Wicked Weasel

thinking about upgrading my brakes, but currently I have 17in wheels all around. What are my options otherwise it looks like I am selling my 17in CCWs to get 2 new sets of 18in (I am sure that CCW likes to hear that)

Lancer033

http://www.lgmotorsports.com/catalog...oducts_id=1514

Wilwood SL-6R caliper
OEM rotors ($25 each )
7420 shape pads (0.8" thick last 3 times as long cheaper than OEM pads
LG brackets
Wilwood SS Brake lines

I use a 5/8" spacer with the 17x9.5" C4 GS wheels, the 17 x 11s I use on the rear look like they will clear w/o a spacer, so I may switch to 17x11s all around.

John Shiels

They work great. Then you can get spacers for the pads, heat shields, and rebuild kits cheap. Very common caliper tons of compounds out there and very reasonable. I even put the SL-4 on the rear. Now all pads are the same and the will last a long time. Bob going to Pocono North next weelend?

Wicked Weasel

thanks.....

We were thinking about it so I left the numbers on the car. I would have to get new pads though, but that is no big deal.

I never ran the north course - is it fun?

yellow01

I run LG's SL6R kit and have no complaints. I've got other issues I can't track down but they are unrelated.

The SL6R, H pads and cooling (a must) make for some great braking. I catch many people at the end of straights (stock power so far). I've had many recommendations for Carbotechs, and those guys agreed to build some 7420 spec size XP12s for me, but I haven't burned through all my H's yet so am holding off.

I do get a bit of knockback, but that's really inherent in any opposing piston caliper and stock hubs/napa rotors.

Best of all (for me) is that the cost of the brake upgrade was the cost of the brake upgrade. It didn't require me to get two (yes two) new sets of wheels (track and street).

Wicked Weasel

that was my concern. I have 18in CCW 505 for the street so I would be ok there, but I have 17in CCW Classics for the track and it would mean getting rid of those. Then replacing with 2 new sets instead of the 1 set I originally planned to get (the current set will be my wet weather race tire and I am getting a set of new ones for dry weather).

yellow01

That's alot of track weekends tied up in hardware... that's how I looked at it.

Would I be faster with monster stoptechs all around? Maybe. Can I learn a chitload more and get faster with the Wilwoods? Definitely.

I'll always choose seat time over hardware unless it is really needed (such as ditching the one-weekend and tapered-pad stock calipers)

95jersey

Let me just add some positive comments about these brakes beyond performance.

They are an absolute JOY to work on. I thought changing pads on a C5 were easy by just undoing the bolt and flipping the caliper open, let me tell you, one lighty torque'd allen wrench and your on your way to a full pad change. I now change my pads at the track, which I never did before.

Also, changing rotors? It's almost fun. Again 2 lighty torque'd allen bolts and the whole caliper comes of the mount. No more huge breaker bar, or trying to fit a torque wrench in the wheel well. No broken knuckles, and no He-Man skills needed. Changing rotors is about as easy as changing pads.

Outside of great performance, these calipers were meant to be worked on day in and day out, not like the stock caliper.

Probably the BEST mod I have ever done

Also, it has now been a full year of track events (6-7 for me) and my track pads are still better than 50% with another 1/3 of a season. Little to NO taper. I would have been through 2 sets of Carbotechs by now. All in all, 1 set of pads will probably last about 3-4 set of Carbotechs...no sh*t.

I am sure $5000 Stop Techs and Brembo, AP are the sh*t, but for our C5's, and DE's, these are a steal at $1200.

Wicked Weasel

Doug@ECS had the stoptechs on his car. They are sweet (really really sweet), but it just costs $$$ and to have to switch all my wheels just doesn't seem worth it right now.

I have to say that the stock calipers have been good, but I know that I am pass their level now with slicks so I have to move the brakes up to the next level.

96CollectorSport

I know the LG's are a little less expensive but Stoptech offers a kit that would fit under 17" wheels (the 328mm rotor set-up) But you would also have to buy an aftermarket master cylinder similar to the DRM unit to use it, and it's more expensive than the LG kit. Seems like a pretty serious set-up though. In case your looking for another option.

http://www.stoptech.com/user/SearchResults.asp

ChasNMe

is LG's wilwood kit just the front for $1500 or front and back?
if just front, do you move stock fronts to rear?
thanks, jake

yellow01

Just the front. You CAN move the front to the back, but you may experience a long pedal due to increased volume. The SL6R are an exact duplication of the front piston volume, so swap in without change.

I run stock rears with SL6R fronts and the car is great, good balance (as far as I can tell at my experience level).

DOUG @ ECS

Just do what I am doing, sell your street tires and former slicks to pay for the brakes, then dont drive it on the street anymore because it's a race car now.

hell, the track is better than any street driving anyway. Then you dont have to bother switching brakes/tires etc etc each time you go. Plus you can go to a more aggressive alignment. Besides, even you said you hardly drive it on the street anymore.

John Shiels

Yep it is fun you hit 140 plus then turn to the infield.

John Shiels

Yep it is fun you hit 140 plus then turn to the infield.

Wilwoods pay for themself and work great. I was going to go bigger and looked at all the options but the killer was giving up the 17" GS wheels when I was trying to increase my stock to three sets of wheels and a wet set. Cheap and common parts great for driving events. Come on ECS guys come to Pocono for the North course. Season is ending soon I missed a lot of it for various reasons.

GeorgeZNJ

I'll be there along with another NECF guy, but we're no where at the big boy level(me-white/James-green)......yet.(but WW,Doug, BM, and Gregg did give lots of pointers)

Slalom4me

Does the LG SL6R have the standard width body or the narrowed
outboard body?

If the kit has the standard body, then the other version of the caliper
appears to offer more room for tight fitment situations. I'm willing
to bet that LG could make a caliper substitution and this could help
folks who are looking at having to change wheels otherwise.

(Now, where do I go for an adapter to install these in place of the
C5 Z/06 calipers currently on my C4?)

.

John Shiels

LG is the standard race caliper which I call wide caliper. Narrow body has thinner pads and no thermlock pistons standard I think. It was made to as you say have less fitment issues and work with stock wheels. LG has the adapter (caliper bracket) and the calipers but not for a c4

Lancer033

what do the kits come with to adapt C5 brakes to C4s? I always assumed that it was just like putting C6 brakes on a C5 (or reverse). If the distance between the bolt center on the spendle for the brackets is the same, I would think it would bolt right on like it would for a C6.

96CollectorSport

You actaully buy a separate mount bracket to mount the C5 calipers on the C4. I've done it on my 96 with the Ed Sialis (sp?) brackets and I'm taking them off, I just don't feel the bracket is stable enough for use at the track. I installed the brackets before going to Gingerman and I hated the way my pedal felt. I didn't mind it at Gingerman because I was only hitting 100 to 110, but I would not trust those brackets at Road America.

My thoughts are if you are going to spend around $1500 on a front kit you may as well spend a little extra and buy a kit that was designed for the C4, not a kit designed for the C5. Because then you would have 2 mounting brackets (one for the Wilwood calipers and one to mount the C5 designed Wilwood kit to your C4) and have twice the flex. Also the narrow body calipers are between $150 and $200 more per caliper than the standard body.

As far as the Narrow body SL6 and the standard SL6 there is no question that the standard caliper is better. I have 2 friends who's front calipers are locking up because the pistons are cocking in the cylinder bores. The standard SL6 caliper has a longer skirt and therefore you can use a thicker pad, Thermlock pistons, and you have less of a chance of cocking due to the longer skirt.

Also you cannot get Thermlock pisons in the narrow body, and you have to use the narrow pads which are more expensive than the standard pads because they are not as commonly used.

If you are thinking of using a Wilwood kit at the track the standard caliper would be a better choice IMHO, I've seen issues with the narrow body, and I know 2 others running the LG set-up with the standard body and they like it, as do others on this thread.