ls1tech - possibly a good LS1 Brake upgrade for someone Options

[LS1_Alex]

LS1 Sprindles/hubs/rotors/calipers/brake lines. $120 + shipping


http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=878000

[cccbock]

LS1 Sprindles/hubs/rotors/calipers/brake lines. $120 + shipping


http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=878000

ASSuming the hubs are good, and are "seasoned" with some miles, the price is unbeatable for someone wanting to upgrade to the the LS1 stuff. Just the hubs by themselves are worth the money.

Bock

[roadracetransam]

LS1 Sprindles/hubs/rotors/calipers/brake lines. $120 + shipping


http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=878000

ASSuming the hubs are good, and are "seasoned" with some miles, the price is unbeatable for someone wanting to upgrade to the the LS1 stuff. Just the hubs by themselves are worth the money.

Bock

Than again, if the hubs are like most, needing replacement, it is not much of a deal. Rotors you probably want to put on some new ones, upgrade the lines to ss, fresh new or rebuilt calipers might be a good idea, plus new hubs if those are shoot. So what would you be buying in the first place?
It might be just be me, but I am not trusting used brake parts for a race car.

[LS1_Alex]

The guy is a drag racer, so unless he is doing wheelies and comes crashing down his hubs are probably in decent condition. Mine have 90k on em and still have no play, calipers are in good condition and so are the lines. But like any used parts you are taking a chance. Still seems like a great deal for a budget upgrade, specially if local.

[sgarnett]

Than again, if the hubs are like most, needing replacement, it is not much of a deal. Rotors you probably want to put on some new ones, upgrade the lines to ss, fresh new or rebuilt calipers might be a good idea, plus new hubs if those are shoot. So what would you be buying in the first place?
It might be just be me, but I am not trusting used brake parts for a race car.

The spindles might be good, but I'd want to measure them against a known good spindle.
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I strongly prefer used hubs for competition, and it has little to do with price. I've found that they last much longer than brand new hubs with 315 stickies. Whether that's due to work-hardening the races with highway miles or slipping quality in new production (Timken/Delco), I can't say. If I could buy a new hub that would hold up, I would.

The catch is, mileage is a very poor predictor of condition. Feel is also a pretty crude indicator. I had a local machine shop make a bench fixture so I could accurately measure play and runout in the hubs.

Of the used hubs I buy, a significant percentage turn out to be totally unusable or must be relegated to the "emergency use only" pile. I do prefer to buy hubs with 25K miles or less because it slightly improves the odds, but those are becoming rare, and some will still be bad. I will go up to 50K~60K or maybe even a little higher if the price is right (in other words, a price I'm willing to flush down the toilet if the hub doesn't measure up). Even if the hub was good, careless removal can ruin it. A gorilla in a local yard ruined a nice pair of 20K hubs by beating them out with a BFH.

I've worn out (per GM's spec) several sets of brand new Timken/Delcos in a single day of autocross. I tend to be fairly easy on tires, so I don't think I'm beating on the hubs any harder than anyone else on 315s.

I'll happily install a good high mileage hub at <50% wear or less (<30% is better) instead of a brand new hub, because by the end of one day, the used hub will be in better shape than the new hub. Finding those good used hubs is the hard part ....
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For the rest of the brakes, new parts seem like cheap insurance. Even remanufactured calipers are questionable. One item that I suspect is often overlooked is the pad abutment bracket. The caliper pins see a lot of abuse. I don't know if the brackets have a hardened bushing, but if the grease dries up the holes in the bracket probably don't escape unscathed.

This post has been edited by sgarnett: Apr 1 2008, 01:30 AM