Impala Front Calipers

[Randy T.]

This is an upgrade from stock Aurora front brakes. It will fit '96-'03 Auroras. It will fit on '96s if you have aluminum front lower control arms. At least, I think this will work on the aluminum control arm 96s, but I am not absolutely sure. 96-97 you have to change the dust cover to the smaller version that is on late '97s and up, or you can bend it. It's pretty easy to bend it out of the way of the rotor if you don't want to change it. To change the dust cover you have to pull the wheel bearing.

To do the conversion you will need:

Calipers
Caliper brackets
Brake pads
Rotors
Proper dust shields (98-'03 are the ones you need)
Use the Aurora caliper bracket bolts, the Impala bolts are too long and hit the rotor.

Buy them, change them, enjoy quick stops with less brake fading. We have determined the distance of the stop depends on your tires, but the bigger surface area of the brake pad is beneficial in many ways, like being bigger.

CHEVY IMPALA 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Front
CHEVY IMPALA 2012 Front; without Police package
BUICK LUCERNE 2006 2007 2008 Front; 3.8L
BUICK LUCERNE 2009 2010 2011 Front; 3.9L
CHEVY MONTE CARLO 2006 2007 Front

Aurora rotor is on the left.



Aurora rotor is on the bottom.



Stock Aurora calipers are the red and silver ones.





Aurora brake pad is the top one. Are you feeling the need to upgrade yet? lol



Aurora pads are the 2 middle ones.











I installed my Impala calipers today, I had already put the smaller dust shields on a couple of years ago. I wanted to wait to paint, but decided to put them on now and paint later. If anyone has any questions about the install, let me know. It's no different than installing calipers and rotors.

[nelson480]

you put used rotors on without turning?

[Randy T.]

I do not use turned rotors. The rust will be gone shortly, the brake pads will polish the rotors. I used used pads, too. Used stock gm parts are better than new aftermarket any day.

[dynamic1964]

Interesting, so I can put these bigger brakes on my 2002 2G?
What about the hydraulic hose. Same?

[nelson480]

And you were talking about curing vibrations? What if theyre bent

[Randy T.]

Sept 22, 2012 16:20:43 GMT -6 nelson480 said:

And you were talking about curing vibrations? What if theyre bent

If you look at rotors they have parts cut out of them on the edges, I think they have to balance the rotors when they are made. So if that's the case, then it's possible to get a rotor that's not properly balanced from the start.

What if what is bent? The Impala rotors? Do you mean warped? They are not, but if they were I would still not have them turned. My rotor got warped a few months ago because one nut was off by 10lbs, after I re torqued the nuts the rotor straightened itself back out, rotors are flexible and sensitive. If your rotors are warped, it's usually because your wheels are not properly torqued. When you torque Aurora wheels you need to go over them carefully by hand with a torque wrench, no torque sticks, and go over them twice. The first 3 nuts will usually not have the proper torque by the time you torque all 5. These cars weigh so much, that if your wheels are not properly torqued, then your rotors will warp quick.

Sept 22, 2012 14:46:16 GMT -6 dynamic1964 said:

Interesting, so I can put these bigger brakes on my 2002 2G?
What about the hydraulic hose. Same?

'99--'03 has the same suspension, same brakes, so I don't see why they would not work. I used the Auroras brake hoses on the Impala calipers. If you have the 4.0 2g with the bigger wheels you can go with the V8 Buick Lucerne calipers, same deal with them, but they are even bigger. The V8 Lucerne calipers will not fit under Aurora 16" wheels, bigger wheels and they will fit.

[dynamic1964]

Thanks Randy! You've just given me a reason to switch to larger wheels and say to my wife that I'm doing it because of security reasons. ;D
Bigger brakes, more security, darling!

[RCA1186]

Randy this fits with the stock wheels or no?

[Randy T.]

rca99, yes, the calipers listed at the top will fit under the stock wheels. Since you have a 98 you will not have any dust shield issues. If you have bigger than 16" wheels you can use the V8 Lucerne front calipers, they will not fit under the stock wheels. Speedneon referred to those bigger brakes as "The hand of God" lol.


You are welcome, Dynamic. lol

[RCA1186]

If I ever happen to stumble upon one of those vehicles in a yard ((unlikely) I'm doing this ha

[Randy T.]

I bought my first 2 pairs off of ebay, the last pair I got at my local salvage yard. They have 2 '07 Impalas, one had had someone push on the brake pedal and push one of the piston calipers out. I am sure it could be easily put back together. My last pair of calipers I got for $20, the rotors were also $20 for a pair. They also have a 2g, but no Classics. But, I did find a chrome center cap in the middle of the place. lol

[Randy T.]

Bump for the newbies.

[bobsblue95]

The dual-piston calipers and larger pads are awesome, but the rotors look the same other than less spacer "fins" in the air gap. Is there a difference in rotor dimensions?

[robaurora01]

Does this fit with our 16 in factory on the 3.5? Im assuming yes since they fit on the4.0L 16 inches correct? I may go junk yard hopping here soon just for the calipers they rotor and pads ill buy new

[Randy T.]

Rotors are basically the same, but the Impala type are a little different design, so the Aurora rotors will not work. Most of the difference is in the size of the pad and the caliper design.

Rob, Auroras have the same brakes from 96.5 to 03, so it should fit with no issues.

If I were to switch to bigger wheels, like GXP for instance, then I would want to switch to CTS-V Front calipers, they will also fit on our car with mostly a bolt on affair, check the Grand Prix forums in the brakes section, whatever fits on Grand Prix brakes also fits on our cars.

Strangely enough, my brothers '07 Grand Prix still had the regular style Aurora front brakes, so we also switched him over to '07 Impala. I also put '97 Aurora front caliper brackets and rotors on my girlfriends '00 Grand Prix, the Aurora rotors are bigger, hers would also fit the '07 Impala, but I am out of them atm. lol

[Kersh]

The standard upgrade to the two piston caliper and larger pad for use with the stock 12" rotor fits with all of the 16" wheels.

The fitment issue comes into play once you upgrade to the larger, 12.7" front rotor. Once you increase the rotor diameter, the calipers no longer clear the 16" wheels.

If you get your "donor" caliper/brackets from the following vehicles, they will work with 16" wheels:

CHEVY IMPALA 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Front
CHEVY IMPALA 2012 Front; without Police package
BUICK LUCERNE 2006 2007 2008 Front; 3.8L
BUICK LUCERNE 2009 2010 2011 Front; 3.9L
CHEVY MONTE CARLO 2006 2007 Front

If your parts come from the following applications you must run a 17"+ diameter wheel:

'06+ Cadillac DTS
'06+ Buick Lucerne (4.6L)
'04-'05 Pontiac Bonneville GXP (these are vehicles with the JL9 brake package, 12.7” front rotors, 11.9” rear rotors)

Please note: I have not used the Lucerne rear brakes, but have seen it noted by others that there is a difference in offset and that while it is still a "bolt-on" upgrade, more parts must be swapped than just the caliper and bracket.

[robaurora01]

I would gladly buy bigger rims however i just bought brand new winter tires last year and id rather not throw them out over just upgrading the brakes and spending way more then what it be worth just to ride 17's year round

[Randy T.]

Rob, the Impala calipers will fit under 16" wheels, I have stock orange juicers on mine and the calipers fit fine.

Kersh, are you saying that you can use stock Aurora rotors with this upgrade? Because, as far as I knew, you had to use the Impala rotors.

JL9 rear brakes are a bolt on upgrade for Auroras, you just need the caliper bracket and rotor, the rotor is a thicker, finned design.

2004-2005 Bonneville GXP only.
1998-2005 select Cadillacs, STS, Deville JL9 option.
2003-2005 Park Ave (Ultra only)

[robaurora01]

Ill make some calls to the yard then soon as having a rare upgrade is worthwhile to say you have done on these cars

[Kersh]

Rotor wise, I'm not sure. I looked a while ago and believe the spec's were very similar between the two applications. It's been a while though.

With regard to "JL9":

To the best of my knowledge, the JL9 desination changed meaning in '04 for these platforms.

Prior to '04, it was the standard, heavy duty brake package with 12" rotors

After '04, the JL9 package signified 12.7" front rotors (with the dual piston calipers), and 11.9" rotors on the rear. It was only available on the '04-'05 Bonneville GXP initially, but after the demise of the Bonneville, they moved availability to the '06+ Lucerne (4.6L) and DTS.

If anyone has information to CONFIRM or DISCOUNT this, I'm all ears!! There are few places to obtain a definitive confirmation of this.

[sall]

I didn't look all those makes/models, but I looked up the '06 impala in comparison with 98 Aurora. Both front rotors are 303mm in diameter. The thickness of the Aurora rotor was 32.3mm and the Impala 30.1mm.

[plato442]

Sept 22, 2012 14:25:25 GMT -6 Randy T. said:

I do not use turned rotors. The rust will be gone shortly, the brake pads will polish the rotors. I used used pads, too. Used stock gm parts are better than new aftermarket any day.

Usually turn rotors when they need turned, like anything else.

[Randy T.]

Front brake upgrade: The Impala front rotors are designed a little different, the size may be the same, but they are a little different shape in a couple spots. Like the inner circle where the wheel bolts go on the front of the rotor, on the Aurora rotor it is a normal circle that drops down straight, on Impala rotors it is more of a cone type drop that extends out farther into the rotor. If someone wants to try some stock Aurora rotors, then go ahead, IIRC when I tried it a few years ago on a different Aurora, it would not work, but I could be wrong. This is a simple upgrade for front brakes, I posted my experience with it, and I have these on my Aurora.

Rear brake upgrade: Now regarding rear brake upgrades that are bolt on, here is a quote from aurorabrain following this paragraph. You can go Buick Lucerne on the rear brakes, but you have to change the hub and the ebrake is hard to deal with. I don't know for a fact as I have not done it on my Aurora yet, but will pretty soon, not Lucerne on mine, but one of the ones listed below.

Jun 18, 2008 14:26:04 GMT -6 aurorabrain said:

2004-2005 Bonneville GXP only.
1998-2005 select Cadillacs, STS, Deville JL9 option.
2003-2005 Park Ave (Ultra only)
The Bracket is the difference, not the Caliper.

aurorah.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=1stgen&action=display&thread=3782&page=3

[Randy T.]

Jun 6, 2013 19:38:52 GMT -6 plato442 said:

Sept 22, 2012 14:25:25 GMT -6 Randy T. said:

I do not use turned rotors. The rust will be gone shortly, the brake pads will polish the rotors. I used used pads, too. Used stock gm parts are better than new aftermarket any day.

Usually turn rotors when they need turned, like anything else.

I know what is supposed to be done to do brakes properly by industry standards, I have 0 comebacks on all brake jobs I do at my shop. I do what I want to my car and it's a little different but it works for me. I can assure you the rust is not on my rotors anymore, the brake pad polishes it off very quickly. If your car sits for a week and it rains, the surface of your rotors will rust, you will not pull the rotors and have them turned, you will drive it and the rust disappears very quickly.

[plato442]

right, a light rusted surface isn't an issue...unless its pitted of course. I usually dont turn rotors myslef either, UNLESS they need it. ie: I have an 00 GMC Sierra and the brake piston was sticking, and for some reason the pads were wearing the rotor in an odd spot. When they turned it, and i received it back i could see where they turned it and there was one spot on the rotor that it didn't get machined because it was so worn that when they turned the rotor, it met up flush with the worn part of the rotor. In this case, i would definitely say having these rotors turned was necessary for proper wear and maximum stopping efficiency with my EBC pads.

[jiujitsubill84]

So essentially, it's a thinner rotor meant for a lighter car, BUT has more surface area creating better stoppage. Hmmm...going to the yard anyway in a few minutes, will have to check out some impalas. Thanks for the write-up Randy.

[Randy T.]

Rotors are close to the same thickness and size, pad surface area is greater. Thanks!