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[Kevin Wood]

I wonder what has happened to the brake balance. What is the ratio of piston area between old and new calipers?

Might be worth taking it to a "private test track", pulling the ABS fuse and trying a little braking on fast turns to see how well balanced it is.

[chrisgixer]

Yes braking in a bend is the next test. IMO.

Where's that airfield.

[05omegav6]

Aldermaston any good
good?

[chrisgixer]

Aldermaston any good
good?

Ditches are a bit close round there.

[Kevin Wood]

Aldermaston any good
good?

Ditches are a bit close round there.

The blokes with rifles are a bit of a distraction too.

[tigers_gonads]

Might be pishing in the wind here but is there a adjustable brake bias valve on the omega ?

If not, could something similar to what my old astra estate had on the back end work but you would need 2 since the facelift is 4 channel 

[05omegav6]

Had a bit of a play on the twisties on journey home... hitting the brakes mid corner doesn't seem to bother it any if anything, it turns in more readily/progressively as the speed drops, no complaints from the rear even with a bit of weight in the boot

[elvin315]

Had a bit of a play on the twisties on journey home... hitting the brakes mid corner doesn't seem to bother it any if anything, it turns in more readily/progressively as the speed drops, no complaints from the rear even with a bit of weight in the boot

My Catera is equipped with Monaro/GTO front calipers with C5 Corvette brake pads on OEM sized slotted discs. I've noticed improved straight line stopping and nothing untoward while braking in mid-corner. Granted, when I brake in turns it's nowhere near as forceful as when braking before the corner.

Is your suspension stock or is it fitted with polyurethane bushings? That might account for your car's improved turn-in under braking. My car has Powerflex front/horizontals and anti-sway bar bushings but still using the GM rubber rear/verts. While on the topic, any progress on a poly rear/vertical bush? I know you've been working on one as well as chrisgixer and hoping for some news.

[05omegav6]

Hi Elvin, I'll drop you a pm later with my set up

But basically I think the front brake set up is the same as the stock C6 Corvette. Not to be confused with the monsters on the Z06 though

[minifreek]

Have you also upgraded the front flexi's too....?

I's be inclined to change the flexi's for braided hoses to cope with the extra load that the 4 pots will require....

[05omegav6]

The flexies are on the list, but not of immediate concern... More about proving the concept the rears may need some custom plumbing so Omega specific braided hoses may prove to be a wasted purchase. The joys of upgrading on a budget

[05omegav6]

Any pictures or a "How to do" in the pipeline ?

This is a rough guide to record a basis of what's what. There are pics in the thread linked in the opening post, and some in the 'What have you done today' thread.

This all currently only applies to the fronts. The rears are in hand, but still some detail work to do

Shopping list:
1 set of... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-Monaro-LS2-VXR-HSV-Brake-Callipers-Hawk-Pads-CV8-Pontiac-GTO-Holden-/191134598749?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2c8082865d Must be later 6.0 VXR ones
1 set of... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EBC-FRONT-ULTIMAX-BRAKE-PADS-VAUXHALL-MONARO-6-0-2005-2007-DP1162-/310432717746?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item48473b5bb2
1 pair of... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190670543926?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Key points to note... the calipers should include an L shaped bracket to enable them to be bolted to the hub. This extra bracket positions the caliper carrier to fit the discs. The caliper carrier needs to be spaced out from this bracket to fit the above discs. One side on mine needed spacing 2mm, tother 4... go figure Longer bolts to suit the spacing would be well advised too. Once spaced, you can go 5mm longer without protruding from the back of the bracket. The bracket itself is a lump of steel, about 15mm thick.

This spacing is simply to offset the caliper slightly as the hub depth of the disc used is 4mm shallower than the Omega one. The centre of the disc hub requires machining from 67.1mm to 70mm to enable it to fit the Omega hub. The wheel bolt holes can be left untouched, as the PCD of the disc is 112 vs 110 of the Omega. Original wheel bolts fit without any issues, the disc hub faces are the same thickness.

Budget also for the brake hose banjo bolt holes to be machined/helicoiled, as the calipers are aluminium, and the threads strip a little to easily. Mine were fitted with M10 x 1.5P x 1.5 D helicoils, which match the banjo bolts already fitted to my Omega. Worth checking what is fitted currently... ideally get the bolts supplied with the calipers.

That's about the size of it

If you simply want bragging rights down the pub, then you can get the calipers from a base 2004 Monaro. These will bolt straight on, no disc issues. Base Monaros have the same sized discs as the Pre/mid facelift Omega... 296x28 vented fronts, and 286x12 solid rears. Fitting these might be a slight improvement, as they are also twin pot sliding calipers, with a slightly larger pad than the Omega standard.

Monaros have very different hub dimensions to the Omega, and the discs reflect this... the ones used provided the closest match to the Omega hub, whilst still providing the correct diameter/thickness. It is worth noting that you cannot go deeper than the Omega hub, as the disc would then foul the track rod ball joint/track rod. Equally, too shallow, and the caliper would foul the wheel. So although it might seem a bit bastardised, it is the most cost effective solution without going down the fully custom machining route, (£££££).

More to follow in due course...