mark b

Saw these calipers advertised in ecklers...it says it provides 50% more stopping power over stock calipers. I want to improve my braking power within a sane budget...does anyone have these on their car, anyone with experience with these calipers/brand? thanks

Bill Dearborn

Can't say anything about the product but SSBC has been in the Corvette Brake business for at least 30 years. They started by providing stainless steel sleeved rebuilt calipers for C2s and C3s (may have been the first to do so). Their products have been noted for quality.

Bill

MungoZ06

PM forum member racingfast here ... he's got them with slotted rotors on an 01Z with a built motor ... track rat ... they work for him.

Sidney004

Read post 48 and others from Rudyarias:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...highlight=SSBC

0Randy@DRM

Doug replaced his 1974 Corvette caliper sleeves with SSBC. The car sat from 82-07. The car still had a brake pedal after all those years of sitting in a wet garage.

Randy

Last C5

I just put the SSBC Tri Powers on my 01 Z along with Carbotech 10s in front and 8s in back. I had been running the 10 and 8 combo with stock calipers for most of the season so I got a good look at the improvement the Tri Powers made. I don't know about percentages of braking increase, but those Tri Powers really make the Z stop. It easily knocked at least one shut down marker off both straightaways at PIR. I was running Goodyear stickies of questionable quality and my driving abilities are of the same quality range, but I think a good driver would really appreciate the improved stopping power. Considering they are $780 not $2,780 I think they are worth considering.

vms4evr

Add to that they are supposed to help with pad taper. They could pay for themselves pretty quick if they stop or drastically reduce that over the stock calipers.

96CollectorSport

I know forum member rudyarias tryed them on his 02 Z06 and has now switched to the C6 Z06 set-up. Not sure if he didn't like them or if he just wanted the aggrivation of dealing with the individual paddlets.

Diesel68

That is a pretty strong testimonial of the SSBC brakes. My open track experiences have left me disappointed in the brake feel of the OEM brake setup. The car stops fine, but the pedal kept getting longer and softer. At half the cost of the LG Wilwoods, it seems almost like one gets more bang for the buck with the Tri Power SSBC calipers. Plus it wouldn't reduce your selection of budget track wheels.

What I was truly surprised with was the praise of the C6 Z51 rotors over the stock C5 rotors. Has anyone else had the same luck with C6 rotor longevity as Rudyarias? What are the replacement costs?

If the information is true, retrofitting C6 Z06 brake ducts, SSBC Tri Power calipers, and C6 Z51 rotors to a C5 would make for a fairly economic yet potent brake upgrade package for open track use.

gkmccready

$810 for the 3piston SSBCs; they're still a slide pin caliper.

Wilwood SL6R w/o Thermlock pistons are $402ea at Summit. The brackets are $180ea. I know that bumps it up to $1200, but think of how much nicer the caliper is you're getting... and you get to run a very common pad shape with more compound options than stock.

(Okay, hidden cost to the Wilwoods is new brake lines because of the 1/8-27 NPT fitting, too.)

Last C5

I've done the C6 brake ducts and I have the SSBC Tri Powers, now I'm waiting for somebody to come up with some reasonably priced (read as cheap) C6Z51 rotors as that's my ultimate goal. Are you listening NAPA and ATE? It probably won't equal the performance of one of the high dollar big brake kits, but I think it will keep this HPDEr happy.

Diesel68

I think the Wilwood brake package is also a great value. I wouldn't doubt that it is better too. The price I see for the LG kit is $1499 w/o rotors. If you can piece it even cheaper and still retain the stock C5 rotors, I would love to know. I am always looking for different options. I was under the impression that it was a proprietary kit made to fit with C5 rotors.

As far as a fixed vs floating caliper, technically the fixed will flex less and has more mass to work as a heatsink ultimately resulting in better pad taper. But it seems the Tri Power caliper accomplishes the same results by using a floating design. Other than the caliper, the rest of the pieces are OEM and can be easily replaced should I need immediate replacement. Sometimes there is a lot of value in that as well.

I am sure in time there will be a solid C6Z51 rotor. If the C6Z51 OEM rotors work better than C5 rotors, then their increased use might motivate vendors to listen to our requests.

Bill Dearborn

Are those the same SL6 calipers that come in the LG Wilwood kit. The LG kit uses a different caliper with a thicker pad than the standard Wilwood C5 BBK. Are the brackets the same as the LG brackets?


Bill

gkmccready

No idea, Bill. I'm waiting on my full-width SL6Rs with thermlocks; I'm going to run them under CCW Corsairs with the Wilwood brackets, which should work just fine with the stock rotors... we'll see shortly. I keep asking folks what's special about the LG bracket but nobody seems to want to speak up.

vms4evr

If you run the Wilwood kit doesn't it also force you to run 18" wheels in front. I run 18's on track but stock Z06 wheels on the street. That would change the cost quite a bit if you can't run 17x9.5 wheels.

JVetthead

Key point...17" wheels...I like this idea..

Bill Dearborn

I can tell you a couple of things about the LG bracket compared to the standard Wilwood bracket. The LG bracket mounts on the inside of the knuckle while the Wilwood bracket mounts in the same location as the stock bracket. This means the caliper bracket bolts are inserted from the rotor side of the knuckle when you use the LG bracket. If you need to shim your bracket to move the caliper outward so it is centered on the rotor you can do so with the Wilwoods but not the LG bracket while if you need to shim inwards you can do so with the LG bracket and not the Wilwood. I may be mistaken but I think GM machines the outboard side of the knuckle to keep their caliper bracket true with the bearing while they do not machine the other side where the LG bracket mounts.

Here is a picture of how the LG bracket is fastened on my car.


With the Wilwood the bracket would be rotated vertically 180 degrees and placed on the outside however the studs that hold the caliper to the LG bracket place the caliper so it doesn't fit over the rotor when in that position.

Bill

earthman01

Can somebody describe the C6Z brake ducts, or better yet post an image?
I'm hoping they are a big improvement over the DRM's. Are they easy to install?

gkmccready

They are smaller and seem to be made of thinner plastic, so I wouldn't say they're a big improvement. Installation is the same for the DRM or C6Z ducts. The only thing the C6Z ducts have going for them is cost, and perhaps clearance of some aftermarket swaybar packages (like the Pfadts).

Last C5

The C6Z06 ducts neck down to 2 1/2" whereas I think the DRM ducts are 3". A half an inch in diameter when you're moving air can be quite a bit. I have the C6Z06 set up and my buddy has the DRM, installation effort was about equal. We're both just HPDErs so they both work fine for us. I know the racers would want the most air they can get.