Old thread, but I think theres a little I can add here.
The Fronts:
The GMT900 brake upgrade not only came on some GMT800 Silverado and Sierras, (If they got good brakes in the front, they had drums in the rear. If they had the disc brakes in the rear, they had the smaller brakes up front). Also, there were two different versions of this brake upgrade.
2005-2006 SILVERADO/SIERRA 1500 EXCLUDING: Hybrid, SS, HD, & rear disc; Had the larger 13" rotors.
2007 SILVERADO/SIERRA 1500 Had the same 13" rotors but had the same earlier pad # as 05-06.
- YEARS --- PAD # ------ MODEL ----------------------------- YEARS ----- PAD # --
2005-2007 - D1092 - SILVERADO/SIERRA 1500 --------- 2008-2014+ - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - AVALANCHE 1500 ------------------ 2008-2013 - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - ESCALADE (EXCL EXT & ESV) ----- 2008-2015+ - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - ESCALADE (ONLY EXT & ESV) ----- 2008-2014 - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - SUBURBAN 1500 ------------------- 2008-2015+ - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - YUKON 1500 (INCL XL & HYBRID)- 2008-2015+ - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - TAHOE ------------------------------ 2008-2015+ - D1363
------------------- EXPRESS VAN 1500 ---------------------2009+ - D1363
------------------- SAVANA G1500 --------------------------2010+ - D1363
The pads are almost completely identical in size and shape, but they attach differently to the caliper. They both use the same rotor, but if you are possibly piecing together from different locations (such as ebay or a friend and trying to save a few bucks), you will need the caliper that goes with those years pads (/vice versa).
As for PPV (police) brakes, personally I wouldn't use them in my own vehicle. Yes they should have higher temp seals, but that shouldn't matter unless you are street track racing your vehicle or doing excessive high speed hard brakes repeatedly to where they will heat up. The biggest problem I have with PPV brakes is they are designed to be quiet, (so cops can roll in without screeching brakes on a bunch of vehicles). I DON'T KNOW FOR CERTAIN, as I couldn't find a definitive answer, but I believe this means these pads don't have that metal tab that squeals to let you know your pads are low like all other pads do. These are considered a fleet vehicle pad, so they are expecting them to be inspected quite frequently. If someone who has them has gotten low enough to answer this, sure would appreciate a answer as to either way.
The REAR BRAKES on the 1500 NBS/GMT800 are already the 13" rotor with a 2 piston caliper. The GMT900 rear is a 13.6" IIRC rotor with a single piston caliper. Its a larger rotor with a smaller pad and less clamping force. I would consider this a downgrade to change the rears to GMT900. The avalanche and later SUVs got this setup, but the pickups did not.
(Back to the FRONTS If you absolutely had to for some reason, the 12.8" NBS rotor will work with the 13.0" GMT900 calipers/brackets/pads. There is a .4" difference in rotor thickness to allow for better venting. This makes it a different hat size (how far off the mounting surface the caliper sits). When its all installed IIRC the front side will be at the right distance and location, but the back/inside of the pad will be .4" farther away from where it would be with the correct parts. The pads themselves have a material height of roughly .5" - .75" depending on the pad. I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS, I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD JUST DO, I'm just saying if FOR SOME REASON, your options were this or nothing, (maybe you got the wrong parts, or somewhere out on the road where you don't/can't wait), this SHOULD work temporarily to put the GMT900 pads/calipers on GMT800 rotors to keep you driving.
As mentioned earlier, If you are going to use drilled rotors; make sure they are holes that were cast into the rotors and not drilled in afterwards. Drilled rotors seem to always be the "cool thing" for most, but drilled rotors are designed to let excessive heat and gasses escape to help keep the rotors cooler. The key here is EXCESSIVE HEAT. These are designed for what is mostly track use. The closest real world comparable use for drilled rotors would be someone who punches it, SLAMS on the brakes, in stop and go traffic and loves to get it up to highway speeds then slam on the brakes, and does this multiple times a minute for a 10+ minute commute. If you were to drive in such a way that you would NEED drilled rotors on public roads, you would most likely earn a ticket for reckless driving. If you are not psychotic, and just daily driving, know how to coast at all, then you won't NEED drilled rotors. Drilled rotors have less surface area then blank rotors. They will create less friction than a blank rotor. If the rest of your braking system is up to it, then drilled rotors will take a slightly longer distance to make a single stop then blanks would. If you are more concerned about a single stop then you should be using blank rotors. The best analogy I have is: if you live out in the country, and your biggest concern is not high speed, agressive stop-and-go driving then you don't even want drilled rotors. If your biggest concern is more of where a large animal like a deer running out in front of you, and going from 60+ to 0 that one time where an extra 5 or 10 feet means stopping or short or hitting a large animal, then you should definitely be using blank rotors. From what I've experienced, if you live out on the coasts, and drive aggressive rush hour traffic then you would want drilled or slotted rotors. If you are somewhere in between then maybe slotted are best for you. Slotted give you a happy medium, and are usually known to be less prone to cracking that can happen with drilled, or warping with blanks.
If you are wanting to upgrade your brakes, and budget comes into the picture at all, then you probbaly want to do the GMT900 front upgrade. After that you should be looking at hydroboost. They will give you a more firm pedal feel (because the lines are filled with fluid which won't compress like air in vacuum brakes). If you are towing heavier loads, this should definitely be on your list. I didn't search this site for a write up, but heres a good one.
https://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/gm-drivetrain-suspension-22/hydroboost-conversion-install-417445/
If the GMT900 brakes just won't do it for you, (and you can do at least a thousand for one set of brakes, your next upgrade options going towards big break kits are the SSBC tri piston calipers, or the "rudy's bracket" C6 corvette, Z06, 6 piston caliper upgrade (closer to $1500), and you will need 18" wheels for both of these options.
http://www.silveradoss.com/forums/topic/64830-z06-brake-conversion/
After that its a full 6 or 8 piston setup for $3K-$4K for just the front set.
The Fronts:
The GMT900 brake upgrade not only came on some GMT800 Silverado and Sierras, (If they got good brakes in the front, they had drums in the rear. If they had the disc brakes in the rear, they had the smaller brakes up front). Also, there were two different versions of this brake upgrade.
2005-2006 SILVERADO/SIERRA 1500 EXCLUDING: Hybrid, SS, HD, & rear disc; Had the larger 13" rotors.
2007 SILVERADO/SIERRA 1500 Had the same 13" rotors but had the same earlier pad # as 05-06.
- YEARS --- PAD # ------ MODEL ----------------------------- YEARS ----- PAD # --
2005-2007 - D1092 - SILVERADO/SIERRA 1500 --------- 2008-2014+ - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - AVALANCHE 1500 ------------------ 2008-2013 - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - ESCALADE (EXCL EXT & ESV) ----- 2008-2015+ - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - ESCALADE (ONLY EXT & ESV) ----- 2008-2014 - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - SUBURBAN 1500 ------------------- 2008-2015+ - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - YUKON 1500 (INCL XL & HYBRID)- 2008-2015+ - D1363
------ 2007 - D1092 - TAHOE ------------------------------ 2008-2015+ - D1363
------------------- EXPRESS VAN 1500 ---------------------2009+ - D1363
------------------- SAVANA G1500 --------------------------2010+ - D1363
The pads are almost completely identical in size and shape, but they attach differently to the caliper. They both use the same rotor, but if you are possibly piecing together from different locations (such as ebay or a friend and trying to save a few bucks), you will need the caliper that goes with those years pads (/vice versa).
As for PPV (police) brakes, personally I wouldn't use them in my own vehicle. Yes they should have higher temp seals, but that shouldn't matter unless you are street track racing your vehicle or doing excessive high speed hard brakes repeatedly to where they will heat up. The biggest problem I have with PPV brakes is they are designed to be quiet, (so cops can roll in without screeching brakes on a bunch of vehicles). I DON'T KNOW FOR CERTAIN, as I couldn't find a definitive answer, but I believe this means these pads don't have that metal tab that squeals to let you know your pads are low like all other pads do. These are considered a fleet vehicle pad, so they are expecting them to be inspected quite frequently. If someone who has them has gotten low enough to answer this, sure would appreciate a answer as to either way.
The REAR BRAKES on the 1500 NBS/GMT800 are already the 13" rotor with a 2 piston caliper. The GMT900 rear is a 13.6" IIRC rotor with a single piston caliper. Its a larger rotor with a smaller pad and less clamping force. I would consider this a downgrade to change the rears to GMT900. The avalanche and later SUVs got this setup, but the pickups did not.
(Back to the FRONTS If you absolutely had to for some reason, the 12.8" NBS rotor will work with the 13.0" GMT900 calipers/brackets/pads. There is a .4" difference in rotor thickness to allow for better venting. This makes it a different hat size (how far off the mounting surface the caliper sits). When its all installed IIRC the front side will be at the right distance and location, but the back/inside of the pad will be .4" farther away from where it would be with the correct parts. The pads themselves have a material height of roughly .5" - .75" depending on the pad. I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS, I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD JUST DO, I'm just saying if FOR SOME REASON, your options were this or nothing, (maybe you got the wrong parts, or somewhere out on the road where you don't/can't wait), this SHOULD work temporarily to put the GMT900 pads/calipers on GMT800 rotors to keep you driving.
As mentioned earlier, If you are going to use drilled rotors; make sure they are holes that were cast into the rotors and not drilled in afterwards. Drilled rotors seem to always be the "cool thing" for most, but drilled rotors are designed to let excessive heat and gasses escape to help keep the rotors cooler. The key here is EXCESSIVE HEAT. These are designed for what is mostly track use. The closest real world comparable use for drilled rotors would be someone who punches it, SLAMS on the brakes, in stop and go traffic and loves to get it up to highway speeds then slam on the brakes, and does this multiple times a minute for a 10+ minute commute. If you were to drive in such a way that you would NEED drilled rotors on public roads, you would most likely earn a ticket for reckless driving. If you are not psychotic, and just daily driving, know how to coast at all, then you won't NEED drilled rotors. Drilled rotors have less surface area then blank rotors. They will create less friction than a blank rotor. If the rest of your braking system is up to it, then drilled rotors will take a slightly longer distance to make a single stop then blanks would. If you are more concerned about a single stop then you should be using blank rotors. The best analogy I have is: if you live out in the country, and your biggest concern is not high speed, agressive stop-and-go driving then you don't even want drilled rotors. If your biggest concern is more of where a large animal like a deer running out in front of you, and going from 60+ to 0 that one time where an extra 5 or 10 feet means stopping or short or hitting a large animal, then you should definitely be using blank rotors. From what I've experienced, if you live out on the coasts, and drive aggressive rush hour traffic then you would want drilled or slotted rotors. If you are somewhere in between then maybe slotted are best for you. Slotted give you a happy medium, and are usually known to be less prone to cracking that can happen with drilled, or warping with blanks.
If you are wanting to upgrade your brakes, and budget comes into the picture at all, then you probbaly want to do the GMT900 front upgrade. After that you should be looking at hydroboost. They will give you a more firm pedal feel (because the lines are filled with fluid which won't compress like air in vacuum brakes). If you are towing heavier loads, this should definitely be on your list. I didn't search this site for a write up, but heres a good one.
https://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/gm-drivetrain-suspension-22/hydroboost-conversion-install-417445/
If the GMT900 brakes just won't do it for you, (and you can do at least a thousand for one set of brakes, your next upgrade options going towards big break kits are the SSBC tri piston calipers, or the "rudy's bracket" C6 corvette, Z06, 6 piston caliper upgrade (closer to $1500), and you will need 18" wheels for both of these options.
http://www.silveradoss.com/forums/topic/64830-z06-brake-conversion/
After that its a full 6 or 8 piston setup for $3K-$4K for just the front set.