02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

Hey, some of you may have seen me ask a bunch of questions concerning the C5 Conversion swap. I had the intentions of finishing up this conversion this month but decided, "To hell with it."

I already bought the bracket and will just buy the Corvette Rotors and re-use my stock LS1 F-Body Calipers. This whole time that I've been searching for a good price on some C5 Calipers, I thought, "I am switching from my 2 piston setup to a . . . . . . . . . . 2 piston setup." Yes the C5 caliper is pressure-cast instead of gravity-cast. Yes the C5 caliper is SLIGHTLY larger and holds SLIGHTY larger pads. Does it justify the 250-300 price-tag? No.

Go big or go home. That is the attitude I am taking. I highly doubt that these calipers will be a worthwile mod. I feel as if changing to Hawk Pads, Stainless Steel Braided lines, ATE Super Blue brake fluid, Corvette Rotor blanks with my STOCK calipers will feel JUST AS GOOD AS: chaning to Hawk Pads, Stainless Steel Braided lines, ATE Super Blue brake fluid, Corvette Rotor blanks with Corvette Calipers.

Anyone have opinions? Feedback? I am dying to hear your perspective on this. Not so much from VIP1.

hpjunky98

iTrader: (3)

There is a company, that isn't a sponsor that sells a direct replacment 4 piston for the corvette caliper. search around on google.

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

It's not the old C3 Caliper is it?

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

A couple things to factor in ...

There are a larger variety and range of brake pads to chose from for a Vette. And in many cases, the pads are a lot cheaper.

The C5 rotor is about 1/4" thicker than an F-Car rotor. So jamming new pads and a thicker rotor between the ears of a stock caliper can be tricky.

C5 calipers can be had for cheap, if you find them used. Look on the Vette forums.

JMHO ...

Rick99TAWS6

iTrader: (4)

Yep, you just gotta look around some - I found a pair of C5 front calipers used w/lines and pads for $100, replaced the pads though

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

What brackets are you using? You'll need the Corvette PAB's for many of the kits, the bolt sizes are different (F-body is 12mm, Corvette is 14mm and they don't swap). With the C5 PAB's, you'll need C5 pads. The Corvette calipers use smaller pistons to adjust the brake bias back to stock. With the larger rotor, you'll shift the bias towards the front, with the Corvette calipers, you'll "put it back" to where it was (as far as the front to rear braking balance is concerned).

gun5l1ng3r

I have a question not related to this...

but, if you shift the bias back to stock, does that mean that it will then only stop with the same force as the stock braking system? I am having a hard time understanding this. If the Fbody's have bigger pistons w/ smaller rotors, does that make them the same strength(stopping 'power') as the smaller piston w/ larger rotor on the C5?

I thought that the larger the piston area (within reason), the greater the force on the pads?

VIP1

What did or didn't I do to not be good enough to voice an opinion?

I don't know enough about the topic to respond in a helpful manner and was going to refrain from responding until I saw that last line.

gun5l1ng3r

Any ideas on the piston area versus rotor size on the C5 and Fbody?

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

Oops! I meant to add a smiley face at the end of that sentence. I guess I was re-reading my post and forgot to add one in there! My, what a smiley face can do!

Well here is the smiley face:

It's because you always have something to say to my threads!

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

To the previous post: I guess bigger isn't always better.

VIP1

Eh, mistakes happen.

Unfortunately, I can't remember a thread right now.
Hopefully I provided useful information.

I like this smiley -->

sroach20

iTrader: (31)

has anyone tried just the c5 rotors and then the c5 rotors and calipers? id like to know how big of a difference there is. i was just going to do the c5 rotors with the stock calipers because i live in Houston. people like to drive offensively around here.

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

That's what I plan on doing. Just running a C5 Rotor with stock calipers since I already purchased the bracket. I may look into SSBC's Tri-Power Calipers as a direct replacement because the Force 10 4 Piston Calipers don't clear 17" rims supposedly.

sroach20

iTrader: (31)

ive got the hawk hps pads and the c5 conversion bracket on the way. i can get brand new wagner rotors (us steel) and rebuilt calipers for about $120. that comes to around $282 for the front rebuild with the bigger rotors. this should be better than stock right?

sroach20

iTrader: (31)

oh yeah 400 posts.

jmilz28

iTrader: (13)

Trackbird, could you elaborate on this please? I'm about to pull the trigger here without the C5 calipers but want to make sure I am not throwing my brake bias out of whack...

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

Sorry, just got back to this thread.

Brake bias is the balance of stopping force from front to rear. If you cranked the bias forward "a whole bunch", you'd lock the front wheels long before the rear wheels were really working well. In that case, the front brakes are doing most of the work and your braking performance suffers. If you cranked the bias to the rear "a whole bunch", the rear brakes would lock up (think of pulling the e-brake) and the fronts wouldn't do much. These are both extreme cases, but it's to illustrate the point.

So, by keeping the bias the same, we keep the balance in the brake system. If you shifted the bias forward, you can put more heat into the front rotors (compared to the rears) in the same stop (say a single stop from 80 mph). It shifts where the heat goes (to which end of the car). The C5 kit has been tested and shown to decrease stopping distance (an LT1 car that I know of that's running the C5 kit stopped from 60-0 in 111 feet). Don't confuse bias with overall braking effectiveness. The C5 brakes are considerably more effective, but they retain something very similar to the original bias.

Did that help?

Something else to remember, the harder you stop, the less weight there is on the rear of the car. So, if you could stop hard enough, you'd lift the rear wheels (like a motorcycle). This is why most brake systems are set to taper off the rear pressure as pressure rises. It's not a linear curve, but the more pressure you add, the less percentage of it goes to the rear brakes (to account for the less traction they have when more weight shifts forward). By retaining similar to stock bias, you help to keep that rear brake pressure curve working as designed (avoiding too much or too little rear brake application). So, bias helps keep the system working to specification, but isn't exactly related to upgraded brakes and upgraded performance. Also, larger brakes will handle more heat (more repeated stops) and that's something that's an improvement no matter what concerns you have about bias.

Did that help?

And, to answer your question. The larger rotors with F-body calipers will pull the bias forward a bit. In actual use, it doesn't seem to be enough to have a major impact on the braking performance. However, be careful with some other systems that might be "home brewed", they could be off considerably from stock.

jmilz28

iTrader: (13)

Thank you!!

WhiteStripes

iTrader: (1)

That makes sense. That's why with a lot of big brake kits you have to run an adjustable proportioning valve, to reset bias? And is the C5 conversion bracket required to run the C5 rotor even without the C5 caliper?