Upgrading stock brakes

[Banjo79]

I was looking at getting some larger and more powerful brakes for the SS Sportwagon. Correct me if I'm wrong but standard are 2 piston front 1 piston rear with a slightly larger front rotor. Meaning a Redline would have 4 pistons at the front and 1 at the rear, which is a massive difference in front to rear bias.

I've always been attracted to the Harrop 355mm 4 piston front and rear brakes but wouldn't rears be locking up long before the fronts, with an even front/rear distribution (apart from thicker front rotors 32mm vs 28mm?)

Are the Harrops front and rear a good buy or should I just get the fronts done? Are there other brands I should be looking at that will fit the stock 18inch VF wheels which bias the front more than the rear?

Any input greatly appreciated.

 

[Towcar]

ABS and EBC sorts the bias out!

Personally I'd upgrade both.

And the braking force of 4 pistons vs one isn't 4-1 either, there is other things to consider like how much pressure a caliper can apply vs pad area.

Biggest advantage of bigger discs is heat dissipation over friction area.

 

[SMcC]

Also what rims have you got? If standard SS, they wont be offset enough for the bigger brakes to fit. I know that applies to brembos so im assuming Harrop brakes would have a similar issue. Thats the first thing I'd be checking.
The brembos fit on the redline as the std redline rims are further offset, compared to the standard SS and also the SSV

 

[Smitty]

Harrops and Redlines (Brembos) need new wheels

the cheapest fix is a decent set of full face pads.. use QFM or similar
which i did on mine (it didn't want to stop)

here is standard compared to QFM... the difference is obvious!

 

[Banjo79]

Thanks guys for the quick response. All I know is that I would like bigger brakes because I regularly travel 220kph+ legally in the NT, like the look of big rotors in modest 18 inch wheels and want coloured (Genuine) callipers to compliment my future aesthetic plans for the car (in that order). Harrop say their 355mm kit fit 18inch wheels but do I really need to spend more money for the back when the front do most of the work? Put it this way, it I was running 19inch wheels I would just opt for the next level up which is 6 piston 381mm front and 4 piston 356 rear. What's my options with standard VF SS wheels?

 

[Big-Al]

It's not the number of pistons, it's the piston surface area that effects braking power.

You will find that the 4 and 6 spot calipers have exactly the same piston surface area contacting the pad as the standard brakes. The benefit of multiple pistons is spreading the force more evenly across the pad.
It's the larger rotors that gives the performance brakes the extra stopping power, mostly. Leverage!

 

[PIR4TE]

Best way to increase braking power is to increase brake torque to all wheels on road, yes there is a bias to front but as mentioned that is managed by several systems.
Put 4 pot differential bore Brembos on 355mm T3 4000 series on the rear. To do that with 18s you need 15mm lifetime guaranteed spacers TüV approved like those one the Camaro Pro Kit made by Eibach in Germany.
I would take the opportunity to widen the front track for speed as well so get the 20mm bolt-on front and 15mm bolt-on rear.
The rotors are a special order from GSL to DBA, basically a larger radius version of the HSV 350mm to fit the CTS-V caliper with full pad contact. Unfortunately they sold out oretty quickly and will have more for sale in August 2014 sometime.
[email protected] speak to Matt.
Check the other thread too for more details about the new G8 / VE / VF 360mm Brembo brake package from Holden for the Lowndes edition SSV Redline.

 

[Banjo79]

S#*t PIR4TE, is there anything you don't know about Holdens? To all the mere mortals out there, feel free to still contribute to my original question, especially anyone that has done a brake upgrade to an SS with 18's.

 

[christov]

S#*t PIR4TE, is there anything you don't know about Holdens? To all the mere mortals out there, feel free to still contribute to my original question, especially anyone that has done a brake upgrade to an SS with 18's.

PIR4TE knows all.

If you are after great stopping power with minimal cost, I would suggest buying a set of the Brembo front brakes from the Redline - it pulls up very, very well. As others have mentioned, clearance might be an issue, but I'm not across that detail.

 

[dgp]

You need to consider a couple of options.
I upgraded to the Redline Brembo's on an SS but already had 19 inch wheels so all I had to do was buy the brakes and a set of Redline wheels ($1500 max) and I had awesome stopping power. You would also need to buy 19 inch tyres = additional expense of approx $2000 to buy Bridgestones so you are now looking at $3500 to upgrade to Brembo's.
If you want to keep your original 18 inch wheels you can buy a set of Harrops that will fit under them for a little bit more, I think $4000 from memory but your car still looks stock with the wheels you like and tyre replacements will be cheaper in the long run.