emptnest

crimlwC6

Contact a pro, tce todd. You don't necessarily need more clamping power. If you can lock the wheels, you don't need more power to lock the wheels. You need consistency, heat management and longevity.

SocalC5Z

What he said about Todd at TCE...Forum vendor and excellent to deal with. Squared away my C5Z with a nice BBK.

Dan H.

Jeff Ritter at Essex is your friend with this. Call him or Todd, you'll be happy you did.

JRitt@essex

Big brake kits aren't about clamping force, they're about heat management. A properly designed system can be bolted to your car without touching the OEM master cylinder, will not require bias adjustment, etc.

For starters, I'd suggest watching all of the videos below. They'll give you an idea of what's in a kit, what each component does, and what to look for when shopping for a kit. Also, if you're on a budget, you will get the most bang-for-the-buck by investing in the best FRONT brake kit you can afford. Your OEM rear brakes will be fine with good pads, even at your new power levels. The fronts are where the problems lie however.

At C5Z power levels in your FRC, our Sprint Kit is a viable choice. It won't break the bank, has inexpensive spares and running costs, and uses incredibly common pad shape. If you decide to add a rear later, you can always do so since we have a matching rear. Our Sprint Kit as won its share of races and is an incredible value. You can see customer feedback on it on our blog: https://www.essexparts.com/news-blog





You can see all of our kit options for your car here:
https://www.essexparts.com/my-vehicl...t/Corvette/All

Here is the Sprint Kit that I mentioned:
https://www.essexparts.com/essex-des...cp8350-C5vette

We've helped thousands of Corvette customers with brakes. Again, please heed our advice and focus your efforts on installing the best FRONT system possible. That's where the greatest return will be.
Feel free to contact us at any time with questions. We're happy to help, and thanks for considering Essex and AP Racing.

romandian

i bought a stiffer spring for the proportioning valve to get more rear wheel bias on the c5.

mgarfias

Only on < 2001 cars. 2001 and up use the ABS system to adjust it.

apex26

Second what Jeff said--your rear calipers are fine as is. I have slotted ATE rotors on the rear and ST47 pads and they are lasting great. The fronts will fail you, and half measures means you will do a second upgrade later when you get faster. Your master and bias is fine as is. I got the AP Endurance fronts and love them--no more scary braking. You'd have to go to a 18" square setup, but that's what the racers run, it's better anyway. Do it right the first time, this is expensive enough!

SocalC5Z

My experience concur's with apex26. I'm running a 2002 C5Z with the largest Wilwood BBK (14.1") that will fit under the C5Z 18's up front and stock rear brakes with ST 47 or Wilwood H pads. I'm a red group/instructor level driver and the braking is consistent and predictable for an entire session. The F/R balance is fine. There are good reasons to upgrade the rears as well, but for ultimate braking performance alone, it is hard to justify a rear upgrade. The front upgrade is essential IMHO.

Rx7Rob

What compound are you running up front with the 47's or H's?

Thanks

SocalC5Z

Wilwood H up front, ST47 rear. I've also run ST44 with good results.

emptnest

thanks to everyone who responded. You have confirmed my gut suspicion that the system I described would be a mistake.

Looks like I have a Front brake upgrade to do this winter, along with grabbing a set of 18 inch wheels.

maj75

Mark@AMT Motorsport

Another vote for the Essex Sprint kit. Used it the last 4 years until this year and then upgraded to Pro5000r calipers. Go with Essex and AP. Buy once and never worry about your brakes again.

maj75

93Polo

Great if you want a dual purpose car. Run on RockAuto rotors with some street pads under factory 17x9.5 C5Z wheels on the street. Swap on 18x10.5 C5Z replicas, J hooks, and track pads for the weekend. Both wheels cleared without spacers results may vary on C5Z rear replicas depending on who made them. I have torqued down C5Z 18x10.5 motorsports without spacers on a friend's C5.

If you can find a set used, you can sell later with zero to no depreciation and if not not depreciation should you ever sell is not bad for aftermarket parts.

0Todd TCE

18" wheels are almost a 'must' in today's brake market. While we can off you a front and rear kit for your 17s the benefits of the larger rotors and calipers found in the Aero6 14" kits make it really worth the wheel consideration. The larger rotor won't shorten your stopping distance by any measurable amount under general conditions, but once things get hot the added mass is clearly your friend. As others have pointed out: repeated stopping is the true benefit of the BBK. Moving also in Wilwood land from the FNSL6 caliper spec to the Aerolite line nets a near 20% increase in cubic inch pad material. Longer life, greater heat insulation and a bit more stable footprint- all good things to consider.

And while the pads are larger they don't reflect a huge change in cost. Popular H compound pads: $201 vs $208, hardly 20% more! All the kits can be fit with alternative pads- you're not married to Wilwood as the 7416 and 6617 are well served in the market today. Replacement "rings" run a bit less than $250 for future reference. We ca outfit kits with the basic stuff with ss pistons and colors or do some special builds with anodized bodies, thermlock insulated pistons and even 24 custom colors....I try to match each customer to their needs and wants.

Larger calipers and rotor always take up more space regardless of the manufacture....cost of doing business I guess. However if you are serious about open track use I fear you'll out pace the smaller kits in due time and regret not doing it larger the first time around. All to save about $250?? Full four wheel kits can be had today for a bit north of $3300. Pretty hard to beat the value.

As for the MC, ABS and other items: No mc change is required at all. Any kits you may find on the market that do require this (other than dual mc race builds) ---I'd avoid them. There's no need. ABS, traction control and the like remain fully functional.