Bee’s 2010 SS/RS Rally Yellow Build

[Bee]

Thanks Joe!! Yes, both the front and rear calipers are the same overall physical size. The 2 "extra" pistons are in the center circle, which they left as a place holder in the 4 piston calipers.

[Bee]

I set out to do some more work on the car today. This time, I scaled down my plans to only finish the front brakes, install the line lock, and get the strut tower brace install.

The stock brakes came off without any issue and I tested fitted the new rotors to make sure no modifications were needed to the dust shield…which of course, because the front dust shields are bolted on and would have been easy to remove. However, before proceeding with the new brakes, I shifted over to the line lock. I probably wrestled with the brakes for close to an hour before finally getting the pressure fittings to line up correctly. Instead of making the electrical connections, I started working on installing the strut tower brace.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get one thing finished today but I did learn a few very valuable lessons. First, the black and white photos in the Hurst line lock instructions are extremely misleading. In the first pic below, the white arrow pointing to the OEM line in the front is NOT the correct line...and yes, I had the lock washers in the wrong place. The color photo (from the updated instructions I downloaded from Summit Racing tonight) clearly shows the line is pointing to the one in the rear. So tomorrow I will get to wrestle some more with the brake lines while I get a really good hamstring workout from leaning over engine bay.







The second valuable lesson learned was related to removing the front struts. The only retaining nut that needs to be removed is directly under the adjuster knob. The second one found under the strut washers do not need to be removed. Since the wheels and brakes were removed, I ended up disconnecting the sway bar end link and removed both bottom strut bolts (and still couldn’t get the strut off). I walked away to lower the lift to figure out what else could be holding it in (thinking it was still the second nut on the top of the strut) when all of a sudden my dad was standing there with the coilover in his hands. Apparently, the rubber at the top of the strut was just stuck to the top of the strut tower. With both struts removed completely, I was able to clamp and begin drilling the holes for the strut tower brace.



After getting two of the four bolts on each side installed, it was getting late so we called it a day. I'll head back tomorrow to finish up so my dad can have his bay back by Monday.

[Bee]

Yesterday turned out to be quite the spectacle. The first thing I did was correct the brake lines for the line lock. It took a little bit of repositioning, but the trick is to leave the line going into the bottom of the solenoid loose, disconnect the rear OEM brake line from the master cylinder and connect it to the side of the solenoid, and then push the line lock assembly onto the mounting bolt while connecting the last line to the master cylinder. Once all the lines are hand tight, I then bolted the line lock in place and tightened down all three brake lines. Here is how it should look when everything is connected properly (with the exception of the electrical connections).



From there, I finished drilling and bolting down the strut tower brace. I am so happy with no longer needing the rubber “bowl” washers from the factory, and the adjuster knobs on the coilovers fill in the space above the retaining nuts nicely.



After that was secured, it was time to reconnect the front suspension and start installing the new brakes. I test fitted the rotors and confirmed they would work with the dust covers. It was at this point that things started to go sideways.

First, one of the brake line retaining clips was misplaced…as in it was no where to be found. Thankfully, AutoZone that had them in stock so at least I have an extra one should that ever happen again. It was also at this same time when I realized the arrow on the driver side rotor was pointing in the wrong direction. I immediately checked the passenger side rotor and confirmed it was the correct direction. I then looked at the boxes the rotors came in and sure enough, they were different part numbers. However, I then found the part numbers stamped on the rotors themselves, and sure enough, they were both the same part number.





At this point, it was almost 3:00PM on a Sunday so I just kept going with the installation.









Other than that, the front brakes were actually easier to install than the rears were…as they didn’t require any modifications other then the bracket where the brake lines connect. I bleed and flushed the entire brake system with new Wilwood Hi-Temp 570 brake fluid…making sure there were no leaks at any of the brakes and at the line lock.



Just to add that one last layer of icing on the cake, I went to fire up the car to back it out of the shop, but when I turned the key there was nothing…no crank, no lights, no sound. Apparently, I had left my exterior lights on way longer than I should have so my battery was completely drained. I keep a jump box in my trunk (although probably not the best place to store it), but since I was in the right place to have a dead battery, my dad got his portable jumper out and it fired right up.

I drove it nice and easy on the way home as I didn’t have time to do a full test and I’m not sure if I should bother with the recommended brake-in procedure now, or wait until the correct rotor is installed. However, the brakes felt fine and the front end just felt solid.

I called Summit Racing today and explained the situation with the wrong rotor being shipped in the right box. They immediately placed an order with Wilwood to get the correct rotor sent. Since it dropships from the manufacturer, it will probably take another week or two to arrive.

[Joe.G]

I would bed the brakes in now and just do it again once other rotor arrives, Or I would not drive the car and swap the rotor at your house, Bedding the brakes is important and you don't want to have 3 rotors not done correctly. Is the Rotor on the Dside front ( picture you posted )correct? I thought they did their slots/holes the same direction as Baer.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

In the picture with your stock caliper, I noticed wheel weights on your caliper... What;s the story with that? Is that something to counter not having the rollerskate weights on your brake pads?

[0stones0]

Originally Posted by The_bald_eagle_machine

In the picture with your stock caliper, I noticed wheel weights on your caliper... What;s the story with that? Is that something to counter not having the rollerskate weights on your brake pads?

You answered your own question. Bingo.
Had to ask that same question when I saw them on brakes.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Originally Posted by 0stones0

You answered your own question. Bingo.
Had to ask that same question when I saw them on brakes.

I thought the rollerskate weight was designed to keep the pad from chattering inside the caliper though? The caliper has no rotational mass to be balanced? Am I wrong? Trying to make sure I understand. Curiosity is getting the better of me.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Joe.G

I would bed the brakes in now and just do it again once other rotor arrives, Or I would not drive the car and swap the rotor at your house, Bedding the brakes is important and you don't want to have 3 rotors not done correctly. Is the Rotor on the Dside front ( picture you posted )correct? I thought they did their slots/holes the same direction as Baer.

I totally get what you are saying about bedding the pads and rotors. The directions have a giant warning around the minimum test procedure (i.e. making sure the brakes work and not leaking or rubbing). The bedding process is outside of the warning and even suggests performing it on a racetrack. I think (or at least its what I'm telling myself) the reason the rotors are directional is because they are drilled and slotted, so it helps with the airflow/cooling. If I do the bedding process now, it would take a lot more miles than it would to get back down to my dad's shop to swap out the rotor.

My bigger concern at the moment is taking the hat off the rotor...all 12 bolts were red Loctited on there. The guy at Summit said it won't be a problem to get the bolts off...he said he has had to do that himself in the past and to first try it with a socket and if it gives too me much trouble to apply a little heat. Has anyone had to remove bolts that had red Loctite applied? The shame of it is, I was going to use blue but then thought...by the time I have to get new rotors I would just order both pieces anyway.

But to answer your last question, the last pic I posted is the one with the rotor in the wrong direction. Here's a picture of the driver's side rear...if you zoom in a little you can see the holes and slots are in the opposite direction.

Originally Posted by The_bald_eagle_machine

In the picture with your stock caliper, I noticed wheel weights on your caliper... What;s the story with that? Is that something to counter not having the rollerskate weights on your brake pads?

I can't even say how many times I've been asked this question. I had people ask if those weights were for balancing my car for the track, to some thinking I was attempting to balance the wheels and put the weights in the wrong spot. You are correct though, I have a very early build (March 24, 2009)...and one of the issues that held the car in 4B00 was the noises from the brakes. GM corrected the initial issue by placing the wheel weights on the calipers and eventually went back and added the rollskate weights on the pads.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Highly jealous of your brake setup by the way... I have been looking into doing a 6 piston caliper system from a ZL1/CTSV swap. With the future power mods I would like to upgrade the stopping power... I did find rebuilt CTSV calipers on Rockauto for $200 a piece which is about the cheapest I have ever seen.

Love the car as always, after I posted that I looked into brake caliper weights and discovered it was a 2010 only car thing.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by The_bald_eagle_machine

Highly jealous of your brake setup by the way... I have been looking into doing a 6 piston caliper system from a ZL1/CTSV swap. With the future power mods I would like to upgrade the stopping power... I did find rebuilt CTSV calipers on Rockauto for $200 a piece which is about the cheapest I have ever seen.

Love the car as always, after I posted that I looked into brake caliper weights and discovered it was a 2010 only car thing.

Thanks man!! I was also considering going the CTS-V route as well. $200 for a rebuilt caliper sounds like a steal.

Ironically, I thought the Wilwood kit would be straight-forward since the kit would come with all the required parts. But I get that sh!t happens and I can't completely fault them for the getting the wrong rotor in the correctly labeled box...it could have been a new/return and someone else out there has the rotor that should have been in my box.

[Bee]

Just a quick update…I’m still waiting for Wilwood to ship out the replacement rotor. However, in order to minimize any potential downtime, I also ordered a new rotor hat and bolts. Best case scenario, I will not need them and will send them back in the original packaging. Worst case, I’ll return the entire rotor assembly and let them deal with it.

Meanwhile, I went ahead and finished the wiring for the line lock. Before heat shrinking the connections, I verified I could hear the solenoid activate. I then used the included wire loom and tucked everything away nice and neat. I’ll do a full test once the brake situation has been resolved, and the pads have been properly bedded.





Inside the cabin, all 5 switches in my EmblemPro switch plate are now fully functional. The “L.L. ARM” button energizes the “L.LOC” momentary switch (it also turns on my front camera). The L.LOC then activates the solenoid when pressed.

[Caveman_SS]

Just read through your whole thread and enjoyed it all. Very nice Camaro and tasteful mods. Nice how-to's in there also.

[Joe.G]

Any updates on the brakes?

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Caveman_SS

Just read through your whole thread and enjoyed it all. Very nice Camaro and tasteful mods. Nice how-to's in there also.

Thank you so much!!!

Originally Posted by Joe.G

Any updates on the brakes?

Yes, I finally got the replacement rotor from Wilwood on July 15...of course, it happened to be the same weekend as Camaro Nationals. I triple checked the part number to make sure it was the correct one, but I haven't had a chance to swap it out yet. I'm actually heading to my dad's shop tomorrow to do that and knock out the State inspection for the year.