I am pretty sure this is it (highlighted in red):


And kudos to Big Als Z for having a sharp eye and pointing it out.

 

I think that is the brake line. Can't say I can see it though, probably could see it from a different agle.

 

when did GM stop putting rear discs on trucks??

 

They went back to drums in 2005. You could still get some with 4 wheel disc though.

 

The rear discs were almost "over-kill" in terms of braking for the trucks. Uless you actually carry heavy loads frequently, requiring more work out of your brakes, the rears don't do a whole lot, and they tend to rust up the inner & outer edges of the braking surface, and only a small amount of pad/rotor actually make smooth contact! Also, since ~95% of people DON'T use the parking brake in a truck, they get really seized up, and since the trucks used the same drum-in-rotor style as the LS1 Camaros used, when it comes time to replace the rotors, it's a PITA to get them off, since there's a thick ring of rust on the inside of that drum .

..... long story short, back to the trusty 'ol drum!!

[/off topic]

 

my parents suburban has 4 wheel disc...and they aren't rusty but its a 2002

 

Yeah, does look like a brake line, but then there are some hoses that are up by the spring/shock mount? One could be ABS..who knows.

The drum/disk debate keeps going on and on. GM found that by increasing the size of the front disk and larger 2 pistion calipers, ALONG with a larger drum brake, it stopped shorter and gave better pedal feel to the driver then the older 4wheel disk system.
The new 900 trucks do have a 4 wheel disk system, I dont know if its optional or standard across the board.

 

bet you didnt look on the inside surface. thats where they rust like crazy for some odd reason. full size GM truck equals big money when it comes time for rear brake job around 40-60K miles. and the backing plates are for shiznit too.

but back on topic, the IRS has more parts, more weight, more cost, and will never live up to the power potential of the solid axle. now, that doesn tmean they cant make a very strong IRS, look at the vipers and vette's. but it will cost you. and its a cost I dont want to take on since Im not into turning corners fast.

 

to answer the previous question: the "sway bars" are the lateral links below the brake lines highlighted in red above. Atleast they appear to form a link from the dynamic hub to the fixed body as a typical swaybar does.

Also, i highly doubt the new IRS will be as awful as the old 10 bolt. so despite any disadvantages as you'd like to list, it will most likely be stronger and better at cornering than the previous setup.

 

No, that's the toe control link.

Look closely to the inside of the spring on the left. See that little stem? Looks like a swaybar endlink to me. From a packaging viewpoint, a rear mounted bar would seem to be the best place to mount the thing on this assembly.

 

Not necessarily. I've seen IRS rears withstand plenty of power (600 rwhp plus). Granted this was with roughly $800 in aftermarket parts but its a far cry from the $2500 plus I just spent on my solid rear. From a marketing standpiont I know that the IRS is going to be a better choice. The vast majority of the public will not drag race the car like you or I would. So a better handling, smoother riding IRS car will sell a lot better than a solid rear equipped car that you or I would want.

 

the red highlighted bar is not the brakeline. if you look closely you an see the brakeline above the rotor and connecting to the caliper. there gray and you can see they've been cut.

 

My bet would be that the half-shafts as mentioned earlier would be the "weak link". That was the case w/ the Cobra, but aftermarket took care of that.

1991 RS-Sold
1998 SS-Sold
2004 KB Cobra aka: The Crusher (I like bow ties, but she hauls the mail
2010 Top end Camaro

 

With IRS the anti-squat will be lower than what you can easily get with most any stick axle suspension. So you'll be somewhat more likely to spin the tires instead, which will act sort of like a 'fuse' and reduce the loads on everything all the way back through the powertrain.

Hopefully, the GM braintrust won't use that as an excuse to compromise away any of the basic strength of the powertrain bits.


Norm

 

True sort of..... Drive a Silverado with discs and then a newer one with drums and give some feedback. The pedal feel on the disc trucks SUCK!!! Squishy, mushy and you can push the pedal to the floor.
The trucks with drums have great pedal feel and response. The overall braking ability was kept the same by making the front discs larger. (all drum Silverado's have 17" wheels to fit the front brakes)
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