I've been chasing brake issues for the last 6 months. I'm looking to replace all 4 calibers, rotors and switch to ss hoses. From my current research I've leaning towards o-ring calipers. Its my understanding that they help if you have air sucking from bad runout. All the rotors have been replaced before and I have the tell tell signs of a out of spec rotor (pedal goes soft over time). I'm not comfortable doing a o-ring upgrade. I would rather just buy the correct calipers and install outta the box. I'm looking at the Wilwood D8-4 calibers but I can't find any info if they use O-rings? My questions are, Do D8-4 calipers use o-rings? Does anyone have another brand they recommend or one to stay away from?

 

Square cut o rings, no dust boots.

All D8 and D8-6.

 

OEM style calipers with o-rings from Lonestar

 

Buy the OEM style calipers....Local parts stores are priced around 65.00 to 70.00 a piece plus a core charge and its foolish to buy on line...They will want exorbitant core and freight chrges.....and stay away from the O ring type

NAPA, suggestion.......

 

I used Loan Star o ring as well
Have been running a year & 1/2 now no issues

 

I have tried lip seal (Corvette shop), new O-ring Seal (corvette vendor) and none have done as well as the original OEM Calipers from the factory. The originals have lasted the longest. So I have now switched to Wilwood D8-4. Hoping better luck with leaks. The most I got from vendor supplied calipers is about 4 years. My car is in storage 6-7 months of the year. Rotor run out was always .001 to .003. Rotor run out was always great because they were the original rotors with the rivits still in place.

If you are going with the CAST GM Calipers get units with best warranty. The O-rings I purchased from a corvette vendor advertised "life time warranty" I had 1 unit replaced under warranty. Then when I had the other units fail they would not replace them as the lifetime only covered leaks between the sleeve and the caliper and not the piston / caliper seal. I called BS on this misleading advertising. They have since removed the "life time claim" and now only provide 90 days.
So be careful with warranty claims. It needs to cover any kind of leak, since this is the main problem you will have with the calipers.


As for performance the only advantage I saw with wilwood vs GM Calipers was at the track. Much less brake fade due to better cooling. As for leak proof, I dont know yet, they have been on the car for 1 month driving and 3 months storage.

The only thing the wilwoods require to fit is additional washers on the caliper bolts to prevent the bolt hitting the rotor in the rear. The fronts fit perfectly.

Now for the BAD of the wilwood calipers. To bleed the rear calipers you must remove them and set them vertically or you will NEVER get all the air out. The problem is the position of the bleed screw and the position the caliper mounts in the rear. It is installed almost horizontal allowing air to be trapped above the bleed screw.

 

Thanks Everyone. The Lonestar calipers look good for the money. All my rotors have been replaced in the past and I'm afraid of run out issues. Thats why I'm leaning towards o-rings. My understanding is the o-rings help prevent air being sucked back in.

 

They've been wonderful. I installed them 3 1/2 years ago. Pressure bled them when I installed them, and I haven't touched them since. I did not have problems bleeding them and I bled them while they were installed on the vehicle. Perhaps the pressure bleeding mitigated the bleeding issue mentioned in earlier post.

 

Runout can be solved for a little over $100




https://www.carpartsdiscount.com/bra...ml?3593=175903

 

Next time stand them on end and try again. Leaving them on the car you will get a firm pedal and they will work great, but since most of the braking is from the front it is difficult to know the impact of some air in the rear. I was surprised on how much additional air came out after standing on end for about 30 minutes prior to pressure bleeding again.

 

If I have a reason to remove them I will do that. They are working so well right now that I am reluctant to go remove them just for that. I am, however, gladly willing to learn.

 

I did the same thing. Left them alone until the next time I had a reason to bleed them.

I was prepping for a track day that required me to bleed the brakes, so I decided to give it a try.

 

i feel for you man, 7 months chasing the brake pulling, hope i put it to sleep

 

Who do you buy Lonestar parts from? I don't think any of the general Corvette vendors say "Lonestar" next to the parts in their online catalogs. The Lonestar website says "Wholesale Only."

 

I believe that all the major vendors that sell the o-ring calipers get them from Lonestar. I bought mine in person from Corvette Depot in Windsor, Ontario. Took my old units with me, and got my core deposit credited right away. My cost was $600 CDN with tax included, the cost through Parts Source (your version of O'Rielly's, etc) for the lip seal OEM's would have been $589 with tax.

Finish was really nice on the new units, and they came already painted grey. Had them 2 summers now, and even with 6 months storage, I've had no issues at all.

The Wilwood's with shipping, tax, and duty would have cost me three times as much......not worth it for my style of driving.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262249459631?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT These calipers look to be from Lonestar. They look the same and ship from the same city.

 

see they have no Delco-Moraine markings? those are Chinese castings

 

Are you saying Lonestar uses Chinese castings? That's a deal breaker for me. I really hate Chinese parts.

 

he's on ebay, you can contact seller, to verify, and he has 100%, maybe it's worth it to buy elsewhere and spend a little more, i got no markings on my orielly and it was a nice piece, powered coated no rusting and new everything, it must be new not rebuilt,

it a part that is not buried behind 12 hours of wrenching like a rear end gear, or a wheel bearing, it can be accessed with the wheel off, so to me i would go for it.

but i went cheaper yet....orilly rebuilds, with a military discount ~65 bux

 

I probably spend several thousand dollars every year in extra cost to buy non-Chinese items (car parts, household products, tools, etc). Sometimes I have to make exceptions, such as items that are no longer made in the West. The percentage of those items that fail prematurely or don't perform well even when new is much higher than Western-made goods. There's another side to all this having to do with Third World cultures and human rights, but I don't want to get too far OT.