slamminsam

Hi Forum.
Im about to upgrade my brakes and have some questions?

I know I need 18" wheels upfront. I have that covered with a full set of C5 Z06 rear wheels as a square setup.

1.What is the best rotor/pad for track days withthe C6 setup?

2.Will the C6 Z06 wheels fit as well, or is the offset different?

3. What is the widest rear tire I can put on the back wheels without rubbing at stock ride height. I dont care if the stickout past the fender as this will be used on the track.

Do Ineed to consider anything else as I understand the brakes them selves are a direct bolt on!

Thanks
Sam

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Unless you are taking those brakes off your C6Z to upgrade those, or someone is giving you the C6Z brakes for free....save your money and put it towards a better system like StopTech, Brembo, AP, Essex, Wilwood......something.

1. There are a number of good track pads out there. Cobalt is still my #1 pick and on a street tire you would probably run a XR2, and more aggressive tires will handle the XR1's. Of course there is Hawk, PFC, and Wilwood pads as well.

2. C6Z wheels will sit outside the body work of the car. You are better off running the 18x10.5 wheels and a 305 tire front and rear

3. 305 to a 315 is what most would run on the back of the car on those wheels and no tub.

C5/6/Z06/ZR1 brakes all bolt to the same upright so they all pretty much work the same. Piston sizes vary to some degree depending on the kits.

I would highly suggest stainless lines when you do it if you are going to stick with a OEM kit for the car.

A solid good front kit and keeping the OEM rear will generally work better than doing a full C6Z OEM kit though

UstaB-GS549

C6 calipers have issues. The pads are very expensive.

A better choice would be the Essex AP Racing, or some of the Wilwood kits available from LG or KNS.

Pads are 20 mm thick and about $100 less than stock C5 pads which are only 16 mm.

All brake manufacturers make a race pad in this profile (Wilwood 7420). It does not matter if your caliper is a 6 or 4 piston type. They all use the same pad. Don't buy anything that uses the 7416 pad because they are only 16 mm thick and cost the same as 20 mm.

All of these kits will probably work with either stock (cheap) rotors or the two piece types.

I know that the AP caliper clears the stock C5 Z06 17" wheels. I believe you might need a thin spacer with the 18" wheels to clear the spokes.

I have used Ferodo, Hawk DTC-70 and Carbotech XP12/10 pads and all work well with minimal taper. It's easy to flip pads to even them out.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

I have numerous options for the brake pads but, tire choice needs to be picked first than pads.

slamminsam

Would changing the front calipers only cause the car to nose dive during hard braking or would a better pad in the rear help offset that effect. Would I keep brake bias the same as stock?

Oh by the way I will be running the DRM Bilsteins shocks whne group buy 7 is completed and currently use Toyo R888 tires 285 up front and 295 rear. My next set will be a little wider in the rear.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Not at all. Most of the BBK companies out there know that not everyone is going to be able to do a full kit all at once so they design the kits to work with the factory ABS and Master cylinder setup. Couple other things saving you is that the fronts do 80% of the braking and the factory ABS system controls front to rear bias....so yes you would be perfectly fine running a front only kit from most of the dedicated Corvette kits on the market.

I would still run the same compound pad on the car front to rear on a setup like this, unless you want to build in a little more front bias mechanically.

JRitt@essex

Sam,
As others have said, the C6Z06 brakes have a laundry list of limitations and issues. Many of my customers wasted a lot of time and money going down that path, only to find that their needs still weren't addressed. You'll be far better served by going with an aftermarket BBK. We (Essex / AP Racing) offer a couple of front brake kit choices for your car. Both integrate seamlessly with the OEM rear brakes, and maintain proper brake bias. On the rear, most of my customers upgrade their brake lines and install some good pads.

Front Essex Designed AP Racing Sprint Brake Kit
Fits OEM 17" C5 Z06 wheels without a spacer. Small, lightweight, compact, 70 vane J Hook racing disc, with 20mm thick pads in an incredible array of compound choice. Spare iron discs are $249 each. This kit is perfect for 20-30 minute lapping sessions, and has some of the lowest long-term running costs on the market. Down the road if you decide you want to add a rear big brake kit, we offer a rear Sprint kit that uses the same caliper body and the same disc.


http://www.essexparts.com/media/cata...ar18_clean.jpg







Essex Designed AP Racing Endurance Brake Kit
Fits behind rear OEM C5 Z06 18" wheels when they're run on the front without a spacer. Also clears OEM C6Z06 front 18" wheels. This kit offers greater heat capacity than our Sprint kit via a six piston caliper with a few enhancements (ventilated, domed back pistons), larger 355mm discs (vs. 325mm discs in Sprint), larger pad volume, etc. It has a higher initial investment cost, but that balances out as you likely won't be burning consumables as quickly (pads and discs). We also offer a matching rear kit for this one as well.










AP Racing Factory Big Brake Kit for C5
This kit has the largest discs you can cram in 18" wheels, and comes with either painted red or black calipers. They are the perfect blend of track and street performance.

I'm actually going to be running a Black Friday sale on these. Contact me for more info if these are of interest to you.









You can read about the differences between our Competition BBK's and our Factory BBK's here.

Any of these will work well for most C5Z's unless they are extremely high HP, in which case I'd recommend the Endurance Kit or the Factory Kit, which both have larger discs.

You can read a bunch of Corvette customer reviews of our BBK's on our Essex blog.

There is tons of info and feedback on our kits in this thread as well.

Also, feel free to PM, email me, or call me at any time and I'll be happy to help you pick the kit that best suits your needs. Regardless of your goals, we have something that will suit you.

Finally, there's a reason the C5.R, C6.R, C7.R, and Daytona Prototypes have all run, and continue to win championships with AP Racing brakes.

moespeeds

Like others said, don't bother with stock C6 brakes, they are more trouble than they are worth. I have a complete set of Brembo Gran Turismo's here from a C6z that upgraded. If you are interested, PM me and I'll put you in touch with the owner.