INTRO[/size]
With the new heavier and larger tires, my stopping distance increased. Or, more to the point. When some A*hole pulled right out in front of me, I'd have a HEART ATTACK.
So I decided to do the EXT/SS brake upgrade. You have two options for upgrading your brakes. You can opt to purchase the SSBC Brake upgrade kit. This kit includes 14" rotors and 4 piston brakes, for some seriously hard core breaking. Some might argue that's overkill for an offroad vehicle. I don't think you can ever over do braking personally. The down side is that those 14inch rotors and calipers may not fit in anything smaller than an 18" rim or with a ton of back spacing. Currently only the SS guys seem to be running these, and no one has posted measurements that I can find or tried running it with 17inch rims and backspacing.
Oh yeah, they're expensive. The price tag os the SSBC kit is pretty big, at close to 2 grand, you've got to be committed.
The second option is the SS/EXT Rotor Swap. Both the EXT and SS had larger 13inch front rotors compared to the stock rotors on non v8 SWB 12.4" rotor.
The cost is of this swap is relatively cheap, you can get it done for under $200.00 with a visit to the junk yard and depending on the rotors/pads you purchase.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
You will be able to reuse your stock calipers. They're the same size.
You can get these from Rock Auto, our site sponsor.
Caliper mounting brackets: Cardone A-1: Part# 14-1143 Front Right/Left (order 2)
Caliper Guide Pin Kit brackets CARLSON Part # H5093
Caliper Guide Pin boot: CARLSON Part # 16143
EXT/SS Rotors and a set of brake pads. It's up to you what you get. I referenced a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer SS.
BE CAREFUL WITH EBAY. A few of the rotor/pad combos on ebay listed as being for the EXT/SS also label themselves as being for the SWB vehicle and in fact may be the wrong size rotor. So do diligence is important.
DOING THE SWAP
This guide makes two assumptions.
#1 You are mechanically inclined and can jack the vehicle on your own and remove the tires.
#2 You know how to change you brakes already and can remove the caliper and replace the pads.
To get started pick a side and remove the wheel and the caliper along with the pads. You can set the caliper aside out of the way.
Then you'll have to remove the two 17mm bolts holding the bracket in place, as shown here:
After the bracket is off, the next step is to remove your rotor. If you end up like me, you'll have these annoying metal tabs which have to be removed first. Then the rotor will pull straight off.
After that, you can put your new rotor on, and then install the new bracket where you removed the old one using the new caliper guide pins and boot kit.
It really is that simple. Next up, replace your old pads, now is a good time if you want to paint your calipers. I decided why not.
Re-install your caliper using the new bolt kit. A little blue loc-tite might be a good idea.
And that's all. Incredibly simple, and an effective upgrade.
You might be thinking, is there really that much improvement in stopping? The answer to that question is a resounding YES. And I am not going to debate the merits of the cross-drilled/slotted rotors. I already know.
Good Luck
