GM Muscle Car
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Article: Keep Your Rear In Line Magazine: Camaro Performers (September 2005) SSBC product: Rear Force 10 Sport R1 disc brake conversion kit |
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| Bolt-In For First-And Second-Generation Cars Despite the volumes written about the legendary prowess of ’60s musclecars, the words always seem to gloss over some serious engineering shortcomings of the era. Brake packages were often, in a word, terrifying. One good shot was the most you got, if you were lucky. After that, it was white-knuckle time when it came to stopping in a hurry—and that was with a powerplant kicking out factory horsepower. Brake fade was the name of the game. Add a cam, some carb, headers, and exhaust, and stopping becomes even more elusive. While drum brakes are great for stopping lumbering buses and dump trucks, they’re no good for gas-huffing musclecars. The good news is that it’s never been easier to upgrade your ’60s- or ’70s-era GM musclecar to a disc brake package. Stepping up to serious stopping power with disc brakes on all four corners is as easy as picking up the phone, calling Stainless Steel Brakes ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: 0-100-SuperNova Magazine: Car Craft (July 2003) SSBC product: Quick Change aluminum caliper upgrade kit |
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| For the past five years, our sister magazine Chevy High Performance has conducted an invitation only 0-100-0 contest to test the acceleration and brake performance of a selected handful of readers' cars. The contestants gather at the dragstrip, and with help from Baer Inc., put their respective cars through the paces by making a regular quarter-mile blast and then standing on the brakes at the top end... This year, as CHP was making its preparation for the annual test, we thought it would be fun to enter our SuperNova project car. Frankly, we didn't expect much... Although the SuperNova's factory-style disc brakes are equipped with stock 11-inch rotors and SSBC SuperTwin aluminum replacement calipers with EBC Green Stuff high-performance pads, we expected the rest of the combination would prove to be a worst-case scenario. After all, conventional wisdom says a big-block-powered car with no front sway bar, 90/10 shocks, stock rear drums, and shod with skinny 165R15 Volkswagen tires on the front and full slicks on the rear should be a nightmare to stop. In fact, the first time we hit the brakes hard at 100-plus mph, we half expected the car to swap ends. But we, and the folks from CHP and Baer, couldn't have been more surprised when the car just hauled itself down with no drama. There was no trace of rear-wheel lockup, no flat-spotted tires, and our best 100-0 stopping distance of 418 feet combined with our 0-100 mph acceleration was good enough to finish Third overall in the competition, a mere 9 total feet behind a brand new Z06 Corvette! For the complete results of CHP's 0-100-0 Shootout, check out Chevy High's July '03 issue. ... click here for the rest of the article | ||
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Article: Bolt-On GM Aluminum Calipers Magazine: Car Craft (December 2002) SSBC product: Quick Change Aluminum Caliper Upgrade Kit |
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| Simply Unbolt Your Existing Cast-Iron Anchors And Bolt The New Calipers In Their Place Want the look of trick aluminum brake calipers without the cost and hassle of a complete brake conversion? Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation (SSBC) has something you'll probably be interested in. (Note: This article incorrectly states you can add a set of slotted & plated 11-inch rotors to the Quick Change kit for a total of $550. Contact SSBC for the correct price for adding rotors. The Quick Change kit price of $395 is correct.) ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Quickest Discs Magazine: Car Craft (September 2001) SSBC product: Standard non-power disc brake conversion kit A129-3 |
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| Stainless Steel Brakes Disc-Brake Conversion Kit Avoidance is key. Like your first ski trip, urban driving is a dicey, unpredictable situation until you learn to safely stop yourself. Likewise, we figure Honda CRX and Ford Focus drivers must feel like bowling pins when our ’65 Biscayne comes creeping up from behind, so we decided it was time to call up Year One and order a Stainless Steel Brakes disc-brake conversion kit for the bulbous B-body ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Halting Power Magazine: Chevelle Winter 2004 (from Super Chevy) (December 2003) SSBC product: FX2 Front and Rear Drum to Disc Conversion Kits |
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| 60-0 stopping distance with drum brakes: 241 ft. 60-0 stopping distance with FX2 disc brakes: 155 ft. We took our '64 out to Fontana's California Speedway for a bit of Road Rage performance testing only to find out that our Malibu stopped from 60-0 in a disappointing 241 feet. Just for a bit of comparison, a stock '02 Z28 Camaro takes 129 feet to come to a stop from 60... The SSBC conversion isn't a one-day deal, but it doesn't require a degree in brake technology either. Take your time, be thorough and if your results are anything like ours you'll have your 60-0s down to 155 feet in no time. |
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Article: Project American Heroes Magazine: Chevy Classics (from the editors of Super Chevy) (September 2007) SSBC product: Front Force 10 Tri-Power kit A148-34; rear Force 10 kit A111-30 |
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| Roadster Shop and CARS Inc. build a '57 for our Armed Forces Over the past few months, the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces have had an opportunity to visit the website, www.projectamericanheroes.org, and vote for one of the seven renderings posted. All seven renderings were very cool, but as of this writing, the voting is over, and the Blue car has emerged victorious. Progress will be continually updated on the website. The site also gives visitors the opportunity to contribute online to the Armed Forces Foundation. Please consider supporting our troops by donating. Now let's talk hardware. Put simply, this 1957 Chevy features the finest parts on the market... SSBC disc brakes front and rear are now found at all four corners ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Opportunity Knocked Magazine: Chevy High Performance (November 2004) SSBC product: Force 10 Tri-Power Disc Brake Kit |
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| Dan DeKruger Answered With a Very Trick '72 Chevelle They say that opportunity only knocks once, which is just fine with Dan DeKruger, given that he's not the type to wait around for a second rap at the door. This readiness to act has paid off: Once, 11 years ago, when DeKruger made the right moves at the right time to get his hands on a nice '72 Chevelle, and just recently, as he jumped at the chance to transform his faithful A-body into a unique, modernized machine in the Pro Touring mold. . . The knock came when DeKruger got the chance to obtain a complete 5.3L powerplant from an '02 GMC Yukon that had seen better days. He also had access to the harness and computers, along with just about anything else he wanted--and the price was right. "After messing with my '97 Firebird," he told us, "the chance to go high-tech appealed to me." Not that he jumped blindly; DeKruger did his research ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Stopping the POS Magazine: Chevy High Performance (July 2004) SSBC product: Front Quick Change kit and rear drum to disc brake conversion kit |
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| Our Project Z28 Has No Go but Plenty of Whoa. It's always been my opinion that a car capable of going real fast should also be able to stop real fast. In fact, I even tend to give stopping power priority over all-out horsepower. It's quite simple, really. On the one hand, it's a safety factor. On the other hand, a stout braking system is a major part of a balanced musclecar--ideally, each system in a well-built car should be up to the performance level of every other system. So, in my book, all engine and no brakes is a bad thing... To that end, we gave Stainless Steel Brakes (SSBC) a call, and were able to get just what we needed. Up front, we went with SSBC's Quick Change aluminum caliper upgrade kits. The Quick Change kit for our Z28 comes with a pair of Force 10 Super Twin two-piston calipers, which we ordered powdercoated in CHP red. The aluminum calipers are fitted with corrosion-free stainless steel pistons, and are also lighter than the factory pieces, thus reducing unsprung weight a tad. Most importantly, the Super Twin calipers provide a claimed 30 percent more clamping power than the OEM binders ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Big Brakes Magazine: Chevy Rumble (August 2007) SSBC product: Front Force 10 disc brake kit A129-22; rear Force 10 disc brake kit A125-27 |
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| Installing SSBC Four-Disc Brakes and TQ Wheels on the Boss’s ’55 So after deciding on a modernized restoration, he chose a Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation (SSBC) Force 10 complete four-wheel disc conversion. The SSBC Force 10 kit for the ’55 Chevy uses the original spindle, but SSBC also offers a set of dropped spindles to lower the car... The complete SSBC kit included the front and rear disc brake conversion, chrome booster and billet master cylinder that looks a little out of place in the grungy stock engine compartment, but that’s only temporary. The SSBC setup would not only improve braking, but it looks great ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Rear Disc Redo Magazine: Chevy Rumble (May 2002) SSBC product: Standard rear disc brake conversion kit A125-3 |
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| Adding Stopping Power to a Chevy Rearend With SSBC’s Kit If you’re building a Chevy that’s really going to rumble, you might want to consider upgrading to rear disc brakes. The added stopping ability might be just what you need when you’re really wringing out your car. With this Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation (SSBC) kit for Chevy rearends, you don’t even have to consider the typical Ford 9-inch rearend swap. We documented the installation of the SSBC disc brake swap while at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff. It’s really not a tough job at all. HR&CS’s Mike Saffiote did the job in about an hour. Even if you fumble your way through the swap, it shouldn’t take you more than three hours, tops ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Tough Brakes Magazine: Chevy Rumble (January 2002) SSBC product: Standard 2" drop spindle disc brake conversion kit A140 |
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| With One Simple Installation, This Tri-Year Chevy Sits Lower and Stops Better If you plan to fix up a tri-year Chevy, it’s advisable to upgrade the car’s brakes so it will stop as well as the best performance cars on the road. Several manufacturers make bolt-on kits for tri-year Chevys, and one of the finest and most complete kits comes from Stainless Steel Brakes. It offers a complete bolt-on kit that includes GM rotors, GM calipers, hoses, master cylinder with vacuum booster and your choice of stock or dropped spindles. Since the ’55 Chevy hardtop we are working on is going to be a mild street machine, we decided to install the dropped spindles along with a set of new, 2-inch dropped springs from Eaton Detroit Springs. Together with the dropped spindles, the Chevy should sit approximately 4 inches lower than stock ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: 12-Bolt Disc Brake Swap Magazine: Chevy Rumble (September 2001) SSBC product: Standard rear disc brake converion kit A126-1 |
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| This Stainless Steel Brakes Kit Makes it Easy to Boost Your Braking Power. It's surprising how easy it can be to swap out your old set of drum brakes and replace them with brand-new discs. With a kit from Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation the job can be done in approximately four hours with nothing to weld, no holes to drill, and no brackets to fabricate. If you want to stop with less effort or if you're running open design wheels and you don't want everyone looking at your crummy old drum brakes, read this story and see how easy it is to do the job ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: 1968 Camaro - Front Disc Brake Conversion Magazine: Classic Car Restoration (DIY TV show) (March 2003) SSBC product: Standard front disc brake kit A123-1 |
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| A car with a high-performance engine requires high-performance brakes. Depending on the condition of your restoration project car, your brakes may need anything from a simple re-line to a complete overhaul. Regardless of your situation, there are options to consider with respect to brake systems, brands and accessories. In this episode, host Ron Ananian restores and upgrades the brakes on the 1968 Camaro ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Braking Away Magazine: Corvette Fever (April 2006) SSBC product: Front kit A109AF and rear kit A109AR |
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| Upgrading the disc brakes on a 68-82 C3 Corvette We waited until the last minute to decide which brake calipers to install on Project Shark Attack (PSA) and are now glad of it. Once we had an idea what funds could be allocated to the project, it made sense to install the new Stainless Steel Brake Corporation (SSBC) Force 10 Extreme four-piston aluminum calipers. The new (and we emphasize new) forged aluminum, lightweight calipers are the first major advancement in '65-'82 Corvette calipers since these cars were built. The calipers are a fixed-position-type, but the sealing rings ride on the stainless steel caliper pistons instead of the caliper housing bore. This means if there is a caliper piston seal problem down the road, they can be replaced without messing with the housing, unlike the originals... After putting 8,000-plus miles on Project Shark Attack, we would definitely recommend the SSBC calipers and rotors package. They deliver sure, even braking under all road conditions. Over this same time period, there has been no squealing from the disc pads ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Stop That Shark: Brake Upgrades for '68-'82s Magazine: Corvette Fever (March 2004) SSBC product: Force 10 front kit A109AF and Force 10 rear kit A109AR. |
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| Brake upgrades for '68-'82 Corvettes. How do you improve on perfection? Like most things, there is always room for improvement, and Corvettes are no exception. For Corvette fans, there are some things C4s and C5s can do much better than sharks ('68-'82). Luckily, the folks at Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation have a solution for the braking blues... After giving our system a thorough shakedown (checking all connections for leaks, and doing some slow driving and stopping to ensure everything was safe and functioning properly), we decided to let it all hang out. In 60-0-mph braking tests, we shaved 22 feet off our original stopping distance of 149 feet with the stock system--a 14.7 percent improvement. We are extremely happy with the SSBC Force 10 kit. SSBC utilizes CNC equipment for pinpoint accuracy, and the quality is much better than the 20-year-old stock pieces ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Simplify Your Steering: Bushings to Bearings Magazine: Corvette Fever (May 2002) SSBC product: Royal King Pin Kit A24136 |
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| Trading bushings for bearings in '53-'62 Corvettes. Compared to the steering assemblies the Corvette has been using over the past few generations, the straight-axle front suspension is extremely simplistic. The initial design was for a passenger car, and that is exactly how it worked under the Corvette. There are options available to the early Corvette owner who wishes to update his or her Corvette's suspension to an independent front system, but if you wish to keep your Corvette basically stock but make it more enjoyable to drive, Stainless Steel Brakes has you covered as well. The company provides an upgraded kingpin package that uses roller bearings instead of the original bushings. The bearings will last longer and make steering easier due to the reduced friction of the bearings ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Beating the Drums Magazine: Corvette Fever (November 2001) SSBC product: Standard front disc brake conversion kit A137-3 |
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| A '63-'64 Brake Upgrade that Benefits Generations to Come Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation has looked back--back to the cars that should have utilized disc brakes. When engineering a kit to replace the drum brakes on the '63-'64 Corvettes, Stainless Steel Brakes included technology that not only exceeded the drums of the earlier cars but also contained benefits over using the factory disc setups that were such an improvement back in 1965. Its new Force 10 aluminum calipers are lighter, removing 16 pounds of unsprung weight from your Corvette's front suspension. Also, the Turbo slotted rotors have CNC-machined groove patterns for improved wet braking, reduced brake fade, and improved pad cleaning. These attributes are beneficial for any brake setup from '63 to '82, and light-years ahead of drum brakes. Follow along as we bring this '64 Corvette's front drum brakes into the next century ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: The "Buck" Stops Magazine: Fastest Street Car (June 2008) SSBC product: Front Force 10 disc brake kit A123-14 |
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| BRAKING POWER FROM SSBC For the past several issues we’ve brought "Buck" into the 21st Century, fitting it with some of the best driveline and suspension items available on the market. All of what we’ve covered so far will help the ’66 Buick go faster, but what about slowing it down? For that chore we lassoed the gang at SSBC (Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation), getting their input on what we needed to enhance the stopping power, while also having curb appeal. Since this car will be seeing street and strip duty, as well as an occasional trip around a road course, it made sense to go big. And we did utilizing SSBC’s latest Big Bite 13-inch cross-drilled rotors and Force 10 Tri-Power calipers on the front ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Slowing Down Magazine: Fastest Street Car (January 2004) SSBC product: Front Force 10 2-Piston Aluminum Caliper kit A123-1A |
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| Stainless Steel Brakes delivers with an awesome mid-year Nova brake kit. For those looking for the ultimate heart-pounding enjoyment, strap yourself into an early or mid-year Nova and try stopping the car at 60 miles-per-hour. Your knuckles will be sore from holding the steering wheel tight, and your right foot will be mashed into the floorboard. These factory drum/drum brake set-ups were barely adequate even by 1967 standards and have no place in today’s four-wheel disc ABS environment. So out with the old and in with the new! After giving up my panic stopping, thrill-seeking adventures cold turkey and focusing on the golden rule of "safety first," I traded in this archaic form of "stopping" for a more reasonable approach. There are many aftermarket providers of front and rear disc setup for early and mid-year Novas, but we wanted a true bolt-on application that would not require special machining, could be installed by a weekend enthusiast, and would look awesome. Stainless Steel Brakes set us up with the latest in stopping power for early- and mid-year Novas... We performed four 60-to-0 tests and could not believe the results! Not only did the brakes stop on a dime, but you could feel how much more control you have over the car in a panic stop situation. We did not experience premature rear or front wheel-lock up at all. Our average stopping distance was 107 feet, with the rest of the distances were in the 100 to 121 foot range (compared to the 147-170 foot range with the stock drums). No doubt we had improved stopping power in a big way! ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Braking To Avoid Breaking: Part III Magazine: High Performance Pontiac (December 2001) SSBC product: Various disc brake components |
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| Part III: Moving forward on our rear disc brake swap and front disc brake rebuild. Rebuilding and upgrading the braking system in our '77 T/A has been a rewarding yet arduous endeavor. One advantage we had was the fact that the Pontiac is partially disassembled. Nevertheless we have been working on it for months. Those who read Part I and II know that Stainless Steel Brakes Corp, Year One and Classic Tube provided many of the components to upgrade to rear disc brakes... In our final installment, we will mount the adjustable proportioning valve for the rear disc brakes and move forward to rebuild the front braking system. |
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Article: Braking To Avoid Breaking: Part II Magazine: High Performance Pontiac (November 2001) SSBC product: Rear brake lines and emergency brake system |
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| Part II: What about lines and emergency brakes for our rear discs? Now that you've gotten a taste of what is involved in a rear disc brake swap, we will continue on our quest for better braking by modifying and installing the rear brake lines and the emergency brake system. |
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Article: Braking To Aviod Breaking: Part I |
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| Part I: Rear disc installation It's 2001 and every performance car worth its salt has monster-sized rear disc brakes. What's an owner of a vintage Firebird to do? One option is to look for a factory rear disc brake setup, pay top dollar and then replace all of the worn parts for more cash. Another choice is to give Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation a call. The company has a rear disc brake kit, which employs single-piston calipers with 10.5-inch rotors that bolt right onto the corporate 10-bolt found in most Second Gen. Firebirds. |
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Article: Big B-Body Brakes |
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| Installing oversize discs on our '66 Chevy Biscayne. As the compliment to our high-powered engine and thoroughly tough drivetrain, we chose Stainless Steel Brake's Force 10 disc brake assemblies as the energy mediators. They measure 13.0x1.1 inches and are complemented by large, four-piston (48mm) aluminum calipers, CNC-slotted vented rotors, Timken bearings, stainless steel flex hoses, and a 42mm wheel offset requirement. The conversion also includes a 7-inch booster/master cylinder. |
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Article: Stop That Goat |
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| A modern brake upgrade for vintage GTOs Nothing is more important on a car than the brakes. Bad brakes will ruin your day every single time, while good brakes can save your life and your prized Pontiac. The stock brake systems on our beloved musclecars leaves a little to be desired; even in top form the diminutive factory front discs are just barely adequate to stop the car at moderate speeds and are prone to glazing. If the car came equipped with four-wheel drums, forget about stopping at all. The solution is simple enough: Upgrade the brakes. Of course, such projects are often easier said than done. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for a brake swap we recently performed on a GTO, with help from Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation (SSBC)... The new brakes outperform the stock 11-inch discs and rear drums so much that it feels like an entirely different car. Safe stopping is now a reality, no more wincing every time you hit the brakes, hoping it will stop ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Brake 'Em Down, Line 'Em Up |
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| Project American Heroes gets some big-time stopping power Having the privilege of participating in the Project American Heroes buildup of the Cars Inc./Roadster Shop 1957 Chevy convertible, our military personnel are more and more in our thoughts and prayers... Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation is up to providing the equipment needed to not have to "think" about braking during road trips in the '57 Chevy ragtop. In business for over 30 years, SSBC has worked hard to provide the ultimate braking systems for all late-model performance cars, musclecars, street rods, trucks, SUVs, and sport compacts... The SSBC four-wheel disc-brake kit called into duty for Project American Heroes matches 13-inch front-vented rotors with 12-inch rears ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Gimme A Brake |
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| Upgrading '65-82 Brakes with SSBC's new Force 10 System. Compared to C4s--and in ensuing years C5s, newer F-Bodies, and others--the '65-82 factory brakes don't offer a particularly reassuring or confidence-inspiring feel (spongy is a common description for the pedal feel of these cars) when you need 'em the most... What has really surprised Team VETTE is that, until recently, no one (we're talking about manufacturers, not individuals) has come up with a new brake system for these Corvettes... Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation took the gamble, and we've got a feeling that the "Force 10 Extreme Duty" brake system is going to be extremely popular. Force 10 is a brake system upgrade that addresses the various deficiencies of the original brakes, and is engineered as a straight bolt-on... Before we even considered beginning the swap, we "baselined" the original-style brakes with a series of 60-0 stops, measured with a G-Tech Pro accelerometer. The best stop we recorded was 170 feet; our best-of-three average was 171.5 feet... [After installing the SSBC Force 10 kit] Our three-run average was 143 feet, which lopped a good 27.5 feet off the old system's numbers. Incredibly, the new brakes actually got better as they heated up and Loy got the feel of them. Our last run, the last of five, and despite some minor locking-up, netted an outstanding 128 feet--42 feet better than the OEM system's best (which is, by the way, a 24.7 percent improvement. |
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