Brake Caliper question.
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 717
Likes: 0
From: Fairview NC (near Charlotte)
Brake Caliper question. I'm looking to upgrade the calipers on my 2002 Z28. Does anyone know if the 5th gen and/or 6th gen Vette calipers will fit without modifications? I know they will fit with big brake upgrade kits, but for now I'm just looking to replace the calipers.
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 5,798
Likes: 16
From: St.Charles MO
The only real time you will see the benefit of going C5/C6 calipers is when long term road racing, as the stock Fbody calipers over time will spread with extreme abuse. Otherwise if you are just looking to get more brake power have you tried running actual good pads (not some ceramic junk or autozone pad) and good quality blank rotors?
After talking to a lot of guys about these brakes, in terms of mounting I've found that the C5 calipers are the same physical dimensions as your LS calipers. Meaning you can mount a C5 caliper in place of your current caliper. This will not net you the bigger C5 rotor however. The Corvette mounting bracket moves the caliper out a little to allow for the larger C5 rotor. So you can run your current caliper or a C5 caliper with your current rotor, or you can run the bracket and run your current caliper or a C5 caliper with the C5 rotor.
The difference between your current caliper and the C5 caliper is that the C5 is pressure cast while yours is gravity cast, making the C5 stronger. The C5 has cooling fins that run the length of the caliper while yours stop halfway. Your caliper actually has larger pistons in it than the C5's.
As JD AMG has said, the C5's may be overkill if your car doesn't see much track abuse. However, if you are planning on replacing the calipers anyway, I know that the C5 calipers aren't that expensive to begin with and are probably not much of a premium over a new set of your stock f-body calipers.
If you want to run the bracket to use the bigger C5 rotor, you need to have 17" wheels. If I was going to do that, I'd play it smart. The bracket requires you to cut the spindle. LT1 spindles are not desirable and very cheap while LS spindles go for a good buck. I would pick up a cheap set of LT1 spindles to cut and use with the brackets and either sell your LS spindles to offset the cost of the bracket or keep in case you ever want to go back to stock.
The difference between your current caliper and the C5 caliper is that the C5 is pressure cast while yours is gravity cast, making the C5 stronger. The C5 has cooling fins that run the length of the caliper while yours stop halfway. Your caliper actually has larger pistons in it than the C5's.
As JD AMG has said, the C5's may be overkill if your car doesn't see much track abuse. However, if you are planning on replacing the calipers anyway, I know that the C5 calipers aren't that expensive to begin with and are probably not much of a premium over a new set of your stock f-body calipers.
If you want to run the bracket to use the bigger C5 rotor, you need to have 17" wheels. If I was going to do that, I'd play it smart. The bracket requires you to cut the spindle. LT1 spindles are not desirable and very cheap while LS spindles go for a good buck. I would pick up a cheap set of LT1 spindles to cut and use with the brackets and either sell your LS spindles to offset the cost of the bracket or keep in case you ever want to go back to stock.
I want to reiterate what StoneCold said - the C5 caliper has SMALLER pistons than the f-body caliper. This leads to a reduction in pressure applied, if I remember correctly. Take that into account.
