Thinking of pulling the old vacuum booster off and replacing it with a hydra-boost system. Has anyone made this conversion and does it work as well as people say?

Never heard of it before but did a little reading and it seems like a fairly simple conversion. Is there a source for a kit or are you going to use a bone yard unit from a Cadillac?

I am interested! :-D

http://www.hydratechbraking.com
Appears to be a kit available for the different years depending on the hose end fittings.

Looks kind of cool to me! 8-) The price was a bit high but not outrageous. I could see this in my future. Did you read through some of the forum posts? Check out the installation pictures? :cool:

I think you gotta ask yourself if you really need it. The boost from a properly sized vacumn booster and a hydraulic booster works the same on your brake system, the hydraulic brake fluid doesn't know or care where the assist is coming from. Now unless you have some substantial brake mods like 6 or 8 piston calipers with 14" rotors I doubt that you need the extra assist of a hydraulic booster. On a OEM G-Body brake system the restricting factor is the size of the calipers and rotors and not the amount of vacumn boost.

Another source for this system would be a boneyard Olds diesel.

Now unless you have some substantial brake mods like 6 or 8 piston calipers with 14" rotors I doubt that you need the extra assist of a hydraulic booster. On a OEM G-Body brake system the restricting factor is the size of the calipers and rotors and not the amount of vacumn boost.

The brakes have been replaced totally, 4 wheel disc set up from Baer Racing. The question asked was has anyone done this conversion and does it work as well as they claim.

Don, how do the brakes feel to you? Does it feel that if you had a stronger right leg the brakes would work better? I've owned and driven vehicles with the GM HydroBoost system and the effect is transparent, i.e. a sufficiently sized vacumn cannister works the same as a HydroBoost. With those Baer brakes it could make a difference.

Robin,
From what I've read about this particular system there is an appreciable difference in stopping power over the stock vacuum booster. I agree that with a larger booster or dual diaphram booster I could probably improve the stopping power also. Now with hydro boost I understand you eliminate the initial pedal drop and the response is immediate, progressive and requires less leg pressure. The other option with the increased line pressure of the hydro boost is you can run a larger diameter master cylinder. This should also allow for a more aggresive camshaft with the concern of maintaining high manifold vacuum no longer a factor.I really want to get the most out of the brake upgrade and this appeared to be another step in the conversion process. The bottom line is will a hydro boost system reduce the 60-0 distances over the original vacuum booster?

Talked with Paul Clark the owner of Hydraboost on Friday and he recommends using the Corvette C3 master cylinder due to the larger piston diameter and stock combination valve with their hydraboost system. He also said that Baer brakes are going to become a supplier of there system, guess they found out themselves that the Hydraboost worked better with their big brake packages. After 45 minutes on the phone with Paul( this guys a G Body owner and fanatic, really knows his stuff with lots of test results using different combinations of M/C, valves, calipers, etc). Will let everyone know the results after the install.

Watch the braking video (http://www.hydratechbraking.com/multimedia_gallery/videos/movie_6.WMV)

Before I got into the conversion I was able to establish a baseline. With the stock booster the brake pedal was firm and had good modulation.The front/rear brake bias was comparable to the stock disc/drum set up but with a little more bite under quick braking. At no time did I ever feel the brakes where about to lock up, no matter how hard you pressed on the pedal. In other words the Baer system works well but it fell short of my expectations, I was expecting the stopping power of a newer Corvette and it's just not there. Next I'll install the Hydratech booster and see what happens.

Well the conversion is complete and the results proved very positive. The brake pedal is high(no pedal drop like a vacuum system) and firm. Pedal pressure to activate is a little higher than the old system but braking begins from the moment you press the pedal. Soft easy stops in traffic are no problem so in day to day driving the hydraboost works as well as the vacuum system but when you "jab" the brakes now at a high speed, stopping is aggressive, straight and much shorter than before. The pedal feel is excellent, modulation is very good and an overall feeling of confidence that you will stop short of any disaster ahead. :) :) :)
HYDRA BOOST INSTALLED PICTURE (http://elcaminocentral.com/gallery-photo_SS396-H19.html)

Can you lock them up now?

If you stab the brakes quickly, yes, because there is no "free pedal" drop off . If you come onto them with increasing pressure you can get right to the point of lock-up and hold it at that point. The improvement was much greater than I had expected. 8) 8) 8)

With that Hydro setup, you have almost no brakes if the engine dies, or the belt slips or breaks. I'd leave 'em for the diesel guys. Why make life more complicatec?

With that Hydro setup, you have almost no brakes if the engine dies, or the belt slips or breaks. I'd leave 'em for the diesel guys. Why make life more complicated?

Hmm. How'd that happen? Sorry about the double post. Can the moderator delete the first one?

Well not really, that's why they have an accumulator to ensure you have about 3 fully boosted stops in case of a failure such as you listed. After that it works exactly the same as any vehicle with a boosted brake system-All you need is a little more leg muscle but you are never without brakes.