Brake upgrade.

Hey, I was wondering a few things about big brake upgrades. I had been looking at the West Coast Fiero brake section ( http://www.westcoastfiero.com/brakes/brakes_12.html ), specifically the bottom set. They're twelve inches, and I was wondering how that would affect daily drivability. Secondly, they're $440, when the others are all over $1000, is there a reason why anyone can figure out? Lastly, how much does it cost to replace the standard, weak-brakes (Rotors and pads) the Fiero ships with. Any answers would be greatly appreciated, as my Fiero is in dire need of new brakes soon.

My calipers are still in tip top shape (Surprisingly) so apart from that, is it much more expensive than a standard new rotors/new pads set-up?

And sorry, I'm a bit of a noob (And by a bit, I mean completely): What's the LeBaron set-up?

Unfortunately, you can't just go out and buy that conversion, as you need very specific parts like the brackets.   The only "cheap" brake upgrade that can be done is the Grand Am conversion, however you lose your parking brake.

          I recommend against doing front only Grand Am conversions as you will end up with really bad lock up on the fronts before the rears are doing anything.  Want to get an idea, na I won't recommend this, but imagine if you were to use vise grips on your rear brake lines, take your car out to say 80kph and try to stop in the rain, darn near impossible to do with any short distance in mind.

Bassman wrote: That's what I have David, you helped me install...lol, and I race...certainly dependent on the driver

Brian your situation is kinda the odd man out, you and your car are setup with race tires and racing in your blood.  Your front tires are sticky enough that that won't lock until you are really hard on the brakes, and by that time the rear calipers are finally doing something.  I'll bet you do still end up with one front wheel locking up before the rears do though.  In my 85GT with stock type front brakes and good pads with grand am rear brakes and moderate pads, when I hammer the brakes, All 4 lock up at the same time.  Under moderate braking situations, I feel the rears start to grab before the fronts, its like someone dropped an anchor out the back of the car.  I personally prefer a slight rear bias to the brakes, I always run a larger rear tire and usually have removed any extra weight in the front of the car, so I want the rears to be working quicker than the fronts.   When I do the front Grand Am's I'll be removing the spring in the proportioning  valve completely. 

The same Austin who went on the run with us? Auto-Cross-Austin?

How would one go about contacting him?