Brake Master Cylinder Physics
 

A stock C3 master cylinder is a 1.125" bore. A stock C5 master is a 1" bore. Apparently it's a bolt in swap, and a lot of guys do it, but... Ummm... Isn't that a step back?

I understand the booster provides assist only, and so upgrading the booster really does nothing for braking force effectively.

And with the same pushrod actuation it seems that a C5 master would produce slightly less hydraulic psi per inch.

So, is upgrading braking force really just a matter of better calipers and larger diameter rotors?


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I just bought some Kore3 brackets to get Carlos' Z51 brakes on my car (finally) and I'm wondering if I should be upgrading anything else. Especially since my booster is acting up.


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I'm even wondering if I should be searching for maybe a Chevy truck master with a larger bore, to up the psi in an effort to mimic the C6 setup a bit better.


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I know guys have had a lot of trouble trying to frankenstein a C5 brake system into a C3 and the issue was mismatched bore and stroke of the calipers to the MC AIR. Basically the system should be kept integrated on spec. Someone who understands the hyradulics better could explain it, but it's not so trivial. Let's put it this way, guys ended up with brakes considerably LESS effective than stock C3 by just throwing on a set of C5 calipers. That's what I remember.

Doesn't Wildwood make a complete C3 brake system now, allowing for 15" rotors, etc. ? I know there was another company that made a whole custom system, and this was like ten years ago now, that was shit hot, but it was like $5k by the time you were done. I think it included new hubs and everything.

I used a calculator that specs out the size of the pistons in the calipers, rotor size, and says what's needed in terms of bore.

There's no "step back" just what's needed. If you increase the surface are of the calipers, you'll need to move more fluid, which would require a smaller bore. Yada Yada...

My fam over at R1 concepts now has a modular design brake system and can be fitted to any vehicle, I think the front is about $2X00 for a two piece rotor and 6 piston caliper.

Here ya go, do the math and you'll know exactly what you need. Your front calipers have 40.5mm pistons.
http://www.outlawdiscbrakes.com/faq.html

Ya, the math? With all those known figures and known equations... I'll get right on that :o

Options are 1.125 vs 1, so of the 1 moves more fluid, math is done.

I've heard of c5 calipers being a step back too. I've also heard the opposite. I'm thinking that's a proportioning issue. If front calipers suddenly take more fluid to actuate the same, it would shift bias to the rear. Causing the braking force to of course feel weaker. The added pedal effort to more the larger bore calipers alone would also seem to have the same effect. The solution would be more psi, more assist.


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Actually your options are plenty, bendix is the OE for everyone. Figure out if you have standard or metric threads and you can use whatever you want. 93-95 Cobras are 15/16, 94-95 GT's are 1" V6's are 1 1/16" etc. They have been used on damn near everything.

Alright I did the math for you, your new calipers measure at 3.99sqi vs the stock c3 calipers at 2.76sqi, so your most reactive pedal would be a 15/16.

Which means you might need one of these too, which I just so happen to have.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Wilwood/950/26...gwixoCNlHw_wcB