Ls style brakes on a gen 1 camaro

[69greyghost]

Originally Posted by 214Chevelle

Not counting your money or anything, but $150 is too expensive? This hobby is a luxury. And for the service of a well respected guy like Tobin, who I know anyone on here can and will be more than happy to vouch for, I'd say $150 is relatively a good price for a proven product that guaranteed to fit and perform. This Jmart guy or company, don't know him and not knocking him, but to try and say $50 because you said you could get it from him for $100, is a hell of a chance to take. Just saying.....I've been down that road a time or two trying to save a penny and it backfires on me. I mean, you already have the Brembo brakes...make them work. Tobin has already said he has what you need. Good luck though with everything.

I undertsand what your saying about tobin vs a non proven commodity however its not like these are complex parts. If it were something that was a big risk I would think you were spot on. I would love to make the brembos work but it seems like it may be a goose chase and that the full conversion would be costly. Even if I do decide to do the brembos the rear conversion hasnt been worked out yet, I wouldnt be able to do it and have an e brake. I would have to use the ls brakes in the rear anyway in the interim. Trust me I want brembos to work but that plus the fact that I have use a 3 piece pricy wheel it just seems like I would be sinking an extra 2-3k into this conversion because the calipers on the brembos create fitment issues. If I use the ls brakes I can just use a wheel that looks good. It just feels like I can always get an expensive wheel later rather than splurge on that now. If you have some suggestions on wheels that will fit the brembos and cost under 2500 I am listening for sure. I am always open to suggestions that make sense. I would appreciate more opinions, I am not sure how much braking power I would gain with the brembos over the ls brakes either. Let me know what u guys think.

[camsdad]

I did the LS disc brake conversion on my 69 Camaro and am quite satisfied with the results. Of course I have still yet to see how they perform but then, I know the will with no question.
Was not difficult to convert but then again I did add a couple of extra twists.
CPP Hubs, Hydratech brake boost system with inline cooler, custom rear emergency brake brackets, ext....

[69greyghost]

Originally Posted by camsdad

I did the LS disc brake conversion on my 69 Camaro and am quite satisfied with the results. Of course I have still yet to see how they perform but then, I know the will with no question.
Was not difficult to convert but then again I did add a couple of extra twists.
CPP Hubs, Hydratech brake boost system with inline cooler, custom rear emergency brake brackets, ext....

Do you think the extras to the system were a must or would just the plain ls set up be enough?

[camsdad]

Originally Posted by 69greyghost

Do you think the extras to the system were a must or would just the plain ls set up be enough?

IMO The thing is what and how you plan to use & abuse your ride.
Is anything in this hobby ever enough ???

With Hydratech boost you don't have to worry about not having enough vacuum your your brakes associated with too much cam ext....
Stock drum hubs (outer and inner) will have to be turned down a little bit to fit the rotors, then you will or should change the studs. Rear axles will have to be pulled to remove the brake drum and to mount the rear disc backing plate. You may need a 1/8" shim if I recall correctly.

I could go on and on but here is a link which will be most helpful to you.
http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=161383


Kurt

[WSSix]

As Kurt mentioned, how you plan to use your ride matters a lot. The LS1 Fbody brakes I'm sure will be an improvement over factory 1st gen. I will say this though, there is a reason people with 4th gens that did any sort of competing that required good brakes would switch to C5 brakes. Brakes are not something I would cheap out on. I'd do it right the first time and be done with it. That's why even on a tight budget, I spent the money on a Kore3 C5/6 hybrid front setup and got the billet hubs for my car.

Good luck!

[hifi875]

I don't think there is a huge difference between c5 and ls1 brakes. Unless you are trying to wring every last inch out of your car in a autocross scenario. The c5s look better of course. Tobin could give a better opinion on this than me but mine are more than adequate

[69greyghost]

Originally Posted by hifi875

I don't think there is a huge difference between c5 and ls1 brakes. Unless you are trying to wring every last inch out of your car in a autocross scenario. The c5s look better of course. Tobin could give a better opinion on this than me but mine are more than adequate

How many pistons are the c5 brakes? They look almost identical to ls brakes.

[WSSix]

The C5 caliper bodies are much stronger than Fbody calipers. C5s are also 13inch not 12.1 like Fbody. Even just simple Solo2 Autox would wear out and distort the Fbody calipers. Like I said, the Fbody stuff will be better than 1st gen but the C5 components are even better. The cost difference to mount C5 front calipers versus Fbody is negligible. For the rear, sure Fbody is cheaper with the integrated parking brake. You could also go with C4 Corvette or LT1 Fbody for the same reason. Those options will work just fine for the rear.

In short, do it twice and spend more money by going with Fbody calipers now only to change them out at a later date. Or do it once and save money by going C5/6 on the front now. There are a lot of 17inch rims that will clear C5 components. You won't have to spend a lot of money on rims to make things fit. My rims cost me $600. I've got another $200 in adapters and ARP studs. My rims are 18inch too.

[hifi875]

Fronts are 12.8 rear are the exact same as c5

[69greyghost]

Originally Posted by WSSix

The C5 caliper bodies are much stronger than Fbody calipers. C5s are also 13inch not 12.1 like Fbody. Even just simple Solo2 Autox would wear out and distort the Fbody calipers. Like I said, the Fbody stuff will be better than 1st gen but the C5 components are even better. The cost difference to mount C5 front calipers versus Fbody is negligible. For the rear, sure Fbody is cheaper with the integrated parking brake. You could also go with C4 Corvette or LT1 Fbody for the same reason. Those options will work just fine for the rear.

In short, do it twice and spend more money by going with Fbody calipers now only to change them out at a later date. Or do it once and save money by going C5/6 on the front now. There are a lot of 17inch rims that will clear C5 components. You won't have to spend a lot of money on rims to make things fit. My rims cost me $600. I've got another $200 in adapters and ARP studs. My rims are 18inch too.

What rims do you have? Can you post a pic? Also I have the brembo 2010 camaro calipers. I may as well try and use those.