ZL1 / CTS-V Brakes

[wildrova]

Hi all,
joined up after reading this thread, drooling lots and then wanting to ask a question...

I own a holden WM Caprice (a LWB Pontiac G8) and am looking at brake upgrade options.

A number of G8 owners are using the stock Camaro (ss?) calipers and rotors as an upgrade. Its a bolt-on upgrade for the front (mounting point on the knuckle requires drilling out) and the rears require a small bracket to make fit ( although e-brake function is lost)

Given that the CTS-V front calipers and rotors are a bolt-on upgrade for the Camaro am I right in thinking that they would also be a bolt-on upgrade for the G8??

hope the above makes sense and someone might be able to confirm my logic is correct.

regards,
Paul

[radz28]

Originally Posted by wildrova

Hi all,
joined up after reading this thread, drooling lots and then wanting to ask a question...

I own a holden WM Caprice (a LWB Pontiac G8) and am looking at brake upgrade options.

A number of G8 owners are using the stock Camaro (ss?) calipers and rotors as an upgrade. Its a bolt-on upgrade for the front (mounting point on the knuckle requires drilling out) and the rears require a small bracket to make fit ( although e-brake function is lost)

Given that the CTS-V front calipers and rotors are a bolt-on upgrade for the Camaro am I right in thinking that they would also be a bolt-on upgrade for the G8??

hope the above makes sense and someone might be able to confirm my logic is correct.

regards,
Paul

WELCOME!!! And good points. These is definately something to seriously consider as an upgrade

[Mr Twisty]

Good brake fluid info... and Wildrova, I think you're on to something there

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by wildrova

Hi all,
joined up after reading this thread, drooling lots and then wanting to ask a question...

I own a Holden WM Caprice (a LWB Pontiac G8) and am looking at brake upgrade options.

A number of G8 owners are using the stock Camaro (ss?) calipers and rotors as an upgrade. Its a bolt-on upgrade for the front (mounting point on the knuckle requires drilling out) and the rears require a small bracket to make fit ( although e-brake function is lost)

Given that the CTS-V front calipers and rotors are a bolt-on upgrade for the Camaro am I right in thinking that they would also be a bolt-on upgrade for the G8??

hope the above makes sense and someone might be able to confirm my logic is correct.

regards,
Paul

Paul,

The front caliper bolts on the CTS-V are a bit larger than the bolts on the VE. You will need to drill out the threads in the knuckle and cut the dust shield to fit the CTS-V caliper. The rear is a bit trickier matching offset on the rotor. On the Camaro we use a Camaro rotor with the CTS-V caliper. On your car you are going to have to fit check because I am not familiar with the rear long wheel base brake setup to see if the Camaro or CTS-V rear rotor is correct. We have run the G8 here in the USA with just the CTS-V fronts with very good results.

You should also note that aside from color, the CTS-V and Camaro SS rear calipers are the same.

[Chris_B]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Paul,

The front caliper bolts on the CTS-V are a bit larger than the bolts on the VE. You will need to drill out the threads in the knuckle and cut the dust shield to fit the CTS-V caliper. The rear is a bit trickier matching offset on the rotor. On the Camaro we use a Camaro rotor with the CTS-V caliper. On your car you are going to have to fit check because I am not familiar with the rear long wheel base brake setup to see if the Camaro or CTS-V rear rotor is correct. We have run the G8 here in the USA with just the CTS-V fronts with very good results.

You should also note that aside from color, the CTS-V and Camaro SS rear calipers are the same.

Yeah, the rears are more different that just the offset between the Camaro/CTS-V and the Holden. The parking brake drum is also a different diameter, so the Camaro rear rotor will not work. GM just couldn't have gone the easy (and more economical) route...

Chris

[Info@PeddersUSA.com]

Originally Posted by Chris_B

Yeah, the rears are more different that just the offset between the Camaro/CTS-V and the Holden. The parking brake drum is also a different diameter, so the Camaro rear rotor will not work. GM just couldn't have gone the easy (and more economical) route...

Chris

There must be a reason for them to make the change. If they can carry over a part from another platform, millions of dollars can be saved. GM used a lot of great processes for the development of the Camaro. It would, however, be really interesting to actually find out the specifics on why they did something specifically. I.E, the rear brakes, Now if we had a Zeta and ZetaII rear brake assembly side by side, we could most likely figure it out. I would think the Camaro will be either larger, more venting, etc than the G8

thanks
mike

[Chris_B]

Originally Posted by Mike.White@PeddersUSA.com

There must be a reason for them to make the change. If they can carry over a part from another platform, millions of dollars can be saved. GM used a lot of great processes for the development of the Camaro. It would, however, be really interesting to actually find out the specifics on why they did something specifically. I.E, the rear brakes, Now if we had a Zeta and ZetaII rear brake assembly side by side, we could most likely figure it out. I would think the Camaro will be either larger, more venting, etc than the G8

thanks
mike

I'd like to hear why as well. We've studied these closely side by side and can't figure it out by looking. They are very similar in size and layout, but just a few different dimensions here and there. Might have been a parts bin deal, like we've seen before.

Chris

[wildrova]

wow, thanks for all the quick replies.

Peter, it seems you have experience with all three vehicles (camaro, cts-v and G8) I hope you don't mind if i ask a few more q's...

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Paul,

The front caliper bolts on the CTS-V are a bit larger than the bolts on the VE. You will need to drill out the threads in the knuckle and cut the dust shield to fit the CTS-V caliper.

Yep. I believe the VE is a 12mm mounting bolt and the camaro is a 14mm bolt. If the CTS-V is also a 14mm bolt then this would mean there is no difference between mounting the camaro calipers which a number of people have done and the CTS-v calipers which would be much nicer.

The rear is a bit trickier matching offset on the rotor. On the Camaro we use a Camaro rotor with the CTS-V caliper. On your car you are going to have to fit check because I am not familiar with the rear long wheel base brake setup to see if the Camaro or CTS-V rear rotor is correct.

The LWB rear brake set up is the same as the standard wheel base.

We have run the G8 here in the USA with just the CTS-V fronts with very good results.

You should also note that aside from color, the CTS-V and Camaro SS rear calipers are the same.

If the rear calipers and disks are the same (camaro vs CTS-V), then they will fit the G8 with a small adapter bracket (made by a member of one of the G8 forums).

My understanding is that the issue with using the camaro rear set up on a G8 is the loss of e-brake function. I believe that this is caused by the iner surface of the camaro brake (where the drum brake pads press) being a 199mm diameter whereas the G8 is only a 190mm diameter.

Is anybody able to confirm the measurement of the camaro caliper??

Would a fix to this be to seek a custom rotor (perhaps 2 piece) that had the outer dimensions of a camaro rear rotor and the inner dimensions of a g8 rotor??
hope the above makes sense,

thanks again,
Paul

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by wildrova

wow, thanks for all the quick replies.

Peter, it seems you have experience with all three vehicles (camaro, cts-v and G8) I hope you don't mind if i ask a few more q's...




Yep. I believe the VE is a 12mm mounting bolt and the camaro is a 14mm bolt. If the CTS-V is also a 14mm bolt then this would mean there is no difference between mounting the camaro calipers which a number of people have done and the CTS-v calipers which would be much nicer.


The LWB rear brake set up is the same as the standard wheel base.



If the rear calipers and disks are the same (camaro vs CTS-V), then they will fit the G8 with a small adapter bracket (made by a member of one of the G8 forums).

My understanding is that the issue with using the camaro rear set up on a G8 is the loss of e-brake function. I believe that this is caused by the iner surface of the camaro brake (where the drum brake pads press) being a 199mm diameter whereas the G8 is only a 190mm diameter.

Is anybody able to confirm the measurement of the camaro caliper??

Would a fix to this be to seek a custom rotor (perhaps 2 piece) that had the outer dimensions of a camaro rear rotor and the inner dimensions of a g8 rotor??
hope the above makes sense,

thanks again,
Paul

Paul,

One of my dealers was able to use the Cadillac rotor in the rear with a thin spacer on the G8 and retain the e-brake function. The tech that did the work is no longer on staff so I could not get the specifics, other than it can be made to work. My experise comes to a dismal end

[PHEOX]

Looks like the brakes are the same as the CTS-V brakes!

[2SSRS@Gen5diy]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Paul,

One of my dealers was able to use the Cadillac rotor in the rear with a thin spacer on the G8 and retain the e-brake function. The tech that did the work is no longer on staff so I could not get the specifics, other than it can be made to work. My experise comes to a dismal end

Nice call on this mod, So do you run GM or did a bird whisper in your ear, If i didn't know any better i will say you had a peak at that Z28 some time back.

Thanks for all you guys do.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by 2SSRS

Nice call on this mod, So do you run GM or did a bird whisper in your ear, If i didn't know any better i will say you had a peak at that Z28 some time back.

Thanks for all you guys do.

I have to say, it was really hard to learn bird language. The CTS-V install was a piece of cake by comparison.

If you look at the sneak photos of the Z28 that were posted a short time ago I would bet dollars to donuts it had CTS-V brakes.

[2SSRS@Gen5diy]

That is why i posted As soon as i looked at the pic, So is this the car with 315/35/20 in the rear too, Its ok you can say it in bird language.

One twit for yes and 2 for NO.LOL

[JusticePete]

tweet tweetly-tweet Man it was hot out today.