Disc brake upgrade

2drXmobb said:

I seen nbs guys upgrade to Corvette brake calipers/rotors they seem pretty stout

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Not really. The GMT900 stuff will give you the same benefit of larger rotors without the Corvette tax.

0xDEADBEEF said:

Discs are a lot lighter than an equivalent drum. That's also a benefit.

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But we're talking about trucks in the 5000-6000# range, how much of an impact does that really have?

Supercharged111 said:

But we're talking about trucks in the 5000-6000# range, how much of an impact does that really have?

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More than you might think because it's both unsprung and driveline mass. My son's truck is just a tick under 4k lbs.

But, yeah, they aren't road race cars.

I love disc (or is it "disk") brakes as much as the next guy, but I have a problem with the cheap retrofits and copy-cat knockoffs.

So... some guy gets his hands on some drafting software and access to a CNC machine / laser cutter (think "high school's tech department equipment") and suddenly they're in the parts business. I think it's great they and others have this ability, but that doesn't make them engineers.

Making parts that fit and appear to function isn't the same as making parts that function reliably, repeatably, safely, ... blah blah blah

I wouldn't run a kit like this on the front, so we agree there. A sudden complete failure seems unlikely, but you still have the fronts which are obviously the most important.

The other thing is, bad designs and bandaids are all over the place. Just because something isn't best/perfect/whatever doesn't mean it doesn't work.

1998_K1500_Sub said:

And you?

I'm with @Schurkey on this one.

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I don't have one, That's why I bought my kit from someone that has a real engineering degree, Not an internet engineering degree like Shurkey's. As I said mine stops perfect with a lot better pedal and the emergency brake works flawless, so unless you've rode it in you wouldn't know how it performs.

You do your truck the way you want and Ill do mine the way I want. You don't have to like my setup,
(Although it lighter, performs better, 200# lighter and looks cooler than yours)

Here's the link to their website if you want to tell them your opinion on their product that you don't own.

Search by Vehicle - Chevy/GMC - C1500 - Page 1 - Little Shop Mfg

www.littleshopmfg.com

Schurkey said:

Less a matter of college degrees, more a matter of having eyeballs and some logical thinking.

When the real engineers arrange caliper supports centered between the pads, and the doofus "engineers" put the support way off to one side...it's not hard to figure out where the problem is, and who caused it.

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Here's the link to their website if you want to tell them your opinion on their product that you don't own.

A while back I'd looked at the Little Shop rear disc kits and noted the same issues that has been discussed here. The caliper pins are not designed to take the braking load, they are only used in stock systems to allow the calipers to float. The load is taken from the knuckle / axle casting or an abutment bracket if its a more modern setup.

Something like the Pro Performance kit is closer. Note that the abutment bracket takes the load, which is then transferred back into the adapter bracket from the kit. https://www.streettrucksmag.com/88-98-obs-chevy-disc-big-brake-conversion-freeman-fabrication/ I'm not saying the adapter bracket they provide is adequate as I haven't done any calculations on it.

The Little Shop kit seems to work, and will probably work for a while. At some point those caliper pins could possibly fatigue, break and you'll lose rear brakes. That is up to each person to take that risk, I'm not willing to do that. For brakes both my trucks (99 C1500 Suburban and 98 K1500 RCLB) have hydroboost / 3/4 ton front calipers with good pads and the 11" rear drums. They both stop great and use OEM parts.

Looks are subjective and I think you're overstating the weight differential between the discs and drums. Discs are lighter yes, but 200 lbs seems excessive. I'm not a huge fan of the parking brakes integrated into the caliper, over time it tends to seize up. Had to replace these on other cars several times for this issue.

Since the engineer thing keeps getting thrown around here, FWIW I am a degreed Mechanical Engineer with 15+ years design experience.

DamHoodlum said:

Here's the link to their website if you want to tell them your opinion on their product that you don't own.

Little Shop Mfg

1090303

www.littleshopmfg.com

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Caveat emptor

I have a lugnuts 4x4 disc conversion on a sf 14b. I have some issues with the way that the rear caliper brackets hold the calipers a bit crooked, but I have had no (obvious) weird wear on the pins or anything else.

I use this truck to tow a camper, and have approx 20,000 miles of towing on mine. Some of that was in the rocky mountains, some of it was towing at 80+ mph - not exactly easy on them.

I made my own rear disk conversion kit using parts from Speedway. I use those same calipers as the little shop kit, I think they are from an 80's cadillac and Speedway has them. Then I used their weld on caliper brackets and rear discs from a 95 Impala SS or cop car. I had to enlarge the lug not holes on the rotor and clearance the bore hole a little. I have had them on for a few years now and they work great, no more messing with the rear drums.