ginop524

iTrader: (1)

so ive been searching and doing reserch on brake upgrades and was set on doing the c5 z06 upgrade but after talking to many people dont know what to do. ive looked at willwood, stop tech, ssbc, the porsche upgrade(no way) baer, brembo. and have no idea what to do.
from what ive read people either hate or love the c5 upgrade some say they feel a difference others say its all bs and the f body have more clamping force etc. they say they fail alot on the vettes and theyre lighter than the f body so they cant be good on our cars (but i have 5 friends with vettes and none have ever had problems with them plus i always see them on cars on the board
willwood-look good alot of magazine cars have them but people say they need to constantly be rebuilt.
stop tech-good brakes but have clearance issues to the face of the wheel and cant find them for less than 2100 front only YIKES.
porshe-need to hit the lottery for that.
baer-seams that everyone says they are inbetween the f body and the c5 nothing to go crazy about.
brembo-havent heard much of anything so some info would be great on those.
ssbc-was reading a post about them the other day and it was a war about pedal feel and someother bashing things, but they have awards from gm and alot of the retro guys are using them.
if theyres any companies im missing please let me know
as for the car its an 02 at the most its going to hit 425 whp all said and done, daily driver, and i donot want to remove my 17" c6 z06 wheels any help would be appreciated

Nick

bulletz28

iTrader: (6)

I was thinking about getting this from BMR (strange pro race brake kit)
http://www.bmrfabrication.com/F-bodyBrakes.htm

ginop524

iTrader: (1)

I was looknig at that kit as well looks sexy. But is it streetable that's what I don't know. Also the aerospace (I think that was the other company on that page). Looked nice and the price is nice too any one have any feedback on that setup

aerotest

iTrader: (2)

If you have the money you can't go wrong with Brembo. If you are looking for a budget setup look at the Baer GT-Plus setup at LMPerformance (I think they are a sponser here). I here the real difference between the C5 and F body brakes other than rotor diameter is the material used to cast the calipers. I understand they use more gray iron in the C5 caliper which provides greater resistance against caliper flex under load. My opinion is you won't feel a huge improvement with the budget options, just better reliability and durability. The Brembo set up with seperate you head from your sholders.

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

C5 and f-body calipers are both aluminum. The difference is the f-body is cast and the C5 is forged.

The C5 setup actually works quite well, and with good pad selection, is more than you will ever need for a street car. The f-body calipers DO have bigger pistons, but the C5 rotor is bigger, so the caliper has more leverage (further from the center = more leverage). The issue with f-body brakes is not the clamping force, but the lack of heat capacity. The C5 brakes fix this problem.

C5=cheap, effective, proven, easy swap

Seems like a no brainer to me.

ginop524

iTrader: (1)

so im guessing that the brembo kit will fit in the 17" wheel. i kust took a good look at those brakes and theyre sweet just going to have to do something w the rears prob.

ginop524

iTrader: (1)

ohh so now that i know that about the c5 vs f body. how do they compare to that baer gt plus kit. i dont really want ot spend 3 grand on the brembo kit even though they are sweeeeeet ide rather get my rearend. so i guess im down to these 2 the baer gt or c5 thanks for the info guys and any combo setup for the c5 would be appreciated (pads rotors etc) and what brackets are better ive seen some for 150 and others for 250+

Chocolate Apocalypse

iTrader: (6)

Are you planning on Auto-X or RR or is this just to upgrade the stockers? Brembo blanks and Hawk HPS pads have worked great for me and just a couple weekends ago I put on Strano's BP-2 and really like the pedal feel with the braided steel lines.

ginop524

iTrader: (1)

oncea year max on the auto-x mostly hard road use. i really want different calipers i love the full wheel look. but would like better pedal feel from my current stock setup

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

The stock LS1 brakes can be improved quite a bit as well and work great for autocross. Good pads, rotors, and maintenance will keep the brakes fresh and working top notch.

LS1 brakes don't really do much for the looks department though. C5 would be the best of both worlds... as long as you are willing to add a little more weight to the front end as they are heavier. C5 brakes would also bump you into Street Mod SCCA class if you autox

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

For road use, the stock brakes are fine with aggressive pads (HP+ or better). Add better pads and braided lines, and they will take all the road use you can dish out.

If you just want the better look, then the obvious choice is the C5 swap. Again, on public roads with good pads, you aren't going to fade any of these, and none of these swaps will improve pedal feel. I see zero reason to spend a lot of cash for a Bear GT or any other setup for the 'look', when stock or C5 will do the job at 1/3 or less of the price.

ginop524

iTrader: (1)

Mojave what pad rotor would you recomend for the c5 setup that's going to be my route

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

I use cheap rotors, cheaper the better. Sure,the Brembo's might last a bit longer, but at $20/each from Napa, it's nice to be able to replace for cheap.

As for pads, HP+ worked well for me. Yes, they dust, and they may have some noise, but they work well. Carbotech AX6 is another good choice. I have some Carbotech XP8's on my Firebird right now. They aren't really a street pad; more of a mild track pad. Lots of dust, lots of squealing at stops, but they really stop well, and it's impossible to fade them on the street.

HPS aren't bad, but I like the HP+ a lot more.

chavez885

iTrader: (12)

Another vote for HP+, little bit of squeak but lots of stopping power!

jmilz28

iTrader: (13)

Some stainless lines and a good flush and bleed (mostly the latter) is what will give you better feel.

ginop524

iTrader: (1)

well i was actually pretty fortunate and got a complete setup of oem c5 zo5 brakes for 500 bucks pads rotors and calipers on all four corners. now my only other questions is what are the best brake lines to use (ive heard some are too short at full turn) and also what brackets to get BMR brackets are cheap but are they any good comared to others. and last question is what is involved with putting the rears on. i know theyre nothing special but i have the whole setup might as well use it. thanks again for all the input guys

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

I don't know of anyone who has put C5 rear brakes on an f-body.

chavez885

iTrader: (12)

I've never seen anything about the BMR brackets, not sure what to tell ya. I used the UMI but they are 250, but you have to cut your spindles (easy).

For brake lines, either get C5 brake lines, they are plenty long, or http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=0&ModelID=11 from Sam. Both will work good. Either way you should get some vette lines.

You can put the rears on if you want, just have to cut the metal clip/spring on the rear. http://phantomss.com/camaro/c5calipers/index.shtml