Jump to content

enzo354
 Share

Recommended Posts

My brakes in my 89 grand prix are getting to the point where I no longer feel safe driving on them. I have a 00 Intrigue parts car here, is it possible to do a brake swap between the two decently easily?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's safe to say 2nd gen front brakes won't work on a 1st gen, caliper mounts are different. There may be a way to MAKE it work, such as swapping over knuckles and everything, but I don't think that's been tried.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's safe to say 2nd gen front brakes won't work on a 1st gen, caliper mounts are different. There may be a way to MAKE it work, such as swapping over knuckles and everything, but I don't think that's been tried.

 

This is w-body. I am SURE someone has tried it.

 

C'mon, if hockey pucks were used for subframe bushings... just saying...

 

To the OP:

 

From my understanding, it's easier and more feasible to upgrade the braking system to that out of a 96-ish (correct me if my year is wrong) Lumina or Monte Carlo. They have the larger front brakes, and this gives so much more stopping power, as the front brakes on the 1st gens are horrendously undersized.

 

I ran into this problem a few years ago. I ended up replacing my ABS unit and everything in my braking system except the master cylinder itself. Yes, new rubber ends, new steel brake lines, new calipers and discs and pads. I made the mistake of getting the cheap-o calipers from O'Reilly and I still have one on the rear of the car that likes to seize up. You can also upgrade by upgrading the pads/rotors. I went with Raybestos discs (non drilled/slotted) and ceramic Brembo pads and haven't warped a rotor since, and previously had warped at least a rotor a year. There was a definite difference in stopping power, but of course I went from a junk ABS unit and crap brakes to this setup so that may be the nature of the change that I was feeling, and not a significant upgrade in and of itself.

 

But as Buck said in response to your OP, check on the brake booster first. If the pedal is extremely hard to push but the brakes still grab, that's probably the issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you^^^

 

Well my car is not ABS equipped, and the booster is normal, it isn't hard to push, and brakes grab decent, I just want better stopping power. It's a decently heavy car for such small rotors, and if you have ever driven in Lincoln Nebraska, you would understand. I have people slamming on brakes all the time to turn or pulling out in front of me, and I get a lot closer then I would like. I like the idea of a 96 Grand prix or monte carlo. I'm gonna drop the subframe on that intrigue this weekend and see what I can get to line up. I'll report back in if anything actually fits haha.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing will Brock, I do have 1.5 gen front brakes and knuckles (96+) and you will want the 94-96 first gen rear brakes... The knuckles on the front are different because the first gens use a cartridge style strut... I would just make a quick junkyard run and grab what you need... I am not in a place where I can pull the stuff I have and ship it out... I also bet your rear brakes arent in the best of shape... Check that the rear calipers arent seized (very common)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As long as the booster works, it doesnt matter what size booster you have. I went from having that huge 1994 booster, so the small ass 5spd booster, No difference in braking power at all. Only difference between those boosters is how many pumps of pedal you get when engine is off. 1994+ booster youll get more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

The lack of the english language in this thread is making it tricky to read.

 

Just a couple of notes I would like to add tho:

 

1st gen wbodies can use 2nd gen rear knuckles and brakes as long as they're running coil overs. And also be prepared to find a solution for the Ebrake. You also have to watch out that if you're swapping from drums to discs that the fluid pressures are not the same. And you would need to correct this.

 

Using 2nd gen front brakes on a 1/1.5 gen would be impossible unless you make 2nd gen front knuckles work. The only way to do this is to engineer some sort of adapter bracket or (what I am planning) to make a hybrid lower control arm with the stock inner part and a 2nd gen outer part. This will take some proper engineering and mechanical skill to make it work.

 

If you truely want better braking on a 88-93 car then the best is to update it with 94-96 stuff. But include a good set of pads and rotors and also dont over look the brake fluid as well. I boiled my DOT3 fluid on my very first autocross outing. Now I run nothing but super blue racing DOT4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the 2nd gen aluminum rear knuckles dont have a provision for the transverse spring used on the earlier W's

 

< the guy that gave rich a whole low mile baller 04 compG rear knuckle/brake setup

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Using 2nd gen front brakes on a 1/1.5 gen would be impossible unless you make 2nd gen front knuckles work. The only way to do this is to engineer some sort of adapter bracket or (what I am planning) to make a hybrid lower control arm with the stock inner part and a 2nd gen outer part. This will take some proper engineering and mechanical skill to make it work.

btw rich i was able to look closely at the 442 recently and i know exactly what has to be done to make the hybrid lca, quite simple actually

 

it would let us run 12" brakes front and rear so we are considering it as well since i have almost all the parts

Link to comment
Share on other sites

btw rich i was able to look closely at the 442 recently and i know exactly what has to be done to make the hybrid lca, quite simple actually

 

it would let us run 12" brakes front and rear so we are considering it as well since i have almost all the parts

 

:fy: We'll be able to corner a market for the 1/1.5gens buddy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...