Ozbilt - Finally took your advice and installed a Hydraboost

[Bumblebee]

Hi Ozbilt,

I bit the proverbial bullet and did the Hydroboost for the brakes, am stunned with the performance difference, OMG! You would have thought the original factory 4 piston vented GT brakes although dated would pull up pretty well, but I was never able to get the urgency into the brakes with the old booster. What a difference

The guys at Hydratech US were just so helpful and made sure the unit and master cyliner fitted to a tee and without any issues (BTW, that's the small hydraulic clutch reserviour on the right):

[srh]

Hey welcome Mr Bee!

[Bumblebee]

Thank you SRH, good to see you yesterday, sorry we didn't get time to chat amongst all the cars to see!

[hybrid]

Bee, how much did that set you back? Did you install yourself?


BTW, can you please reduce the size of your signature image to at least half the size.

[Bumblebee]

Thanks Hybrid,

The system comes in stages; just the booster; the dual MC and Reservior; the hydraulic hoses made to length with all joints and fittings; or, all of the above.

I bought the entire setup so I didn't need to get anything else. The instructions were incredibly specific step by step (idiot's guide) stuff that was really comprehensive. Having said that I had an expert fit it, as to be honest, I don't want to mess around with brakes to find out I goofed the hard way!

The package with the lot ended up US$780 for all the plumbing and the Hydratech Hydraboost unit, plus $99 for the dual MC and reservior. Expensive but a fantastic result and a heck of a lot cheaper than a big shiny new set of Baer or Willwood large discs which still would have been under-boosted.

It was very quick to bolt in as I already had Dual MC lines so fitting was very fast.

[cage]

Good to see you here Bee, I was wondering how long it would take you to join. Muzzy_66 beat you to it.

[hybrid]

Bee,
is the cam in your car quite big? I'm wondering whether to follow your route, or just use a regular booster. Is your old booster for sale now?
My cam is not standard, but it's not massive either.
$99 is cheap enough for the master!

$780 is big bucks... but I guess as you say - if it makes a big difference, it may be money well spent.

[Bumblebee]

I'll let the experts decide if you could use this, I had a specific problem and this unit solved it. Plenty of people get good brakes using different setups so I certainly would say work with the professionals. The unit works off the power steering pump and create a couple of thousand PSI, so it's really really good. You also have a small accumulator tank that hangs off the side that gives you around 3 brake pushes in case the engine stalls and you lose the use of the pump (just for safety). This type of system has been used for many years by trucks and larger vehicles.

Muzzy_66 must have subliminally influenced me to join the forum!!

http://www.hydratechbraking.com/

The guys at Hydratech (Paul Clark) really knew about the clearance between the firewall and shock tower, the bumps on the firewall etc.

[Bumblebee]

Bee,
is the cam in your car quite big? I'm wondering whether to follow your route, or just use a regular booster. Is your old booster for sale now?
My cam is not standard, but it's not massive either.
$99 is cheap enough for the master!

$780 is big bucks... but I guess as you say - if it makes a big difference, it may be money well spent.

My cam is actually reasonably mild compared with many, but bigger than stock, but the old booster just couldn't cut it with the new engine. I gave the old booster to the mechanic as a friend of mine wanted to slavage it (sorry!).

Let me tell you, the Dual MC and reservior was actually one of the best brands in the US given it's a volume manufacturer (Raybestos) and was actually available for US$67-$77 if you shopped around online, makes you wonder why we always pay so much! It is a short unit needed for our limited clearances, has a 1" bore and is off a Chevy S10 (Blazer), model MC390572. I also had to locally buy a Willwood proportioning valve as the stock unit crapped itself a few years ago and we just had a brake block in its place.

[hybrid]

Ok, thanks for that.
I'll probably just end up buying a complete booster and M/C from the US. Unless I talk myself into the hydraboost. I've got bigger brakes for mine, so it should stop ok - 300mm vented rotors, PBR twin pots etc.

[Bumblebee]

I'm sure it will be good, just make sure you get a dual diaphram booster and not single.

[Shaunp]

They work great don't they! now you know what Citroen goddess brakes and a Maserati Merak are like. As for boosters get a dual Falcon booster from an XB Hybrid that's what you want, just make sure the bakerlite on the back is not broken.

[ozbilt]

Hi Ozbilt,

I bit the proverbial bullet and did the Hydroboost for the brakes, am stunned with the performance difference, OMG!

Glad it worked out. Yes they are neat things aren't they.

Welcome to the happy place.....