Songman

Nice meeting you today, Dan. Sorry I was running so behind and you didn't get to see the finished product. I am just now leaving the shop in Tehachapi but I will post some pictures when I get home in an hour or so. I'll let you know when we are going to start on the next project over there.

Songman

Okay, finally got home to download the pictures. Today was the day to get the brakes all cleaned up and painted. While we were at it, we played with the mount for the optional Corvette calipers. Now that we have the mod worked out for the stock HHR caliper, I'll probably do the Corvette upgrade - you know, just so we can get good pictures!

This first picture from today is the Viper rotor with the mount for the Corvette caliper. It is almost the same mount as we made for the stock HHR caliper... Just had to move one hole a little bit.



Next is the shiny new paint job on the Viper rotor and the stock HHR caliper. Man, I gotta do something about the center hub! I thought things didn't rust in California!



And the end result. I'm pretty proud of the way it came out. I'm just glad this is not the angle people see the HHR from. That clean caliper and rotor make my wheel well look nasty! Of course it did rain today too.



Overall, a successful day. I wonder if I have time for one more upgrade before the Coast Run in two weeks...

Gas Man

Good job. You said you had to make a new caliper mount to get that to work... correct? How much did you modify it?

Songman

This pictures shows where the caliper sits now. It actually sits just a bit higher so the holes line up. We made an aluminum mount that moves the caliper up this amount and then some horizontal bushings to space it over to the right spot.



This picture is from one of the early attempts as we were just getting the measurements right. We had to take just a bit more off the bushings to center the caliper better and then we had it.

Songman

I also put my new Adaptive One brake pads on while I had it apart yesterday. Should be a whole lot better than the Duralast cheapies that were on it. Supposed to last longer and not have as much brake dust too.

Songman

Well, now I have the best reason ever for upgrading to big brakes. The wife got to drive her HHR on Friday for the first time in a few days. She came in last night and said that she felt like everyone was looking at her shiny new big brakes and she loved the attention! I did note the sarcasm in her voice but I think she was just trying to stay cool about it!

sleeper

Well it's good that she approves of the mod(s) ..

And with the RED calipers, they do look sweet..

mine are RED also, just not that big..

Songman

If anyone can get me any 'supporting vendor' information for my friend I would like to help him get these out in public. I have written everyone I can think of and still have no info to get him signed up. The people who are interested so far have PMed me, and I thank you, but it would be nice to offer these... maybe even see if enough people are interested for a group purchase.

Gas Man

I'm not sure about giving the caliper the ability to move in that fashion...

ANd how's the braking? There IS such thing as too much braking power.

Songman

My buddy has been building this same setup for other cars for over 20 years. It is tried and proven. The caliper does not move. It is just moved outward to the new rotor. If they were moving they would be hitting my wheels. My wheels turn inward near the outside of the spokes and I don't have much more than 1/16th inch clearance. If the calipers were moving I would be missing red paint and I am not.

I guess I don't understand too much braking power... It's not like you tap the brake and it throws you through the windshield. That is not what brake upgrades do. What it does do is give you more surface and therefore they transfer heat better. Cooler brakes means less brake fade. "Too much braking power" would make me think a Porsche or Ferrari with a much larger rotor than ours and multi-piston calipers would do nothing but make the car start sliding since the car weighs so little. It just don't work that way.

Tires stop your car. Brakes stop your tires. If you are locking up your tires when you stop it is not a problem with the brakes, it is a problem with the tires. Keep the brakes cooler and they will stop your car better - right up to the limits of your tires.

Anyway, to respond to your question, my wife has been driving her car for a week now and loves it. You aren't going to tell much difference in just normal daily driving, but when you need the extra brake you are going to feel it. I drove it almost 400 miles last weekend and it is flawless. Even in traffic and across the Grapevine where heat can become an issue, no problem at all.

The next upgrade for me is the addition of the Corvette calipers. That will really give me more braking power and it still won't be too much.