Well, I have looked around, but not much option for brakes. At least without spending a ton.
I will be taking the G8 to the track later this summer for some test runs just to have some fun and see how well the car can perform on a 3.56 mile road course. I want to make the most of the day and push the car, but I don't want to over do it and over stress something. The brakes of course are my biggest concern. Does anyone know of some inexpensive brake upgrades just to eek a little more performance out of my session that day? We will be running six sets of 20 minute hot laps, with 45 minute breaks in between. If possible, I would at least like to get some pads that would be more track worthy. I certainly do not want to go blowing thousands on a new multi-piston set up. Just spend a little to get a little more performance out of an otherwise stock G8 GT. Any help, leads, suggestions, contacts is sincerely appreciated. Anyone around Chicago wanna cross-drill my rotors for me? :D

Get some SS brake lines, a GOOD set of brake pads, and change the brake fluid to something with a higher boiling point. You should be all set. The car already has a decently oversized set of brakes on it.

Anyone around Chicago wanna cross-drill my rotors for me? :D


The suggestions that h3llphyre gave you are dead on. Do yourself a favor and do not cross-drill your brakes. I know it looks cool, but it hurts far more that it helps. The more swept disk area you have the better. You will not need any additional cooloing either, your disks are vented. Drilling stock rotors is never a good idea anyway. It leads to cracks in the metal during heating and cooling cycles and could lead to brake failure. There are a few members here that track their cars I beleive they will tell you the same thing.

--Mike

I was looking to see if DBA was already building rotors for the Commodore/G8. On their website, it appears as if they don't list any of their upgraded rotors for the VE cars. DBA can build rotors with some slots in them to help clean the pads & release some of the trapped gas when the pads get hot.

& release some of the trapped gas when the pads get hot.

If you buy GOOD pads, you won't get out-gassing that matters. Out gassing is something that happened decades ago.

If you buy GOOD pads, you won't get out-gassing that matters. Out gassing is something that happened decades ago.

Drive any car hard enough, and I'm sure it can still happen. Plus, you'd still get the benefits of swiping the pad clean with each pass of a slot.

Get some SS brake lines, a GOOD set of brake pads, and change the brake fluid to something with a higher boiling point. You should be all set. The car already has a decently oversized set of brakes on it.

Thanks, sounds like this is a perfect solution without spending a ton. Now I am a little new to this type of event in that it is the first time I am driving my own car. In events past, they track usually has track-ready cars there for me to drive.

Where would I look to find this type of upgrade? Do I just roll into my local Midas shop and ask for the afore mentioned modifications and trust they do it? Or do I need to seek out a speed shop? Just curious since I've never even thought about where I would go for performance brake parts.

Thanks, sounds like this is a perfect solution without spending a ton. Now I am a little new to this type of event in that it is the first time I am driving my own car. In events past, they track usually has track-ready cars there for me to drive.

Where would I look to find this type of upgrade? Do I just roll into my local Midas shop and ask for the afore mentioned modifications and trust they do it? Or do I need to seek out a speed shop? Just curious since I've never even thought about where I would go for performance brake parts.

Speed shop, as Midas won't know WTF you're talking about.

You CAN do it yourself as well. Its not too hard. Hardest part is bleeding the brakes. If you do a little google research, you should be able to find what you need. if I get bored tonight, maybe I'll look some stuff up.

Finding them right now may be an issue but I'm guessing that Commodore ones will work. Stainless braided lines are one of the first mods I do to my bikes. It resolves a lot of the mushy pedal feel, but pads and good DOT 3/4 fluid goes a long way with helping with fade. Valvoline makes a good high temp synthetic 3/4 fluid that actually exceeds DOT5 but it's not hydrophobic which DOT 5 is but to use DOT 5 you would have to make a lot of changes and clean a lot of stuff out as it's not compatible with 3/4.

Has anyone tried the ceramic pads? I would like to know how they work...

I use HH sintered pads on my bikes and they are amazing...:)

I was looking to see if DBA was already building rotors for the Commodore/G8. On their website, it appears as if they don't list any of their upgraded rotors for the VE cars. DBA can build rotors with some slots in them to help clean the pads & release some of the trapped gas when the pads get hot.

DBA have just finished the VE Commodore / G8 performance street rotors in Australia, unfortunately DBA USA dont have stock yet, but stock is coming. JHP.com.au will have a listing and prices shortly.
JHP will also have the G8 - VE performance Harrop 4 piston brake upgrade kit. The kit includes 356mm grooved rotors (front & rear), red four piston calipers F & R, performance pads, all direct fit for G8, prices and details coming shortly, price will be approx $4500 delivered. www.g8partsdirect.com

I'm a track instructor here in the Northeast and have been for years. The first track upgrades we always suggest for students and customers at my shop are:

Pads (Hawk HPs or HP+ are our favorites)
SS Lines w/ATE SuperBlue Fluid (Flushed every 6 months for cars who HPDE often)
Rotors (Stock rotors are usually fine, just keep an eye on them for hairline cracks and replace with stock-like ones, if you must upgrade DBA makes a great rotor the DBA4000s which are slotted)

As for drilling, until recently we did not even allow drilled rotors on track unless they were OEM (Like the Porsche and Vettes have) due to the safety issue of them breaking apart after a failure.

If you have any other HPDE questions or want some more specific info, let me know (PM/IM/E-mail/Postuphere)

-mike

On the VE ( US G8) HSV run AP racing brakes, front are 665mm x 32mm ventilated and grooved disk 4 piston clalipers, rears are AP racing brakes front are 350mm x 26 ventilated and grooved disk 4 piston clalipers. Before the AP racing calipers it was Harrop engineering gear. You can buy lots of these complere new setups front and rear on Oz Ebay for under $3000 AUD, These sets retail for over $8000 from HSV new if you felt the urge to go out and buy some. They do look very sexy though and stop on a dime Thet say 33 meters from a 100km/h

On the VE ( US G8) HSV run AP racing brakes, front are 665mm x 32mm ventilated and grooved disk 4 piston clalipers, rears are AP racing brakes front are 350mm x 26 ventilated and grooved disk 4 piston clalipers. Before the AP racing calipers it was Harrop engineering gear. You can buy lots of these complere new setups front and rear on Oz Ebay for under $3000 AUD, These sets retail for over $8000 from HSV new if you felt the urge to go out and buy some. They do look very sexy though and stop on a dime Thet say 33 meters from a 100km/h

Do you have a link to the auction you are talking about? I did find the PBR version, but they are not the same. The prices look pretty good depending on shipping to the U.S. of course. I would really like to find those AP's.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/PK1-COMMODORE-VB-TO-VZ-BIG-BRAKES-HSV-343-R8-SIZE-PBR_W0QQitemZ380042162610QQihZ025QQcategoryZ6763QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


--Mike

Those aren't for the VE/G8 so I don't know if they will fit...

The AP VE brakes that were there sold, when there do a search in Search title and description VE HSV you might be surprised

Going to second a couple of the above posts, but expand a bit.

First, the setup:
Different brake pads are a must. I'd recommend the aforementioned Hawk HP+ pads for track duty - the HPS will probably overheat given the speeds this car is capable of and its weight. Actually, the HP+ will probably overheat, too, but not as badly. I run Carbotech XP12s when I road race. Perhaps a bit overkill in your application (street tires), but you can ask them (call directly) about the XP8s.

Brake fluid is a must. I run Wilwood High-Temp 570* fluid and have never had a mushy pedal. It's much cheaper than some higher-temp fluids. But, for a lapping day, I think it's all you'll need.

SS lines will be nice, but not necessary. SS lines do nothing for increased performance. They do help with pedal feel and modulation, though. If you want them, get them - but you can do without.

Now, to explain a few things. I think we've debunked the "cross-drilled" myth. They are NOT meant for performance applications. They WILL crack when subjected to the extreme temps of a road course. We can discuss if you want, but Tire Rack has some info you may want to read (as does Baer, Wilwood, Alcon, etc.).

What about slotted? Well, there aren't nearly as many failures with these, so they don't have nearly the bad reputation that drilled does. However, you are both decreasing the swept area, decreasing the thickness in a particular area, and removing mass. All of these are detrimental to brake performance.

What about outgassing? Well, I'm not a molecular physicist, or chemical engineer, or whichever PhD would be responsible for analyzing this. However, I've asked the engineers in the braking divisions of Hawk, Carbotech and Baer about this. Today's pads don't outgas. Plain and simple - it doesn't happen in any amount that can be consistently measured. The only reactions that occur is that braking material is consumed (matter converted to energy/heat) and loss of pad material due to friction.

As for the "cleaning the pad" theory - I have no technical knowledge about this. However, I'm skeptical. For the trailing edge of the slot to actually scour some material off, then 1 of 2 things must be true.

1) The pad itself must bend a little when it goes over the groove and actually protrude into the groove. Then, as the trailing edge hits that sagging material, it shears it off and discards it. I highly doubt this is happening. The pads are ceramic - which means that they don't bend. At all. The most pliable ceramics bend less than the hardest metals. When you bend ceramic, it crumbles. So, I highly doubt that the pad material is entering the void of the slot.

2) The trailing edge of the slot is slightly higher than the leading edge. This has two problems. First, if it's true, the brake pads would wear that higher portion down very quickly, as the pad would actually act as a lathe. Secondly, you'd get a horrible pulsating pedal because the rotor wasn't smooth.

OK - I think I've gone on too long. So here's a summary:

GET GOOD PADS AND GOOD FLUID, and if you have money/time left, get good lines.

1) Fluid (ATE SuperBlue or TYP 200, or Ford HD)
2) Pads (Hawk HPS or better)
3) SS Lines

Ford HD fluid is a sleeper...performs as good or better than most other DOT4 fluids for a much better price. See temp specs here. (http://www.stealth316.com/2-brakefluid.htm)

Don't mess with DOT5, just use a quality DOT4 fluid.

Oh, one other thing to think about. Are you going to bleed your brakes and replace your fluid before every track day? If so, then go for the highest "dry" boiling point your wallet can afford.

However, if you go driving in between track days, and don't want to bleed the entire system 6 times per year, then you want the highest "wet" boiling point. The "wet" point is important because this is the boiling point of the fluid when it contains water. And, after being in your car for a while, it WILL have water in it - they all do.

So, Ford HD or Wilwood 570 is fine for single or limited use. But, if you're going to keep it in there, soemthing like the Wilwood EXP 600 (626*F dry, 417*F wet) will be much better than the 290*F wet boiling points of the Ford and Ww 570 stuff.

So ATE super Blue Dot 4 is ok to use in a G8? i have a liter sitting in my room. going to be bleeding the brakes before track day. Does anyone know if ill need more than one liter?

Stoptech is in the making of an upgrade and I think Baer already has a kit out. I might go the alternative route and get the GXP brakes instead.

Here's the part number for those who's interested.

Pads - 89047725
Rotors (you need 2x) - 92213817
Calipers (left & right) - 92221883 & 92221882

I actually didn't see anything that I disagree with. 00Transram, Slots don't actually remove pad material they just channel the gasses (not outgassing) that is generated by the heat. Something no one mentioned is to add brake ducts if possible. Directing air from the front of the car,if possible ,will help brakes cool some between applications. Even if you only get air directed towards the calipers,it helps. Now, I don't have one to play with but if you have room and openings in the front it is pretty cheap to do this.

Anybody know what the cost of a set of fronts of the GXP brakes, to be put on to a GT? The GXP's front are 4-piston, correct? Has anybody compared them to the Baer 6-piston setup? Thanks!

change out fluid for higher temp stuff, swap out pads for Hawk HPs, if your rotors are getting worn out from normal wear and tear you could put some slotted/dimpled ones on like baer decelarotors or powerslots....as others have stated this is more for heat and dust dissipation.

You don't need SS brake lines, not sure why people keep up with that myth...on new cars there's no need unless you're turning your car into a track machine. SS lines will return better feel because there is less outward expansion from pressure in comparison to rubber lines HOWEVER only on cars w/ higher miles or older age where the lines have been exposed to frequent use and expansion/contraction due to weather where they are truly more worn will you gain any negligable performance benefit.

I swapped out lines on sport bikes before and you gain better brake feel...but its alot easier to do on a bike, the expense and trouble on a car makes me think its a waste of tmie effort and money.


On my 2004 GTO that had less aggressive brake setup than the G8GT I swapped out all 4 rotors for baer decelarotors, and pads for Hawk HPS ferro/carbon, and flushed the fluid w/ high temp premium stuff and it was a NOTICEABLE difference for sure, really good bang for the buck mod.

I see people saying to swap out pads for better track performance. If I get track pads (HP+) and use them with the existing stock rotors, when I want to go back to the street (stock) pads is there any issues with swapping back and forward with the same rotors? Any bedding in questions/issues I should be thinking of?