been seeing this more and more. what is it... and where do i send the check?

 

Its right here ...

You can send the check to me.

Its a popular upgrade. There is a big debate over whether it actually improves stopping distance or not. Most people who do the upgrade are really happy with it. It does create a much firmer pedal that takes some getting use to.

 

I've had the kit for about 2 years now and I still love it.

Stopping distance in real world driving must be better, I feel like I have MUCH more control, threshold braking is much easier now. The feel is very precise. Vacuum assist feels kind of mushy compared to hydroboost.

The system is very powerfull. You use your ankle to brake, not your whole leg.

~Jay

 

"There is a big debate over whether it actually improves stopping distance or not."

This is a joke, right? Tell me you are kidding, Jack71! Maybe you mean, there is a debate over whether or not it improves braking on a car which already has power brakes. There is not any debate over whether or not it provides shorter stopping distances on a manual brake car.

 

The hydrobooster can not improve the stopping distance, it is only an assist unit, the only way it can improve it is if you are not able to press the pedal hard and far enough with a manual system or even a vacuum assisted system but the braking system itself remains the same. There's only so much force that you can brake with untill the tires loose adhesion and the wheels lock up, wether you do it with or without assist doesn't matter for stopping distance. Braking is most effective just before the wheels lock up (except snow) so brakes that are easy to modulate are what you want, soemthing that overassists and makes the pedal touchy is not (not saying the HB does that but I havea feeling that assist and braking power is getting mixed up here)

 

I have a brand new one in the box never been installed for sale.
Check it out here http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...35&forum_id=57

I have it on mine and it is great. I feel I have much better control over the braking. When coming down from speed with manual brakes it was a huge effort, now it is very easy. I can concentrate more on driving than standing on the pedal. The pedal feel is much improved.

 

I vehemently disagree with T. Turbo. The hydroboost gives you much more power in order to stop the car. Unless you have the leg of a T. Rex dinosaur, you cannot stop the manual brakes as well as you can in a hydroboost assisted car. Hydratech did lots of testing and the braking improvement on a C3 is about 25% or greater. I don't need any tests, however. I put it in my car and I can stop much more quickly, with far more control and less effort.

 

It only makes it easier on your leg to achieve the same pressure in the lines/at the pistons. If you have a T-rex leg then you'll be able to lock the front wheels without power assist at all.

If you're able to lock the wheels with vacuum assisted brakes your brakes won't be any better with a hydraulic assist....

As they explain on their website this system assists more than other (vacuum) systems, therefore you only have to touch the pedal slightly to achieve high brake line pressure.

If my vacuum booster fails I'll put it on my 'upgrade list'

 

T rex's have really wimpy legs....the front ones LOL

 

the only reason i would run a hydraboost is to run a 1.25" bore master to get more pedal during HPDE events. I have a used unit sitting in the garage but have had second thoughts with all the damn plumbing you have to do.

 

Exactly, that's the only reason for more assist, this way w/ the larger bore you have a shorter pedal travel and it's easier to modulate w/ your toes and your heel on the floor.

Grutzy, the stopping power of the car is a function of the clamping force and the rotor size, the clamping force is a result of brake line pressure and master and caliper bores and the pedal ratio..and the amount of fluid is then dependant on how far you depress the pedal (and via pedal ratio the MC and then via MC and caliper bore & piston sizes the clamping force)...so there's no assist in it..the only thing the assist does is, it makes it easier to depress the pedal, no ratios or line pressures are altered. If you can press down the pedal without any assist then you can develop max. braking force already, only when you can not then a master will help you develop more braking force. Have you ever driven a manual brakes car? It's not that hard to depress the pedal, for one the mc on those is smaller so you develop more line pressure but have to move the pedal further for the same amount of fluid displacement. The smaller bore MC makes it easier to depress the pedal, altering the pedal ratio for more lever will make it easier also.
Of course it's easier to depress the pedal w/ assist, that's what it's there for but it doesn't mean youa re braking harder..it may feel like it but you aren't. Too much assist isn't good either, it makes the pedal feel too soft and they may be hard to modulate.

The 25% braking improvement is complete and utter rubbish, eithre the 2 systems were not the same or someone didn't fully depress the pedal w/ the manual setup. It's just a big advertising lie. If I wanted tos ell something I'd also mention a 25% improvment...does it mean it's true?? Hell NO!

 

The braking has nothing to do with pedal pressure. TT explained it well. The hydroboost system does make it much easier and more comfortable to stop from speed.
The plumbing of it is not a real big deal. If you are making the lines it is just finding the ends to make them. I think Norval has all the end pieces that are needed.

 

Where did you pull that 25% number from? Do I even want to know?
And 25% of what? stopping distance?

There are legit reasons to use Hydroboost, improved stopping distance is not one of them, and I see no claims by them to that effect.

Power brakes, with no other changes, are not able to reduce stopping distance, as discussed by TT because they are not the weak link in the chain. I have manual brakes and I can lock up the tires anytime I want to, even on hot sticky asphalt. Although yould better hang on when the Kuhmo's dig in...

As far as pedal pressure I can lock the brakes ( all four ) at about 100lbs pedal pressure, not exactly T-Rex values

 

Call Hydratech and see what they tell you. They will tell you that it greatly reduces stopping distance and from my experience, it is true. I had all new brakes in every detail but the car would not stop well, anyway. I put on the hydroboost and I can now do nose wheelies at any speed. The manual brakes are garbage. Hydroboost or bust!

 

They'll probably tell you that turds fly just to make a sale...as do most businesses because that's what they're there for..to sell stuff.. So, adding assist and now your car does brake where it before didn't? Sorry but if you would just sit back and think about your theory for just a minute you'd see it was a total bust...or maybe you need to do some more squats and train those legs..if you can't depress a manual brake pedal. If your manual brakes are garbage then your old setup + hydroboost = assisted garbage

 

I am very happy W/boost. Now I can modulate the amount of brake being used w/foot instead of w/leg. I feel much safer in wet/slick conditions. JMHO

Rick

 

For your information, Twin Turbo, the last time I did leg exercises in the gym, I maxed out the machine just for kicks. Bench press? I gave that a whirl about 2 months ago and benched 300 pounds 5 repetitions. What kind of strength do you have? I hope this answers any doubts that you might have of my physical health. My car brakes much more quickly since installing the hydroboost. I suppose your theory is such that, if I had let go of the steering wheel, unfastened my seat belt and threw all of my weight into the manual brake pedal, I would get equal braking to having a hydroboost. Who would then pull me up from under the dash and is this kind of driving safe? Why do you seem to come across as a "know it all"? No offense but you seem awfully arrogant in your "I'm correct and you are wrong" attitude. There is not any doubt that the hydroboost is helping my car brake in much less distance than when it was a manual setup. Maybe you are just one of those anti-aftermarket guys, I don't know. However, there are many other vette owners who swear by the hydroboost as well. Maybe some dutch chocolate will cheer you up.

 

my question aside... TT is right about pedal pressure, and from what ive learned, hydraboost simply replaces the vacuam assist, right.? so now you will have liquid assist instead of air, right? i cannot see how this would decrease stopping distance. infact, the quicker pedal likely lock up the tires quicker and that will increase stopping distance. you can have t-rex himself clamping down on you pedal/rotors... its only as good as your contact patch of the tires, and the weight they have to pull down on any given vehicle. from what i can tell, it does not seem worth it as a c3 already has race brakes( 4 piston/solid mount calipers/floating pads ect...). and i can stop on a nickle as it is. if i stop any quicker, im gonna lose some fillings!...... i love when they tell you how strong/tuff/bad they are. thats when ya know youve got em'!

 

We are hearing alot from guys that DON'T have hydroboost. They can have all the opinions/theory they want.
Is there anyone who has the system and does NOT feel that it was a big improvement on the performance of their brakes???
Put me down as a very satified user.

 

It doesn't matter if assist lets you put 1000x more clamping force. If you already lock up the wheels with manual, it's not gonna stop faster with assist in that with locked wheels the friction between the wheel sliding on the ground is what's slowing the car. With assist, the hope is better control of when it starts to slip. The car will stop faster when the tire is just near the sliding threshold.

EDIT: www.corvettefaq.com, look under brakes there's some stuff on hydraboost, including a step-by-step guide.