GM/Brembo Performance brakes - thoughts + pics

[91RS]

The only performance difference would be in heat management coming down a mountain on the brakes towing (or if you're riding the brakes, etc) - the limiting factor for braking distances is your tire's contact patch not the brakes (unless they heat-soak as above). Since the stockers are capable of triggering ABS you can't get better than that until you change the tires.

That said, the brake feel alone is enough of a reason to get them and so I'm heavily considering the fronts (don't care about the matching paint color for the rears)

No. This is only true at the limit and maybe if we didn’t have ABS and Stabilitrac. During normal braking the tires are not the limiting factor anyway. If what you’re saying is true, then you could put brakes from a 1993 Civic on these trucks and it would stop exactly the same but we all know that’s not going to be the case. The Brembo are a massive improvement in stopping power under all circumstances.

 

[91RS]

Except we have ABS and Stabilitrac to prevent the tires from locking so, while better tires are always a great decision for all around handling improvements, that is but one piece of the puzzle rather than the only limiting factor as you keep saying.

There was at least one review of these on YouTube where they measured the stopping distance and they were better.

 

[91RS]

A full on emergency stop is probably less than 1% of driving. This is the equivalent of talking peak horsepower, which only matters at WOT. What matters is what that power curve looks like or what happens all the other times you touch the brake pedal. More friction surface means more stopping and there is absolutely more grip with the Brembos than the stock brakes. It isn’t as noticeable on a 21 because of the fake brake pedal and they start with a 4 piston caliper where the older trucks start with a 2 piston but there is a massive improvement in your every day normal braking.

 

[91RS]

Surface area does matter and so does a whole bunch of other things. More friction material surface space means more stopping. If that weren’t true then the brakes from a 93 Civic would stop these trucks just as well as the stock stuff or the Brembos. The dynamics of vehicle handling, stability, and braking are not determined solely by one single component. It is a system and everything must work together. Braking is NOT determined only one part. The master cylinder and the size of the pistons and size of the fluid passages, brake line inside diameter, how many pistons the calipers have, the size of those pistons, the size of the pad and rotor. If what you are saying is true, if heat dissipation is the only thing that matters, you could use a one piston caliper on a giant rotor and achieve exactly the same thing.

 

[Thrust]

Engineering Explained: Brake Systems And How To Improve Stopping Performance

All you need for unbeatable deceleration is bigger brakes, red paint, and drilled holes, right? Let me stop you right there... let's talk brakes.

www.carthrottle.com

Getting to the point, there are four ways to improve brake torque:

1. Increase disc radius
Larger discs will allow for more brake torque as the brake pad will apply pressure at a larger radius, allowing for a higher moment. Brake torque is equal to the force applied by the pad multiplied by the distance at which the force is applied from the center of the wheel. In this case, we’re increasing the distance from the centre. This is a good thing.

2. Increase caliper piston area
Increasing the size of the pistons (or number of pistons) means you have more area applying a specific pressure. If pressure remains constant and the area increases, the force applied will increase.

3. Line pressure
Push your foot harder, and the car brakes harder. This is because the line pressure increases. If you can increase the line pressure (perhaps by creating a larger lever arm for your brake pedal to act upon, or using vacuum assist) you increase brake torque.

4. Friction coefficient between the pad and rotor
Perhaps self explanatory, but if you can increase the friction (this comes down to material selection; brake pad manufacturers will often supply this data) between the pad and the rotor, you can increase the braking torque. With more friction comes more heat, though, which brings us neatly on to…

 

[slickbrave]

No experience with the Stoptech SS brake lines, but I’m sure they’re fine. Wilwood also makes a SS Brake line kit.

In my experience SS brake lines can really have a positive impact on pedal feel and brake response. Even when added to stock brakes.

My 2023 Yukon XL Denali Ultimate is ordered and expected in April. I intend to have the dealer install the Brembo brakes prior to delivery and I'd like to get the SS brake lines also. Since they don't sell these by application and I don't have the vehicle yet, can you advise what lengths I need? I want to do front and back. Thanks.

 

[CMoore711]

My 2023 Yukon XL Denali Ultimate is ordered and expected in April. I intend to have the dealer install the Brembo brakes prior to delivery and I'd like to get the SS brake lines also. Since they don't sell these by application and I don't have the vehicle yet, can you advise what lengths I need? I want to do front and back. Thanks.

Wilwood offers front 16" BBK for 2023 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate. For their front BBK they obviously also offer stainless steel brake lines.

They are Wilwood Part# 220-10979

Wilwood Disc Brakes

Flexline No: 220-10979, flexline, flex line, flexline kits, brake line, stainless steel brake lines, stainless brake lines, line fittings, inlet, outlet, inlet angle, outlet angle,

www.wilwood.com

These brake lines can be found for <$100.

These are also the same brake lines I run on the front of my 2015 GMC Yukon XL Denali Wilwood TX6R kit. You could maybe do some searching online to see what the brake line lengths of the stainless brake lines are in the Wilwood 220-10979 kit.

I do have a set of the Wilwood 220-10979 stainless brake lines in my garage; When I get a moment I'll go out and measure them and let you know.

I am not sure if the Wilwood 220-10979 stainless brake line kit would work with the GMC Brembo BBK upgrade or not? They might. If you could verify with Wilwood or by some online searching that the Wilwood stainless brake lines worked with just stock 2023 GMC Yukon Denali brakes I bet they would work for the GM Brembos also.

 

[ProfeZZor X]

I don't know which ****** me off more... The incompetent mechanic that chipped the caliper paint when he put my wheel back on, or Brembo for lying about custom painting a brand new set of calipers for my order and just painting over one of their off-the-shelf calipers (yellow)... and doing a ****** job at it too.

I've already had the brakes for a couple of months now, but so far they've been doing their job. It's just that the dust from these things are killing my microfiber towels, so I think I'll start soaking them in a bucket of brake dust remover.

 

[Thrust]

20" wheel with a 275/55/R20 tire will fit in the spare tire area. I now have one in place of the temporary 17" spare.

 

[ProfeZZor X]

So far my 8-pot Brembo brakes have been holding up very well, almost a year after the installation. I do get a lot of brake dust on my powder coated wheels but it's manageable since I clean my AT4 weekly. One amazing secret I discovered by accident was to wipe down my wheels with ceramic detailer... I know, sounds crazy, huh?

While detailing my AT4 one day, I used my usual ceramic detailer to see if I could reduce the appearance of the swirl marks on my wheels. What I noticed a few days later is that not only did it give the wheels a true glossy black appearance, but it didn't have nearly as much brake dust for the next few days after the wash. My wheels have big windows between the spokes, so I'm able to clean the barrel of the wheels and Brembo calipers too. This allows that glossy black finish to really shine when it's clean and shows off a lot of detail in the wheel. I clean the barrels of the wheels every time I wash my truck, so there's never any large build-up of brake dust. Wiping down the wheels with a ceramic detailer literally repels the brake dust like oil to water and stays off for days.

As for the performance of the brakes, they get the job done and then some. I've never come across a situation where I've had to slam on my brakes, but they do stop exceptionally well. I occasionally drive aggressively, but that's only because of my confidence in these brakes. If you ever were to upgrade your Yukon/Tahoe with performance-minded parts, consider upgrading your brakes.

 

[AWSMBLU]

I wanted to post something positive after not liking the GM perf. exhaust, overrated and a pass imo.

The Brembo brakes on the other hand, BUY them if you like pedal feel or are coming from a German car. I feel everything they quote in the release - 42% larger, 16.1 rotors, 84 percent increase in brake pad area, 31 percent reduction in pedal force and 12 percent reduction in pedal. Imo, well worth the money.

For me, I felt the stock brake pedal was mushy, especially on hard braking - how hard do I need to push to get some feedback or get it to stop? They never gave me confidence.

When bedding the rotors/pads today, they actually overpowered the tires and locked them up a little which is the feeling I would prefer. The stock brakes could never overpower the tires which is sad because the tires are made for a mileage goal and road noise (imo), thus not the stickiest compound available. The downside to the brakes, now I want to show them off and look for a new tire/wheel combo. Very happy with this addition. Yes, they are expensive but it is something I felt the first time I pressed the brake pedal.

 

[ProfeZZor X]

When I am ready for this upgrade over the stock setup, do we "have to" go via GM part numbers or can we buy direct thru Brembo? I would rather see "Brembo" vs "Performance".

I bought mine directly through a Brembo supplier (BuyBrakes.com). The turn around was incredibly fast. The rotors arrived first, and the custom color matched calipers arrived two days later.

 

[ProfeZZor X]

I've had my brakes for a while now, going on 3 years, and they've been fantastic. It's getting to be around that time where I need to shop for replacement pads, but I'm discovering that it's not all that easy. You'd think that Brembo parts would be pretty easy to acquire, but no. I've had to jump through a few hoops to narrow down the part number for my 8 pot brakes, but I was lucky to find them. The lowest price I was able to find them for was $850. Expensive yes, but can anyone put a price on their own well-being and safety.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my calipers when I first bought them. In total, I require 4 performance pads per caliper, so that's where the money is going. Do I regret my choice, no. They've given me a lot of confidence on the road, so I'm never worried about rear-ending someone at the last minute. If anything, it's the people behind me that I worry about more.

 

[GMCnewbee]

Great pictures and beautiful color match on the calipers. I did not realize how much larger the rotors are.

 

[AWSMBLU]

I've had my brakes for a while now, going on 3 years, and they've been fantastic. It's getting to be around that time where I need to shop for replacement pads, but I'm discovering that it's not all that easy. You'd think that Brembo parts would be pretty easy to acquire, but no. I've had to jump through a few hoops to narrow down the part number for my 8 pot brakes, but I was lucky to find them. The lowest price I was able to find them for was $850. Expensive yes, but can anyone put a price on their own well-being and safety.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my calipers when I first bought them. In total, I require 4 performance pads per caliper, so that's where the money is going. Do I regret my choice, no. They've given me a lot of confidence on the road, so I'm never worried about rear-ending someone at the last minute. If anything, it's the people behind me that I worry about more.

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Did you have them special painted color to match or come that way?

 

[ProfeZZor X]

Did you have them special painted color to match or come that way?

I had Brembo color match them before they shipped them. But, now they have a few nicks because of the idiotic installers. It's not too noticeable but they're not perfect anymore. I should have just had them plated in copper or bronze, but I was going for a subdued look at the time.

 

[RST Dana]

I've had my brakes for a while now, going on 3 years, and they've been fantastic. It's getting to be around that time where I need to shop for replacement pads, but I'm discovering that it's not all that easy. You'd think that Brembo parts would be pretty easy to acquire, but no. I've had to jump through a few hoops to narrow down the part number for my 8 pot brakes, but I was lucky to find them. The lowest price I was able to find them for was $850. Expensive yes, but can anyone put a price on their own well-being and safety.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my calipers when I first bought them. In total, I require 4 performance pads per caliper, so that's where the money is going. Do I regret my choice, no. They've given me a lot of confidence on the road, so I'm never worried about rear-ending someone at the last minute. If anything, it's the people behind me that I worry about more.

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How many miles did you get out of the original pads?

 

[ProfeZZor X]

How many miles did you get out of the original pads?

Not many... 6 months, if that. I was researching aftermarket items a year before I got the AT4 and already had an idea of what I wanted to get. Mine didn't come with the Brembo package from GMC, but I knew I wanted bigger brakes. The GMC Brembo rotors looked a bit small behind the stock wheels, so I did some research on 8 pot calipers and larger rotor options, and ended up with Brembo's GT BM8 kit.

 

[SaintMiles]

I put these on my Yukon. EVERYONE should have these. This beast stops like a little car. And this brake kit wears like a stock part. No extra noises, np extra dust. Just STOP. on. a. dime.
One negative...Replacement pads? 300+ bucks

 

[Polo08816]

I've had my brakes for a while now, going on 3 years, and they've been fantastic. It's getting to be around that time where I need to shop for replacement pads, but I'm discovering that it's not all that easy. You'd think that Brembo parts would be pretty easy to acquire, but no. I've had to jump through a few hoops to narrow down the part number for my 8 pot brakes, but I was lucky to find them. The lowest price I was able to find them for was $850. Expensive yes, but can anyone put a price on their own well-being and safety.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my calipers when I first bought them. In total, I require 4 performance pads per caliper, so that's where the money is going. Do I regret my choice, no. They've given me a lot of confidence on the road, so I'm never worried about rear-ending someone at the last minute. If anything, it's the people behind me that I worry about more.

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I'm curious how your rig stops compared to a Tahoe PPV in an instrumented panic stop situation.

I would imagine your tires would actually be the limiting factor (and not the brakes) compared to a Tahoe PPV that has the Firestone or the Goodyear Enforcers.