is the 6litereater c5/6 brake kit worth a dang?
#1
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is the 6litereater c5/6 brake kit worth a dang?
for $350 it seems very tempting. my car doesnt stop for **** with the stock brakes it has now. is the re-use of the stock caliper just being moved a bit a huge difference? id buy them if anybody has them and says there night and day... btw. im not trying to knock 6litereater by any means.. stunna
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If you "can't stop for ****" you might look into why. Mine
(with big fat tires all around) will get onto the ABS well
below max pedal effort. Still original pads.
A big rotor that is still punked by ABS won't help any. You
want to understand what is limiting you.
Where big rotors help, is when you can actually connect
braking to the ground and are doing a lot of it. Like road
racing. If you can't stop on the street, just driving around,
there may be some other problem.
Don't ignore that suspensions set up for extreme forward
traction stand a chance of bringing you brake lift / brake
hop in the rear on a single torque arm setup. Especially
short ones. I don't have brake hop, but did pick up some
power-hop in reverse after my various suspension mods.
So I'm probably not that far from it.
(with big fat tires all around) will get onto the ABS well
below max pedal effort. Still original pads.
A big rotor that is still punked by ABS won't help any. You
want to understand what is limiting you.
Where big rotors help, is when you can actually connect
braking to the ground and are doing a lot of it. Like road
racing. If you can't stop on the street, just driving around,
there may be some other problem.
Don't ignore that suspensions set up for extreme forward
traction stand a chance of bringing you brake lift / brake
hop in the rear on a single torque arm setup. Especially
short ones. I don't have brake hop, but did pick up some
power-hop in reverse after my various suspension mods.
So I'm probably not that far from it.
#4
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jimmy's right though, if the car "won't stop worth ****" there's likely a problem somewhere simply switching to larger rotors won't fix.
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There are a lot more factors at play with larger brakes, clamping surface area, heat dissipation. Any larger than stock rotor setup takes a certain % less effort to decrease vehicle speed over stock size rotors which can also cause a bias feeling in the car unless properly adjusted with a proportioning valve.
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I'm not a huge fan of their multi piece bracket. It can't be as strong as the other brackets out there, and I'm not really sure how much R&D they've done on it. Brakes aren't something I'd want failing on me, but that's just my opinon.
#7
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Yea its worth it. Go for it. Always buy with confidence from Mark. He has had that kit out for a while, if someone's failed, we would have definitely heard about it by now. Not to mention, he runs that setup on his own car.
My car wasn't stopping for **** as well. I already have the brake swap, but not i stalled yet. I was taking everything off and i believe i know what caused my problems. One of the caliper guide pins was completely stuck. I finally got it out and greased it, stuck that bitch back in there and my brakes work perfect. I will still, however, be doing the swap
My car wasn't stopping for **** as well. I already have the brake swap, but not i stalled yet. I was taking everything off and i believe i know what caused my problems. One of the caliper guide pins was completely stuck. I finally got it out and greased it, stuck that bitch back in there and my brakes work perfect. I will still, however, be doing the swap
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#8
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If you "can't stop for ****" you might look into why. Mine
(with big fat tires all around) will get onto the ABS well
below max pedal effort. Still original pads.
A big rotor that is still punked by ABS won't help any. You
want to understand what is limiting you.
Where big rotors help, is when you can actually connect
braking to the ground and are doing a lot of it. Like road
racing. If you can't stop on the street, just driving around,
there may be some other problem.
Don't ignore that suspensions set up for extreme forward
traction stand a chance of bringing you brake lift / brake
hop in the rear on a single torque arm setup. Especially
short ones. I don't have brake hop, but did pick up some
power-hop in reverse after my various suspension mods.
So I'm probably not that far from it.
(with big fat tires all around) will get onto the ABS well
below max pedal effort. Still original pads.
A big rotor that is still punked by ABS won't help any. You
want to understand what is limiting you.
Where big rotors help, is when you can actually connect
braking to the ground and are doing a lot of it. Like road
racing. If you can't stop on the street, just driving around,
there may be some other problem.
Don't ignore that suspensions set up for extreme forward
traction stand a chance of bringing you brake lift / brake
hop in the rear on a single torque arm setup. Especially
short ones. I don't have brake hop, but did pick up some
power-hop in reverse after my various suspension mods.
So I'm probably not that far from it.
Really we need to know what you mean by "doesn't stop for ****." Like said above, if you are overwhelming the grip of the tires, how is more braking force going to help anything? What are the state of your tires?
If you have good tires and the car isn't slowing down with the stock stuff, or if the pedal feels wrong, time to inspect the brakes. If something is broken, then fix it. The newest Fbodies are nearly 10 yrs old at this point, and bleeding the brake fluid or replacing it at a decent interval is often neglected. Pad compound is hugely important. Choose accordingly. Don't think you will get ultimate performance in a pad that claims to be dust free. But even so when I ran NAPA Ceramix, which made almost no dust, the car stopped more than adequately. My current pads make a little more dust, but stop a little better too. I personally haven't had the need to go to real track oriented pad on the street because it just isn't needed and I don't want the dust.
As far as that brake kit goes, or any C5 kit for that matter, they improve braking under certain circumstances. Bigger rotor should absorb more heat (unless you do something boneheaded like drill a bunch of holes in it ), you should get a little more torque from a longer 'lever arm'... And they look a little better under 17 or 18 inch rims. Personally, I would only bother changing to C5 calipers if I were going to change the hardware. Bolts on and you can still run 16's if you need to. The better casting resists spread if you track the car.
But for a street car a functional stock system with good pads and fluid is quite good. (This does not apply to LT1 cars though).
#9
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It does help some because of the rotor size/caliper relocation. And as far as the quality concern I know him personally and there are a few people around here that have his kit as well as close to 100 people total. I believe the only issue ever heard of was something to do with a washer on one of the kits. I doubt he would run his own product for years if it was unsafe
#10
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jimmy's right though, if the car "won't stop worth ****" there's likely a problem somewhere simply switching to larger rotors won't fix.[/QUOTE]
Its as if the pads do not have any real bite. the abs seems to kick in during moderate braking. the brakes are in great condition. ive tried scuffing the pads to increase bite. but no improvements. i do have larger wheels and tires. front 285/30/18, rear 295/35/18 all tires are like new....
thats why im debating the balla on a budget upgrade... stunna
Its as if the pads do not have any real bite. the abs seems to kick in during moderate braking. the brakes are in great condition. ive tried scuffing the pads to increase bite. but no improvements. i do have larger wheels and tires. front 285/30/18, rear 295/35/18 all tires are like new....
thats why im debating the balla on a budget upgrade... stunna
#14
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Its as if the pads do not have any real bite. the abs seems to kick in during moderate braking. the brakes are in great condition. ive tried scuffing the pads to increase bite. but no improvements. i do have larger wheels and tires. front 285/30/18, rear 295/35/18 all tires are like new....
thats why im debating the balla on a budget upgrade... stunna
thats why im debating the balla on a budget upgrade... stunna
Next question is why is your ABS kicking in? The Low Trac light comes on and you feel it pulsing right? Supposed to kick in when wheel speed sensors detect slip... if you are really overwhelming the grip of the tires with moderate braking sounds like they aren't ideal. Ultimately the tires are what actually slow the car. Which tires are they, how long have you had them? Also, what type of road conditions is this occurring on?
#15
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Which pads are you running?
Next question is why is your ABS kicking in? The Low Trac light comes on and you feel it pulsing right? Supposed to kick in when wheel speed sensors detect slip... if you are really overwhelming the grip of the tires with moderate braking sounds like they aren't ideal. Ultimately the tires are what actually slow the car. Which tires are they, how long have you had them? Also, what type of road conditions is this occurring on?
Next question is why is your ABS kicking in? The Low Trac light comes on and you feel it pulsing right? Supposed to kick in when wheel speed sensors detect slip... if you are really overwhelming the grip of the tires with moderate braking sounds like they aren't ideal. Ultimately the tires are what actually slow the car. Which tires are they, how long have you had them? Also, what type of road conditions is this occurring on?
rears are bfg g-force's 75% tread. the rubber is good. it think a set of slotted rotors to keep the new pad surfaces ready to bit would make a big , improvement.. the road conditions are dry street. hwy, stop lights, getting off the highway for sure is when it happens...
#16
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Don't get the slotted rotors just yet. Try out a more aggressive pad and bleed the brakes. Most on here would probably recommend Hawk HPS for a daily driver, or an HP+ if you wanted a more aggressive pad.
I run GranSport 6's which I like for a good balance between stopping and dusting as well as bite when cold, and importantly no noise.
I run GranSport 6's which I like for a good balance between stopping and dusting as well as bite when cold, and importantly no noise.
#20
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OP, I'm with these guys.... If your car "doesn't stop worth ****" look deeper into the problem. Our big brake kit isn't a miracle stopping kit, it just adds some bite to our stock brakes.
i've now driven 2 cars with our kit. 6LE's and LSspeed1's. 6LE's car has the best brakes of a car I've driven bar none. It's a lofty claim indeed, but if you drove that car you'd understand REAL fast. It's smooth and the stopping power is great. On his car it's night an day to my stock set up. Lspeed1's car is a vortech supercharged 98 camaro and the big brake upgrade feels the same way after I did the install. It slows the car down faster and has a very nice bite when pressing the brake pedal.
I'm going his route too in a month or so. For the record, both those cars and mine have stainless steel brake lines installed.
When we did that last install to Sean's car (Lspeed1) I really looked at the kit with the watchful eyes you all have on this kit being 2 pieces. I'm actually really fine with it. The install is simple and the fact that nothing has to be cut is a relief. The fact that it's 2 pieces will do nothing to potentially harm or worsen the braking. For the piece to break would take a great impact or act of god, lol. It's a nice thick CNC'd piece and was developed by our racecar engineer. We've been going to CMJ racing for years and he comes from a NASCAR/CART racing background as a driver and tech.
i'm with you guys in the fact that brakes are not something on my car that I want to fail and being part of 6LE for years now, I've had time to further evaluate this brake kit and he's never pressured me to install it. I've actually sat back and looked for anyone to return a kit or say that were unhappy with it's performance or install and that's all it would take for me.......but it hasn't happened yet.
Mark (6LE) didn't ask me to write this or know i'm writing this, but I'm a fan of this kit. Again, the design is solid and the pieces fit extremely well together....I'm just hoping I can pull some strings and get mine in red powdercoat.
Enjoy the kit, boys!
-Mike
6LE Designs
i've now driven 2 cars with our kit. 6LE's and LSspeed1's. 6LE's car has the best brakes of a car I've driven bar none. It's a lofty claim indeed, but if you drove that car you'd understand REAL fast. It's smooth and the stopping power is great. On his car it's night an day to my stock set up. Lspeed1's car is a vortech supercharged 98 camaro and the big brake upgrade feels the same way after I did the install. It slows the car down faster and has a very nice bite when pressing the brake pedal.
I'm going his route too in a month or so. For the record, both those cars and mine have stainless steel brake lines installed.
When we did that last install to Sean's car (Lspeed1) I really looked at the kit with the watchful eyes you all have on this kit being 2 pieces. I'm actually really fine with it. The install is simple and the fact that nothing has to be cut is a relief. The fact that it's 2 pieces will do nothing to potentially harm or worsen the braking. For the piece to break would take a great impact or act of god, lol. It's a nice thick CNC'd piece and was developed by our racecar engineer. We've been going to CMJ racing for years and he comes from a NASCAR/CART racing background as a driver and tech.
i'm with you guys in the fact that brakes are not something on my car that I want to fail and being part of 6LE for years now, I've had time to further evaluate this brake kit and he's never pressured me to install it. I've actually sat back and looked for anyone to return a kit or say that were unhappy with it's performance or install and that's all it would take for me.......but it hasn't happened yet.
Mark (6LE) didn't ask me to write this or know i'm writing this, but I'm a fan of this kit. Again, the design is solid and the pieces fit extremely well together....I'm just hoping I can pull some strings and get mine in red powdercoat.
Enjoy the kit, boys!
-Mike
6LE Designs