DISCS-/120707764942?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item 1c1abe52ce'

330mm front twin piston's with slotted disc's, the pedal died down into the floor after fitting (but i had a nasty cam at the time) and it still was ok, so long as you braked with the engine revs, but I was always wanting to fit the VT booster upgrade to see how much pedal i would get back.

i didnt use the shim's when fitting mine (didnt seem right for some reason) but the brakes themselves are great (so long as you know their limits for locking up without ABS etc).

(also, the calipers didnt clear my 16" VY calais rims originally - so i whacked 18's on) - apparently most 16's should fit, but mine didnt. (if you have 17's you should be sweet)

The shims are in the kit for a reason. The hub centres are slightly larger with the VT onwards front rotors. The shim is to keep the rotor from movement and to keep it center to the hub.

[Tom_1569]

Is the VE Brake conversion? Definitly.
As mentioned above I have it in my ute, it pulls up so much harder, not only is it fun to mess with passengers its great when that Asshole infront of you in an Audi TT decides he wants to stop for an Orange or even green light.
I went from worn front brakes, and seized back ones, to The RDA VE 322mm kit and reconditioned back brakes with matching slotted & dimpled rotors, my stopping distance would have been halved at a guess. Total cost was about $1200, which was with replacement reconiditoned back calipers and hoses, back rotors, Bendix CT pads, 4L of PBR DOT 4 Brake fluid, and the entire front kit.

There is no requirement for a 1" master/booster, pedal feels is much the same as a normal VS, but I can see the benefit to have a 1" master/booster. I plan to put a 1" master/booster in, not because it needs it, but because I can and I want to milk the brakes even more.

Installing them is simple, as Nem said remember the left caliper goes on the right, and vice versa, this was my biggest problem, which we wasted probably 4 hours on, before realising.
The dust plate thing protecting the rotor does have to be cut or removed. Need to cut 2 -3 inches off, or drill two pop rivets out to remove it.

If anyone does the upgrade and needs help, shoot me a PM.

EDIT:
Justification: It cost $1200, if I ran up the back of someone which was likely with bad brakes, my excess is $1300 plus Im still out of pocket for any damage to my car.

[VS 5.0]

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