tommybilt

Going to start road racing. Have a 99 coupe and want a good brake set up. Lil help please.

AU N EGL

The Stock PBR caliers are quite god Get some NAPA replacement rotors $25 each, SS lines, DRM brake duct cooling extensions, Good DOT 4 brake fluid, Motul, ATF, Castrol and racing brake pads. Good place to start.

Then if you need a BBK go from there

Vette_Fan

What's so cool about the NAPA rotors. I mean why would we want to get cheap $25/rotor to replace the GM rotors? I'm not questioning you, just asking a question to learn more...

About the brake fluids, is Motul really recommended? I've heard you should just stay with dot3/dot4. Motul doesn't work well with ABS. Now, I have another theory to learn...

AU N EGL

OEM rotors are $50 each cast in Brazil. NAPA / raybestos same rotor for 1/2 the price the high price is the 'Corvette tax"

No dot 3. DOT 4 and not a DOT3/4. DOT3/4 is not good enough.

Any brake fluid the as a wet not dry boiling point as close to if not above 400 *.

Motul works very well with ABS.

Your choices

Castrol SRF
Motul 600
ATE Super blue
Wilwood 600


Rember when you chang to one of these brake fluids you must do a full flush ( a full bottle) then add more.

Lines must by fully flushed BEFORE each time to the track except with SRF. only bleed the calipers.

c4cruiser

Brake rotors are going to be an expense so the best way to keep costs down is to go with cheap rotors. Depending on the track, you can trash a set of rotors in a weekend or even a day if you are hard on brakes. Stay away from drilled and slotted rotors as they will crack around the holes and that can lead to the rotors coming apart.

The fluid that does not work with ABS is the DOT5 silicone fluid. If you don't want to spend the money for Motul, go with the ATE Super Blue and the ATE Type200 Gold. They are the same fluids, just different colors. When you flush the brake fluid, swap between them so when the fluid comes out a different color, you will know it's completely changed.

John Shiels

How much do you want to spend? The start is ducting LGM/DRM combo to air the brakes. Then upgrade stock or go with different calipers.

AUTO_X_AL

I am not quite sure what is available for the c5 but on the C4 GS brakes DRM has a SS piston upgrade that allows much less heat to be transferred to the fluid thus reducing the chance of boiling the fluid. We use the Motul 600 and Hawk HT-10's and with 2 drivers that kick the crap out of the car we have yet to have any braking issues(knock on wood)at this point. But common sense works best beacuse no matter what anyone says brakes just dont "Go away". You have to make sure if your running a more aggresive pad that the chances of boiling the fluid are greater based on the fact they produce more heat due to different compounds. I would thumb through the old threads to find the one with all of the boiling temps dry/wet of various fluids. After all you wouldent use a $30 helmet so why would you use $2 brake fluid. Pay the extra for the good stuff and keep the brakes under you.

J Ritt

Staged approach and testing for your specific needs if you don't want to waste any money...
Try a good race pad with good fluid first. I'd recommend something like a Hawk DTC-70 front, with a Hawk HT-10 rear, with Motul RBF600 fluid. Possibly install some SS lines as well. Leave the stock rotors alone. Try it out.
If you're having heat issues, try ducting. The DRM upper duct with the LG Motorsports spindle duct as others have said. Try it out.
If you're still haviing fast wear rates, cracking of rotors, or fade, try some 2-piece rotors that flow more air.
If that doesn't work, it's time to start thinking about a front Big Brake Kit. Try it out.
If you're still having rear issues, add a rear BBK.

Just take it in steps and assess your needs. The tracks YOU drive, how fast YOUR car is, and how YOU in particular drive will impact what YOU need. If you do it in stages, just be prepared to miss some track times at these events if you don't have parts on hand. For example, if you only have race pads and no ducting, you need to be prepared to make it through that weekend or day withou the ducts. It's just a matter of how far you want to go, and how much stuff you want to buy in advance.

If you do the pads, fluid, and ducts, you may be good to go. Then again, you may trash them in 2 sessions at a fast track. It just depends on the parameters in which you're driving. Fortunately, you've got lots of people here to give you some guidance when you need it!

ghoffman

You will also find that as your experience grows, you will actually be easier on the brakes for a given lap time. People that are very new use and abuse the brakes more than someone who is quicker than a newbie. Strange as it seems....

Dr Chill

IMO, stainless steel lines, high temp DOT 4 fluid, better pads, and extra rotors to bring to the track are necessities. I would not consider trusting my life to lesser components.

Ducts, spindle ducts come next along with tires. Then consideration to wheel upgrades and caliper upgrades comes next.

AU N EGL

"Little less brake, little more gas". Fango

Lancer033

1 comment on the SS lines, a year or to ago, I looked into installing SS lines on my stock brakes and found several example of people having problems with the lines all the way up to lines braking during a track session, on the other hand, I do not know of a single problem with the OEM lines. There was one guy that even had just replaced the 7 or 8 year old OEM brake lines in his C4 just because they were so old, but ended up keeping them as backups because they were still in good shape. There are also mixed reviews on SS lines. Some people say that it is a huge improvement, others say they don't really notice much difference.

My conclusion was that the more you drive on the street and the less frequently you inspect the brakes, the more you should lean towards OEM lines, but the more you are on the track and the more you are checking the brakes, then lean towards SS lines

wtknght1

1. Carbotech Brakes! They stop at least as good as anything out there and are significanty cheaper. I race with XP12s up front and XP10s in back.
2. Motul 600 fluid or Castrol SRF. Motul is cheaper per bottle, but the Castrol probably has to be bled less often...but is more expensive per bottle. Both are top notch quality.
3. Goodridge SS brake lines if you plan on doing more than just one or two DE events per year. If racing, SS lines are a must!
4. Get air to the brakes...anyway you can! DRM brake ducts are just one way, but you can make your own that probably work as well or better...for less money.
5. Rockauto.com for your brake rotors. You can have a set delivered to your door for $100. Just buy the cheapest ones...they are all the same.
6. Replace your calipers once per year if you do more than about 3-4 events per year. They start to spread and you'll get pad taper.
7. Seat time! Rinse, repeat...as often as necessary. Good luck and drive hard!