Company History
Sweeting Performance specializes in performance power brake systems, particularly the Bosch Hydro-Boost®, Bosch Hydro-Max®, Bosch iBooster®, and our own Air-Hydraulic power brake system. George Sweeting was an engineer for Lockheed during WWII helping to design brake systems for airplanes, he started a small brake rebuilding shop, Power Brake Service, in 1950, his son, Bob Sweeting, built the company up, rebuilding mountains of brake boosters and master cylinders, as well as working on and designing brake systems for many notable clients and projects. The owner, Matthew Sweeting, is the third generation leading the business in designing new retrofit braking systems for individuals with specialty vehicles and small volume new vehicle manufacturers. A fourth generation, naturally crazy about cars and planes, helps and is learning about advanced vehicle brake systems.
Matt was rebuilding brake boosters from a young age - tearing down, buffing, washing, painting, stocking, installing, sourcing, and the general business of brake parts. Being a third generation brakeman meant being taught the right ways about brake systems, new and classic, and having a natural familiarity with these systems from taking them apart and putting them back together repeatedly. The rebuilding market changed, volume and low cost became prioritized, and it has changed again, more recently, in the aftermarket toward new replacement parts that are sourced from the cheapest place they can be produced, where quality has never stopped being our focus. Brake systems for new OE vehicles are getting very complex, with computers, electric motors, switches, sensors, and accumulators being added to a once fairly simple master cylinder. We now we work on lower volume, more complex braking systems, sourcing original replacement parts as much as we can and then designing retrofit replacements using new OE parts and/or manufacturing them ourselves, rather than rebuilt, when supporting the original system becomes unreasonable. We can offer many new replacement parts, where the factory or parts store will call them obsolete, we either have already designed, or can design a new upgraded replacement.
The Bosch Hydro-Boost®
The Bosch Hydro-Boost® is what we use most often for applications from sports cars on up to 1 ton Ford F350's and GM and Ram 3500 series Trucks. It is smaller than the ubiquitous 7" hot rod booster and can generate 1200 to 2000 psi at the calipers. It accepts master cylinders from 15/16 inch to 1-5/8 inch bore sizes. We stock replacements for vehicles that came with Hydro-Boost® from the factory, but also make kits to adapt the Hydro-Boost® for retrofit on vehicles that were originally unassisted manual, vacuum boosted, or electric-hydraulically boosted.
The Bosch Hydro-Boost® is powered by pressure from the power steering pump and requires no vacuum, whereas vacuum brake boosters are usually powered by the vacuum created by your engine manifold. You hope to get 15 pounds or more of vacuum from the manifold, but if your engine is not producing vacuum, typically because of a larger cam shaft, supercharging, or you have a diesel engine that makes no vacuum, you might try to chase vacuum with a vacuum pump or use a small bore master cylinder to spike up the pressure in the line. Customer feedback over a long time says that vacuum pumps do not keep up, are noisy, and burn out too quickly, and small bore master cylinders leave you with too long of a pedal throw because the volume that is needed to fill caliper pistons has been reduce. Big expensive caliper upgrades, will be more demanding of volume and pressure, not less, so reducing the volume that your master cylinder pushes by using a small bore master cylinder, and reducing the pressure in your line by going manual are the wrong direction to go in. A more powerful brake booster, like the Bosch Hydro-Boost®, will assist you in pushing on a correctly sized master cylinder to get the right combination of pressure and volume of fluid that your calipers need for good braking and a good pedal feel.
The Hydro-Boost® has a smaller footprint than most brake boosters, so fits almost anywhere a vacuum booster does. It provides great valve cover clearance, and exhaust pipe clearance when frame mounted. You have some options for customizing your kit, like choosing stainless braid PTFE vs. high pressure rubber power steering hoses, or a more stock looking master cylinder vs. a higher end Wilwood master. We have many direct replacements, our own kits for retrofit applications, and design new applications all the time.
- GM Trucks
- Ford Trucks
- Dodge Ram Trucks
- Toyota Trucks and Land Cruisers
- Land Rover Defenders
- Diesel vehicles with vacuum boosters and vacuum pumps
- Jeeps and Off-Road Vehicles
- Cadillacs
- Jaguars
- Buick, Pontiac, & Oldsmobile G Bodies
- Ferraris / Lamborghinis / Panteras
- Muscle Cars - Chevelle, Camaro, Corvette, Nova, Tri-Five, Impala, Mustang, T-Bird, Crown Vic, Torino, Cobra replica, Charger, Challenger
- Hot Rods
The Bosch Hydro-Max®
The Bosch Hydro-Max® is what we use for Ford, GM, Chrylser, International, and other Medium Duty trucks, with Hydraulic brakes and master cylinders with bore sizes 1-3/4 to 2 inch. It comes on many buses and tow trucks, along with almost anything built on a 6500 and larger commercial chassis until air brakes come in. It works off the power steering pump like the Hydro-Boost®, but instead of having an accumulator for backup, it has an electric motor that will continue to provide stopping assistance as long as there is a battery charge. International, GM, and other medium duty truck manufacturers will often have Hydro-Max® part numbers they say are obsolete, but we are be able to offer them because we have originals in stock, or reproduce the small parts that make them fit one vehicle or another.
- Freightliner
- Thomas Built Bus
- GM Topkick, Kodiak, B7
- Delco-Hypower Conversion
- GMC and Chevy 4500 5500 6500 7500
- Blue Bird Bus
- Travco Motorhome
- Military Deuce and a Half and Half Track
- Road Grader
Electric-Hydraulic Power Master Cylinders
Electric-Hydraulic master cylinders are similar to the Hydro-Boost® in that they use hydraulic pressure as a source of power to help push a master cylinder. They might also be called "Electric Brake Boosters", "Electric Master Cylinders", or a "Powermaster", with versions produced by a variety of different brands like ACDelco, Advics, Aisin, Teves (ATE), and TRW and use an electric motor along with other accessory parts to build up the hydraulic pressure instead of using the belt driven power steering pump source that the Hydro-Boost® does. With the master cylinder will also be an electric motor pump to build up the pressure, a brake pressure switch or computer box to turn the pump on and off, an accumulator reservoir to store the pressure, and they may even have the abs block along with the wheel speed and transmission speed sensor all connected into it. There have been a few versions of electric-hydraulic master cylinders over the last few decades, and their fates have been mostly the same - you can't get a complete set of parts after 10-15 years. All of these accessories that build the pressure wear, they are expensive to replace, and, like most technology, the systems are abandoned after a few years for the newest and latest thing. We offer what we can for these systems, and then build our own conversion kits for vehicles where parts are obsolete, expensive, and impossible to source.
- Hummer H2, H3
- Toyota 4Runner, Tacoma, Land Cruiser
- Lexus LX470, GX 470
- Lincoln Mark VII, T-bird Supercoupe
- Buick Electra, Le Sabre, Reatta, Riviera
- Cadillac Deville, El Dorado, Fleetwood, Seville
- Oldsmobile 98, Delta 88, Toronado
- Pontiac 6000, Bonneville
- Land Rover Range Rover Classic Wabco Electric ABS
- Saab
- Jaguar
- Buick Grand National and Turbo Regal Powermaster
Stainless Braided Power Steering Hoses and Fittings
We deal in brake systems, mostly boosters and master cylinders, but because they tie into hydraulics, we have a variety of hose and fittings.
- Hose kits for Bosch Hydro-Boost brake boosters
- Reusable -6 AN hose ends
- Metric to -6 AN adapter fittings
- Standard/SAE/Imperial to -6 AN adapter fittings
- Specialty fittings like Spitter Fitting to -6AN
- Crimped Banjo Hoses, Crimped 90 Hoses, Crimped Straight Stainless Hoses
Wilwood Calipers, Discs, and Master Cylinders
Master Cylinders for GM, Ford, & Mopar vehicles.
Sweeting Performance Dealer Program
Sweeting Performance specializes in Bosch Hydro-Boost®, Bosch Hydro-Max®, vacuum, and air-hydraulic power brake boosters, master cylinders, and accessories.
Dealer Program Details
If you are interested in becoming a dealer for Sweeting Performance, we offer discounted pricing depending on your opening order size and ongoing annual sales amounts.
To inquire about becoming a dealer, please first email us at sales@sweetingperformance.com with details on which parts you are interested in and the projected quantities.
If your needs fit a program we have, we will send you a Dealer Application and request items such as a copy of your business license and a filled-out Tax-Exemption Form (if you are in California).
Why Choose Sweeting Performance?
Unlike volume-driven parts resellers, our focus has always been engineering quality over lowest cost. Modern brake systems are increasingly complex, incorporating computers, pressure sensors, electric motors, ABS integration, and accumulator systems. We work on lower-volume, higher-complexity brake platforms where experience matters. Our customers include restoration specialists, performance builders, off-road fabricators, fleet operators, and small vehicle manufacturers who require expert guidance and dependable solutions. Sweeting Performance stands for engineering integrity, brake system expertise, and multi-generational knowledge in power brake design and retrofit systems.
For over seventy years under the Sweeting name, our business has centered on safe, effective, and properly engineered brake systems. When customers search for Hydro-Boost® upgrades, Hydro-Max® replacements, electric-hydraulic master cylinders, or performance brake retrofits, they find Sweeting Performance because we specialize exclusively in brake engineering. Our name is associated with Bosch brake systems, high-performance hydraulic solutions, retrofit brake kits, and expert support for vehicles others consider unsupported. We remain committed to advancing brake technology while preserving the craftsmanship and standards established in 1950.
Our reputation is built on decades of engineering expertise, third-generation experience, and a relentless focus on quality. We provide:
- Solutions for rare, complex, and high-performance braking systems
- Original OEM replacement parts and custom-designed components
- Personalized service from engineers who understand your vehicle inside and out
- Trusted family-owned business with a legacy of innovation
Sweeting Performance is committed to keeping our customers safe and satisfied while delivering unmatched braking performance. Our name is synonymous with high-quality, reliable, and innovative power brake systems.
