LeMans05C6

I worked with Ken at KNS Brakes and he got me some DBA4000 Blanks for the front and some pads to work with my street tires (I know I need to step up to Rcomps, but one step at a time on my budget).

I installed all thsoe this weekend and will be going to the track. Checked my rear pads and they are looking like they will go through this weekend but need something new come my next event late Oct.

KNS has the centric premium rotors for the rears which i think are the OEM replacements. They are priced very well but they are drilled. Now my stock set never cracked on any holes with HP+ pads and not making a big jump with some DTC30s.

I would think if your going to put money in any rotor, the fronts are where its at, rears I can't think are going to need to be big time.

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Flies Lo

At least 70% of your braking is done with the front brakes...with that in mind, remember that you must maintain balance with the rear brakes...

The car has a certain amount of front/rear brake bias built in, largely to maintain balance of the car...what I mean is, if there's too much rear brake, the car could get a little "squirrely" under a severe stop, or especially if you like to 'trail-brake'...which is why a lot of guys like to be able to adjust their brake bias, as it can aid in turn-in if done right...

I guess that didn't answer your question...the majority if the braking force is on the front brakes, due in large part because of weight transfer, so, if you haven't done anything to the factory set bias, then you should be OK...

Did I even make any sense here? (my ramble is confusing to even me)

VetteDrmr

To throw in "the other hand":

If you improve the front brakes, but not the rears, then you force the fronts to do more work, with all the attendant heat, while the rears are along for the ride even more than before.

I think getting the rears to work harder will aid the performance of the fronts as well. Now, how to do that???

Have a good one,
Mike

JRitt@essex

Yes, if you are limited on budget and going to sink some money into the brakes on your car, do so in the front, not the rear. The Corvette is much tougher on the front brakes, and they sustain considerably more abuse under track conditions. With a good set of rear discs and pads (which it sounds like you're getting), you will be fine.

If you haven't done so yet, your next step would be a good set of front brake ducts to increase cooling. Also, if you don't have good brake fluid yet, get some! AP Super 600 is a good balance of performance and price for track duty.

If you do anything to the front brakes that will substantially alter the brake bias (a larger diameter disc or calipers without properly matched piston bores), then you'll need to address the rears. Based on what you're planning though, it definitely makes sense to spend a little more on the fronts.

Brake upgrades are all about tradeoff's in price, convenience, and performance. If everything was the same front and rear on your car, you'd probably go through brake pads and discs on the front at a rate of at least 2 to 1 vs. the rears. With superior components on the front, you may decrease that consumption rate. For example, you could invest in some nice two-piece discs for the front, which could lower your brake temps, delay the onset of brake fade, and decrease your pad and disc wear rates, all while shaving unsprung weight. There's also a huge convenience factor involved because you wouldn't be swapping out used-up components as often. That costs money however, and it's all a balancing act centering around how much you want or need to spend.

Ultimately though, you are correct in concept that alterations to the front brakes on your car will have a greater impact than doing something in the rear, and you'll get more bang-for-your-buck on improvements there.

rfn026

Put the most aggressive brake pads on the rear of the car. I call it a poor man's brake bias tool. It will give you a better balanced track system without the expense of a true bias change.

Richard Newton
Race Cars 360

sothpaw2

I found the centric premiums, without holes (blanks--like OEM) to be far superior to the OE rotors. Also, after experimenting with rear pads, I run the same pad type front & rear. With lower friction pads on the rear, the cracking tendency of the rotor is less, but the car tends to oversteer much more on hard braking from a straight line. This is manageable but not confidence inspiring in 140-to-45mph braking zones.

LeMans05C6

Lots of help guys. Thank you.

My next step is probably the Quantum Brake Ducts at some point. Those would be nice to conserve the front brakes all around.

I ended up going with some Centric Premiums yes they are drilled but the OEM drilled ones don't have a crack just are losing thickness so I think ill be safe. The DTC30s are a watered down race pad while the HP+ are beefed up street. SHouldn't be a huge difference while I am still on street tires, but the temps the DTCs can handle are higher to help with fade.

Eventually I would like to put on a set of ToyoR888s. What pads would you guys recommened front/rear with a stickier tire like that (or maybe hoosiers if i can find them in 19s for my stock rear wheels)

drivinhard

One thing I've found to be a huge performance gain on the car is unsprung weight, especially in the rear. You want the rear shocks pushing the tires into the pavement as much as possible, and less mass is going to help them control the action of the spring/hub/wheel, etc.

If you get a hankering to ditch your e-brake, AFX's rear 2 pc are 5 lbs lighter per rotor, and you'll get another 3 lb or so from the e-brake hardware. 8+ lbs (PER SIDE) for whatever your rear 2 pc rotors cost.

If you think the cost of the 2 pc is expensive, see how much it would cost to get a wheel in your size made 8 lbs lighter.

The used coleman rings on the 2 pc I got from geerookie were 90% done when I got them (in thickness) and they've gone this whole season, which is 2x as long as any of the chinese ones last when they are brand new.

If you are just open tracking, the above may not better, but IIRC you are building a PTA C6 correct? If so you'll want all the free advantages you can get

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

Carbotech Xp10 front Xp8 rear http://ctbrakes.com/brake-compounds.asp

LeMans05C6

PTA would be nice but since i already had underdrive pulley put on my car (messed up circumstance since I have an 05' that had the crank pulley bolt back out and then Chevy tells me the stock pulley that has the "washer" thats new to help fix that is "nationally backordered" I called up LG drove and got thier UD pulley and its on my car. Just that one point along along with already having exhaust which isn't a HP gainer on my car and the intake. have to back to stock mostly to be in PTA.

Would have been nice to be cheaper but if I ever race it looks like ill be in ST2 for the 8.7hp/wt magic number. Racing will be so far down the road ill probably do more to my car anyway.

Found myself a set used LG Pro 1 3/4 Headers that are going on tomorrow as well. Pretty excited to see and HEAR the new car after. Wonder what final #'s will be.

gkmccready

I agree. I've run mixed compound front/rear and same compound front/rear and the latter definitely makes the car work and feel a lot better.

KNSBrakes

I ran same front/rear as well even though the consensus here is to split the compounds.

geerookie

I also run the same compound front and rear and have DRM's bias spring in the mix.......I have a '99 so you can do this. In the newer cars bias is adjusted by the computer.

rfn026

Check the temps on your rotors. Make a quick pass down pit lane and have a buddy check all 4 rotors. You need to do this fast as rotors cool down very quickly.

The front/rear temps will be similar if you have balanced braking. If the fronts are a lot hotter than the rear you have an issue.

btw - This is one place where the infra-red scan tools is nice. Just don't use that tool to measure tire temps.

Richard Newton
My Facebook page

larryfs

I ran my first 2 seasons with factory rear pads. It worked ok for my skill level.

Then when I progressed, I stepped up to PF01 fronts, PF97 rears.
that was a great setup.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

You have to watch mixing the OE, or a stock replacement rear with any kind of race pad up front. If you don't pay attention to what you are doing the rears can and will grab much sooner until the front pads come up to temp.

Which can turn you around once or twice


It isn't something that I would suggest doing.

Dirty Howie

Anthony

With stock front and rear rotor, and stock pads in the rear, do you think DTC70 pads up front would pose this kind of problem?


DH

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Until the front pads get some temperature in them...yes it would have a lot of rear bias under hard braking and might cause the car to want to swap ends.

Most race pads do not have that good of a bite or torque curve when they are cold, unlike OE pads that need to stop the car dead cold.

VetteDrmr

I still don't understand the status quo of having more aggressive pads front vs rear. If the only different between them is heat range then maybe, but I thought most pads (e.g. XP-10 vs XP-8) also had better brake torque as well on the higher range pads.

Please slow me where I'm wrong!

Have a good one,
Mike

PeOR

With aggressive, it is the bite that is referred to. So, which pedal pressure gives which friction. Then you have the temperature aspect of things, when things get really hot. But I think the discussion in this thread is mostly referring to when all parts are in normal temperature range.

If you have more aggressive pads rear you will feel how the car is like a snake when braking from high speed. The ABS keeps you straight but it is quite unpleasant. If you go too aggressive front, you will feel the car being extremely stable, but you are missing out a bit on the brake performance and you are making the life extra hard on your front rotors.

I feel quite good about DTC 70/60 combination or PFC01/XP8. I have tried PFC01/99 but felt that the PFC99 were giving me a little bit too much "snaking".

PeO.