hey everyone just seeing if anyone did this yet?
i seen online places who sell a big brake rear disc conversion thats not what im interested in.
i was gonna swap everythign to 5 lug but i like how 4x100 you can find pretty much every rim in the world to fit it.
i heard of a disc brake conversion as well that you get the rear disc from a saturn?

 

If you know what your doing, you can take a complete 5 lug setup off the SS and swap it over. gonna cost some serious money though.

 

Yeah I have done the big brake rear brake conversion kit with the 4 x 100 lug pattern. The install was pretty straight forward no problems. Once I started driving the car I had problems with the rear brakes locking up way too easily. It actually got a little bit dangerous like I would be coming off the highway slowing down normally and the rear tires would lock up and I would be sideways. They have about 15k on them now and I don't know if I have just adapted to them or they finally broke in but I don't have the locking up problem anymore.

If your going for looks I would say do it but if your going for performance then I wouldn't do it. Your car is not going to stop any better then it does now with big rear brakes.

 

might have had too much pressure in the brake lines. what causes that....i havent the slightest clue.

OP: if you wonna stop better, upgrade to stainless steel brake lines, slotted front rotors, EBC Redstuff pads front and rear, Motul brake fluid, and as an extra little kick, go to the dealer and get some new stock drums. that should be a good setup for your car.

 

I have to say I really dont see a reason for discs in the back when drums have more surface area being usedto slow down the car...

 

rears really arent used that heavily. correct me if im wrong.

 

I have the rear callipers off a ss if you want them pm me I also have the fronts and brackets

 

This is correct.


Op, you'll see better braking performance if you just upgrade the fronts as that's where most of the braking occurs.

The drums on these cars aren't really bad at all.

 

[QUOTE=Do_WorkSS;5076854]might have had too much pressure in the brake lines. what causes that....i havent the slightest clue.

That is what I figured I believe it is because the proportioning block is not setup for the rear discs. I started to look for a solution with a remote proportioning valve but as you can see I never did anything about it.

 

i was doing it for the looks and hoped for better braking. but i guess what one person said about the drums being more surface.
so i will just buy new OEM drums powder coat them and get Hawk pads for the rear, i have Hawk pads up front with cross drilled and slotted rotors

 

Best would be just to upgrade the front system (rears dont have "as big" of impact)

 

The only reason they removed drums in(over the years) the front was for steering ability.

 

Surface area has little to do with brake capabilities. If you look at high performance brake systems that used fixed calipers, the pads themselves aren't very large at all. The calipers and rotors are large, which is what allows for better braking and excellent heat dissipation.

Drum brakes are crude designs that are not suitable for any performance application. The have extremely poor heat dissipation, cannot stand up to high temperatures (shoes crack and drums overheat), and are not as effective as disc brakes in applying force to stop the car. Drum brakes also fade extremely easily, since the drum itself expands as it heat up. This causes it to be drawn away from the shoe linings, and causes the brake pedal to sink.

Drum brakes only have one real purpose in life - for use as parking brakes, due to the fact that drums have excellent static friction (large surface area of the shoes). Other than that they should just be fazed out for use on automobiles.

No, its because drums do not stop nearly as well as disc brakes.

 

So over all what does everyone think is a good idea?
get new rear drums or do the brake conversion.
if i do the conversion i plan on doing the big brake upgrade int he front.

 

wtf? drums suck. have you driven a car with front drum brakes? discs are worlds better than drums

 

I have a 2006 LS I plan on doing the full conversion front and rear (SSBC 4x100) to the 12" rotors. I do however intend to race my Cobalt at my local track so thats why I'm doing it. The downside to the conversion are the rotors. According Dave Erny at SSBC "We modify rotors to fit the kit so you will have to buy replacements from SSBC, or Summit or Jeg’s". So if you convert your choices are either SSBC replacement parts or get another company to make something custom when they need replacing.

The pads appear to be readily available however. From Mr. Erny's "Both front and rear kits use the same pads (FMSI backing plate part number D154)". I went to http://www.hawkperformance.com and looked in there catalog. The pads appear to be standard GM metric pads (80's Monte Carlos, 80's-90's S10 trucks, and such).

Also I saw some mention of rear wheel lockup, I get that now with the factory drums so a proportioning valve is on my list. Dont forget that you'll need a minimum of a 17" wheel to clear the 12" rotors so thats even more $$. I'm investing this money to race my car, what are your intentions?

 

i've got an SS rear beam and rear calipers. Willing to sell. Shipping will be pricey.

 

^^^^ this.