dreamscometrue

I have a 97 vette that I track with HPDE days. I currently have stock calipers and rotors with front cooling ducts, stainless lines, high temp fluid and XP-10 pads. I'm debating different brake upgrades:

1. C6 Z06 front and rear calipers with stainless pistons, TI shims and track pads, solid rotors. I know this set up will bolt right up as I already run 18" dia wheels. I've heard mixed feelings on the calipers though. I don't believe I need any booster or bias modifications.

2. Willwood front calipers only. Will I have any issues with 6 piston front and stock C5 single piston rear calipers? Will I need to adjust brake bias or any other supporting modifications?

I can do either option for about the same cost. The Z06 brakes gets front and rear while the Willwood only gets me fronts. I will not be doing any endurance racing only HPDE with this car. What are the opinions on each option?

Thanks in advance!

Z06TWT

I have been down this road with my C5Z....started with stock brakes and track pads, then front AP six piston and stock rear to full MTI BBK ( Brembo) front and rear. If you think you are going to become a track addict then jump to a full BBK....it will save you time, money and aggravation in the long run.A complete brake system will cause the pads to last longer and wear evenly , plus the car will handle so much better.

Bluefire

I completely agree. Going down the same path. This Saturday I'll be removing the stock fronts and going with the Essex Endurance Kit (AP Racing 6-piston) with the 352 mm x 32 mm 2-piece J-hook rotors.

Hopefully my brake fade days are over.

Bluefire

I'm not sure about your year. My '03 has Dynamic Rear Proportioning. DRP is a software-based algorithm for the EBCM which sets the bias based on the wheel(s) speed sensors...blah, blah, blah.
I believe this bias point is constantly "learned".

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Personally I wouldn't waste the money on the OEM Z06 stuff to throw it away...maybe if someone gave it to you and you wanted to just do the work and put it on yourself but if you have to buy it, put the money towards a better kit, even if it is only a front kit only.

Like the guys said above the computer will do most of the bias for you....you can change piston sizes and pad compounds and change it a bit more but most of the kits out there are designed to work with your car.


Look into a StopTech, Essex, Brembo....something along those lines if you want a good solid package that will last you for some time in the future.

I will say this though, make yourself a list of what the replacement part costs are as to rotors/pads/seals and how easy or hard they are to get. That may help you decide as well if you do a lot of track time.

hklvette

I'm pretty sure that's only on the '01+ cars. That being said, with sticky tires the C5 could stand to have some more front brakes anyway.

dreamscometrue

So if I upgraded to larger front brakes (6 piston), what other supporting modifications would I need? Since I have a pre-01 computer will that affect things? Would it not be advisable because the rears are a lot smaller than the fronts then so I would need to balance the system?

SoDiezl350

I have the full BBK from Wilwood: SL6R 6 Piston front and SL4R 4 Piston rear.
This is the kit sold by Wilwood and not LG motorsports. This kit like most is also setup so that it doesn't affect the brake bias.

It works really well and with shimming the radial caliper mount, I'm able to vary the rotors I run with ease.

In the rear I've shimmed the caliper to run 13" C6 Z51 rotors (street and track), while in the front I run the 13" Wilwood 2 piece rotors on the track and stock C5 rotors on the street.

These calipers fit behind my 17" Forgeline wheels which is is not an option with any other brake kit. I have also bought some 14" Rotors from the new Camaro SS. Once I replace the studs on the caliper mounts with longer ones, I can switch to the Camaro rotors for the street which are really blinging.

The calipers do have some downsides, but to me they are acceptable. Some argue radial mounting isn't as stiff as side mounting. Thermoloc pistons are quite expensive and not included in the price (titanium shims aren't too pricey though). The biggest drawback is that these are the narrow calipers so they are both more prone to spreading (they don't spread easily, but they aren't as stiff) and that the brake pads that work on them are narrower than other calipers so therefor the pads require replacing more often. The fact they're narrower means they clear a lot more wheels though so it's price you have to pay.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Most of the companies out there will base it around stock mechanics on the car....like StopTech for example will base everything off of either doing front only or front and rear.


Again, you can always "dial" in to some degree how you want the car to act by running either the same or different pads front and rear on the car. I know some of my customers like to run a slightly more aggressive front pad than rear even on four wheel kits because they like more front bite to the car.


Wilwood has a number of setups out there, and we even used a version of their calipers on our kit for the C5's in our G-Stop kit as a very solid entry level upgrade. We did use a wider version caliper with our kits for a number of reasons including more life from the pad as well as more thermal protection from the heat before it reaches the pistons.


As for radial vs ear mount.......I'll put it this way, I have yet to see a real race car use an ear mount. Properly done...a radial mount setup will be more than stiff enough.

0Todd TCE

From the Wilwood side if you're serious about your track days and expect to run more than a couple of them by all means look at the Aero6 kits. Nothing wrong with the smaller caliper FNSL6 kits and all but the larger Aero series calipers offer a more robust body and far more cubic inches of friction material for longevity.

But all that comes at the expense of wheel fit also. Certainly compare all kit options for what will or not fit the wheels ahead of time so not to get caught out needing spacers. And longer studs.

For the more 'ballsy' driver out there- truly committed to track use the new Aero6 is available in a new front kit using the also new 20mm thick pad for that caliper. While it too is an Aero6 model calipr.... the 20mm pad will not fit the standard 17mm application so it's a dedicated front kit. That kit comes with thermlock pistons and nickel plating etc. And at a loss of wheel fit the caliper being wider.

For any Wilwood specific questions feel free to post or pm anytime. Whatever you choose; good luck on the track and have fun!

Bill Dearborn

I went with the LG G Stop kit on my 03Z. That gave me the wide Wilwood SL6 calipers in front that fit over the stock rotors. The kit fits under the stock C5Z front wheel. I ran that setup for 4 or so years. The Wilwood race pads were fairly low cost compared to other brands and lasted a long time. The calipers got around the stock caliper tapering issue which resulted in an extremely long pedal. Caliper price wasn't bad and over those 4 years I saved a bunch of money in parts costs. Other than cracking brake rotors I really didn't have any more brake issues after going with that kit. I knew when I hit the brake the pedal would be good and I had faith in the brakes.

Then I went to a C6Z. People I knew and trusted told me I should go with a Stop Tech setup right from the get go. However, I tried to get the stock C6Z brakes to work. Never really happened although I tried to lots of things to solve problems. Stainless pistons, Ti plates, more cooling air, 2 piece rotors. On top of that I had the guide pins freeze into the caliper and couldn't get them out (even broke the head of my Torx tool in the guide pin bolt). On track when the calipers got hot the pins weren't frozen and tended to back out almost ruining one of my LG World Challenge front wheels. After that I lost all faith in those calipers.

Todd at TCE was selling a Wilwood W6A setup that was similar to the LG G Stop kit so I decided to go with it. Wilwood offers a version of this kit as a standard option now. It worked with the stock C6Z front rotors so I could use the 2 piece rotors that I had used with the stock calipers. Immediately things got better but all the problems didn't go away. Then I finally added the W4A rear calipers w Wilwood 2 piece rotors. Now I have a brake system I have faith in. I run Wilwood A compound pads in the front and H compounds in the rear and the car just hauls down to a stop. The nice thing about the two calipers is they use the same pad shape/size (6617) so you don't have to buy different pads for front and rear.

The Wilwoods don't cost as much as the Stop Tech's or Brembo kits so won't break the bank when you upgrade. I noticed when I was looking at the Wilwood web site the other day the new Aero caliper also is available with a 6020 pad which is .8 in thick which is the same thickness as the 7420 pads that were used in the LG G stop kit. That means you get one hell of a lot of pad volume.

There are pluses and minuses with each aftermarket BBK so look them all over, talk to the vendors and then make your decision based on your needs.

Bill

marc a

Is there a Wilwood kit available for the front of the base C5 that uses the 355 x 32 C6Z rotor with a caliper that loads pads through the top (like the old superlites).

Thanks in advance.

Marc

0Todd TCE

Yes. It's the W6A caliper set that Bill had above.

Feel free to let me know if you'd like one.

theseal

Absolutely do not do stock c6z brakes. They are much worse than factory c5 brakes and are very dangerous on track.

Wilwood is fine. Get the aero caliper setup.

I have stoptechs front and rear on mine and it really can't be beat if you track much. High initial investment but mine last about 6 track days on pads, at least twice that on rotors and calipers and they are the bomb.

On stock c6z brakes I don't make 10 laps without a life threatening failure.

On stock c5 brakes with pads I go through a set of pads a weekend and a set of rotors every 3. Calipers probably 5.

My 99 with big wilwoods were in between but close to the stop techs.

0Todd TCE

If it helps....I have a four corner black Aero6 front FNSL4 rear combo kit available at a good price.

Accidently in transit to another customer by mistake. Mine. Just rather put it in someones hands than back to the shop.

Normally $1635, I'll send a ups redirect on it for he first $1550. Shipped. US.

All new, all complete, no funny business. C5 or C6 hoses to your order

Vettechris996

Same here, best money I ever spent on the car. Nothing makes you feel better on track than knowing the brakes will always be there when you approach corners at well over 100.

chetly

Is that calipers/pads/ brackets only or rotors too?

johnny c

you guys really need to consider the AP Radical kits. at 3k it's seriously a steal. It's coming from AP a company that i battled with in the pro ranks. brakes are a "you get what you pay for" so why wouldn't you buy the best and never need to worry about it again... you'll have plenty to worry about at the track.

0Todd TCE

The caliper kits are just that: calipers (pads, brackets, hoses) but not rotors- you already have those. Either 13.4 or 14" OE fronts and 13 to 13.4 rears.
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.co...te-c5/kits-35/


The AP parts are very nice, I fondled those and the PFC ones at PRI. Didn't get time to say hi to the Dongster tho. But not everyone wants or needs a $3k front kit. For many the stock rotors are more to their liking.

0Todd TCE

It seems folks are not fully grasping the offer above. Please allow me to clear up any further confusion.

I screwed up. I shipping the wrong kits. They are new, in the box, bone stock, not installed or fondled etc. The customer now has the boxes awaiting my direction.

I can:

A. Put out a call tag for them and return them to TCE. I pay return shipping on that. On top of the shipping I already paid to get the wrong parts there. Then the boxes sit on my shelf for X weeks. Then I sell them to you for normal price and pay shipping on them again to you.

or...

B. I can send a re routing shipping label and have them go directly from him to you. You get them sooner. You pay less. It saves me time, expense and carrying costs. You get the same kits from option A.