Bigger front brakes on a 1st gen! 12" or 13" setup possible?

[wickedbuick]

Hi I have a 91 Regal and I need a better brake system. I have swapped my strut tower/knuckle out for a set from a 99 Monte z34. Is there an upgrade for those cars to 12" or 13" front brakes? I still have my stock crappy rear brakes and don't see the articles on the site anymore for process/parts to upgrade the rears either.

 

Would changing the master cylinder or brake booster change the pedal feel and performance as well? It feels like there is a watermellon on the pedal and when I stop the car stops but my foot smashes the poor watermellon and the brakes don't get all my pressure applied.

[Twenty]

One simple upgrade I'm planning on is a set of stainless steel braided brake lines. They're supposed to help with the pedal feel.

 

[jeremy]

http://www.overkillengineeringmotorsports.com/first-generation-wbody-big-brake-upgrade-13qu13.html

[Venom]

Bob (Scooter) and I are upgrading to second gen rear brakes and should have a writeup in the next week or so with pics.

[55trucker]

Because of the unique way the booster is mounted to the firewall (twist lock) you're sort of stuck with it. There are some little tricks one can do to improve the pedal effort with the original equipment in place. I did these myself...there is a more than 1/8" gap between the end of the pushrod on the front end of the booster and the master cylinders piston when the pedal is released...I made up a small shim of simple round stock and inserted it behind the pushrod to nearly remove all the gap. This resulted in almost 3/8" less pedal travel to get the brakes to start to work. The rear drilled ports in the master are smaller than the i.d diameter of the rear lines that are fitted to the ports. I pulled off my master and drilled them out to the same i.d as the tubing. This dropped the pedal effort to the rears and allows more volume of fluid to move. One last change I made was to modify the rear proportioning valve assembly so as to not restrict the flow to the rears to get them to do more work so the fronts are not loaded up doing all the work. Something else I did was to have the booster return spring modified to lessen the pedal effort as well but that requires sending it out to have it done by a professional. Now I am capable of locking up the rears relatively easy if I try whereas before they were sort of *going along for the ride*. My car is a '91..(early brakes)

[White93z34]

changing out your booster can also help greatly.

[AL]

changing out your booster can also help greatly.

x2

[CSI_MuNkY]

hydratech... look them up... they make a hydraulic brake booster that works with all GM vehicles 1977 and newer and it is ABS compatible. When I design my brake upgrade (without using a single second gen part, I will never understand why everyone on this forum has a hard on for 2nd gen brakes and suspension components, you want a second gen buy a fucking second gen) I will be getting one of their boosters for my car.

 

Jamie

[wickedbuick]

Cool. I've already got SS lines and am interested in the 2nd gen brake project only cause of the sizes. I am interested in any upgrade that involves 12-13in front brakes and larger rears. I also need the ebrake to work for the water box at the track so if that won't work anymore with upgrades then maybe electronic line locks on the rears will be a solution.

[xtremerevolution]

Hi I have a 91 Regal and I need a better brake system. I have swapped my strut tower/knuckle out for a set from a 99 Monte z34. Is there an upgrade for those cars to 12" or 13" front brakes? I still have my stock crappy rear brakes and don't see the articles on the site anymore for process/parts to upgrade the rears either.

 

Would changing the master cylinder or brake booster change the pedal feel and performance as well? It feels like there is a watermellon on the pedal and when I stop the car stops but my foot smashes the poor watermellon and the brakes don't get all my pressure applied.

 

Sounds like there's a lot more wrong with your car than just the brakes if your pedal feels that weak. My brakes don't have any of those symptoms. Then again, if you have the stock brakes from a 91, you're probably using 10.5" brakes. Later years got 11.25" brakes, which IIRC are easily swappable. the rears also got 10.5". I believe the rear calipers for your year are problematic, unless you swapped the rotors and calipers with the knuckles from the 99 monte z34.

 

My Regal stops just as hard as my 2005 Bonneville GXP, with 13" GXP front brakes and 12" rear brakes, if that's of any use to anyone. Unless you're ready to spend $600+ for the fronts alone, you're probably stuck with the '94+ rotor size and better parts.

[CSI_MuNkY]

Yeah if you need the e-brake for that purpose I would suggest a line lock too. My old man installed one on his Nova, they aren't rocket science.

 

What are you running/planning to run for wheels?

 

Jamie

[wickedbuick]

I am running 17x7 rims +42 offset and 225/45/17 tires. It has been that way with the brakes since my parents had the car and it was 4 years old. the original owner was in her 80s and shop kept.

 

I have the Z34 knuckles with the larger front brakes. My rears are stock size. I have replaced the calipers, rotors, pads, Stainless lines, bled the system and using synthetic fluid and no real change. I tried different brand rotors and total of 3 different pad brands. I figured it was just weak and not as efficient as newer systems. My Ion throws your head in the dash with half pedal and is crisp.

 

It is ok in normal braking but at the track I'm downshifting and pulsing the brakes as quick as I can to stop cause otherwise they get red hot and smell. I lose almost all braking at that point. Any hard stops are not crisp and responsive. I could just get a 2nd gen and be eaisier off but I LOVE my car. Shes my first car and will be my last. Hell I might even love the car more than my wife

[White93z34]

Honestly, try just buying a new vaccum booster that is supposed to make a world of difference. I am running the same setup as you are minus the old style rear brakes (i have 94+ rear, 96+ front) but with a brand new booster from advance auto, and it really does stop pretty darn good now.

[GP1138]

Sounds like there's a lot more wrong with your car than just the brakes if your pedal feels that weak. My brakes don't have any of those symptoms.

 

You also are driving a '95. The earlier cars really have terrible brakes, almost all of the non Powermaster braking systems, they're horrid. I remember the difference going from my earlier W's to a '95. I don't want to say "night and day", but it was definitely improved.

[wickedbuick]

So a stock brake booster to my 91 will possibly help? would a 99 monte booster fit and maybe be better?