96 burban calipers upgrade

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michael hurd

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People around here are often trying to upgrade there vehicle, thus this forum is an outlet for idea sharing and the stickies address common questions. Some people feel that stock is the best way out of fear IMO. I'm not one of them and don't often interact with them but the 31% number is misleading the DRW calipers are for thicker rotors and larger thicker pads also so I doubt they would be put on a 6 lug truck even by accident 14% is the better number. I've done so much math to decide what route I would go if/when I do something. That said I'd be far more afraid of fault from poorly maintained brakes then brake changes. I'm a mechanic and car nut and as much as I know of cars I wouldn't think that I could identify the difference of calipers without measuring them or having them side by side and 99.9999999999% of the accident investigations won't even look for that. And lastly people spec 1 ton srw calipers because 3/4 ton could be either caliper.

I don't keep everything stock in 'fear', any change I make to a vehicle, I carefully weigh the possible outcomes, risks and costs.



A deposition in discovery or statement made to the officer is all that is needed to hang the noose around your neck in a court of law.

Q. Are your brakes in good working order?
A. Yep, I work on them myself.
Q. You are a licensed mechanic, correct?
A. No, I work on the truck myself, with help from the internet.
Q. So then, without being an expert, you really can not say that the brakes are in good working order, can you?
A. But they stop well.
Q. Is that so?
A. I changed out the hydraulic master cylinder for one out of another truck, and they work so good!!
Q. You have modified the vehicle braking system?
A. Well no... not really.
Q. You aren't an expert, though, correct?


The point I am trying to make is it isn't butt dyno, feelings, or even observations that work in a court of law. As a LAY person, you are not an expert, and any testimony will be weighted as such. Only FACTS work in a court of law, however an expert, or police officer can give opinion as testimony.

You could subpoena an expert, but they are not likely to want to come to testify at a trial from some joe blow from kalamazoo who ended up in court after running over a baby carriage.
 

shovelbill

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ok....one more thing then i'll go away. this is MY personal experience.....and it can hold true across the board.

when i was working in the parts department at a Harley dealership i had sold a gent Lyndall Z+ pads for better stopping power for his bike, they were less expensive than what i use and recommend, the Gold+ pads...i use Gold+ on ALL my bikes because they WORK great and i ride hard.....he got the Z's, price was the issue!

a year later he came in because he wanted "black" rotors to go with his blacked out "fagger bagger"...these: http://www.lyndallbrakes.com/rotors/ ....i said i'd sell him the correct kit....he only wanted the rotors since his Z+ pads were new....i said no, they don't go together and wouldn't sell him the rotors. he went to my manager and bitched, so my manager sold the rotors to fagger bagger guy.

read: http://www.lyndallbrakes.com/faqs/

this guy rides like an *******.....an 4 months later he killed a lady in a crosswalk......and lost a wrongful death law suit......they had a very good investigator...he found the brake issue....the guy never talked to me, but he did come to the dealership for the @unts purchase history.

see, the pads he was too fu@kin cheap to buy were what works with those ceramic rotors......the one's he had do not work correctly. Lyndall fu@ckin states that...and i showed him at the time too.

perhaps that lady would be alive today if he would have bought the complete SYSTEM!

PS> these composite setups absolutely SUCK in the rain.....i won't sell them to people that actually RIDE their bikes because of it. 95% of them listen to my advise......i'm VERY good at what i do.


and yes, i have Gold+ pads in that GSXR caliper i put on my Harley....with a larger Harley floating rotor and a braided line....DOT 4. i adpted a *** Nissin 4 pot to my shovel with a bracket i made myself. the brakes from 1980 SUCK!

You must be registered for see images attach


and yes....i use the correct bore master cylinder for all my systems......MOST important!!!!
 

Coveman

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I bought my 1999 suburban brand-new. The brakes on this vehicle have absolutely never been up to my standards, this is the third burb my family. GMC was sweating the cafe standard for these vehicles and dug out the step bore master cylinder ( in their parts been since the 60s) as a way to achieve a token mileage improvement. every model before and after the GMT 400s had better brakes. One post summed it up so well, our front brake rotors on the half ton trucks is only slightly smaller than those Mazda put on their 3 series.

I put on the NBS master cylinder and then added the NNBS knuckles, rotors and calipers and really got the results I was looking for. it's been a little more than two years now and I couldn't be happier with the set up.

if you think about it, this is exactly how GM fixed the problem with these inadequate breaks, it re-engineered them in subsequent models. GM treated the owners of these gmt400 trucks to the hush-hush go away we won't recall these unless they catch fire on "60 minutes" treatment which left owners and dealerships without a proper factory resolution.

it's been a great truck overall, 18-years-old and still running like a champ, and now finally stopping like one.
 

Black_cirrus

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Cars in general are a compromise of what sells, passes requirements and what helps the bottom line. Most my driving in gmt400s has been hydro boost trucks so I've not had as many brake complaints as others. As I say when I find a repair that sucks they design them to build them not fix them.
 

shovelbill

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I bought my 1999 suburban brand-new. The brakes on this vehicle have absolutely never been up to my standards, this is the third burb my family. GMC was sweating the cafe standard for these vehicles and dug out the step bore master cylinder ( in their parts been since the 60s) as a way to achieve a token mileage improvement. every model before and after the GMT 400s had better brakes. One post summed it up so well, our front brake rotors on the half ton trucks is only slightly smaller than those Mazda put on their 3 series.

I put on the NBS master cylinder and then added the NNBS knuckles, rotors and calipers and really got the results I was looking for. it's been a little more than two years now and I couldn't be happier with the set up.

if you think about it, this is exactly how GM fixed the problem with these inadequate breaks, it re-engineered them in subsequent models. GM treated the owners of these gmt400 trucks to the hush-hush go away we won't recall these unless they catch fire on "60 minutes" treatment which left owners and dealerships without a proper factory resolution.

it's been a great truck overall, 18-years-old and still running like a champ, and now finally stopping like one.

what in the hell is "NNBS" knuckles?
 

Black_cirrus

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New new body style 2007-201?, Not sure off the top of my head the last year
But they can be used to put about a 14" front rotor OEM brake set on the 6 lug trucks.
 
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