Will be doing the '19-'21 Big brake upgrade on my '00 Tahoe.

[chevrol8t]

Hello all. Just got my Brake caliper and pads for the big brake upgrade. Hopefully this coming weekend I can get started on it (still waiting on rotors). Never knew how hard it was to get my hands on these. Everywhere was sold out or labeled "discontinued?". I got lucky and was able to score a set. Hopefully these will make a bit of difference over my squishy factory setup. Also I am preparing to do the vacuum to Hydroboost swap (I was going to do that first but I was having such a "where's waldo" moment finding these calipers that I jumped on them when it became available as I probably would never get another chance at it.).

As far as tires go I am currently running Vision Legends 17" wheels. I did a test fit and they just barely clear. Eventually I will be upgrading to 20" wheels.

Will keep you all updated.

 

[rockola1971]

What do you mean by "vacuum to hydraulic brake swap"?

 

[chevrol8t]

What do you mean by "vacuum to hydraulic brake swap"?

Sorry I meant to say Hydroboost conversion. I made the correction!

 

[13UpInSmoke]

Where'd you find the calipers??? Been searching for over a month? Junkyard?

 

[chevrol8t]

Where'd you find the calipers??? Been searching for over a month? Junkyard?

OEM Part Source | Genuine Toyota, Honda, Ford, BMW, MINI, GM, Mopar and VW Parts and Accessories | OEM Parts

OEM Part Source offers genuine replacement parts and accessories for your Toyota, GM, VW, Scion, Honda, BMW, MINI, Mopar and Ford at large discounts off dealer MSRP. We carry genuine OEM parts and ship quickly, straight to your door.

www.oempartsource.com

 

[chevrol8t]

OEM Part Source | Genuine Toyota, Honda, Ford, BMW, MINI, GM, Mopar and VW Parts and Accessories | OEM Parts

OEM Part Source offers genuine replacement parts and accessories for your Toyota, GM, VW, Scion, Honda, BMW, MINI, Mopar and Ford at large discounts off dealer MSRP. We carry genuine OEM parts and ship quickly, straight to your door.

www.oempartsource.com

I just checked and now they are showing those calipers as discontinued??? (sorry I just realized I replied to my own response)

 

[chevrol8t]

Where'd you find the calipers??? Been searching for over a month? Junkyard?

I just checked and now they are showing those calipers as discontinued??? This is bizarre...

 

[chevrol8t]

Ok I finally got done with the swap. Took forever as my Rotors I ordered from RockAuto got delayed in Illinois for close to five days for some reason. Anyway here are the picks. I will start by answering some questions I hope you may have for me.
The swap out was almost straight forward, However I know everyone heard about the caliper needing adjustment after install as the outer rotor will most definitely hit the inside of the caliper making the rotor impossible to turn. Now I will tell you what I did. I used a 1/8 thick shim in-between the inner caliper and knuckle to move the caliper over. To my surprised it damn near centered the caliper allowing the rotor to rotate.

Did I have to make any other adjustments after that? Nope that was it. other then that it was plug and play (at least for me). Please note that I am using aftermarket steel braided lines but they are suppose to be factory length (can't remember where I got them as they are about 3 years old) so if anyone is running rubber lines it still should make it to the caliper without issues.

My wheels are Vision legends 17" rims. I have a good amount of space between the caliper and the rim without needing spacers or grinding a bit of the caliper down. So I got lucky.

Any difference in braking? Short answer...yes. Then again my brakes were 20+ year old OEM. Even bleeding them and getting better brakes and rotors (before this upgrade) changes were uninspiring and still squishy. This setup is firm and noticeable. I have yet to do any hard breaking as I'm still bedding in the new brakes but even light normal breaking I notice a huge difference! Actually the difference is so noticeable I may not have to go hydroboost just yet.

Also for anyone who is having a hard time finding these brakes I was doing some research and ran across this site https://ctsvbrakeswap.com/ They sell brackets that will allow you to retrofit six piston (front) and four piston (rear) Corvette brakes to your Silverado and Tahoe. Also here is a site that sell Hydroboost kits for those of you who want to buy new. https://www.powerbrakeservice.net/ Just be warned the prices will make you want to dive through a salvage yard but I am placing it here anyway in case you are interested.

 

[S33k3r]

Thank you for this! I drove my daughter's Suburban 1500 a few weeks ago, and the brakes are squishy as a gummi bear in Texas heat. This is in comparison to my other daughter's 2003 Sierra Denali, my 2004 Silverado 2500, and my wife's 2005 Suburban 2500.

 

[13UpInSmoke]

Drove 10 hours round trip to get a set out of a junkyard in Virginia!? Now just gotta get them painted & then install them!

 

[rockola1971]

Drove 10 hours round trip to get a set out of a junkyard in Virginia!? Now just gotta get them painted & then install them!

Wouldnt it have been cheaper to have shipped or was it a U pull it place?

 

[13UpInSmoke]

Wouldnt it have been cheaper to have shipped or was it a U pull it place?

They wouldn't ship?! Couldn't find any at any other junkyard that would ship either. Paid $130 for the pair & about $100 in gas so not too bad off

 

[chevrol8t]

Thank you for this! I drove my daughter's Suburban 1500 a few weeks ago, and the brakes are squishy as a gummi bear in Texas heat. This is in comparison to my other daughter's 2003 Sierra Denali, my 2004 Silverado 2500, and my wife's 2005 Suburban 2500.

No problem! I wish I knew about this sooner. I love my ride but I always feared a panic stop as I knew braking was less then ideal. I will be replacing the rears this weekend as they are still factory. I will be replacing them with OEM factory, I just want the old ones gone.

 

[chevrol8t]

Drove 10 hours round trip to get a set out of a junkyard in Virginia!? Now just gotta get them painted & then install them!

I swear these things are turning into one heck of a hunt. I don't get why GM got away from these? I went to see what type they are using now and the new calipers are smaller two piston. Maybe it's a money saving thing for the company?

 

[NoClue97]

Thank you for this! I drove my daughter's Suburban 1500 a few weeks ago, and the brakes are squishy as a gummi bear in Texas heat. This is in comparison to my other daughter's 2003 Sierra Denali, my 2004 Silverado 2500, and my wife's 2005 Suburban 2500.

Not to hijack the thread but would you say the hyrdoboost makes a big difference then? Debating whether to do GMT900 brakes or hyrdroboost swap for my 02 Suburban first.

 

[S33k3r]

The problem is I can't speak to the GMT900 brakes. Stock, Suburban 1500 vs Stock, Suburban 2500? Hell yes. Hydroboost all the way. I had no idea the 1500 series breaks were so squishy. And I know, for a fact, the brakes on my Silverado are effing excellent. Had to panic stop whilst towing a trailer.

 

[bigdog9191999]

i know i used to think the brakes on my 02 avalanche where pretty decent. till we got our 03 denali with hyrdo boost, and man for all other components being the same it makes a world of difference. then i got my 02 2500 burb also with hydro boost and man i tell you it is one of my favorite parts of the truck after the 8.1. then i started driving our 03 tahoe with standard brakes and it is a noticeable difference from the others ( i feel like it is less so than even the avalanche with the same components)

so yes hydro boost is worth the upgrade esp if you tow or have heavy weight, anything you do to upgrade the size of the rotors ect will compound that even further.

 

[chevrol8t]

Just a quick update. Brakes are still great...however I just found out that my master cylinder is leaking from around the edges (because I'm lucky that way) fortunately It's no big drama to replace other than fluids and bleeding. Will get around to that very soon. Will I still do Hydro-boost? Yeah, more than likely. in all honesty just stopping short (no pun intended) of added hydro-boost to make the breaking even better is almost a crime. Maybe early next year I will start on that!

 

[corvette744]

Just a quick update. Brakes are still great...however I just found out that my master cylinder is leaking from around the edges (because I'm lucky that way) fortunately It's no big drama to replace other than fluids and bleeding. Will get around to that very soon. Will I still do Hydro-boost? Yeah, more than likely. in all honesty just stopping short (no pun intended) of added hydro-boost to make the breaking even better is almost a crime. Maybe early next year I will start on that!

My question if you cant find calipers now what happens when one of your calipers need to be replaced.

 

[chevrol8t]

My question if you cant find calipers now what happens when one of your calipers need to be replaced.

Very good question. I guess I would have to eat the loss. just the brakes alone I am about $200.00 in for the set. I'm not saying $200 is nothing to sneeze at but it could be worse. for the results (at least for me) it's worth it.