I subscribed to the magazine "Consumer Reports," and I was checking April's issue of the Best and Worst 2007 Cars. I looked at the Best Braking which goes to the Porsche Boxster 2.7 and the Dodge Viper SRT10. They both came out of the 60-0 Brake Test and 112 ft. and 113 ft. I decided to do some research of the comparisons between the C5 Brake system Vs. the LS1 F-Body Brake System using these tests. Here's what I came up with from internet sources such as: MotorTrend, MSNAuto.com and Road & Track:


1997 --------------------- 125 ft
1998 --------------------- 118 ft
1999 --------------------- 125 ft
2000 --------------------- N/A
2001 --------------------- 123 ft
2001 Z06 ----------------- 118 ft
2002 --------------------- N/A
2003 --------------------- N/A
2004 --------------------- 122

Average Throughout the years: 121.8333 . .


1998 WS.6 ---------------- 123 ft
1999 Firehawk ------------- 119 ft
2000 ---------------------- 121 ft
2001 ---------------------- N/A
2002 ---------------------- N/A

Average Throughout the years: 121.00

Am I missing something here? Clearly the Corvette has the advantage with its 2 piston Caliper that holds larger pads and holds a larger rotor. It's also less in weight and is lower in height compared to the Trans Am. I think that for the people who have converted and saw the increased stopping power is due to the fresh pads, fresh rotor and properly bled brake fluid. I remember that changing out my Mom's Firebird's front rotors and pads with the brake fluid bleed felt incredible afterwards. So . . . . .

I am sure glad I didn't go through with the Corvette Brake Conversion! Currently I am looking into SSBC's Tri-Power Caliper Replacement.

 

I think there are some inconsistancies in that somewhere. The only thing I can think of is that the smaller brake pistons from the corvette combined with the larger rotors might create the same force as the larger Fbody pistons with smaller rotors.

In the end though, w/ the vette brakes, you have more metal to dissipate heat for more track performance. You also have directional cooling vanes, larger pad area and stronger calipers. There must be an advantage otherwise the guys over at FRRAX wouldn't talk about them so much!

I guess maybe it is just the pricing compared to much bigger kits that draws much attention to the C5 kits. For about $600 you can have rotors, calipers, pads, and brackets for a brake kit that is 1" bigger than stock. Everything else out there starts at $1500+

FWIW I do think that the C5 upgrade is worth it, but I have no actual experience, I am just going by what others have recommended.

 

Yea, and there was a time when people refuted the idea that the world was flat just because everyone else thought so too.

 

Yea, and there was a time when people refuted the idea that the world was flat just because everyone else thought so too.

Unless I see some hard evidence, I think that the Corvette Calipers are a waste of time, effort and money. C'mon! The bigger brake systems don't refer to Rotor size as a "upgrade". Rather, its the ammount of pistons that gives you better clamping force.

I'm saving my money and using that 200-300 dollars into a something else.

 

Old thread I know, but the amount of pistons dosent make nearly the same difference as the rotor size to dissipate the heat.

 

Tires have a lot to do with braking distance, as does the car's weight distribution and suspension geometry. All the comparison cars have more equal front to back distribution so the rear brakes do more of the work.

Sometimes a pig is a pig. More rear brake won't help unless you figure out how to keep brake hop away, which is not easy with a solid rear axle. More front brake can help if you can't lock up (or engage ABS) with what you have. If you can, 0-60 you won't see much difference. The difference will grow as you go faster and faster.

Finally, if you are going to upgrade, do something *real* for an upgrade, like a set of Stoptechs. C5/C6 2-piston and even the SSBC stuff just isn't that different (SSBC being better with the more square pressure), but they all are still sliding calipers that rely on pressure from one side to clamp the other....